Rugging a youngster.

[LS91]

Bertie is 10 months old and his first rug arrived the other day. Although it didn't actually get on his back. Obviously he has never been rugged so we knew it would be a bit of a challenge. My boyf held him as Bertie knows he can't get away with much with him. He was unsure of Mum's rug on her back and was having a good sniff at it, we let him do all this and then I walked up to him with the rug and let him see it. Lifted it up to his side and he was just having none of it, just jumping to the side and almost into my boyf's face with the two front legs in the air, so we left it after that to try again another day as he was a bit wound up anyway and didn't want to push it with him.

Any ideas how to get him used to the rug being lifted up over his back? We are just going to try every day with him and build it up with him and fingers crossed, get it on his back.

 

[be positive]

If he really needs to wear a rug, start with a cloth on his back or a towel, let him get used to that before trying with a rug. I would then put something like a fleece on that will be less flappy than a turnout, leave him in the stable to get used to it then progress to the real thing, take your time if he is really scared once it is on he could panic and get hurt.

 

[lula]

does he really need a rug..is it for stable or turn out?

i think this is something thats going to take a good number of sessions before he's going to be at totally at ease with this and inmo turning a youngster out with a rug until he's totally used to the idea and is happy in a stable rug is a recipe for disaster.

id start in the stable. Tie him up, Brush him with it. get him totally used to the straps around his legs and the feel of it. Gently lay it over his back then Fold it in half and place it over his flanks and get him used to it slowly. If at any time he panics, take a step backwards.

 

[lula]

sorry be positive, i think our posts crossed!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

My chestnut yearling had never worn or seen a rug before but he was too lean to leave unrugged. I started off by folding a LW rug several times, so that it was very small. He was held (headcollar and leadrope) and fed a treat while I carefully placed the folded rug on his back (saddle area). I then took it off and on again - still folded - several times.

The next day, I folded the rug up small again and he was held and bribed while I repeated the process. He was calm so I unfolded it slightly and put it on him. He was good so I took it off and left it for that day.

I continued the same process and after a week I didn't need to fold the rug so small (just in half as I normally would when rugging any horse) to put it on his back. He didn't mind the surcingles being done up and happily walked around with it it on, so I decided that I would let him go. He rolled but was calm so I left him out rugged up. He's now in a MW and I can take it on and off as needed.

ETA. I had to do the whole process with him in his paddock because he is a twit in the stable.

 

[LS91]

be positive & lulu - His rug is for turnout. They live out 24/7 apart from when Bertie has had to be in with a foot abcess and when the weather has been not so good. They are both happy being groomed and with the farrier. Bertie has taken a bit of work with everything, grooming, headcollar, leading, leaning not to bite & farrier so we are not expecting him to take to a rug easily as he is quite cheeky by nature! The only reason I didn't start in a stable was that wasn't sure how he would react, to be honest, I knew he wouldn't take to it first time round but had to check what his reaction would have been. Glad we found out in the middle of a field rather than the stable as I don't think the outcome would have been the same! Thanks

Meowy Catmas - This sounds like what we are doing with Bertie. Don't think I would quite trust him in a stable yet, would rather have the open space as he is sometimes unpredictable. We fed him carrots while he saw Mum being rugged up and while he sniffed at her rug. He just wasn't so sure of it so we were not expecting him to like his one bit! But going to just have to go out and repeat it with him. Like his headcollar, leading work etc we had to keep doing and eventually he has clicked and is turning out to be a fab wee boy! Thanks

 

[Spring Feather]

When winter comes along and I rug all of my youngsters for the first time in their lives, you can bet that they have that rug on on the day I choose to put it on. It sounds like you may have rushed it a little or not given him enough "pre rug training". Take your time and let him sniff it and then progress to rubbing his shoulder and neck with it. Don't be in a rush to get it on his back. I do it in stages. Once they're happy with you rubbing their neck with the rug, they're so short these foal rugs that it's never too much trouble to keep the majority of the rug on the neck while you velcro it together (I don't do the front clips/buckles at this stage). Stop. Leave it like that for a minute or two until he settles and is comfortable with this. Then in one movement pull the back of the rug so it's lying on his loins. Stop. At this stage I tend to cuddle them and chat to them for a good few minutes. If they are going to flip then this is usually the stage they'll do it at but that doesn't matter as all the rug is held on with is a bit of velcro at the front. Then if all is well and foal is happy I do the top buckle/clip at the front of the rug and then progress to doing the surcingles. Stop. Go back to the second front clip and fasten it. Once you've done this you're almost finished and all you have to do is pull the rug right back to the tail. Stop. Then flip the little tail onto the outside of the fillet strap. Done!

Give plenty of encouragement at each stop and chatter away to the foal as you would normally do. Scratch his neck or wherever his scritchy spot is. I don't manhandle my foals to get their blankets on I just do what I've written above and it works every time for me.

 

[LS91]

Spring Feather - We don't want to rush anything with him either. We rugged Mum first so he could see what was going on and I knew when the rugs arrived he was not going to get his on for a while. I used to have a pony on loan that came unbroken to the yard. Had to rug him for the first time in a field, luckily, he took to it no bother for some reason, but I would never expect that to happen again, least with Bertie! Even tho he is still a foal, he has got a 5'0 rug! Mum is 7'3 in her rug. Mum is Clyde x Shire so Bertie is getting quite big all of a sudden! He is the friendliest wee boy and would stand at the gate all day if someone was there with him, so if the rug is half on him, he would never run off across the field and not come back to us, he loves the attention too much! Thanks for advice sounds like what I'm trying to do with him!

 

[Spring Feather]

Yes my foals have moved into 5' rugs now too 5 footers are still small enough rugs to sort out easily without having a ton of rug material hanging about the place that you have to contend with. The above is how I do it and it's always been quite easy to get them to accept their rugs. Good luck, your little man sounds sweet and I'm sure you'll be successful soon.

 

[badgerdog]

When I had my youngster I got her used to having a rug on by putting a towel on her back for a few weeks and progressively flapping it around the more she got used to it. When I introduced her to a rug I put it on gradually, letting her stand in it for a 10 minutes without having the straps done up. I did this for about a week, gradually doing more each day until she was happy. I never had any panics or strops, she took it all in her stride because I didn't rush things.
I did all of this long before she ever needed to have a rug on so it wouldn't be an issue. I didn't put one on her properly until she was about 18 months old.