Rugging horses now?

C

chasingmytail

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 June 2010
Messages
116
Location
on my way
Visit site
Am I unkind? Horses at our yard have been out 24/7 since mid-May. Our IDx hasn't been rugged since beginning of this month but the majority of the others, including natives, are rugged at night. I know it's been wet the last few days BUT IT'S NOT COLD. Are people molly coddling theirs or am I uncaring? What are the rest of you doing at the moment?
 
My Anglo Arab has also been out since mid may and has been naked the entire time so no your not cruel people just think their horses will melt in the rain!
 
Two out with no rugs at all - and one is a wuss - but the little lad has a lightweight on as he is in a tiny turn out paddock (due to injury to the hoof) and i am doing everything i can to limit him from running around so if he is dry he may not hoon around so much...... normally he would not have anything on in this temp and he is in at night with no rug - he is a pure tb
 
2 of mine are rugged out of 3 one feels the cold and gets ill and infections all the time so not worth the risk other pony is a show pony so has not really been out of rugs. But my shetland is not in a rug.
 
mine have lightweights on was cold and miserable today they have been out 24/7 for past 6 weeks but were in last night and again tonight I admit I am too soft:D:D
 
Had exactly this rant at our yard this morning. Yes it was raining, but I'm sorry to break this to you all, horse DO NOT DIE IF THEY GET WET!!!!!!

The majority at our yard are hairy natives. They ALL had rugs on, some including necks, today.

My natives were, shockingly, naked!!

My non native, thin skinned feels the cold TB was also, quelle horreur! NAKED!! And guess what, they were completely dry when I got them in, as it had stopped raining for a few minutes and was so warm that they had dried off.

The native with the full neck looked botherd and sticky. Poor thing.
 
I work on a livery yard and havent been putting any rugs on lately. Although it was heavy rain last night and i got to work this morning to find everything [including the shetland and gypsy cob] shivering like mad!! I did feel a bit guilty! :o
 
The ones that feel the cold more are rugged again for the rain.

No point piling the feed into them if they're just going to then shiver it off....
 
Oh yes, perfectly true - although, my feel the cold TB, didn't feel the cold today, because it wasn't cold! :)

He's positively rugged up the the eyeballs if it is cold, and bites and is grumpy if I get it wrong and don't rug enough, and also eats EVERYTHING in sight.
 
i've got a 30yr old native and a TB who live out 24/7. not had rugs on for a while,
went to feed them tonight and poor TB mare started shivering as soon as she saw me!!!!
made me feel awful but she will be fine as it mild and drying up!! she always does this to me!!!
 
I remember the days when we didn't have all the rug options, I also think it does not help with rising obesity rate in horses with all this rugging. I only rug T this time of year if I don't want him to get muddy i.e. for my own laziness. Our TB broodies are all our naked all year round (they are in at night from January until April or until their foal is two months old). They look fab and their coats shift much quicker than riding horses despite rarely getting groomed. Amazing how they cope.
 
My native is not rugged and has not been since April but he does has have natural shelter in his field as there is a wood. A bit of rain is not going to hurt him he is more bothered by the heat to be honest.

Also living out he is used to variations in temperature.

I would only rug him if he was loosing a lot of weight in the summer and as he is a good doer that is not going to happen!
 
I also remember the days when I only had one canvas nz with blanket lining and one stable rug and a roller - had to put blankets of varying colours underneath. I do agree people tend to over rug - however there is no excuse to allow your horse to be cold. The weather has been up and down to say the least, we have been close to freezing a few weeks ago although warmer during day (sometimes!). I hate the idea of 'I've taken rugs off now so they can't go back on'. It's mean - we wouldn't sleep with windows open and your summer duvet on at 0C!
 
Mines the only one rugged in our yard lol out of ummm well lets just say over 30 horses :P
Hes a tb and feels the cold so he is rugged all the time unless its really warm ... but he is turned out in rain etc with a lw rug as he wont melt lol ... He was out on a night like this last year with a 400g winter rug and i went to get him the next morning and he was soooo cold literally was walking like a penguin, he could bend his legs properly n all ... took a couple of warm stable rugs and stable bandages to get him warmed up again lmao hes such a wuss
 
mine have been in LW's today, thermatexs tonight.

i dont shovel feed down them and work them to make them supple, only to let them shiver it off and stand tensed against the craptastic weather!
 
Oh god i feel aweful now, my IDXTB is out 24/7 and i just put his medium weight on as i was shivering and thought hed get cold. (unfortunately i dont have l/w....need to get one ASAP!) it was forcast to pelt it down allll night so i put it on, but all its done is drizzle. I only get worried now cause last year i went down in this kind of rain and he was shivering his (imaginary) pants off!! Think i will take it off tomorrow morning. Hes the only one on the yard with it on too, this teeny stick insect TB doesnt even have one on!! I think i worry to much. Its been non stop drizzle and showers for nearly a week too, how much rain does it take for rain scald to happen?
 
