rugging ........rant

Spyda

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I turned my fully clipped mare out naked yesterday, but put her in a 100g stable rug over night. This morning it was cool and very foggy so I turned her out in a no-fill Rambo turnout (without neck) and I was shocked to see she'd gotten hot under it this afternoon. She was probably pratting about but still, I felt guilty. I've left her stabled and unrugged tonight (it's supposed to be 9 degrees over night here). It's the time of year when it's sometimes hard to know what to put them out in in the morning. :rolleyes:

Some of the other horses on the yard are unclipped and still wearing medium and heavy weight combos during the day when it's 15 degrees.
 

Fii

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treat each horse as an individual and you cant go far wrong.

mine have been well rugged all winter, 2 x HW and an under rug and have come though winter looking fab, best they have ever looked after a cold snap...............thus today is not over warm for them (been around 13/14 degrees), and they went out in HW combos and were just warm, not hot, not sweaty, just nicely warm. they are in, in magnet sheets and HW stable rugs tonight (stabled overnight all year round).

if its warmer tomorrow they will be down to MW combos.

its AS irritating for me to be told by people that they MUST be too hot, when i know they arent (get checked umpteen times a day as mum works from home and livery arrives at 1pm every day and walks up to check them, then they come in at 3pm).

Are you saying one horse is wearing an under rug and two hw rugs through winter? What an earth for? surely the weight and amount alone is restrictive , i cant see the point tbh, it seems a bit like overkill to me...but hayho each to their own!! Ours are sweaty today even without rugs!
I have one horse rugged through winter, he has one rug, it is ether on...or its off, it is a LW, it keeps him dry and not cold, its the wet that makes him cold, if it didnt rain he probably wouldnt need a rug at all!
 

MileAMinute

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Princess Sparkle - genuine question here. You say yours have been in 2 HW rugs over winter.
To me, this year has been very mild. What would you have done if the weather had gotten worse? Chucked another HW on?

Genuinely interested as I've never needed to rug my horse to that extend (never owned a HW!) :)
 

Moomin1

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On reflection - another question for you Princess Sparkle - if you genuinely were comfortable and happy in the knowledge that despite the weather reaching temps of 15 degrees and above, why would you feel the need to check your horses' temperatures numerous times throughout the day?! Personally, when I leave my horse in the morning, I am 100% confident that she will be comfortable and of a normal temperature without the need to go back until the evening (unless of course there is a freak weather change from 15 degrees to -10 within hours!)

I know from previous conversations you say it's all about having your horses tip top and show perfect, but at the end of the day there are plenty of other people with tip top, show perfect horses on HHO that do not rug anywhere near the extent you do.

I do agree it's an individual choice re rugging - but certainly not when it gets to the ridiculous level where your horses' would shiver at temperatures of 15 degrees without 600g of rugs on. That is unnatural and you have created a problem in your horses purely for aesthetic purposes.
 

Piglet

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And another "naked" day for my boy out in the field, as it is a full clip growing out, it is not too hard to clean up tonight when he comes in
 

Spyda

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....mine have been well rugged all winter, 2 x HW and an under rug and have come though winter looking fab, best they have ever looked after a cold snap...............

When people feel the need to rug like this (whether or not a horse in UK needs it) I always wonder why they dont just buy a decent super heavy weight turnout rug. Something with a 'temperature control' type filling, e.g. the Bucas Power turnout? It would be far more comfortable for the horse to wear a single decent rug than the weight and restriction of 2 or 3. Surely?
 

Prince33Sp4rkle

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On reflection - another question for you Princess Sparkle - if you genuinely were comfortable and happy in the knowledge that despite the weather reaching temps of 15 degrees and above, why would you feel the need to check your horses' temperatures numerous times throughout the day?! Personally, when I leave my horse in the morning, I am 100% confident that she will be comfortable and of a normal temperature without the need to go back until the evening (unless of course there is a freak weather change from 15 degrees to -10 within hours!)

I know from previous conversations you say it's all about having your horses tip top and show perfect, but at the end of the day there are plenty of other people with tip top, show perfect horses on HHO that do not rug anywhere near the extent you do.

I do agree it's an individual choice re rugging - but certainly not when it gets to the ridiculous level where your horses' would shiver at temperatures of 15 degrees without 600g of rugs on. That is unnatural and you have created a problem in your horses purely for aesthetic purposes.

eerrrrrrmmm, because if im on the yard, or someone else is, why NOT check them?! not just for temp, but to check them generally,cast eye over legs, check fence etc.what a ridiculous question...........fields are right next to yard though so no great shakes to cast an eye over them or go and check rugs, takes about 2 mins.

should have clarified that the 2 x HW and under rug was when it was below -8 ish, which we did have a fair few days/weeks of. under rug came off when it got *warmer* (relative lol), but they always have a magnetic rug as a base layer, but thats just cotton.

theres is NO way i could keep fit TB's, in work, clipped, without a good supply of thick rugs through the winter.
 

