Rug sores

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Fauvea

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Hello,

I am trying to put a bit of weight on my warmblood mare who's on grass livery so I kept her rugged and she now has 2 huges sores on the rump.
It's not the first time that such thing happens. A few month back, she got a sore on the hip with her weatherbeeta summer sheet. I though that was because of the cotton lining, so I removed the rug and it healed fine. Now she's got the sores with the weathebeeta freestyle with nylon lining.
I've tried using an under-rug, a roma lycra under-rug with hood, but the part that is on the nose is very tight and leave a mark on her nose if closed, and since she likes to roll, she messed up with it and I just got it off.
The sores are clean, bald patches and my understanding is that because she likes to move out a lot, it causes rubbing around her hips/rump. The rug seems to fit properly.

I've read some advices to sew a fleece lining but don't see how it would be any different than nylon or cotton. And since it is not on the shoulders, a shoulder vest would be useless. So I was thinking may be sewing real sheepskin as a lining could do the trick, but then it would probably get dirty quite fast.

Any suggestion or trick (despite the obvious don't rug her)?
 
Yes, it is spotless inside (the nylon lining is very easy to keep clean). But I don't change the rug since it is always dry and clean inside (muddy outside though). I do however take it off to groom her (and go for a ride) and then put it back, about 3 times a week. Although I did it only once this week and that's when she got the sores.
 
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Chaning rugs will ensure that she is not always experiencing the same sort of rug 'pressures'.

Also having her rug off on good, warm and dry days will help.

How unerweight is she - this could also be contributing??
 
We can see her ribs when she is standing but she has a bit of fat in between and she is filled out along the spine, so she is not terribly underweight but would like to see a bit more weight on her like this summer (that's when I took the pictures in my signature). I would say her body condition score would be about 4, moderately thin, on that chart http://www.thehorse.com/pdf/nutrition/bcs-poster.pdf, but I want her to move to a 5-6.
She is a picky eater too, so thats not easy to stuff her full of food (she will eat her pellets but not if they have supplements with them).
 
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I am having exactly the same problem with my mare. She has a foal at foot and has lost quite a bit of weight, she is getting sores on her hips. Having looked at the rug I feel it is maybe a tad too big and is pulling down, so have bought another (better named rug) have also got aloe vera for these sensitive areas, I groom her daily and take the rug off for an hr at least. The shoulders are much better but am looking at sewing the fleece onto the areas which are rubbing in the hope it will be more cushioned and not rub.

Never in the 7 yrs of owning Rosie and the many different brands have I had this issue very frustrating!:(
 
The cotton lining should have been the best one to use - but they need to be kept really clean - it's the grease build up on pressure areas that cause hair to be removed.

You could try using a very lightweight summer sheet under the rug - have two so that one is on and the other in the wash. Make sure that the rugs are not being fitted too tight.
 
Ok, I'll try putting a fleece summer sheet underneath once those sores have healed and change it frequently. Thanks :)
I've also started her on some weight gain/conditionning pellets with some chaf and she seemed to like it.

I have seen that Rambo makes some under-rugs, as anyone used them? Would they tie to another brand of rug? Are they good against sores? What is the material underneath?
 
I would try a fleece rug as an under rug. The fleece will stick to the hair & the nylon lining will move over the top of the fleece causing a barrier to the skin/hair. Have you tried removing the rug AM & PM & then putting it back on as this will place the rug back where it should sit. Over time nylon will cause friction burns on the hair if the rug isn't in the correct place 80% of the time.
The liner rugs are nylon lined & they only fit the brand of rug there made for, they have swivel clips to attach to the fillet D rings & also 2 velcro straps on the neck line to attach to the loops on the neck of the rug & don't have any surcingles on them.
 
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