Rugging youngster? necessary or not?

[Slave2Magic]

My 7 month old irish colt isn't rugged. He is very fluffy and stabled at night. I check regularly that he isn't cold on his ears and armpits. If he was shivering or loosing weight then I would rethink. Why does everyone else seem obsessed with having a rug on?

 

[cob&onion]

My TB feels the cold and is a poor doer and lives out currently 24/7, if she didnt have a rug on she would loose alot of weight...........so she def does need rugging!
However, my 18 month welsh d and cob are both naked and extra fluffy.
All horses are individuals and need to be treated as such/rugged accordingly or not atall

 

[Jesstickle]

My 3yo TB is still naked if it makes you feel better. She is actually getting porky as she gets haylage at night when she comes in!

 

[fidleyspromise]

All horses are individuals and need to be treated as such/rugged accordingly or not atall

This. Some people do seem to go more by themselves but juding by threads on here, more people are thinking more about the horse and whether it needs a rug or not.

TBH, some horses do feel the cold and therefore I don't grudge them their rugs

Just to be clear: mine are unrugged and not stabled. If they need a rug they get a rug, if they don't then they stay without.

 

[Clodagh]

My yearling threequarterbred is out and unrugged and I feel really mean for not rugging him! But hes got a field shelter, which is never used, has ad lib hay which is never eaten and looks great, if very scruffy and hairy and muddy. He doesn't ever get to come in, he has to deal with whatever the elements throw at him.

 

[Enfys]

My rule of thumb?

If it is cold/losing condition/ill/arthriticky etc sling a blanket on, if not then leave well alone.

 

[shadowboy]

Mine is clipped so has a lightweight on. He is rising 4. I can't see the problem with rugging him if he needs it.

 

[tallyho!]

Oh gawd nyyaawwnnnn... is this another should I rug in english weather thread???

You do know horses survive up in Russia & Canada in -25???

That said.... mine is in a stable with a rug on!!! : yet.... he was out in freezing gale and storms NAKED all week!

I'm as mad as you lot.

 

[Marydoll]

Who gives a **** as long as the horse is thriving and happy, to each there own

 

[TigerTail]

Why does everyone else seem obsessed with having a rug on?

Because we anthropomorphise and rugging/over feeding satisfies our need to 'mother' ?! Because we blindly follow what the rest of the yard is doing?

No idea!!!

 

[Dexter]

I have 3 out on 13ish acres. A rising 2yr old, 3yr old and 4yr old. None are rugged or fed. They will get a big bale of haylage if snow hits but I fully expect them to ignore it, other than to pee on it! instead preferring to dig for grass as they did last year. They all grow big thick coats and regulate their body temp and weight perfectly. It would be a cold day in hell before I rugged one of my current ones. Oh, and mine live out 24/7 in gales, blizzards and heat wave. They not only cope they thrive! They are glossy and shiny (under the mud!) and clearly feel fabulous.

 

[MissCandy]

I am the only one on my yard that doesnt use a rug, I have them, quite a few actually but just never seem to have the opportunity to use them as I have never found my youngster to be cold.

I believe I am the sensible one. One lady walks into the barn complaining how cold SHE is and so throws another rug on her horse *rolls eyes*

 

[Dexter]

I have a few still in the bags in my airing cupboard. I'd love to use them, as a good few are beautiful multicoloured stripey Joules rugs. However I refuse to rug horses who are doing pretty good without them!

 

[tallyho!]

You know how in Mongolia and South America some ponies, alpacas, sheep and cattle are skinned (after being killed & eaten obviously) so that their fur can keep people warm...? Well, I think people forget that fur is the universe's answer to cold temperatures. It's FUR!!!! You know that stuff people pay thousands to have on their back particularly on catwalks. Why would anyone cover it up with a bit of plastic tarp???

I mean, unless you have a clipped horse, I think any horse can withstand cold temps (except tbs because they (and owners) are just complete wusses). Even arabs and andalusians and they come from near desert conditions!!! You should see the coat my andy grows - a polar bear would be well jell!

 

[Jesstickle]

, I think any horse can withstand cold temps (except tbs because they (and owners) are just complete wusses).

God, you wouldn't say that if you could see Nits. She is a total fluffball and totally unrugged. I'd sweat her to death if I rugged her I think. She's always baking as she is! All our TB broodies lived out naked too. They can grow a coat if you let them!

 

[minkymoo]

My 11 mo Andalusian is out during the day and in at night unrugged and is fine! He only has had a rug on once and that was because of the torrential rain we had a while ago.

 

[MissTyc]

I had never rugged a youngster until my current yearling - she will lie on the floor shivering and be impossible to get back onto her legs unless she is warmly rugged. As in, I actually had a vet out because I thought she was dying of something - lying in the mud shivering ... I had emergency callout, bloods, etc ... to be told my yearling is a drama queen. She very happy in a rug She has it off during the day unless pouring rain, but she waits at the gate for her rug by about 5pm haha ... I am now worried we will not be having the eventing career I dreamed of, what a wuss.

 

[tallyho!]

God, you wouldn't say that if you could see Nits. She is a total fluffball and totally unrugged. I'd sweat her to death if I rugged her I think. She's always baking as she is! All our TB broodies lived out naked too. They can grow a coat if you let them!

Hmmm i walked straight into that one

Except Jesstinsel and Nits

 

[tallyho!]

