"Rug running"

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TT55

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I bought my horse a couple of months ago and was told by the seller that she is a "rug runner": i.e. she can't wear a rug outdoors because she just gallops around wildly then just stands in the corner shaking.

So far my mare has been living in and I have gradually got to know her. I was starting to wonder about this as my mare is not afraid of rugs in the slightest. She wears one in the stable, trailer and on the yard fine and when I am a numpty and make a pigs ear of throwing it over her back, she doesn't bat an eyelid...

So today I decided to experiment. I turned her out in the arena without a rug and she did her usual bit of hooning. Then I went and put a fleece rug on her and let her go again. She just casually walked off and had a roll (made rug filthy... typical!). I watched her for 5 minutes and she was very relaxed so I started to think the seller was wrong and she is in fact ok to wear a rug outside. However, then she rolled again, got up, reared, bucked and all of a sudden seemed to realise that this "monster" was on her back and galloped around the arena putting in a massive buck every other stride... Now she likes to have a good old hoon and a buck, but im fairly sure this was rug related. I took the fillet string off and the same reaction... So it seems that if she is walking or standing she doesnt notice the rug, but trotting or cantering makes her realise its there and she gets upset...

Has anyone else had a horse with a similar thing? Is there anything I can do? Do you think if i left her she would eventually settle down and accept the rug?
 
Bobbly said:
Maybe it's just the flapping around her sides, you could try with a roller on to hold it all down?
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Will try that, thanks, but it didn't look too flappy and the rug i used had good fitting cross sucingles. Plus i've lead her out in windy conditions with a flappy rug before and she didn't care... weird horse!
 
Yes, I have owned a horse that was frightened of his rug. He was OK-ish with it in the stable, but would run as if chased by the devil when turned out. He did eventually settle down a bit, but you could never take it off or put it on out in the field. He was a very crazy horse in general, 'tho.
 
Thing is, my mare is really quite docile on the ground and more than happy to be rugged up in the stable or even on the windy yard. Happy for me to throw the rug on outside too... but as soon as she gets out of walk it becomes a monster! Will have to see if I give her more time if she settles down.
 
Would it be worth lunging her in a rug? Just at a walk and then introduce a bit of trotting, just to show her she can move around with it on. Then at least you are on hand to approach her and calm her if she gets too flustered?
 
trottingon said:
Would it be worth lunging her in a rug? Just at a walk and then introduce a bit of trotting, just to show her she can move around with it on. Then at least you are on hand to approach her and calm her if she gets too flustered?
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Yes I thought that. Will give it a go! Maybe i'll start in the indoor arena with no wind.

Would really like her to be able to go out!
 
Might be worth trying her in a soft, heavy stable rug to see if she can get her head around wearing something without the added flap and crackle factor. i had one who hadn't worn a rug before, and she freaked in a turnout, but was better in a stable rug. After a few weeks in that (yes -it got trashed, but cleaned up alright), she was calm enough to try again with a turnout, and we never looked back
 
A horse at my yard is like this. He'll wear one in the stable but not outside . He ended up upside down in a ditch and nearly pts over it. Don't risk it, it's not a big deal. He's a TB and copes ruggless in sunny Scotland.
 
Did she settle again after the bucking episode? Mine usually have a buck and a play after rolling so if she's not been out for a while I really wouldn't assume that the rug is the problem.

It might be worth seeing how she is with a turnout rug on her in the stable.

Also have you tried riding her in an exercise sheet?
 
I knew a mare just like this, happy to be rugged in stable, worked in an exercise sheet, could be led to field in a rug but as soon as was loose would go flat-out blind gallop around the field and end up standing in a corner shaking and would stay there until caught and either rug removed or bought in. We tried leaving her out to see if she'd eventually accept the rug but she wouldn't graze at all. In the end we just didn't rug her. She was full TB but wintered better(kept condition) without a rug, stabled overnight, than she did the first winter when we tried to sort the 'problem' because she was stressed and not eating she lost weight. The only bad thing was on wet days the owner would have to wait for her to dry before riding and she could never be clipped or would have to stay in.
 
Auslander said:
Might be worth trying her in a soft, heavy stable rug to see if she can get her head around wearing something without the added flap and crackle factor. i had one who hadn't worn a rug before, and she freaked in a turnout, but was better in a stable rug. After a few weeks in that (yes -it got trashed, but cleaned up alright), she was calm enough to try again with a turnout, and we never looked back
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The rug i tried her with was a fleece, so can only imagine she would be worse with a stable rug!

chestnut cob said:
You said she has been living in. Do you mean she hasn't been out in the field at all? If that's the case then it could just be high jinks causing all of the antics rather than the rug.
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Yes she hasn't been out in the field at all, but i have turned her out in the arena many times. Her behaviour with the rug was different to without, she was clearly upset about it. Plus i dont know why the lady who sold her to me would tell me she does this if she didnt as it could have put me off buying her.

saddlesore said:
A horse at my yard is like this. He'll wear one in the stable but not outside . He ended up upside down in a ditch and nearly pts over it. Don't risk it, it's not a big deal. He's a TB and copes ruggless in sunny Scotland.
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Yes, this i'm worried about. She already went through a fence once in a panic (not rug related) so don't want to risk her doing it again. May have to just live with turning her out when the weather is nice (she's clipped)

3Beasties said:
Did she settle again after the bucking episode? Mine usually have a buck and a play after rolling so if she's not been out for a while I really wouldn't assume that the rug is the problem.

It might be worth seeing how she is with a turnout rug on her in the stable.

Also have you tried riding her in an exercise sheet?
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Was advised by her last owner not to try an exercise sheet because of her behaviour!

It was raining so I didn't have long enough to really see if she settled. She seemed to stop in the corners before going off again...

Dusty M Yeti said:
I knew a mare just like this, happy to be rugged in stable, worked in an exercise sheet, could be led to field in a rug but as soon as was loose would go flat-out blind gallop around the field and end up standing in a corner shaking and would stay there until caught and either rug removed or bought in. We tried leaving her out to see if she'd eventually accept the rug but she wouldn't graze at all. In the end we just didn't rug her. She was full TB but wintered better(kept condition) without a rug, stabled overnight, than she did the first winter when we tried to sort the 'problem' because she was stressed and not eating she lost weight. The only bad thing was on wet days the owner would have to wait for her to dry before riding and she could never be clipped or would have to stay in.
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This sounds just like my mare! I think it is just something I might have to work around...
 
My gelding is just the same- fine in the stable, with exercise sheets, in hand grazing etc, but set him free in any sort of rug and he has a panic attack- runs to a corner and stands there shaking. His came on suddenly and he's been like it for 8 years, despite trying everything. He's retired now so I just let him grow fluff and he lives out fine. But when he was eventing he ended up spending most of the winter in, with hand grazing
 
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