Rugging.....let's have a debate!

blitznbobs said:
Why does everyone feel they have to justify putting rugs on . The only attitude that annoys me slightly is the 'it's natural so it's never ever having a rug' it's also natural for horses to die if they get injured, starve to death in harsh weather etc etc. horses are heavily domesticated animal which have been v selectively bred to do certain jobs (yes even the natives which are more inbred than most). it's not natural for humans to have duvets and central heating but most of are happy to use them. Rug it if it is cold not if it is hot. My wb is still in a rain sheet my cob is in a heavyweight turnout - it's not about rigging or not rugging it's about is the animal uncomfortable.
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"this"
what is needed is a large dose of common sense depending on each horse's circumstances not a debate on whether horses should be rugged.
 
My girl is clipped out so is therefore rugged - not excessively though, I keep a close eye on the weather forecast (God, it's been all over the place this year - frost one night, mild the next!) and rug accordingly.
She hates neck covers so unless it's tipping it down with rain, I don't use a neck cover for turnout and I never use one in the stable. My stable is brick built and very warm. At night she usually has just a LW stable rug on unless minus temps, then she has a heavier rug on.
I don't like layering rugs - I just use one rug of an appropriate weight.

My horse is happy with her rugs - I've never over-cooked her and she never come in cold. What I do works for me and my horse. If what others do works for them, that's great - I'd never comment :)
 
People really like being judgmental about rugs. Who cares how other people rug their horses? I try to figure out what makes the horse happiest and go with that.
 
my horses are wearing their own "rugs" 3 layers of thick muddy slurry-like pan stick. Was just in time to see one adding another layer this morning, wallowing like a 'pottomus in a mud bath
 
I think it depends on the individual horse, its surroundings and shelter available to it, quality of feed etc etc. I know that my Irish mare lived out 24/7 without a rug ever touching her back up until she was broken in so is a hardy sort. She is now clipped so rugged accordingly but has only just started coming in at night but...... if she were to have the winter off I think I would be inclined to let her get woolly and rug as little as possible. I would of course make sure she was fed plenty of fibre to keep warm and we have lots of natural shelter.
 
Tell me about it!
Mine was on box rest all summer so had no rugs but never got a winter coat & even now it looks like a summer one! She's happier warmer & rugged so whatever makes my life easy!
 
i reckon the best approach is to rug your own horse as you feel appropriate and put blinkers on when it comes to other peoples horses.
 
Caol Ila said:
People really like being judgmental about rugs. Who cares how other people rug their horses? I try to figure out what makes the horse happiest and go with that.
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I'll never understand this sort of attitude though. I think people should very much care how horses are rugged, since some people have absolutely no common sense and pile far too many rugs on causing one very uncomfortable horse.

I'm not saying we should all busy body over other peoples' horses, but I do think sometimes it's a good thing that people take notice of what other people are doing and make comment.
 
^^^^ This

My two are both geriatrics and the eldest - H, a 36 year old cob type really feels the cold and we have trouble keeping condition on him. So he is almost never without his full neck rug now, with whatever layers underneath are appropriate.

P meanwhile is 26 and has a mid weight on during the day and a slightly heftier version at night. Slightly over rugged perhaps, but he has his problems as well and I don't want him to lose condition as it takes so long to get it back.

Like someone else said it's really a case of what works for a particular animal, and it is always worth bearing in mind that there may be behind the scenes issues that cause a particular decision on rugs to be made. If you looked at my two out in the field and didn't know they were oldies you would think I was over rugging as well most likely.
 
blitznbobs said:
Why does everyone feel they have to justify putting rugs on .
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agreed-the first comment I left on this thread wasn't going to be particularly friendly tbh but decided I wouldnt go there. I am sick and tired of people claiming that all horses can cope unrugged if they arent clipped. its rubbish, I shouldnt feel the need to justify my rugging choices but get a bit sick of the holier than thou horses-are-better-off-natural brigade. My natives are better off natural, my Portuguese native is in enough bloody shock today without leaving him naked :D (big storm for those of you who think the North is Watford).
 
FairyLights said:
my horses are wearing their own "rugs" 3 layers of thick muddy slurry-like pan stick. Was just in time to see one adding another layer this morning, wallowing like a 'pottomus in a mud bath
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That's just their way of warning you it's muddy; clearly very safety conscious horses who don't want their human slipping in the mud! :D
 
Moomince Pie said:
I'll never understand this sort of attitude though. I think people should very much care how horses are rugged, since some people have absolutely no common sense and pile far too many rugs on causing one very uncomfortable horse.

I'm not saying we should all busy body over other peoples' horses, but I do think sometimes it's a good thing that people take notice of what other people are doing and make comment.
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Agree, not that I'd say anything to anyone these days as there's really no point. But it's perfectly possible to make a horse ill through over-rugging. On my last yard 1 horse got caught up in his rug trying to struggle out of it overnight and another was made so itchy that he rubbed himself raw and ended up with a nasty bout of cellulitis - he wasn't right again for almost a year.
 
Surely these forums are places to swap opinions? I like to hear what others do and the circumstances that make them decide to do what they do and the reasons.