I had never rugged a youngster until my current yearling - she will lie on the floor shivering and be impossible to get back onto her legs unless she is warmly rugged. As in, I actually had a vet out because I thought she was dying of something - lying in the mud shivering ... I had emergency callout, bloods, etc ... to be told my yearling is a drama queen. She very happy in a rug She has it off during the day unless pouring rain, but she waits at the gate for her rug by about 5pm haha ... I am now worried we will not be having the eventing career I dreamed of, what a wuss.

There are exceptions to every rule... poor lil' sausage!!

 

[pinkypug1]

I was planning on leaving my baby naked for as much of winter as possible, however last week i went up to see her and see was soaking, shivering & miserable looking so i caved let her dry off and rugged. Glad i did as it dropped to 0 that night. She is only 6 months old and lives out 24/7 by the sea with very little shelter except for a large mound of grass but does has mum & ad lib haylage. She seems happier and i can sleep at night!

 

[Mare Stare]

I've rugged my horses ever since someone maliciously reported me to the RSPCA. The RSPCA officers came out, couldn't find anything wrong with the way I was keeping my horses but mentioned that somebody had complained that my horses were unrugged.

This year, however, they are all staying naked. I was going to rug my TBx youngster but he won't let me (scared of it) and, being pregnant, I'm not really in a position to force the issue. I did mention it to my vet but she told me that a lot of TB studs leave their youngsters naked and accused me of mollycoddling!

So far, none of them have keeled over and all seem pretty happy.

 

[flyingfeet]

As a rule no - and with our babies they've had a good dose of native in them so never required rugging

However I'd rather rug than feed hard feed, so if one was losing weight I'd do this in preference to feeding concentrate (not to mention the fact its a pain feeding one in a herd!)

 

[tallyho!]

I've rugged my horses ever since someone maliciously reported me to the RSPCA. The RSPCA officers came out, couldn't find anything wrong with the way I was keeping my horses but mentioned that somebody had complained that my horses were unrugged.

This year, however, they are all staying naked. I was going to rug my TBx youngster but he won't let me (scared of it) and, being pregnant, I'm not really in a position to force the issue. I did mention it to my vet but she told me that a lot of TB studs leave their youngsters naked and accused me of mollycoddling!

So far, none of them have keeled over and all seem pretty happy.

You're joking!!!!! Someone reported you for not rugging????

I'm sure it was serious at the time, but I can't suppress my giggle at that one.

 

[Mare Stare]

You're joking!!!!! Someone reported you for not rugging????

I'm sure it was serious at the time, but I can't suppress my giggle at that one.

I know! I was .

I tried to reason with the RSPCA officers that my big mare had never been rugged by her previous owners (I'd only aquired her a few weeks before) but they weren't having any of it. In the end I just rugged them to get some peace.

 

[tallyho!]

^^

Unbelievable....

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

We never rugged our youngsters years ago, they all had lovely thick coats and plenty of forage and some natural shelter living out 24/7, all of them were happy and healthy. Some horses appear to need rugging and some do not need it at all

 

[Auslander]

Horses are cunningly designed to be waterproof and to moderate their own coats to suit the temperature - that's why they grow thick winter coats. The need for rugs is totally driven by man - they are a replacement for hair lost (through clipping) and a substitute for the insulating layer of grease that is removed through grooming/bathing.

If a youngster is kept as nature intended and has sufficient shelter and forage, it should be perfectly capable of sorting itself out with a decent coat. Horses which are kept in a way that may compromise their ability to grow a proper coat (stabled/groomed(properly!)/clipped) are deprived of the ability to regulate their own temperature, so will need rugging.

In the long term, even the finest coated TB will eventually grow a proper yak jacket, but it can take a couple of seasons for a horse that has grown accustomed to being in/clipped/rugged to fall back into a seasonal pattern of coat growth/coat loss.

I base this on nothing more than my experience of TB broodmares and youngstock. All lived out 24/7, and the foals/youngsters never had an issue with cold weather. They simply got on with growing a coat, and were fine, even it the worst weather. The problems we had were with mares who had come out of training and were used to being stabled and rugged. No matter that they had had a summer out with no rugs - when the weather changed, their systems were still expecting external assistance to keep warm. It was hard not to give in and rug them, but would have been counterproductive in the long term as they needed to revert to their natural state quickly. They had decent field shelters with thick straw beds, two feeds a day and ad lib haylage - so not neglected in any way - but the first winter was always a bit hard as the emotional response to a chilly horse is to rug it up!

 

[scarymare]

Don't do it!

My 4 month old TB was out in the hurricane (Aberdeenshire) and it has been down as low as -6 this year.

Basically if foals get caught up in rugs the foal will break before the rug does. They just don't have the weight to snap things. For this reason none of her field mates/mum are rugged either (doesn't bear thinking about her getting caught up)

Way I see it, mine might get a bit cold but she's on adlib haylage and still with mum. She's actually fat. As long as the field has adequate shelter I'd leave well alone.

Also her mum is 18, TB, an international cribber and she's fine unrugged too.

 

[rockysmum]

I'll be honest and say the only reason our warmblood has a rug on (lightweight) is to stop her getting even more filthy than she is anyway. She would happily go out without and is not loosing any condition, she is in at night.

My two oldies I do tend to wrap in cotton wool, but that has paid off as the 35 year old and the 21 year old went round the field galloping and bucking when I turned them out this morning