Question for those with horses out 24/7/365 unrugged

S

suzyqet

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 September 2008
Messages
209
Visit site
OK, this is the paranoid side of me now.

My new mare (Percheron) has never had a rug on and I am intending on keeping it that way for the forseeable future.

However, why do I get the feeling that I am going to get some smart arse know it all poke their nose in and say that I'm being cruel by not rugging her.

Out of 7 horses, she will be the only one unrugged and I just know someone is going to say something.

Have any of you had anything like this and if so, how did you cope with it?

Thanks with hot chocolate and cookies.
 
Just stick with it and dont listen to them your horse your choice, i have other issue one i rug got told shouldnt be rugged due to being a highland rest are without rugs.
 
Mine lived out 24/7/365 without a rug, they grow nice thick coats and you would be amazed at how warm they are. If you get people telling you, your horse should be rugged, just remind them that they were not born with a rug and many horses still live wild without rugs and survive the winter!
 
Thank god I don't have this problem as I share fat boy with my best friend and he's at her field. If either of us wavers and wants to put a rug on we talk them out of it and now I've just found out he was borderline laminitic it's made our resolve even stronger.

I would explain to people why you have made this decision, you are doing this for your horses welfare and said horse is not a thoroughbred or a Arab xx
 
You must ignore them. If your mare has never been rugged and copes perfectly well without, which I can well beleive, then they need to take a reality check. Its sad but true that some people think it odd not to rug a horse, we never used to rug ours, rugging was just not the norm back in the 90's and before, it is a modern thing we have brought in.
Simple fact is some may need a rug, but some do not need or require one at all, stick to your guns, its your mare and it is not cruel to not rug a horse that does not need it
 
Thanks guys. I just know its gonna happen eventually.

Does she look like she needs a rug to you? I think not!

jessinsnow2.jpg


Last year in the snow

And then this year when she arrived

P8060904.jpg


I WILL be strong! I WILL be strong. Lol.
 
Is she going to have a shelter in her field? If so, I'd leave her unrugged IF you're happy about having to brush all the mud off every time you want to ride!
If not though, and iespecially f she had one before (last winter etc) when she wasn't rugged up, I'll go against the grain and say I personally would put a lightweight or mediumweight rug on her.
If the other horses are all rugged they won't get wet and cold (imho horses can cope with either of these at a time, but not both) but if there's no shelter she might...
 
awww, thanks spookypony.

I no deep down that she will be perfectly fine, but I am the sort of person who does anything to avoid confrontation.

Maybe I should get any interfeering busy bodies to buy a rug and try and put it on her themselves? They will probably run a mile when they get close to her. She doesnt look very big from a distance, but is mahoosive close up. And she still has LOADS of filling out to do.

But will definately welcome any more pics of nekkid ponios in their winter woolies.
 
kerilli said:
Is she going to have a shelter in her field? If so, I'd leave her unrugged IF you're happy about having to brush all the mud off every time you want to ride!
If not though, and iespecially f she had one before (last winter etc) when she wasn't rugged up, I'll go against the grain and say I personally would put a lightweight or mediumweight rug on her.
If the other horses are all rugged they won't get wet and cold (imho horses can cope with either of these at a time, but not both) but if there's no shelter she might...
Click to expand...

Where she was before she only had natural shelter, and not that much of it tbh. She now has both natural shelter AND a 26ft x 16ft shelter with a full bed of straw which she will be sharing with 2 others.
 
I would like to show you a photo :)

050120101208.jpg


This was last winter, mine were left out when the snow got really bad as the yard was so slippery. They all loved it, even the well rugged oldies and wimpy TB. In the pic is my highland, he didn't have a rug on all winter. He was as warm as toast under that snow, he is so well insulated he had about 2 inches on his back at times!
 
You're welcome, there was also a little welshie in the same state, she was fine too. I think as long as they aren't rugged at all, their coats work brilliantly and sometimes they would be colder with a lightweight rug on as it would flatten the coat. My lad will probably be clipped this year as he should really stay in work but it was so nice to see him out like that. :)
 
appylass said:
You're welcome, there was also a little welshie in the same state, she was fine too. I think as long as they aren't rugged at all, their coats work brilliantly and sometimes they would be colder with a lightweight rug on as it would flatten the coat. My lad will probably be clipped this year as he should really stay in work but it was so nice to see him out like that. :)
Click to expand...

This might be the last year that she is nekkid too. She is currently not backed, but I'm hoping that this time next year she will be and in full work. If so, I will have no option but to clip her, which will then mean rugging! Sooo not looking forward to it. Especially as she measures up as 7ft6 in rugs already!!!
 
I do not usually rug until I clip, which I do to the minimum to prevent sweating when ridden. Most peeps say nothing about this, though they think it strange that I clip fairly frequently, but they do ask why I do not pull the mane, to me this is the bit nature has evolved to keep the neck warm and dry (just like a scarf). The tail is left natural width to keep those bits warm.
If a horse gets rain scald I use a light rug, if it is old and/or prone to losing weight I use a medium weight rug to keep it comfortable.
If there is no shelter in the field (I mean hedges etc), I would rug up, but leave it as late as possible, imho a rugged horse needs to be checked twice a day in case of accidents.
 
