Countrychic
Well-Known Member
Can I ask out of intrest why would you have a late foal if you were intending it to live out in an area which has extreme weather? We live in the Borders and have a 4.5 month foal but we always intended her to live in
Shivering Horse
- Thread starter fidleyspromise
- Start date
tallyho!
Following a strict mediterranean diet...
I voted to just leave. Yes it is wet and windy but will you go off and rug the thousands of m&ms out there on the moors and hillsides? Not much shelter out there.
I'm inclined to think that as long as a pony's winter coat is healthy with plenty of natural oils, it has forage and is in good health, it will be ok.
I feel sorry for our horses out there however, all look so well and have thick coats, plenty of food. They havent come down asking for food yet. It can't be that bad. I must stop thinking they are humans..........
I'm inclined to think that as long as a pony's winter coat is healthy with plenty of natural oils, it has forage and is in good health, it will be ok.
I feel sorry for our horses out there however, all look so well and have thick coats, plenty of food. They havent come down asking for food yet. It can't be that bad. I must stop thinking they are humans..........
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
Just thought I'd share this - a really simple shelter that allows for different wind directions.
Horses can stand in its shelter it breaks the wind flow and reduces driving rain without them being forced to go inside which some horses hate.
Horses can stand in its shelter it breaks the wind flow and reduces driving rain without them being forced to go inside which some horses hate.
fidleyspromise
Well-Known Member
Not sure who this is aimed at? Both of mine are not related and youngest is 4 years old?
My original feeling had been to leave them out with their woolly mammoth coats but there was one particular day last year, she was brought in as my highland was also shivering which is a rarity for her. I nip up in bad weather to check them and generally they are toasty. - The topic of rugs came up today on yard and several people have mentioned how awful I am
Worse when they hear my highland gets clipped and no rug.They have ad lib good quality hay and no hard feed.
With regards to the TBs that stay out, do you have shelter though? I think this is what makes the difference and this is something I have to take into serious consideration for the future.
Off to bed as was on nights xx
fidleyspromise
Well-Known Member
Just thought I'd share this - a really simple shelter that allows for different wind directions.
Horses can stand in its shelter it breaks the wind flow and reduces driving rain without them being forced to go inside which some horses hate.
This looks great. Are there any instructions etc on how to make it? I am useless at DIY and OH is too busy.
TigerTail
Well-Known Member
The topic of rugs came up today on yard and several people have mentioned how awful I am
They have ad lib good quality hay and no hard feed.
Tell them to go bl00dy educate themselves before casting around ignorant opinions formed only on what theyve seen on livery yards for years!!!
TallyHo speaks sense - theyre horses not humans. We coddle FAR too blinking much. Horses survive out on our devon moors and in our forests without rugs and stupid stables.
They also survive in Canada and Russia where temps are a LOT lower than ours.
This time last year it was -15 with 3 feet of snow. This year is MILD please everyone remember that!
Countrychic
Well-Known Member
Scary mare. She says she has a 4.5 month foal living out
touchstone
Well-Known Member
Horses may well survive out on the moors in harsh weather, they certainly all don't thrive though. Canada and Russia are much colder, but then it is the wet and cold that is often an issue rather than just cold on its own. Certainly isn't mild here either with strong winds and sleet/snow!
I'm not one for mollycoddling but wouldn't like to let a horse shiver and be miserable either.
I'm not one for mollycoddling but wouldn't like to let a horse shiver and be miserable either.
TigerTail
Well-Known Member
Touchstone what is your actual temperature?
Shivering is the bodies way of keeping warm - its what we are designed to do.... It doesnt mean an owner is being cruel.
Shivering is the bodies way of keeping warm - its what we are designed to do.... It doesnt mean an owner is being cruel.
horseandshoes77
Well-Known Member
This came about because last night was miserable. From what I can see, ponies were moving around the field, same amount of poos and all around the field.
Ponies are on adlib hay (although they're eating next to none). Field looks reasonably bare but they are picking away at the grass so must still be some there
There's no natural shelter at all. its open on all sides.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the opinions, especially regarding the rugs. I must say in all the years our horse have had rugs on etc, there's never been injuries or issues with them.
I have gotten the rug on in stable but that's it. I am concerned about putting her out in a rug in case she freaks.
