Rug or no rug for skinny horse?

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zoon

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I am very confused as to what to do! My horse that I've just bought back (long story!) has come home a bit skinny. He is on good grazing and is being fed equijewel. But, he has no winter woolies coming through and as he'll be wintering out I want him to grow a good winter coat. Do I leave a rug off at night and risk him dropping off more (he's a poor doer, 15 year old WBxTB) or pop a lightweight rug on at night to help him put the weight on? He hasn't had a rug on unless it is very wet and windy and then I've popped a rain sheet on him as I am paranoid about his weight! Out naked tonight and worried it's just undoing the food I'm pumping into him
 
I'd put a lw on him if hes underweight, its the wind and rain together thats the killer.
Ours havent got any rugs on yet apart from 2 oldies but they come in at night and are all a bit porky. We did say today though that they will be on soon.
 
I would rug, the most importsnt thing is to get weight on him You don't have a lot of time to do it before the colder weather.
Also, it is getting chillier at night now, if he is that thin, he will feel cold without a rug and if he is cold it will undo the work you have done. I would be putting a med on through the night.
 
A LW won't give him any insulation. If you're worried about him being cold at night then a MW might be a bit much at the moment, it's not very cold. Fal do a nice LW rug with a 40g fill, maybe something like that would be an idea.
 
I would definitely rug him especially with him being thin.
I have my TB in a medium weight as i can't afford for her to drop any more weight especially with winter just around the corner.

XxX
 
a rug at night is fine. i would also check his worming, and teeth. if he is skinny i think you need to look at his feed. Quality of grass, and bucket feed. equijewel alone wont bulk him up. i would suggest 2 feeds a day of alpha a and h&p nuts, plus equijewel plus a bit of sugar beet.
 
I would say rug him. I have been rugging my yearling who I rescued earlier year who still isn't quite up to weight. I thought that by leaving him unrugged he would only shiver off the little weight he does have. Good luck with your boy.
 
to me no fill is a rain sheet
up to 150g is light weight
150-300 is med
and above that is heavy
my heaviest is 450g

my tb who i carefully manage so she keeps her weight, is in a 220g at the mo.
I would be putting yours in a similar weight.

ets, please do not tell me that i am over rugging, i know my horse, and i know what she needs to keep her in the best condition. thank you.
 
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chestnuttymare said:
to me no fill is a rain sheet
up to 150g is light weight
150-300 is med
and above that is heavy
my heaviest is 450g

my tb who i carefully manage so she keeps her weight, is in a 220g at the mo.
I would be putting yours in a similar weight.

ets, please do not tell me that i am over rugging, i know my horse, and i know what she needs to keep her in the best condition. thank you.
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I definitely agree with you on this.

XxX
 
I think you might have to consider him to be 'vulnerable' over this winter and rug him accordingly. Once you have got his weight back up to normal and got him successfully through this winter, you will be able to leave him out without rugs. I am certainly not a fan of rugging unnecessarily but do think that in this case it is justified. If he has been poor over the summer he may not be going to grow a thick enough winter coat this year.
 
I agree rug him and get him up to weight then see if he can go without if you still want to. Again I don't rug for the sake of it but a thin horse really feels the cold - I know how they feel as stressed to the limit and far too skinny myself at the moment and I am permanently blue!
 
I don't want him to go without a rug over winter, but when it is not even dropping below 10 at night (still pretty warm down here in south east) I feel like I shouldn't need to rug! Just don't want to be stopping his coat comign through by rugging him unnecessarily. Will pop the 100g on him at night and a fleece underneath if need be. Certainly won't be putting his 220g on yet as it is not cold enough down here yet

Obviously he is not just having equijewel - also having veteran mix and chaff. Our grass is still knee high and pretty lush so no need for haylage yet, but will get adlib haylage when grass has been eaten down.
 
you won't stop his coat coming through by rugging as the coat changes according to daylight hours.

the difference between a rugged coat and an unrugged coat is that the rugged coat will lay much closer and not be as 'fluffy.'

i would definitely be rugging an older horse who is lacking condition at the moment- as someone else said you may need to rug more than normal this winter to ensure he keeps putting condition on as it is very hard to get weight on horses at this time of year and only gets harder as we get further into winter.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I think you might have to consider him to be 'vulnerable' over this winter and rug him accordingly. Once you have got his weight back up to normal and got him successfully through this winter, you will be able to leave him out without rugs. I am certainly not a fan of rugging unnecessarily but do think that in this case it is justified. If he has been poor over the summer he may not be going to grow a thick enough winter coat this year.
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Couldn't agree more. Along with a teeth check, regular worming and a decent diet, warmth (but not too much) will be your greatest friend.
 
Pop a lightweight on- I wrap mine up like Michelin men, but it seems that the wet and the cold is what gets them- they seem to cope OK with the cold on its own but the mixture isn't good and could mean that your horse loses more weight,
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I think you might have to consider him to be 'vulnerable' over this winter and rug him accordingly. Once you have got his weight back up to normal and got him successfully through this winter, you will be able to leave him out without rugs. I am certainly not a fan of rugging unnecessarily but do think that in this case it is justified. If he has been poor over the summer he may not be going to grow a thick enough winter coat this year.
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Brilliant advice.
 
It sounds as if you are able to keep an eye on him, which is great. I have to choose the rug mine will wear for the next 24 hours or so. Bear in mind that over-rugging can also cause horses to lose weight, and certainly make them pretty uncomfortable.
My oldie isn't particularly thin, but he only goes up to a 200g fill in the worst of weather, so just judge your horse.
 
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