Should I rug the ponies? Opinions please!

My 2 natives have a light rug on.

Its wet, it's cold and their is a vicious wind up here on our hill today. We are on the edge of the Peak District National Park and the weather coming in off the peaks can be pretty dire!

They have no shelter at all in the paddock so I'd much rather stick a rug on than see them wet, shivery and miserable to be honest.
 
Can I suggest that readers of this forum google 'over rugging of horses' and read what many very well regarded veterinary clinics and indeed the Blue Cross have to say about rugging of native ponies and indeed all equines at this time of year. Horses/ponies are not human and they have very different metabolisms.
 
southerncomfort said:
My 2 natives have a light rug on.

Its wet, it's cold and their is a vicious wind up here on our hill today. We are on the edge of the Peak District National Park and the weather coming in off the peaks can be pretty dire!

They have no shelter at all in the paddock so I'd much rather stick a rug on than see them wet, shivery and miserable to be honest.
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And the wind is coming from the east, while the prevailing wind is from the west. Most man-made shelters will have their backs to the west in Britain, so weather like the current spell does leave horses exposed to the elements.
 
sport horse said:
Can I suggest that readers of this forum google 'over rugging of horses' and read what many very well regarded veterinary clinics and indeed the Blue Cross have to say about rugging of native ponies and indeed all equines at this time of year. Horses/ponies are not human and they have very different metabolisms.
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If your horse is cold and miserable, put a rug on it. If it’s not, don’t. It is clearly colder and more miserable elsewhere in the country and you can not treat every horse the same. The time of year is irrelevant, it’s the temperatures and weather conditions you need to go by. It’s colder and wetter with me at the moment than it was for most of the winter.
 
sport horse said:
Can I suggest that readers of this forum google 'over rugging of horses' and read what many very well regarded veterinary clinics and indeed the Blue Cross have to say about rugging of native ponies and indeed all equines at this time of year. Horses/ponies are not human and they have very different metabolisms.
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Ah, ok. So shivering has bugger all with being cold (in this circumstance). Thank God someone on this forum knows what they’re talking about 😏😉
 
sport horse said:
Can I suggest that readers of this forum google 'over rugging of horses' and read what many very well regarded veterinary clinics and indeed the Blue Cross have to say about rugging of native ponies and indeed all equines at this time of year. Horses/ponies are not human and they have very different metabolisms.
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The normal temperature for this time of year would average 18 degrees plus, with a gentle breeze and possibly a shower or two. The last 24 hours and the following 48 hours are not indicative of normal seasonal weather and SOME equines Will need help.

You, the Blue Cross or anyone else absolutely cannot make a steadfast rule for every equine in the country. Everyone of them is an individual and must be treated as one, taking into consideration, type, age, health, environment and the amount of visits the owner can make to it to ensure all is well.
 
sport horse said:
Can I suggest that readers of this forum google 'over rugging of horses' and read what many very well regarded veterinary clinics and indeed the Blue Cross have to say about rugging of native ponies and indeed all equines at this time of year. Horses/ponies are not human and they have very different metabolisms.
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Ah I'll bare that in mind when my boy is plastered in rainscald 🙄 if it is cold and wet he gets an appropriate weight rug, regardless of the time of year. Why? Because he needs one. Every horse is different.
 
Warm by the weekend and getting warmer into next week. So we can look forward to -

Rain plus warmth equals a grass flush, so lots of good quality hay and haylage to be made.
Good ground for competitive starts, unless you are at Malvern, in which case you will need flippers.

On the negative side -

The horse flies will explode
The vets will be flat out with lami cases
Foot abscesses will be rampant as we have gone from bone dry to swamp conditions

Happy days !
 
sport horse said:
Can I suggest that readers of this forum google 'over rugging of horses' and read what many very well regarded veterinary clinics and indeed the Blue Cross have to say about rugging of native ponies and indeed all equines at this time of year. Horses/ponies are not human and they have very different metabolisms.
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Can I suggest that readers of this forum look at the horse or pony in front of them, and rug or not rug accordingly. Do not follow some diktat from a stranger who has no idea what the weather is like where you are, or how your horses are coping.

