Rugging question - for those who have horses living out naked

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Lucky788

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I know all horses are different but I’m after some opinions.

I’m lucky to have the option to leave my horse out as much as possible this winter which is doing him the world of good.

Fair bit of shelter but on top of a hill so normally a bit of breeze.

I am not planning to rug until the temperatures really drop and even then only when it’s wet and windy.

I guess what I’m asking is who doesn’t rug at all? How olds your horse and do they cope ok?

I’m used to being on yards where rugging seemed mandatory come
September ;)
 
I used to live near a stud farm where 6 figure broodmares wintered out unrugged and looked superb.
If a healthy horse has access to good natural shelter and forage, it'll be fine. However, during days of constant heavy rain, I'd be tempted to dry it off and rug, just to give the horse some respite.
 
My 22 and 23 yo lived out last year unrugged for the first time, they grew immense coats which I left to get greasy as they aren't ridden.
I rugged one of them on 2 days when there was relentless driving rain and wind, she got a bit chilly, but after a couple of hours she was hot :p so off it came again. They have shelter and plenty of grazing so although I feel neglectful I know they are absolutely fine.
I'm hoping my good doer WB who is in foal will do the same this year, she gets reasonably hairy so we will see ;)
 
We have many horses on my yard living unrugged. Youngster, oldies, and also some horses that just don't get much work over the winter. We're very exposed hillside, but with some hedges for shelter and they have ad lib hay. All types!
 
I am fortunate that mine can be allowed to grow coats to suit the climate. If I clipped them, then I would need to rug. As it is, they have a proper fifteen foot high thorn hedge for shelter along the north-eastern and eastern sides of their winter paddock, which blocks the worst of any winds from those aspects. Ad lib hay or haylage in the colder months. Ages are seven, fourteen, and sixteen. I have a rule that anything which appears sad or cold is brought in and thatched to dry off, and then rugged and/or kept in for a bit if need be.
 
I don’t rug two of mine. They have shelter (stables open 24/7) and do have rugs just in case though but that hasn’t happened for a couple of years. One of them doesn’t like the rain in the winter and can usually be seen cantering to his stable as soon as it starts.

I think as long as they have good coats that aren’t kept too clean and plenty of shelter they normally do well. You do have to supply forage so that they can eat plenty though which usually means ad lib.
 
I rug if they need it, and not if they don't. All live out 24/7, on a hill but with hedges. The TB gets rugged as much as she needs (nothing the winter before last, quite a bit last winter as her best friend was sick and she was pining and refusing to eat) and the native ponies get nothing.
  • Cold to kiss on the nose and cold at the base of the ears = too cold. And obviously, shivering = too cold.
  • Warm at the base of the ears but cold at the top = not cold enough to be uncomfortable but using energy to keep warm.
  • Warm all the way to the tip = using no energy to keep warm, would easily become too hot.
Otherwise - if losing condition, rug more. If poorly, rug more. Obviously checking no-one gets too hot!
A good supply of woody type hay will keep them toasty warm from the inside, so less rugging needed on the outside.
 
My three live out unrugged all winter and they thrive - long woolly coats which I avoid grooming too much. The older one had a rug on on cold wet days, but otherwise they did fine.
 
My retired gent lives out naked. He is 27 years old. If it is very cold and wet/snow he might have a medium on for the day. Apart from that naked at all times.
 
My 26 year old lives out unrugged. She has access to shelter if she wants it. She hates rugs. The sports horse is only rugged when he's clipped as he doesn't like them either.

The only concern regarding temperature is constant rain rather than cold. Multiple days of very heavy rain can penetrate the coat so it's something to watch out for. I find no fill, waterproof rug can be very useful.
 
I have two hardy native types - a polish mare who goes full on polar bear and a Highland Gelding.

Both were clipped today ( mare with an Irish clip and gelding just bib for now). They are in light work over winter and I like to clip early so they get the benefit and let it grow back a bit by the time it's cold.

The plan is not to rug unless it's cold before the clips grow out a little or unless we have two or three days of heavy non stop rain where, like others have said, I'll put on a rainsheet for respite from it.

They have stables but will be out 24/ 7 as much as possible. They have a little shelter in their field but I'm looking to build them some shelter from the wind at least (see my other thread about making field shelters on the cheap).
 
Article in this weeks H&H about old fashioned ideas to stabling and the over use of rugs.
All mine need to lose weight so none, in the very flat fens. If they are really wet and it’s windy they come in to dry off and then get put back out.
There seems to be an age when they need them, depending on the animal and extra forage. If they start losing weight now I reassess and increase forage and re think about rugging.
Dealers trick for deciding if a mare was in foal, no frost on their backs means they are pregnant as the passenger generates more heat.
 
I have a 16 yr old Welsh D who has worn a rug once in the last 3 years. He has been out in torrential rain, blizzards, howling gales and always stayed fat and toasty. The only time he wore a rug was for about 3 days in winter 2018 when it was just SO wet for days on end and their field turned into a bog, and he was actually shivering. He wore the rug for a couple of days until we got them moved to a new field, then it came off again. He lives out but may have a couple of stabled days this winter to keep his field companion company - at 26 and being a dainty Arabian, she is allowed sleep ins if the weather is horrendous! Unlike him she will wear a rug most of the winter. We have lots of natural shelter though so I suspect they won't be in often.
 
I have a 24 year old cob who is always naked. Her coat is very thick & she is very round. My other horse on the other hand will start in a lightweight turnout as it turns colder. Over winter she sometimes wears two turnout rugs.
 
The Ardennes grows a polar bear coat but will ask for his PJs if it's pouring with rain (reversed back into stable and stared at rug until human got hint). He does drop weight in winter so I indulge him.

The other one pays for the vet's Caribbean cruise with her issues, so she's bubbled wrapped.
 
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