Rugging an unclipped native..

[Skhosu]

ok, so for the past 3 nights I have brought in the pony to ride and he has been plastered in thick, wet mud. I had to hose it off him one night it was so bad!
Now, I thereofore haven't been able to ride him as obviously he is wet and muddy!
I have a waterproof sheet I'm considering putting on, otherwise he will never get ridden. Will this be ok? He is very fluffy but doesn't bother with the workload. Am considering clipping a small bit if I'm having to rug anyway!
Any other sugggestions? Should I be rugging him at all?

 

[Caritas]

Of course you can rug him for your convenience. Obviously if he is not clipped then you should only use a lightweight or one with no filling at all.

 

[bellaboo]

I rug my shetland if i know someone is riding him the nxt day, and also if its raining really bad as he suffers from rain scald. Would perfer to rug and exercise, then give him another day off. Needs the exercise!!

 

[Jemayni]

I've just given in with mine, unfortunatly he is white yet has a deep inner desire to become bay! He is only in light work atm and I am trying to rough him off for winter seen as he isn't really very sound atm. But I can't cope with the mud - it is more important they get work!!!

 

[Skhosu]

Oh good, thought I might be being silly!
Should I rug him at night then or not? (he is stabled at night)
It is literally a sheet!
Mine is grey also..funny how they have desires to be bay!

 

[Mid]

If I were you, I'd give him a minimal clip (trace, maybe) and rug him. Clipping will make him look smarter, you'll be able to ride him more often, and with the convienence of the rug, he'll be much, much easier to groom! xD

 

[Skhosu]

humm..but then I have to clip him and I HATE clipping..
think I may have to though....then I can just bung his good rugs on him and be happy (not sure if sheet will be 'cold' like macs are to us y'know?)

 

[Skhosu]

so who said no then? Interested to hear reasons?

 

[fizz-tally]

my grey welsh sec a is rugged in the paddock & the stable, i do not have a hour to clean the pig before she is ridden

 

[Skhosu]

lmao..out coems the rug to disgusted look of happy 'wild' 'stallion'
pony!

 

[star]

my welsh d is currently unclipped and has been wearing a LW turnout for weeks now as he is a mud baby - i can deal with the mud dreadlocks, but not all over the body and he needs riding daily at the moment as is on a strict post-op fittening program. planning to clip him in a few days time though as he is just melting under his wooly mammoth coat, doing only an hour of walking and we need to start introducing trot work soon. at the moment he wears a MW stable rug because i think they feel the cold more stabled than they would outside - he seems just right in this. probably gonna do a blanket clip as i dont think any less will be enough to stop him dripping - will then use MW turnout and probably HW stable rug unless it stays this mild, when he can stay in the MW.

 

[Weezy]

[ QUOTE ]
Clipping will make him look smarter

[/ QUOTE ]

*rolls eyes* What IS it with people that clip solely to make a horse look smart! There is absolutely NO point in taking hair off unless it is necessary and it does my head in that people clip when it is not necessary and then have to rug

To Triple - quite frankly yes, stick a mac on him so you can ride, but dont clip unless necessary - as for what to do when he is in - no point in putting anything on him unless he needs it

 

[Skhosu]

mmm..well, I am going to try the 'mac' as it was so well put by weezy and will see how we get on!
Personally would prefer not to clip as he manages an hours hacking, a little damp but fine, dries in 5 mins and is then got his own heat!
Would still be interested to hear from those who said no though, there are 7 of you!
Thanks guys! Was thinking I was doing the wrong thing!

 

[Christmas_Kate]

Little man is a hairy beast ATM. He's not in work, but has a flece on at night (merely for my peace of mind!) and no rug during the day when he's in. he goes out naked on mild days and a lw on cold days just to keep the wind off him.

 

[TequilaMist]

Personally would rug to make life that wee bit easier.Definitely don't have the time to hose and wait til they dry so our lot rugged day and night at mo,one fully clipped,pony not clipped and has a lightweight stable rug at night.

 

[YorksG]

Light rugs on two in work who are not clipped, one is a shireXclydesdale who turns into a wooly mammoth, part of the reason is to try and reduce coat growth, the other is an appalloosa who just loves mud and I hate grooming mud out! Also means that I don't have to wait for hours for them to dry out. No rugs on any when they are in.

 

[mandy4727]

My old guy is a native. Not clipped and not in any work. He has a thickish turnout on and and medium weight stable rug and will go heavyweight when weather gets colder. Having said that he is nearly 40 and although hairy has not fat on him at all (ribs showing, hips sticking out etc etc) and he does feel the cold cos he has no fat. Tried everything to put weight on him but becuase of his age it is impossible.

 

[Tia]

Yep that's exactly why I started to rug my little native - all that awful mud you guys have over there is blooming sole-destroying!

 

[jemima]

My two unclipped welshies are not rugged - one of them still looks very smart and clean - but he's chestnut. The grey is nearly the same colour now. Why is it always the greys that LOVE to roll in the mud?

 

[eahotson]

My friend has 3 horses, 2 cobs and one cob tb cross. A;; have small trace clips and are living out without rigs at all.My highland has a trace clip as he sweats heavily and a rug but really needsa blanket clip I think as he is still sweating. Think its perfectly reasonable to rug so you can ride even if it means a small clip as well.

 

[frannieuk]

I put no, but would rather have had a "depends on circumstance" option. I think that some macs still generate quite a bit of heat and can make a particularly hairy native get too warm. For me it would depend on the hairiness of the horse, and the prevailing weather - why not try it and see how he gets on? If he does get a bit warm in his rug then perhaps go for a neck and belly clip or a very low trace.

 

[riotgirl]

My Welshie is unrugged and unclipped. When I know I want to be riding her I stick an extremely lightweight waterproof thing on her to keep her mud free. It is only on for a couple of hours at as time though, so not sure ho you'd go on if it was a permanent thing.

 

[Fransurrey]

I clicked no (just now! I'm not an anonymous 'No'!). I have an exmoor who lives out unrugged. Mud has never stopped me riding. If it's wet, I brush off the worst and have a towelling numnah which absorbs any remaining. It's very rare that this happens, though (don't remember the last time, put it that way!). If dry, I brush off the essential bits (face and ears, saddle and girth) and off we gooooo!! I've never had any problems. I remember being told never to ride with a wet horsey, but provided you towel off any soggy bits and use an absorbent numnah or cloth, there should be no problem, especially with a woolly native.

 

[Blazingkate]

Yes because at my yard the Section C I'm breaking in has a rug on and the only work he is doing at the moment is lunging/long reining. If he does get too hot you could always just give him a bib clip.

 

[Kermie]

I would rug him, but I would also clip him. I don't agree with putting a LW rug on an unclipped pony unless the weather is warm. If you flatten the coat, then the pony's coat loses its ability to act as insulation as the wind blows through it. Therefore strictly speaking they require a rug with some fill to compensate.

I used to avoid rugging, but it was a total pain as my pony would take ages to dry enough to brush for riding. Now I give them a full clip ('cept legs and heads) and rug in MW rugs. I am able to ride whenever I want and my ponies are perfectly happy even though they still live out 24/7. I bought a couple of HW rugs last year but didn't need them.