Unrugged. Snow:

DSCF7109.jpg


If anyone says anything get them to try to touch SKIN through her winter coat! If she gets a coat like some of mine then probably easier said than done.:)

So not anyone elses' business, this bugs me so much :mad: why on earth should you rug if your horse is fine and you don't want to?

My comment would be simple "My horse, my business, if you don't like it, buy me a rug or report me!" That is the polite answer anyway, the other would be considerably briefer and Saxon.
 
Phil was the opposite this year, he was 1 of 2 horses that were rugged. However I have a similar issue with muzzling and restricting Phil. Just stick to your guns :)

22457_249281187326_633522326_3932265_7052043_n.jpg


22457_249281212326_633522326_3932267_6266094_n.jpg


22457_249296927326_633522326_3932302_1974858_n.jpg


All the herd were still too fat coming into spring :rolleyes:
 
I had this at the pub last night when I announced I was planning to leave Dibbs hairy and naked...most people expressed the opinion that I was cruel, with one lady proudly announcing that if she was wearing four layers, her horse would be wearing four layers also.

I think my quiet response to that was 'poor horse'!
 
Invite them to push their fingers through her thick coat down to her skin and feel how warm she is under all that fur! That's what I used to say to people who questioned why our old Sec A didn't have a rug on (and I wouldn't mind but she was part stabled anyway to her being laminitic).
 
Bentleysnow2.jpg


I also have an unrugged pony...he is happy as larry without one and toasty warm. IMO these native ponies are designed to cope with winter au naturel! If people think she needs a rug tell them to bury their hands in her coat and feel just how warm she is without. I took a rug in the car with me every day when it snowed earlier in the year thinking Bents would be chilly and need it but he was absolutely fine. I only really bring Bents in when he is really soggy wet and needs a chance to dry out but I think thats more for my benefit, he doesn't really care!
 
If people say anything then they need to be reminded that horses were not born with rugs and are more than capable of living out in ALL weathers without additional coats on. The only reasons I would rug an unclipped horse in the winter is if it was old and difficult to keep weight on (I would try keep warme and dry so it didn't waste energy keeping warm) or purely because I didn't want to have to clean loads of filth off before riding!!! We never used to rug our horses years ago - providing they have food, water and shelter if they need it then they'd be happy. In fact I don't even think they need shelter, ponies up on the moors don't have much in the way of shelter after all!!!
 
Here's another one to reassure you...

akz8yt.jpg


I only rug when she's clipped and I only clip when she's in work - she had last winter off entirely for various reasons and came out of it as fat as butter without a single rug or, indeed, any hard feed other than a token scoop of oats and plenty of carrots. :)
 
Mine are still unrugged and have good coats. However, today I have put no fill t/os on, purely as it is pouring with rain, windy and their field has no shelter. If there was a good hedge, tree or a field shelter, then I would not bother with rugs.

Stinky did have a no fill t/o on part of this week, purely as he had a bath for a show at the weekend and I wanted to let the oil get back into the coat for some rain protection.

As long as the horse is not dropping lots of weight, standing hunched up for long periods, can shelter if it is wet, cold and windy at the same time, then they are fine without rugs. Personally I prefer mine to be just warm and never hot and hate seeing horses with layers and layers of rugs on both in terms of being too hot and carrying all that weight round.

Farra was smoothered in mud last night - took 30 mins to get it off - joy of a very fluffy clydesdale.

They will be clipped soon as they are getting too hot when worked and then I will have them rugged until the spring unless we get a very warm sunny day.
 
ladyt25 said:
If people say anything then they need to be reminded that horses were not born with rugs and are more than capable of living out in ALL weathers without additional coats on. The only reasons I would rug an unclipped horse in the winter is if it was old and difficult to keep weight on (I would try keep warme and dry so it didn't waste energy keeping warm) or purely because I didn't want to have to clean loads of filth off before riding!!! We never used to rug our horses years ago - providing they have food, water and shelter if they need it then they'd be happy. In fact I don't even think they need shelter, ponies up on the moors don't have much in the way of shelter after all!!!
Click to expand...

That really is a huge generalisation, you can't equate a native pony up on the moors (which, I totally agree, doesn't need a rug at all) with a horse, and while some horses do grow a coat which would do a Shetland pony proud, others just don't - for instance I have a Hann x tb who has a coat like silk at the moment, and another IDxTb who, with exactly the same treatment so far this year, looks like a woolly bear. If I put the first one out naked in the rain now, she'd be shivering from head to foot within 10 minutes...
 
It depends on the individual horse, my friend had 2 horses that lived out 24/7 one was rugged and the other wasn't. The rugged horse was always cold and didn't grow a very thick coat but the unrugged one had a lovely thick woolly coat and was always really warm.
It's something to do with trapping air under their fur and fluffing it up to keep them warm but if they have a rug on they can't do that.
However on a horrible rainy day like it is now putting a rug on would be nice, you wouldn't have to put one on every day. Remember horses can withstand cold temperatures of something like -32 if it's not wet or windy and they have been allowed to grow a nice thick coat.
 
Last edited:
my shetland (iggle) is usually rugless and out 24/7.

he was SO well insulated that last winter i brought him in for the night in the worst of the snow. in the morning, he still had unmelted snow on him. if you tuck your fingers into his coat, it's about 2 inches thick and completely dry and toasty in there.

ets: kerilli is right though... you can't generalise as actually, not all horses come from climates where they'd have cold weather...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top