LC has a rain sheet on as we've just had six weeks (including four weeks of box rest) because he tied up - I don't want him to go through that again if we can help it so we do what we can to keep his muscle warm and moving easily; Dizz has a rainsheet on as I want to ride early in the morning and won't have time for her to dry off when she comes in :). Don't like the Dizz to get cold as she is meant to be putting on weight and not losing it.

Horses for courses and all that :D
 
My TB is out 24/7 in a field with plenty of natural shelter but he wears a l/w sheet if we get a few days of persistent heavy rain. He hates rain and getting wet in general so if we get a wet spell rather than have him sulking and shivering every time he sees me I pop a sheet on, usually overnight to help him dry off and warm up. He is a wimp though :)
 
tbh each horse is different and each persons management of their horses is different - if horse is not suffering - ie too hot or too cold - should it really matter to anyone else if it's rugged when you personally do not chose to rug?!?

i don't get these threads if i'm prefectly honest - pick your management options and run with them - but also respect other peoples decisions. everyone has their reasons for what they do and unless the horse's quality of life is in some way detrimented then surely it's their choice to make?! life really is too short to get worried by what other people do....

*steps off soap box and retreats gracefully* :o
 
Nope, naked & have been for a few months now - even today when it's decidedly chillier than it has been it's still 13/14 degrees so not cold at all. Yesterday it was wet, yes, but it was also still quite warm & I didn't need my coat so why would my horse need a rug?
I hate to see horses rugged (even lw are too much in the muggy weather we've had) because the owner is cold & therefore the horse must be...NO! The horse is probably miserable & sticky under the rug!
As others have said each to their own but personally I have no problem with my horse being a horse and getting a bit wet & muddy this time of year. Even the little old lady is naked.
 
Fany is out unrugged and is quite happy. Captain is rugged with a lightweight for the rain, he does not like being cold and wet. the way he shows his displeasure is to take the iron gate off and take himself back to his stable :eek:
 
my tb ha his l/w on, but only because im trying to gett some more weight onto him and dont want him shivering it back off again and also he's a showing horse so really dont want him to be skinny! :) the rest of our ponies/horses (we have a riding school) are naked!
 
I couldn't imagine anything more uncomfortable for my horses than to put a rug on them at the mo. They are thoroughly enjoying getting a good mixture of rain, mud and sunshine on their backs :)
 
posie_honey said:
tbh each horse is different and each persons management of their horses is different - if horse is not suffering - ie too hot or too cold - should it really matter to anyone else if it's rugged when you personally do not chose to rug?!?

i don't get these threads if i'm prefectly honest - pick your management options and run with them - but also respect other peoples decisions. everyone has their reasons for what they do and unless the horse's quality of life is in some way detrimented then surely it's their choice to make?! life really is too short to get worried by what other people do....

*steps off soap box and retreats gracefully* :o
Click to expand...


Well said! Def agree i know you all dont agree esp the fact that my girl is a highland in a l/w rug but rather that then pay for another lot of antibotics when she gets cold she gets infections that costs me more money plus with liver issues its not good to keep giving her drugs all the time. Think people need to realise that we dont overrug our horses we do it for a reason every horse is different. And no she is not overweight in any way struggles to keep weight on this is first summer that i have been able to keep her at a normal weight.
 
Personally, I'm a " no way put rug on horse, its the blinkin summer for gods sake" kind of person but I do respect other peoples decisions when they rug their horses this time of the year. I do laugh at them though during the winter when they have half a dozen rugs on their horses morning noon and night and my fully clipped out Andalusian has one middleweight on and is still as warm as toast. I'm surprised some of them can move. It doesnt cost me anywhere near as much as other people to buy rugs either. lol
 
I have a traditional cob and must admit, he does have a lightweight on at the mo. This is because I'm showing him at the weekend though and trying to keep him as mud free as possible. I do wonder sometimes if I'm being a woss being that he's a hairy and all but then again, I leave him in a light weight in the winter, only more rugs at night as it totally freezes
 
Yes, both my natives have rain sheets on. Purely because it was forecast to pour down and I don't have hours to stand around waiting for them to dry off so I can ride.

On dry days they go out with fly sheets on, as both have a tendency to rub their manes as the flys are quite bad where I am.
 
Well, the majority of the owners at my yard were confused last night when they got their rugged natives in - they were all sweaty!!

Thats my problem, I don;t car ewhat people do really but these are hairys for gods sake, and my tb was out without a rug on, bone dry when he came in, and warm, not shivering, and not grumpy.

Saying that, only two of them turned out without rugs on today, eventhough the weather is even milder and not raining. The natives are out in rugs again. :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top