Shetland with Rain Scald and Rugging Shetlands Advice

[spla]

My shetland lives out 24/7 and will do for the rest of the winter. I have owned him for just over a year and last winter he was unrugged and living out full time however he did develop a small bit of rain scald on his back. I am looking in to buying him a turn out rug for this winter to prevent this and debating whether to go with a light or medium weight rug.

Ideally he would go unrugged but if the rain scald is going to be an issue I want to have a rug for him. He does grow a thick coat and with a light turnout I worry that it will depress his coat leaving him with no insulation, is this known to be an issue? And with a medium weight I worry that he will be too warm! What would you recommend?

 

[Fiona]

My welsh a is the same. He manages great with a no fill turnout rug. We have had him 2 years.

He even got rain scald in july when it was wet

Fiona

 

[AdorableAlice]

Why would a hardy native breed suffer from rain scald. If they are elderly I wonder if cushings is compromising them.

 

[_HP_]

I use no fills for my shetlands in persistently wet weather for that very reason but if you prefer some filling and are worried about overheating then you could give him a bib n belly clip.

 

[_HP_]

Why would a hardy native breed suffer from rain scald. If they are elderly I wonder if cushings is compromising them.

For the same reason as any horse....except these hardy natives can have such a dense coat that they create ideal conditions for rain scald

 

[Nudibranch]

If the coat is very thick I would clip and then use something like a 100g. Worked a treat with my old PPID shetland and she was so much more lively without the hair. Full body but leave legs, and even neck if they're likely to feel the cold.

 

[EQUIDAE]

Are you sure it is rain scald and not sweat scald? I've had to clip my native youngsters as they are overheating - the thick winter coat is through but temperatures are too high yet and they are sweating.

 

[Fiona]

For the same reason as any horse....except these hardy natives can have such a dense coat that they create ideal conditions for rain scald

Exactly. ..Dense though short coats even in summer. My chap got it in the angle of his jaw. The rain was so heavy it ran down and collected there and started a nasty sore poor lad. Another patch on his shoulder was noticed earlier. ..

Fiona

 

[poiuytrewq]

I had this problem with our pony. His back just holds water and yes he gets sore and itchy. I do bring him in but even inside he can stay wet for days!
So yes I rug him in the worst of the weather. He's not rugged now and won't be until proper winter.
I may clip down his gullet if he's too warm but I prefer to keep his skin healthier and for the poor thing not to be demented by itchiness.

 

[Polos Mum]

I'd be really concerned that in any kind of rug he'd sweat and get worse rain scald. If you're going to rug I suspect you'd have to clip too.

 

[msc]

I'd be really concerned that in any kind of rug he'd sweat and get worse rain scald. If you're going to rug I suspect you'd have to clip too.

I have had same problems for many years, as i'm in the west of ireland, and boy do we get lots of rain here, so looked into natural ways to solve this problem. started to feed tumeric ( golden paste ) to all my horses,about 1 tbls daily. and even the one that had got really,really bad rain scald improved within days, 2 weeks into feeding this and all scabbing has healed, and the all have really healthy coats, living out 24/7 rugless. If i hadn't tried it myself i would not have believed how easy it was to clear them all up !!

 

[catkin]

My sheltie is elderly now but I certainly rug her when it's wet and windy (she has lightweight rug). The other thing that helps is to use a good cooler rug for a few hours if you bring them in wet - they dry quickly and fluff themselves back up again when its taken off - without a cooler they can still be damp in the morning if they've got drenched. She's quite happy with this arrangement.