My three, all rugged today despite having access to shelters. It’s absolutely miserable here today. They are much happier in their 100g turnouts.

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Their rugs will come off or be changed later depending on the weather. And I am not an over rugger.
 
Equine_Dream said:
Ah I'll bare that in mind when my boy is plastered in rainscald 🙄 if it is cold and wet he gets an appropriate weight rug, regardless of the time of year. Why? Because he needs one. Every horse is different.
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Exactly!!

My two have had no-fill turnout rugs on since the rain started (both TB's) they are out 24/7 at the moment but if they get cold they will come in and be stabled and rugged if necessary. Equines are all different and their local conditions are all different so people need to do the correct thing for their particular circumstances.
 
I just don't get these blanket statements of "natives don't need rugging". It doesn't work like that. Some natives will run hotter than others. Some TB's may need less of a rug in the same weather as a native, horses are individuals. Sweeping statements based on breed/age are just completely narrow minded.

If my horse was shivering but didn't need to lose weight I'd be rugging.
 
I put a rain sheet on one of mine this morning ... he practically pushed me (in trot) across the field (I walk the dog down to fields and stables are furthest away) to the stables for his breakfast this morning and stood on the yard shivering ... he is a big fat 16.2 ISH, fit and healthy but he was cold, he was miserable and he was telling me in no uncertain terms to rug him.
The mare .... fat and round, same as him but much more hardcore .. not rugged! They are all different so one rule doesnt apply to all and thats coming from a VERY anti rugging person, lol!
 
In my view no unclipped healthy horse that has access to sufficient food and can move around to keep itself warm and has access to shelter (not necessarily inside, a hedge/tree whatever will do) needs rugging in June in the UK. In my view no unclipped healthy native pony (and especially a shetland...) that has access to sufficient food that can move around and has shelter as just described needs rugging in the UK at all. The use of turnout rugs in the summer and for natives in the winter is solely for our convenience in keeping them clean. They are not necessary for horse welfare. The horse ware industry has done a fantastic marketing job in selling us unnecessary rugs in all shapes and sizes for every eventuality year round. Rugs for mini ponies in particularly...........
 
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all apply one sweeping rule to all ponies....
If your pony is cold, shivering and miserable, stick a sheet on and make sure they have access to hay.
I find all these ‘it’s not what they are designed for’ arguments a bit null and void. Most natives weren’t meant to be competed, but we do that, or kept in stables etc etc. Realistically, it’s survival of the fittest in the wild, and the ones that can’t cope would be left behind, and eventually die.
Now personally, I don’t see any need to follow nature’s harsh reality when it comes to my own ponies that I’ve chosen to buy and keep. So that means rugs on my little welsh a when it rains because he is miserable and unhappy wet and cold, and it makes his arthritis worse. And yes, I doubt he would have lived to old age on a welsh moor, but fortunately for him, he gets to live with me instead.
So please rug for the horse you have, not the idealised horse you think you should have. And if they are miserable and shivering in this out of season weather, then put a rug on guilt free.
 
Michen said:
I just don't get these blanket statements of "natives don't need rugging". It doesn't work like that. Some natives will run hotter than others. Some TB's may need less of a rug in the same weather as a native, horses are individuals. Sweeping statements based on breed/age are just completely narrow minded.

If my horse was shivering but didn't need to lose weight I'd be rugging.
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My cob was trembling last night when I fed her. She is normally a very warm horse and I don't want to bring her in as i feel that she will get too warm, so she has a rug on.


Shetlands on Shetland will be able to tuck into all sorts of nooks and crannies to keep out of the worst of the weather, with the best will in the world, most of our horses haven't got that facility.
 