0310Star

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My fully clipped (clipped in November so growing out but not exactly hairy just yet) TB mare has been naked the last few days, in and out of stable, and she is LOVING IT!!
It isn't cold, I think we tend to treat them as if they feel the cold the same as us but they really don't! They have a lot thicker skin. But this time of year is very hard to judge when you put out early AM before work, mine goes out at 7.30am until 5.45pm :rolleyes:

And as for a horse wearing 2 x HW + an under rug in 15 degree's.... That is just madness!! It is your choice what your horse's wear but what on earth would you do if we had a really cold winter?? :confused: I agree this winter has been very mild and mine has been fine (occassionally a bit too warm) in a med combo all winter!
If we had really cold weather I dont see how your horses would cope unless they had about 5 x HW on minimum, if they are in 2 x HW's in 15 degrees!! :eek:
 

Prince33Sp4rkle

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go and re-read....................2 x HW and under rug in minus temps.................1 x HW yesterday and today.....................

please post pics of said fit clipped TB, and ill post mine and we'll see which one looks in better condition because if i turned mine out naked now, they'd drop off all weight and their coats would go to rat *****, so id be interested to see exactly how much hair yours has got now and how much muscle and condition she's carrying.
 

HashRouge

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I still think it's far too warm for a heavyweight, even on a clipped horse, but there you go. It shouldn't be about time of year, but temperature.

My little Arab, who never gets much of a winter coat, hasn't worn a rug at all for the last few months. She looks like a little heathen pony because she's filthy (she's grey :eek:), but she seems to be doing fine :)
 

0310Star

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go and re-read....................2 x HW and under rug in minus temps.................1 x HW yesterday and today.....................

please post pics of said fit clipped TB, and ill post mine and we'll see which one looks in better condition because if i turned mine out naked now, they'd drop off all weight and their coats would go to rat *****, so id be interested to see exactly how much hair yours has got now and how much muscle and condition she's carrying.

When did I say she was fit? :confused: She has recently been diagnosed with ringbone, side bones and DJD meaning a lot of time off of work, her coat is imaculate, her weight is probably a bit more than I would want on her, I have had many comment on how great her condition is, perfect feet (barefoot) and to be honest I like nothing more than seeing my horse caked in mud and happy!!

I think your above comment has answered the question as to why you rug your horses so much as people keep asking... As long as they stay looking pretty it doesn't matter how uncomfortable they are. :rolleyes:

Below photo taken 2 days ago, introducing my "coat gone to rat *****, no muscle, skin and bone TB that I so cruely leave out naked in 14 degrees...

0093.jpg
 

0310Star

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Oh and today is roughly 10 degrees here, clouded over.... and she is still out naked!
Lock me away now and throw away the key :p
 

Prince33Sp4rkle

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actually she does look well, ill admit that.
but i dont think at any point ive said mine are uncomfortable, quite the opposite-that whenever they are checked they are happy and not over hot so where exactly has the info about them being uncomfortable come from, oh thats right, someone made it up!

and i didnt say yours would react the same as mine, just that i know my horses.
 

0310Star

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actually she does look well, ill admit that.
but i dont think at any point ive said mine are uncomfortable, quite the opposite-that whenever they are checked they are happy and not over hot so where exactly has the info about them being uncomfortable come from, oh thats right, someone made it up!

and i didnt say yours would react the same as mine, just that i know my horses.

I think we need to agree to disagree, Everybody and their horses are different! :rolleyes:
Mine is out naked because she needs to lose a little weight and definitely doens't need lots of rugs to keep warm. 2 years ago she was quite the opposite when I got her, underweight and in very poor condition so back then I rugged her up.

I am sure you know your horses well enough to know when they are uncomfortable, but I think if you tried downing the rugs a little they would surprise you! And make your life easier not having to change rugs all the time ;)
 

sakura

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my mares fully clipped and definitely not a good doer, she's been rugless over the past 2 days and absolutely loved it! Annoyingly it's a bit too murky today so she's out in a rain sheet, I'm hoping this won't last though and she can go out rugless again soon
 
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LaurenBay

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My ISH trace clipped Horse is still out overnight naked :eek: I'm a cruel cruel mummy! but she is loving it.

I too think that a heavy weight in this weather is crazy and I would never dream of doing it too mine. But they are not my Horses, I don't know them so I can't really judge on how comfortable they are. I just know that my Horse would not be able to stand it, she would get hot in a LW rug now though at the moment.

My Friends 17.3 competetion Horse is turned out too. His a wussy WB. Fully clipped. He is not in a HW either. He has a Medium combo on out over night and a LW non necked during the day.
 

Moomin1

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go and re-read....................2 x HW and under rug in minus temps.................1 x HW yesterday and today.....................

please post pics of said fit clipped TB, and ill post mine and we'll see which one looks in better condition because if i turned mine out naked now, they'd drop off all weight and their coats would go to rat *****, so id be interested to see exactly how much hair yours has got now and how much muscle and condition she's carrying.

