Potential stupid question alert...

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robthecob

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Do horses that put on more winter coat feel the cold more?

Told you it was stupid but it could be relative to rugging once clipped. :) if a horse lays on a thicker/longer coat is it indicative that the horse will feel the cold more once clipped.
 
Yes,in general horses grow there coats more the colder it gets or the colder they feel, so if your horse has a big thick winter coat it will feel the cold and need rugging once you have clipped. There are exceptions to the rule though. :)
 
agree with Ffionwinnie as my horse had a massive coat last year but only a little one this year and she is a real hot bod i have not rugged her at all yet this year
 
Natives grow a thick coat and even clipped out probably still feel the cold less than an unclipped tb :p:p

Even if you over rugged a native they'd still grow a reasonable coat.
 
I have a mare that is probably 7/8ths tb and the coat is almost an inch long lol i have been rugging accordingly all year which is confusing me
 
Most of ours get very thick coats and never cold (more due to breed and 24/7 out). One gets a beautiful fine down, which doesn't look like it would be enough in summer! She's always very toasty (and a tb!)
 
I had a Standardbred mare who was 18 when we bought her (so you could argue the age element), and she used to grow the most outrageously thick winter coat. Thing was, she was the hardiest of all of the mares, needed the least feed and kept her condition well during the winter. She also had a really thick mane and tail. She was consistently hairy every winter too.

I never used to notice how thick her winter coat was...until it started coming off in the warmer weather. You have honestly never seen clumps of hair like it! (My dad is bald and I offered to make him a nice warm wig out of Donna's winter coat that she'd shed!)
 
Its a good question not a silly one!
Natives have thicker coats than hot bloods eg TB's. In my experience the colder it is the longer the coat grows disipte the brred but a TB will never have a shetlandfs coat IYSWIM. I think its just evolution, natives lived out on poor grazing and often in windswept conditions in ye olde days, therefore they needed the thick winter coat. TB and arabs try to grow a thick coat if left out unrugged but although many are ok they never achieve the rich thickness of ,say, a highland pony.
so yes, in some rwspects they do grow a thicker coat if they are feeling the cold, dependant on breed.
 
She is 9, she is a patchy pone so could it be that whatever bit added the colour was rather shaggy or does it not work that way. Lol I'm just wondering if maybe the coat she has put on us down me not keeping her warm enough, despite the fact that I keep her warmer than most due to other issues
 
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