Leandy said:
In my view no unclipped healthy horse that has access to sufficient food and can move around to keep itself warm and has access to shelter (not necessarily inside, a hedge/tree whatever will do) needs rugging in June in the UK. In my view no unclipped healthy native pony (and especially a shetland...) that has access to sufficient food that can move around and has shelter as just described needs rugging in the UK at all. The use of turnout rugs in the summer and for natives in the winter is solely for our convenience in keeping them clean. They are not necessary for horse welfare. The horse ware industry has done a fantastic marketing job in selling us unnecessary rugs in all shapes and sizes for every eventuality year round. Rugs for mini ponies in particularly...........
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It may be June and the summer but it is very wet, windy and chilly in places. Certainly colder and wetter with me than it was most of the winter.
 
sport horse said:
Can I suggest that readers of this forum google 'over rugging of horses' and read what many very well regarded veterinary clinics and indeed the Blue Cross have to say about rugging of native ponies and indeed all equines at this time of year. Horses/ponies are not human and they have very different metabolisms.
Click to expand...
I’m pretty sure no horse as ever come to harm by having a rug on for a few hours in extreme weather. 🙄
 
Some of mine have had rugs on as they are stripped grazed with no protection, have only put 50g on and put out huge pile of hay. The others are out naked with hay quite happy.
 
On no planet will I leave my 19 year old welsh cob X out rugless in driving rain and strong cold winds in a field with no shelter at all just because a stranger on the internet thinks they know better.

It doesn't matter that its June if it feels more like October and the ponies don't have their winter coat to keep them warm!
 
Okay, so I’ve just been out to feed... Everyone appears to have spent the afternoon in and eating hay. They have all dried off. Ponies are no longer shivering. QH still not v warm in no fill turnout. Reluctantly swapped it for pristine 200g which has just been washed, reproofed and put away til winter. Everyone fed, hayed and happy...for now! 😄
 
one thing that can be forgotten is that in their natural habitat native ponies have hundreds of acres to roam over - part of the land is likely to be sheltered from weather coming in in any direction. They are very weather-wise and will know exactly where to go.
This is very different to what most of us have available.

FWIW I had rainsheets on my natives this morning.
 
Just got home from my 3 and 2 were shivering.
All unrugged, x2 natives and a tb.
We got them moving around a bit and they started steaming and stopped shivering.
We do want to pop the tbs rainsheet on but didn't want to put it on him while he's soaking wet.
They have plenty of natural shelter and do seem to have stayed amongst the bushes and trees today judging where the poos were.
 
catembi said:
Okay, so I’ve just been out to feed... Everyone appears to have spent the afternoon in and eating hay. They have all dried off. Ponies are no longer shivering. QH still not v warm in no fill turnout. Reluctantly swapped it for pristine 200g which has just been washed, reproofed and put away til winter. Everyone fed, hayed and happy...for now! 😄
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I use my 100gs more than anything, they are far more useful than no fills, which I don’t actually own anymore.

I’m glad they all survived and their welfare hasn’t been compromised 😜
 
meleeka said:
I use my 100gs more than anything, they are far more useful than no fills, which I don’t actually own anymore.

I’m glad they all survived and their welfare hasn’t been compromised 😜
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I stopped using no fills too. They never added any warmth, so opted for 50g and 100g instead.
 
I gave in today, after swearing my old boy was rugless from now until he needed a fly rug I went out and put a light weight on him. It’s the first time since winter. He looked ok, wasn’t shivering but he’s older than his years and a bit delicate these days!
Not for warmth as such but a wind break and to keep
Him dry.
 
sport horse said:
None of them should be rugged. It may be cold to you and I but it is 15 c here in home counties. Yes they are 'shivering'. That is how they keep warm. More problems these days from over rugging than starvation!
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Its 10 degrees where I am on the border of bucks and northants, combined with driving rain and wind and its not nice.
 
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