Rugging issue, is YO overugging my horse? advice needed

[Palindrome]

Horse is on part livery, slightly underweight thoroughbred type, uncllipped and out of work for winter (I can't ride at the moment). I have put her in part livery as I can't be there to do the day to day care but I am wondering if the YO is overugging her a bit. She was in her stable with her 100 g full neck turnout on last night and it was 9 degrees. She was quite warm to the touch so I removed the rug but know that YO will put it back on unless I instruct otherwise.
Last month she was in her 50 g and I found her sweating in her stable so took that home but YO popped on her 100 g the next day saying it was windy.

The field is very muddy with not much shelter but she gets adlib hay and brought in at night. All the horses on the yard seem to be in full neck 24/7, but I know that wouldn't suit mine as she tends to be on the hot side rather than cold side.
What would you do? I think my options are to (1) tell YO that horse doesn't need rug for the moment, (2) buy a no fill rainsheet and let her use that or (3) just let YO choose what rug to use (likely to be the full neck 100g) as I can't be there to monitor on a day to day basis.

 

[JillA]

It's been a nightmare with rugs so far this winter - mine alternate between them all. I do tend to leave a 100gm one on overnight for my less porky ones, I reckon although they are out of the wind and rain in their stable, they can't move around as much to keep warm. I think in your YOs place I would do the same, except maybe for the neck - is it detachable? And t/os dry much better on the horse, if it was wet when she came in she would have left it to avoid a cold clammy rug in the morning.

 

[Red-1]

If she was up to weight I would say no rug, but if she is under weight I would say rain sheet with no neck, if she is too hot in what you have, so at least she has her body dry, but her neck aired.

TBH I hate the modern practice of wearing the same rug day and night. I prefer different pressure areas day and night, and also then the horse is examined each morning. I bet she does not remove the sheet to make sure all is well before turning out. Outdoor rugs may be breathable but they are not half as breathable as stable rugs.

 

[Mrs G]

I'm in (East) Yorkshire. I have a (neck and belly clipped) tb who is quite a warm horse but he's had at least a 100g rug on overnight recently in the stable (no neck though). I too think they can get colder just stood in the stable because they can't move around and if she's a little underweight I'd want her a bit warmer rather than using up calories to keep warm so I would think she should be ok in the 100g which is still a lightweight rug X

 

[be positive]

I have a similar horse on livery but the opposite problem, the owner was putting a midleweight rug on him with a neck, every evening at late checks I found him sweating so kept changing it telling her the following day he was too hot but she kept putting the same rug back on, eventually I removed the neck and put it out of sight, he is much more comfy and no longer gets too hot, I have very few with neck rugs on as it does tend to make most horse too hot and once they heat up having a neck cover means the heat is trapped inside, just like us wearing a scarf when we get warm that is the first thing we remove.

I would get a rug with no neck or remove the neck cover from all the rugs at your yard so the YO can use what she prefers without so much risk of overheating, it has been a tricky winter for rugging, most of mine are fine in the field but have become warmer once in stuffing haylage and out of the wind even the clipped ones have required the rugs being tweaked to keep them from getting too hot.

 

[Palindrome]

Excellent replies, thank you. It seems that the neck cover is the problem then. It isn't removable but I usually undo the velcro and fold it back when she has had to be in. I normally have her out 24/7 so finding it tricky to estimate what she needs in the stable, but she was definitely a bit too hot last night. Her 50 g and her medium weight have no neck so we will probably use that through the winter then, the full neck is good for heavy rain when horse stays out but not suited here.

Red-1, yes same rug is kept day and night, horse is used to it as normally out 24/7 but it is definitely warmer in the stable.

 

[Orangehorse]

It has been a problem. I also think that they need some covering if in a stable at night, for the same reasons as everyone else! I found my horse slightly sweating one morning last week in lightest weight stable rug I have, apart from a summer sheet for instance. But I have never used a stable rug with a long neck cover. If it is exceptionally cold, like -0, snowy, etc. I have a thick rug with an extended neck, but in a stable they might need their back covered, but I don't think it is necessary to have their neck covered too.