I
WARNING TO ALL: if rugging, put a headcollar on! This is entirely my own fault this came about and could have been FAR worse. I took rug off in field without a headcollar last year and she got a fright and legged it. Rug slipped and scared her, thankfully she stopped eventually and got torn rug off of her. Working with getting her comfortable with it again is a long, slow process and has been built up from towels to numnahs to sweat rugs before moving onto outdoor rugs. We're getting there with them, and stand for hours at a time putting them on and taking them off. At the moment, its the fastening them up that she is iffy with but is no longer bucking when putting them on.
Sorry for the essay!
I had this with my youngster, someone tried to steal her rug off her back but only managed to get the front straps and one belly strap loose , so poor girl must have ran herself ragged until she managed to get rug off, it was during the night so when i arrived in morn she was a mess, its took months of patience but im happy to say she now accepts all rugs and doesnt even flinch anymore when i put one on, she used to shake with fear even if i walked past her stable with one !! personally i like them rugged in real bad weather if there is no shelter
TigerTail
Well-Known Member
Mine have got adlib hay too and arent going through it anything lke they did last year, my bank balance is very appreciative!, I think because its so mild there is still some grass/ hedge growth theyre preferring to nibble at!
Pearlsasinger
Up in the clouds
No, I'm sorry to say - it isn't!
It seems to be a popular myth on here that horses move around to keep warm, they don't.
Horses eat and digest what they have eaten to keep warm. If a horse is standing under whatever shelter it can find trying to keep out of the wind and rain, it is unlikely to be eating and so will not keep warm.The native ponies which live out on the moors are free to find their own shelter and do, behind bushes, rocks, etc.
OP, if there is no shelter, natural or otherwise, I'd bring a wet, shivering native in with forage which will help her to warm up and dry off. The forage could be part straw which will not add to her weight.
TigerTail
Well-Known Member
Stables are colder TEMP wise than outside is as the air cannot circulate and they are stood on concrete which is like an ice block.
Having spent 5 hours in a barn the other week freezing my arse off, and then gone outside and found my teeth stopped chattering I know this to be true!
They do walk around which gets the blood circulating more so keeps them warmer in that sense, you are however right about the ad lib food being what they burn internally to create heat.
Its not ideal not having any shelter no but being inside is not the lesser of two evils. Tis 6 of 1 half a dozen of the other and id rather mine were out than in.
Having spent 5 hours in a barn the other week freezing my arse off, and then gone outside and found my teeth stopped chattering I know this to be true!
They do walk around which gets the blood circulating more so keeps them warmer in that sense, you are however right about the ad lib food being what they burn internally to create heat.
Its not ideal not having any shelter no but being inside is not the lesser of two evils. Tis 6 of 1 half a dozen of the other and id rather mine were out than in.
touchstone
Well-Known Member
Currently 2 degrees with the current windchill it's -3.
I realise that shivering is the body's mechanism for warming up, when I shiver I am pretty uncomfortable and either put the heating or extra layers on and I'm sure a shivering horse is just as uncomfortable. A horse with ad lib forage that is still shivering will benefit from being rugged/brought in to dry off in my opinion. It isn't pampering a horse to expect them not to shiver.
There are also older horses and those with metabolic issues that can have difficulty regulating their temperature and a shivering horse uses up lots of energy, which although isn't a bad thing in an overweight horse, it can have negative consequences for one that doesn't need or can't afford to drop weight.
TigerTail
Well-Known Member
It is pampering in a lot of ways, tis more our human need to look after soemthing we love, however it is also that attitude which has led to us having the highest levels of lami and morbidly obese horses with cushings/metabolic disease etc
We over rug and over feed so the horse doesnt lose weight over winter like its sposed to, we then put them out on rich cow grass and let them get fat over summer, then over winter we prevent them losing weight again so they put more on the next year. And on and on it goes....
The given scenario was not a horse who is underweight or ill.
Welshie Squisher
Well-Known Member
I personally wouldn't be happy if one of mine was out and shivering. Shivering tells me my pony is cold.
Whilst I agree any horse will survive being cold and shivering, I don't see why mine should, not when they have an owner that can prevent it and ensure their lives are comfortable.
OP I'd really look at rugging.
