Rugging a 17 year old for the first time!!!

[Andreafp]

I have always rugged my previous ponies, stable rugs, turnout rugs etc....they were used to it! But I now have a 17 year old Dartmoor pony, who apparently has never been rugged, now that she is with us she lives in at night, but out by day, and the last couple of days we have had torrential rain, so she then ends up coming in at night soaking wet, literally dripping, (I do towel her off to get the worst off) but just wondered if anyone has any suggestions as to the best way to approach getting her used to wearing a rug in the field? I thought that I would try to slip it on her whilst she is eating her breakfast, but then I don't want her to get a bit worried about it being on her back whilst in the field, any suggestions most welcome!

 

[monkeymad]

I have a mid 30 year old exmoor cross. They have the most amazing coats that are seriously waterproof! Mine is a companion and comes in at night, so has some respite if the weather is really foul. The only time I have rugged him is when we have a continuously cold and wet spell in the summer months; when he has lost his winter coat, and then I will pop a waterproof on him (the only time I have seen him shiver is a couple of years ago in July when we had a hail storm and his age and summer coat couldn't cope!) If you do decide to rug, I would tie her up and put rug on and then may be lead her around in it before you turn het out if worried. However, most British natives are too smart for their own good, so I think she will soon suss out a rug!

 

[Auslander]

She doesn't need a rug! Rugging her will probably achieve nothing but to annoy her, if she's never worn one before. Native ponies are perfectly designed to shrug off the worst weather that Mother Nature can throw at them.

 

[risky business]

Is there a reason you now wish to rug this pony?

If it were me I wouldn't think of trying to rug the pony now, its coped 17 years without one so unless you're planning to clip hair off I wouldn't bother.

I think a lot of the time we rug horses because it makes us feel better when its raining or cold. I had a section D that I slowly derugged until she spent all year naked no problem.

I'd leave the pony rugless in your situation.

 

[TGM]

I wouldn't rug her unless she really needs it - usually with these native hairy types, if you run your fingers through the wet coat you will find that although the outer part is wet, the hair closest to the skin is still dry. I think it is unlikely that if she hasn't needed a rug in all these years, that she suddenly needs one now, especially if she is coming in at night anyway.

If for some reason you really think she needs to be rugged (ie she is shivering) then I would introduce one gradually. Start with something non-rustly like a summer sheet or such and leave it on her in the stable for a while. If she is OK with that then introduce a turnout rug, but give her plenty of time in the stable with it so she can feel it when she moves about, before you turn her out in one. Hopefully if she is a mature, native pony she will have a sensible disposition anyway!

 

[Annagain]

I too don't really think there's a need to rug your pony as long as she's not dropping weight.

I started rugging my old boy at about 21 as he was starting to feel the cold more and was losing weight as a result. I did very little to prepare him, just put it on him and let him get on with it. He'd worn summer sheets and coolers before for travelling so I figured a turnout wasn't much different. He was fine. Sometimes we overthink these things.

 

[catkin]

Has she ever worn a cooler?
My little old companion appreciates a cooler to dry her off quickly when she is soaking wet and last winter had a turnout when the weather was so wet and horrid. As they get older they do become stiffer and can feel the cold more so a bit of judicious rugging is no bad thing.
Teach her as you would a youngster - perhaps start with a cooler when she comes in at night for a short time then build up from there. If she hates it then just make sure she's got a good bed to roll in and plenty of forage and leave the rugging.
Most natives love their creature comforts - just 'cos they can survive on top of a mountain doesn't always mean they want to .

 

[StarcatcherWilliam]

My 18 year old Sec A pony isn't rugged. He has a huge coat and comes in at night so gets a chance to dry off. If he was out 24/7 I might consider rugging, but don't really see it's necessary if they are coming in at night.

 

[Antw23uk]

Why would you want to rug her? What a strange thing to do when at 17 she's never needed one!

 

[SEL]

My Ardennes (think Exmoor pony on steroids) grows a coat a polar bear would be proud of. He's not at max coat yet - that's usually early Jan - but if you stick your hand into it on a wet cold morning he's toasty. The outer hair might be wet & muddy but under that he has a fluffy layer that puffs up to insulate him. Most of the really ancient European breeds are the same. Snow on his bottom doesn't melt until he's in the stable where he literally starts to steam 30 mins after breakfast.

I'd only rug this one if I needed to ride him. He does have a habit of coming in coated in mud & poo, but I think rugging would upset his natural coat growth pattern.

My other horse had to learn to wear a rug when she got poorly. I lunged her gently in it a few times so she could get used to the flapping and she was pretty quick to catch on. Leg straps took a bit longer.

 

[_HP_]

I don't rug as a rule but sometimes these natives coats are so dense that if they get saturated, they just don't dry and can cause problems like rainscald.
I took on a 27 yr old Shetland with sweet itch that had never been rugged...she was pretty feral and nervous so I just careful and gently put the rug on, made sure it fit well and left her to it.

 

[Damnation]

She doesn't need a rug! Rugging her will probably achieve nothing but to annoy her, if she's never worn one before. Native ponies are perfectly designed to shrug off the worst weather that Mother Nature can throw at them.

Yep, leave her be, she is designed for this weather and has coped for 17 years, let her use her hair and body the way nature intended

 

[pennyturner]

The first thing I would say is that 17 is not old at all for a Dartmoor. They're tough little blighters.

I rug one of my two Dartmoors - both are out 24/7. He's over 30, and started to drop weight over winter a couple of years ago. The rug has not gone one yet... it's been chilly, but he's fine. It will stay off until at least December, so that he feels the benefit and has grown a full coat.

With this regime, the oldie has kept on the weight so well that I'm now worried he's too fat in spring!