Other than that, who cares? I am certainly not going to get upset by what someone I've never met thinks or does!
 
My two are currently unrugged. One IDx and one coloured cob, both young and looking "well" as out of work, with thick winter coats. They have decent grazing and get hay when it frosts. They are both fine and seem pretty content. I have a stable full of rugs for them, and will use if needed (it needs to get a lot colder/wetter). I'll be honest if I wasn't indisposed (injury) I would probably have my IDx rugged, but the enforced turn away is doing us all a lot of good as I realise I probably did a lot of things (like rugging) for me not them. I hope to maintain this when I'm back to normal!

But all horses are different and have different needs and demands - my older mare if I still had her would have been rugged long ago, as she needed just that extra bit of tlc.
 
Arizahn said:
That's just their way of warning you it's muddy; clearly very safety conscious horses who don't want their human slipping in the mud! :D
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If that's the case, why do mine insist in rolling right in the gateway, making it much worse?

My youngster dropped right as soon as I took the headcollar off him today, and practically rolled onto my feet - no sense of personal space, and clearly happy to share his mud-spa with me :/
 
Horse I share appears to hate wearing rugs, would get them off if he could. I also hate wearing multi-layers in the cold. Would much rather wander round in shorts and a t-shirt. But, like me, he lives in the UK, and we do feel the cold. We're also neither of us spring chickens. So we do what is necessary to avoid the hypothermia. Roll on summer.
 
pennyturner said:
If that's the case, why do mine insist in rolling right in the gateway, making it much worse?

My youngster dropped right as soon as I took the headcollar off him today, and practically rolled onto my feet - no sense of personal space, and clearly happy to share his mud-spa with me :/
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Um...they're showing you where the mud is? Maybe trying to help you learn to roll safely..?

I am still considering whether to rug mine. They seem happy enough without, and I worry about them getting tangled in leg straps, or being cold under their rugs, or overheating, or stressing...argh, can't win with horses! I think I will stick with the wait and see approach...
 
With access to lots of shelter, room to move around and adequate forage then yes in theory all they SHOULD need is a lightweight to keep them clean but the hand I've been dealt is that our winter field despite being one of the biggest on the yard is still far smaller than I'd like it to be. We're fortunate that it does have a hedge this year, most of the fields don't. Ad-lib hay in the field should be part of my livery but the hay in my field is getting a tad low and I don't see it being replenished whilst the weather's like this (There's a wee bit of grass still to nibble and if there's no sign of new hay tomorrow still then shall put one of my own small bales in). My pony also has a clipped neck and belly. Up until the start of the week he was in a 40g no neck rug. However with the sudden drop in temperature and the wind chill he's now in a 200g with a neck. If he had constant access to proper shelter and always had ad-lib hay and somewhere dry to stand / lie down then if he was unclipped I'd prob have him unrugged most of the time (indeed before I clipped him he wasn't rugged unless it was raining and that was only a sheet so he was dry to ride) and only put one on in horrid weather. He currently comes in at night (very few livery yards around here cater for horses wintering out) and stays in his turnout cos a friend brings him in and she doesn't have time to be faffing about changing rugs when she's got her own horse to do. I think allowances also need to be made for the old or ill as they will also feel the cold more. These things aren't always black and white sadly (although there are few excuses I can think of for bundling healthy, unclipped horses up in heavyweight rugs!)
 
Depends on the horse and the weather. My old Arab has been living out without a rug on, with the exception of the last two nights as it's been so windy and cold and she really does feel the wind. She's got a straw filled shelter and a field companion to snuggle up with, so I'm sure she'd be fine without, but it's more for my peace of mind than anything else.
But I work with show jumpers who are all fully clipped and they are in four rugs each (sheet, duvet, middle weight, heavy weight). The main thing is that the horse is comfortable :)
 
My boy is fully clipped, lives in and wearing four rugs. Last year he was unclipped and wore two heavy weights. He is apparently a "hardy Welsh cob", but he gets cold and drops weight. My two Shetlands are unrugged, living in with a 6-week old bib/belly clip, they aren't cold and don't need rugs.

All horses are different and generally people know their own horses. People will likely call me cruel for putting four rugs on the big boy, and also cruel for leaving the two clipped ponies unrugged... But I have three happy boys and don't care what people think :)
 
My irish sport horse filly is out unclipped & unrugged 60mph+ winds on the coast temp to drop below freezing. Plenty of natural shelter and she's fat plus lots of top quality grass. Some on my yard have clipped out horses, stabled & in duvets with 2 rugs ontop... Lunacy IMO!! I rug as little As possible
 
My clipped rheinlander is is a summer sheet, fleece and MW stable rug with neck, he also wears a snuggy hood, in the field he is in a summershet, fleece and MW turn out with neck and his outdoor snuggy hood, my Belgian warmblood, again fully clipped is in a summer sheet, Rambo under rug with neck and HW stable rug , he also wears leg wraps, the kwpn, clipped, is in a summer sheet, fleece and MW stable rug. In the field he wears a summer sheet, fleece, Lycra hood and MW turn out.
None of them are overly warm.
 
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