The mud here sets just like concrete, impossible to brush out, it has to be washed out, so I like to keep a neck cover on for turnout, even with a thin/rainshet rug, but last week it was so warm I just sighed and turned mine out in a rainsheet with no neck cover and accepted the consequences (mud plasted from nose to withers). He has a part clip, neck and belly.

I just rug according to the weather, taking into account that my horse has had some hair removed. If I don't need a coat to keep warm, my horse doesn't need a thick rug. Neck rugs do make a big difference to how warm they are - think how a native pony grows a thick long mane and how warm they are underneath it.

You have to go on what the weather is doing,not what is says on the calendar.

 

[rara007]

Just tell the YO she doesn't need a rug? In America at a barn I went to on the door of each horses stable was rugging instructions for different temperatures!

 

[9tails]

If the horse is too hot it's wearing too much rug. Leave the only rug you want your horse to wear at hand and take the others away. If you don't want your horse to wear a turnout with neck, don't supply a turnout with neck. The YO is unlikely to turn out an underweight horse without a rug so get a lightweight, without neck.

 

[Starzaan]

I can't cope with the same rug left on all the time, inside and out. I worked for someone who said he thought it would be like wearing the same pair of jeans all the time without ever taking them off. Awful!

Plus, horses tend to need something different in the stable. When it's cold they get colder when in as they can't move around, but in this ridiculously mild weather with a chilly wind, they'll need something lighter as it is very warm out of the wind.

I would buy her a lightweight stable rug or summer sheet to pop on whilst she's in.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Talk to the YO, it might be she thinks she's doing what you'd want. I had one phone me up to tell me it's raining and she couldn't find my (200g middleweight, the only one I had) turnout rug so did I want my hairy native in or out? She laughed and said she thinks some people forget, when I pointed out that it was May, horses don't melt in the rain and the rug had been cleaned and packed away for the summer. She just assumed I'd be like the rest on the yard. So my advice is talk to the YO and take any rugs home that don't need to be used at the moment, then nobody can put them on by mistake.

 

[meandmyconnie]

Nex time this happens, with the back of your hand feel behind his ears, if he is hot there no rug, if he is just right 100g, if he is slightly over-hot rainsheet x

 

[twiggy2]

Nex time this happens, with the back of your hand feel behind his ears, if he is hot there no rug, if he is just right 100g, if he is slightly over-hot rainsheet x

if he is just right or slightly over-hot surely he does not need a rug?

my fully clipped mare was naked 24hrs a day for 4 days last week-I think it does them good to get some sun on their back and for the coat to lift away from the skin when it is so mild, she did look like a hippo but to be honest that is good or the coat and skin too as is the good groom to get all the mud off again

 

[tankgirl1]

My cob has a trace clip, and part of her saddle patch clipped out due to rug scald. When it developed she was in a cotton summer sheet at night with a no fill over the top for turn out, and even then she was getting too hot. She is now naked at night and just a no fill when out, and I often take her no fill off whilst poo picking to let her have a roll

 

[madmav]

Speaking as someone who never has the right coat to wear, too hot, too cold, broken all the blinking zips on them,, so can't wear them, I really do feel for horses. Either stuffed into something too hot in a field and can't have a proper roll, or freezing their bits off in a stable. And they can't tell anyone,

 

[rachk89]

Depends on your horse. In those temperatures here my horse still keeps his medium weight rug on otherwise he will be too cold and he will lose weight. As he is at a good weight currently and i am paranoid he will lose it i would rather have him be a little hot even though he isn't than be cold and be suffering. But he is a pansy. I thought the Connemara in him would keep him hardy but clearly not.

