Rugging up a wet horse?

Auslander said:
I feel that the "Don't rug a wet horse" is a hangover from the days of jute rugs/New Zealands - which were blanket lined and therefore soaked up all the water and stayed soggy until they were removed and dried out properly..
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Oh weren't they FUN :D ? Not. They weren't waterproof, they weighed a ton when wet and it was impossible to handle them without getting as much mud on you as there was on the rug. I bless the days of the breathables!
 
cptrayes said:
Oh weren't they FUN :D ? Not. They weren't waterproof, they weighed a ton when wet and it was impossible to handle them without getting as much mud on you as there was on the rug. I bless the days of the breathables!
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And the delicious odour of a urine soaked jute rug... I'm sure that horsy people are slightly less smelly now that we don;t have to deal with those sort of rugs!

Coming down on frosty mornings to find your hunter clipped horse wearing a jute rug and 64 blankets as a bib, with a jute surcingle still fastened round his naked body...

We still have an old New Zealand in the barn at my parents. It's in perfect condition, and my mother keeps offering to bring it up for my new horse...Noooooooo
 
I will be sticking a fleece and l/w on my TB later, going to work for a few hours then change it or just whip out the fleece....the others can shiver a little "spring" grass fat off as i am evil!
 
padderpaws said:
Surely horses coats were designed by nature to keep them OK when it rained. I understand to rug when a horse is clipped, very old, thin etc But a healthy adult horse with enough to eat should be able to cope with rain in June.
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But this isn't a normal healthy horse. OP's horse is old.
We have just brought our 3 in prior to taking onto a neighbour's field to graze. The 2 younger ones were fine - the 30 yr old was the first to the gate (most unusual) and shivering. We have given her a feed and rugged with a fleece and a medium-weight with a half-collar. She is warming up as we speak and we expect her to be fine. However, they may well be staying at home tonight after all, so that we can keep a close eye on her.

ETA, 30 yr old is a gypsy cob who hasn't yet lost all her winter coat.
 
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I dont "do" wet,cold,shivery horses, so if caught short and it p**ses down i will pop a rug on, including the sec a.
 
Rug it... T'will be fine. PP there are many things us humans do and have done to horses that affect their ability to deal with weather changes, the 'au natural' horse has a good deal of natural oils in its coat, but I'm sure with the recent good weather many owners will have taken the opportunity to shampoo and set their horses. Excessive grooming can rip the oils out too. TBs are not the only horses that have been selectively bred, and if the poor horse shivers in the cold, why cause this to continue when op has the means to make her horse more comfortable. Op its not the same but my mare is in a full neck medium weight and it's not even really raining, she's still hiding in the field shelter too, and when she comes in tonight she will have her winter stable rug on, granted she has absolutely no muscle or fat on her at the moment, but rugging a horse isn't a crime.
By the way pp, taken to the extreme, perhaps all us humans should do away with clothes since we are not naturally born with them... Would you like to lead the way with this one? ;)
 
I was probably away on a hot deserted island buck neked! :D any calmer now Shils or do you want me to FedEx you some humans to torture? ;)
 
Queenbee you've just said what I was thinking, the horses on my yard have been bathed nearly everyday whilst it was hot. They've come this morning shivering, mine who has only been bathed once was fine.
 
Shilasdair said:
And where were you when I was campaigning for a nudist sub-forum?
S :D
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You could reinstate it, even set up a petition as everyone else seems to be petitioning about stuff at the moment.

I'm sure fatty would love some Jubilee weekend interaction :D Otherwise he might get bored, and we wouldn't want that :cool:
 
Will happily rug mine when they're wet.

DWB is in her stable now as she was out nekked - and shivering like a jelly on a washing machine. She had good grazing, is a good weight, and is reasonably healthy, doesn't stop her feeling the cold/wet though.

Little Cob was clipped a week ago and is in a mw with neck.

Little Lad is surprisingly ok. Used to do the jelly thing in the rain.

IDxTB is usually fine nekked, but rugged if raining and going to be worked.

Am most put out that I'm no-where to be seen on Shil's list. Will have to stay with the D :cool:
 
I'm sure fatty would love some interaction with his *jubilees* :eek: :D

Black horse white... Just call me god ;) op I hope your horse is all snugly buggly and roasty
 
No hesitation about rugging a wet horse.
However I hate horses out in this weather in fly rugs, all soggy and heavy. (Well fitting all over sweet itch jobbies I will tolerate)
 
marydoll said:
Most of the new rugs wick away moisture, if youre worried towel dry as much as you can, and stick a rug on her, ive did it before with no problems, if its a l/w id stick a wee fleece on under it and take fleece off later
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I usually do this when my horses are wet, either a fleecy rug or a jute one underneath, take it off an hour or so later.

The rules I was taught were that it is okay to put a dry rug on a wet horse - it is not okay to put a wet rug on a horse.
 
Shilasdair said:
Nature didn't design modern horses - we selectively bred them for certain 'beneficial' traits.
So my Tb could run fast as hell on manicured turf, with a low heartrate, and huge lungs.
Shivered her arse off in a summer shower though as she had no coat.
Natives and more 'primitive' horses may be ok, but hotbloods and wambloods may not.
S :D
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Load of rubbish!

Do you think that TB stud farms rush out to rug their mares and young stock or even bring them in?

I have TB's and if they shiver a bit in a summer shower then so be it. It toughens them up.

Horses survived for years without rugs on at the sight of rain and they will survive again.

It is a different matter in the winter. They have a coat already and all to often you see horses out in the fields uncomfortable because they have a rug on and it has stopped raining.
 
I too have been rugging wet horses for many many years with no problems. My yearling lives out with no rug and is warm so didn't rug him, but my Welsh cob is shivering so rug has gone on. :)
 
OP if you haven't done so already, put on the medium weight wratherbeeta from your list of rugs posted earlier. Absolutely nothing wrong with rugging a wet horse. They will be bone dry underneath in a couple of hours.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
I have TB's and if they shiver a bit in a summer shower then so be it. It toughens them up.
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Can I paraphrase you?

"I have TBs and if they shiver a bit in a summer shower then I don't care"


Foxhunter49 said:
It is a different matter in the winter.
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It is currently 4 degrees C in my field with driving wind and rain. The only way that differs from winter is that my horses have summer coats. I care if they shiver all night in this weather. They are rugged.
 
Yes I have many occasions had to rug a wet horse. The horses in question were fine and within a short time they started to warm up and this in turn dried them successfully.
 
I worry more about them being out in the sun and flies than I do with them being out naked in the rain.

I have walked around my lot and it has been raining heavily for at least an hour - they were all in the middle of different paddocks happily grazing.


A question for those of you that do rush out to rug as soon as there is a spit of rain

How many of you practise Natural horsemanship?
 
I have rugged my full ID up wet tonight...he lives out and no where to bring him in to dry off. I dont like doing it but have had to do it a couple of times and he has always been fine...no problems!
 
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