Try a fleece and pop them out to see the reaction. Fleeces are light and don't make a noise so be better to test. If fine, try a lightweight without a neck, do so on a none windy day so they can get used to it without it blowing about on them.
Whilst I agree any horse will survive being cold and shivering, I don't see why mine should, not when they have an owner that can prevent it and ensure their lives are comfortable.
OP I'd really look at rugging.
Try a fleece and pop them out to see the reaction. Fleeces are light and don't make a noise so be better to test. If fine, try a lightweight without a neck, do so on a none windy day so they can get used to it without it blowing about on them.
FairyLights
Well-Known Member
This is excellent advice.
For goodness sake do bring the poor horse in. Being kept in a field with no shelter is not only not natural its cruel. Wild horses seek shelter and some die in bad weather conditions. Your horse is not wild,its domesticated. I have natives they have hedges and a field shelter. they are in at night as from this monday. Wet and windy horses do not do well. they are better in a stable with a good deep bed,it is warmer. they will eat hay and dry off out of the wind and wet. its normal common sense.
Welshie Squisher
Well-Known Member
Oh and I just want to add, weight can be managed without horses shivering away in the winter so for me personally that isn't much of an argument. Although when I see some grossly obese horses I understand the point of view! Mine are the correct weight according to the vet, and they are nice and cosy in their medium weight rugs.
Softie? No, I put a coat on when cold, so does my pony
Softie? No, I put a coat on when cold, so does my pony
amandap
Well-Known Member
Apologies as I haven't read the thread. I voted stable with companion.
I always have problems with shivering posts as I can honestly say I have only seen one of mine shiver once (in summer after rain) and that was after watching closely over months following a similar thread. I have mine at home so can monitor them very regularly. For me therefore, shivering isn't normal or to be expected and I know when I shiver I am seriously cold and uncomfortable.
For me good shelter is preferable to a rug.
Reading the last few posts I agree forage is important to horses keeping warm too.
I always have problems with shivering posts as I can honestly say I have only seen one of mine shiver once (in summer after rain) and that was after watching closely over months following a similar thread. I have mine at home so can monitor them very regularly. For me therefore, shivering isn't normal or to be expected and I know when I shiver I am seriously cold and uncomfortable.
For me good shelter is preferable to a rug.
Reading the last few posts I agree forage is important to horses keeping warm too.
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touchstone
Well-Known Member
I would argue that the current propensity for laminitis is actually overfeeding and lack of exercise - there is a difference between OVER rugging and keeping a horse comfortable. Your advice was also to feed extra hay and better quality hard feed - also a recipe for laminitis in an overweight native, personally I'd rather keep the horse comfortable and monitor feed intake, a 'natural' horse in the wild would be able to find some shelter but not necessarily additional forage, it would be sparse at this time of year. An overweight native could well have metabolic issues and struggle with temperature changes.
I'm not a 'pamperer' of horses, I've been brought up from generations who kept working horses, it was important that these were kept healthy as a livelihood depended on them and it would have been seen as unwise to leave a shivering horse.
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TigerTail
Well-Known Member
Aah dont confuse better quality feed with MORE food or cheap crap filled with molasses/sugar
Two very very different things. Not extra hay, adlib hay so they can eat when they want all the time. Horses in the wild wouldve walked to find their forage, again the movement circulating the blood and keeping them warm.For that reason I purposefully put my hay in 2/3 separate locations, as far from the water trough as poss so they have to wander around more. Better for their feet too!
Metabolic horses dont per se have issues with temps, theyre usually stupidly fat so can cope fine when its cold!
In the circumstances given by the OP I wouldnt be unduly worried and still refute that bringing in unrugged is warmer than being out unrugged.
touchstone
Well-Known Member
You see I wouldn't contemplate giving an overweight native hard feed and additional calories - and I realise that this doesn't mean 'molassed crap'. Many natives can become stupidly obese on ad lib forage, even when it is spread about for extra movement and in small holed nets - been there and tried that.
I think we shall have to agree to disagree.
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
Panels are two sheets each marine ply, 1.2 x 2.4, end posts are half rounds and panels are nailed to them. Centre post is a big round, panels are nailed to the post at 120° angles. Posts were sunk into the ground. You can also put up a haynet ring and have gravel on the ground as a firm standing.