Shivering horse :(

Mare Stare

Mare Stare

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I can't sleep. I'm just so worried.

Both my girls are hairy horrors and live unrugged all year round.

But it's been snowing all day and tonight when we went to feed them, my best girl was shivering. She wasn't shivering badly. There were jst little shivers limited to her hindquarters.

I've never seen her shiver before.

I feel absolutely terrible. I couldn't go home and get a rug because my hubby wouldn't let me. I don't drive so I rely on him to get me to the horses. In fairness, the snow is bad and I see his point. But it does not help my horse!

Do you think she will be ok? And do you think I should rug her in the morning or is tht like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?

We did put a whole bale of hay out for them tonight because I know that helps to keep them warm.
 
I think they warm up better from the inside - so loads of non stop hay should be perfect in this weather.
See how she is tomorrow, and then decide, re.rug.
 
Don't worry, they'll be absolutely fine so long as they have plenty of hay in front of them. I left a couple of ponies unrugged this winter and they're living out 24/7 and they've been just fine (and we have significantly colder winters than you have in England)
 
Know how you feel. Cob is staying at a friend's place and does not have access to a shelter there. He's got a rug on but he's got a really fine coat but lots of mane and tail ..oh well, expect him bum and neck will stay warm.
 
My mare was shivering too when she came in this evening, I never seen her shiver before, despite putting her in a warmer rug today.

I think perhaps the reason it affected them was because the weather had warmed up and suddenly, around here anyway, we were plunged back into freezing temperatures, snow and blizzards.

However, leaving your horse with plenty of hay will help her to warm up more effectively than rugging and no hay. She'll warm up from the inside and soon acclimatise to the weather change.
You can chuck a rug in the car and see how she is tomorrow.
 
I have a little welsh A on loan who got very wet with the rain not relenting and started shivering :-( I felt super bad I had let this happen as my haffy has never shivered or looked remotely cold and the welshie has the coat of a longhaired cat! Thankfully I had a rug to hand and now put it on the little one at night especially, but I really wouldn't worry too much about yours if they've got a pile of hay to keep their inner furnace burning.

Would probably take rugs next time and put them on if its still cold and horrid even if they're wet. I have always been told not to rug a wet horse but modern rugs are good and she is always dry underneath once its warmed up and evaporated out. I hate leaving a horse wet when it is cold too.
 
If they are healthy and a good weight and you are giving them plenty of food then they should be fine. Also having some shelter (ie a hedge etc) is good if you haven't got a field shelter.

I would only really be concerned if they were old and/or not in the best health or of a good weight. We did have an old pony who was always pretty slender get hypothermia one year. he had the thickest coat but he got absolutely soaked through so it was not keeping him warm and we found him lying in a pile of poo! It was horrid but he did recover onve we dried him off, got some food down him and the vet gave him some treatement (can't remember what as it was a long time ago!). If you're concerned and want to give them some relief from the constant wet and wind then take some rugs with you when you next go down. I am sure they will be fine though.
 
Yep, a fine line to decide but you can rest assured that shivering in horses ( or loads of other animals ) doesn't have the same implications as it does to us!

It's purely mechanical, hairy skin works as an insulator - if it was sentiently designed perhaps it would have been constructed slightly different but every lifeform with one has got it through evolution so it's not perfect and has to provided a covering over a large temperature range and still keep all the bits in the right place!

Horses are fine down to far colder temps than us but once passed a certain point the hair first becomes erect - this forms the root into a little hill and therefore almost doubles the area of skin in proportion to what it was when flat - hence the temperature gradient is halved - Goose bumps. If the animal gets even colder there are auto-reponses built into the skin muscles that make shivers - the released energy warms them up - it's completely o.k. so long as they are fit and well fed.

There are of course - limits and you must decide if pony is very wet at skin level whether to rug up for a while - dry cold shouldn't be a problem.
 
OP - I worry like you until I get to the field in the morning and check my Dales/x mare. Although she's lost a bit of winter fluff she is a good doer who can afford to lose a few pounds! She and her field mate take full advantage of the field shelter (where she was this morning) and have lots of hay.

Put my hand into her fur and she was toasty roasty! Has a breakfast of high fibre cubes and light chaff mixed with warm water and this sets her up for the day.

She always seems fine in snow but when she has become cold through constant rain I put a waffle weave (?) type rug on under a light weight rug. Soon warms her up and dries her off. Once drier I take the under rug off and leave her with light weight rug on if still raining. I was always anti putting rug on wet horse but with no stable I had to find a way round it.
 
Thanks for all the reassuring replies.

I got to the field this morning and she was as bouncy and chirpy as if she had had the best night's sleep ever!

Which was the complete opposite of what I had as I spent most of the night worrying about her. :rolleyes: Damned horses!
 
My pony is out 24/7 unrugged. When I arrived yesterday he was stood with his back to driving snow, head low and eyes shut. God he looked a sorry state. BUT this is what they do in this weather so it looks bad to us, but he was fine. I chucked him a ton of hay and he was as happy as Larry (who ever he is :D )

Same again today. If anything he is happier as he gets to eat more when its cold.
 
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