He does have to keep the same rug on at night sometimes as currently it's been pouring with rain and it's either leave it on to dry or he gets a cold wet rug in the morning. I don't have the funds to buy him more as he destroyed my funds by destroying his rugs so it's his own fault haha. I do check him thoroughly though everyday his rug comes off at night for a while so I can ride or lunge him.


Your mare though can handle it so*tell your YO that or hide the rugs you don't want on her. Then she has little choice but to use what you have left. Even keep them in your car if you can so you can swap at night if you want.

 

[splashgirl45]

the latest test for knowing if a horse is hot or cold is to feel on the back behind the withers, apparently we are not supposed to worry what the ears are doing, this came from david marlin at the animal health trust..... if your horse is underweight I would think she would benefit from having a rug on and 100lb is only lightweight ..she may be a little warm early in the evening but do you check her between 3 and 5 am when it is colder? I would rather my oldie was a bit warm in the stable rather than too cold especially if she was underweight as they cannot move around to get warmer....its your horse and the yo should do what you say even if she doesn't agree with it but she may feel the same way I do as your horse is underweight. mine also wears her turnout rug in the stable but she gets groomed am before being ridden and turned out and pm when she comes in so she gets some air to her body ...

 

[tankgirl1]

A horse can warm themselves up when too cold, but cannot cool themselves off if over-rugged is what my vet said, and it makes perfect sense to me

 

[Fiona]

My unclipped TB has a 200g rug on with neck cover at the moment, and isn't too warm, so IMO a 100g rug is OK...

Fiona

 

[Cowpony]

You took your 50g rug home so your YO is using the 100g rug which is at the yard. Wouldn't it be better to reverse that if you think 100g is too warm?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

A horse can warm themselves up when too cold, but cannot cool themselves off if over-rugged is what my vet said, and it makes perfect sense to me

Indeed! And they should be eating forage all night, especially as OP's horse is underweight. Horses keep themselves warm by digesting fibre, not so much by moving around. 3 of our 4 unclipped, unrugged horses have been sweating in their stables overnight while it has been so mild. If this carries on they will have to have bib clips because they can't stay out.
OP, unless your stable is exceptionally cold, I would leave the horse unrugged with ad-lib forage overnight and leave a light fill rug available for wet days. Horses cope well with dry windy days, it's wet. windy weather which causes the problems

 

[sarahann1]

My little lad is unclipped, a touch overweight and currently in on box-rest (flipping mud fever, harrumph, grumble, grumble) and he's not got a rug on at all. His coat puffs up nicely and does the job it's meant to and the base of his ears are warm.

My other two are out 24/7, neither are clipped and both have only rainsheets on, both are still putting on weight despite no hard feed, the sodding grass is still growing where I am. I know I should be happy it's mild, but I'm starting to feel owning a horse this winter is just as challenging as when we had 2' of snow! #stupidweather

 

[Palindrome]

Yes, horse had plenty of forage and has rug off for now, waiting until her coat fluffs up to start rugging again. Also when I say slightly underweight I mean about 20-30 kg under a 5/moderate. She is usually a bit porky at grass.

Cowpony, the 50 g was home for repair, she also has a fleece and cotton summer sheet but I think it's the neck cover that I need to avoid.

Lots of good points and it's interesting to see how much the opinions vary. Like Sugar and Spice said I just need to be clear as to what horse needs. YO is fab but rugging expectations/habits vary lots and I am definitely in the minimalist camp. Thank you everyone

 

[Luci07]

Getting so fed up with rugs this winter. I can go between an 80 grm upto 450 and back in a week currently, though to be fair, the 450 hasn't seen that much use.

There are times my horse will be left in the same rug at night - I am on assisted DIY and they don't do rug changes at my yard. Horse is fine and had absolutely no issue with pressure sores etc. In fact, when I have gone down to "rescue" my horse thinking he needed to have his wet outdoor rug off, I am the one next morning running around to find a comparable weight dry rug. Friends who left their horses have nice dry rugs again!