Rug dilemma

[Mitchyden]

My horses are naked during the day as they get too warm even with just a rainsheet on but I need to put rugs on them at night as it's been getting down to 4 degrees with rain the last couple of nights.

This may sound simple but it always seems to rain on my journey to the yard so by the time I get there my horses are wet so I cannot put a rug on straight away. Wednesday night I decided to keep them in as they were soaked and last night I kept them in whilst they dried off but this took over an hour and a half.

Tonight it's forecast for rain at 5pm and I don't get there until 6pm so it's going to be another dilemma. I will not put rugs on wet horses and I can't really go home and come back as it's a half hour round trip with of course added fuel costs.

What does everyone else do in this situation?

 

[9tails]

I towel off the worst of it, then plonk a rug on. My rugs are breathable so horse will dry underneath the rug.

 

[Bay TB]

I would bring my boy into the stable and use a sweat scraper and towel to get the worst of the water off him then pop a wicking rug / cooler on him and leave him to dry for a bit before putting his turnout rug on.
I'm quite lucky though as he is a TB with a fine coat so doesn't take long to dry!
If you are stuggling for time maybe get the worst of the water off and put a cooler rug on under his turnout until the morning.

 

[Burmilla]

Use a Wug! They are breathable and dry wet horses from the inside and prevent them getting wet from the outside! I love them: brilliant design, hard wearing (had both mine 15 years at least), and used throughout each winter and still looking good, and still waterproof. I clean and reproof every year, and store folded flat in closed poly rug bags. Expensive to buy, but a great investment, imo.

 

[ihatework]

I would just take the worst off with a sweat scraper and then chuck a rug straight on!
But then my rugs are good quality breathable ones, Rambo or Bucas, so designed to be fine on a wet horse