PS - if you remember correctly on a different thread you said your horses were still out in 14 degrees temp with 4 rugs on which amounted to approximately 600g, and that if they didn't they would shiver. I am not disputing whether your horses would shiver without that amount of rugs on in 14 degrees - I agree they probably would - because you have conditioned them to be incapable of controlling their own body temps in an exhange for aesthetic 'perfection'. All very well if that's what you want to do to your horses, but it seems that your horses have the same amount of rugs on within a temp range of -8 and 14 degrees?!
 

Milanesa

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I am sure you know your horses well enough to know when they are uncomfortable, but I think if you tried downing the rugs a little they would surprise you! And make your life easier not having to change rugs all the time

^^^ this!!!! Well said.
 

LaurenBay

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PS - if you remember correctly on a different thread you said your horses were still out in 14 degrees temp with 4 rugs on which amounted to approximately 600g, and that if they didn't they would shiver. I am not disputing whether your horses would shiver without that amount of rugs on in 14 degrees - I agree they probably would - because you have conditioned them to be incapable of controlling their own body temps in an exhange for aesthetic 'perfection'. All very well if that's what you want to do to your horses, but it seems that your horses have the same amount of rugs on within a temp range of -8 and 14 degrees?!

The other thread you are refering too was my thread "whos Horses are out naked today?"
 

0310Star

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I just love seeing how happy my mare is when she goes out naked after wearing rugs for all those months!! Its a chance for them to have a good scratch and a run about without being covered up or weighed down by rugs IMO.

Mine is the happiest I have seen her in months in the field!! :D
 

Welshie Squisher

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I commented a couple of days ago to say mine had just gone naked, well they're still naked. Most are now at my yard. If we were go get heavy rain they'll get a rain sheet but that's it.

I too agree that a heavy weight is too much in these temperatures.
I think some owners think that when they put their hand inside the rug and they don't feel their horses are baking hot then they need the rug.
Of course if they took the rug off they would realise the horse isn't actually cold either - so therefore doesn't!
I always find it interesting when an owner has more than one horse and they'll all need several rugs - bullshit, human issue with over rugging and I feel sorry for the poor horses.
I don't care what anyone says, a naked horse that can roll and scratch and do the mutual grooming thing is happier horse than a rugged one!

Don't get me wrong, when it's baltic and chucking it down mine do like their full neck rugs, but hell guys it's bloody spring conditions at present :(
 

0310Star

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I commented a couple of days ago to say mine had just gone naked, well they're still naked. Most are now at my yard. If we were go get heavy rain they'll get a rain sheet but that's it.

I too agree that a heavy weight is too much in these temperatures.
I think some owners think that when they put their hand inside the rug and they don't feel their horses are baking hot then they need the rug.
Of course if they took the rug off they would realise the horse isn't actually cold either - so therefore doesn't!
I always find it interesting when an owner has more than one horse and they'll all need several rugs - bullshit, human issue with over rugging and I feel sorry for the poor horses.
I don't care what anyone says, a naked horse that can roll and scratch and do the mutual grooming thing is happier horse than a rugged one!

Don't get me wrong, when it's baltic and chucking it down mine do like their full neck rugs, but hell guys it's bloody spring conditions at present :(

AGREE!!!! As you can see from my photo above.... They don't wast away when they go out naked :p
 

Welshie Squisher

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Yes Baker190, your horse is in good condition, as are mine who aren't wasting away either ;)

I'd challenge anyone to show me a genuinely cold horse on a dry day of 10 degrees or over, to show me one shivering away. Well if they're not shivering they certainly don't need a rug! :(
 

asbo

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Think about 80% of the horses on my yard are still rugged.

My two are unclipped and both in MW's, fizz has some nasty bites that the vet wanted covered till they healed so she had her LW on, we had very heavy rain overnight and she got soaked, that rugs now in the bin and waiting on another LW as her other one got ripped.
Jay's arthritis is better if he is warm, and as its not been quite as warm here due to strong winds ( East Lothian,Scotland ), he still has his rug on 24/7 apart from when i take it off while hes eating and gets a groom.
 

indie999

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I am not fond of rugs only for oldies and skinnies/flies or to keep clean at times when needed.

Completely agree I see heavy rugs on horses where owners clearly are not coming back until evening and the temp in day rises. Very cruel indeed.

They look the part but the horse would be happier having a good roll and freedom from a rug. Well thats my idea!
 

Merlin11

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Most of mine are only rugged when it's very wet or if I want to keep them clean for riding. I have an oldie who I rug more as he really feels the cold but even he is rugless during the day now and just a light weight at night. I agree that people do over rug their horses. Even if it is chilly first thing I still take their rugs off before going to work as in an hour or two it will warm up. My horses have only ever shivered when it is very wet and windy - if it is dry and even quite cold a hairy cob will be fine without a rug. Agree it's different if horses are clipped but even then at 19 degrees a rug seems cruel.
 

Posie

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Ours are mainly in lightweights with a fleece underneath, they have all been clipped fully within the past month.
 
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