Struggling to keep my horse warm?!

[3Beasties]

My TB is cold It's been - 17 here for the last couple of nights and not much warmer before that!

He seems warm enough during the day (turned out) but doesn't seem very warm through the night (stabled). He is hunter clipped and well rugged, I have fiddled around with different rugs, less rugs, more rugs etc but still he doesn't seem warm enough. He's not REALLY cold but could do with being warmer!

He has plenty of hay and is currently being fed 3 feeds a day, morning, evening and late night.

Are duvets warmer then stable rugs? Are there any super warm rugs out there that I haven't spotted? Any ideas on how to warm him up?

Was thinking about trying to get him a full body suit, fleecy with a belly cover, do you think it might help?

Short of bringing him into the house I am running out of ideas, anyone else struggling or have I got the Wimpiest TB out there!?



Please no comments about him being clipped, what's done is done and obviously I am unable to stick the hair back on

Disclaimer - This is not a moan about the Weather I am actually quite enjoying the cold and am not looking forward to the rain and mud coming back

 

[monkeybum13]

Lots of thin layers.

A rather fetching snuggy hood all in one may be an idea - how about some rather bright pigs or sheep plastered everywhere?

Have also heard duvets are super with a thin fleece/sheet underneat and then rugs on top.

How exposed is his stable? Can you close any windows over night.
Also does he lie down? Has he got a nice thick bed to snuggle into?

 

[Bryndu]

Is he standing still, head down and shivering?
If not he is warm enough....chill !!!!!!
Bryndu

 

[TGM]

How are you judging whether he is warm enough or not? When you say he has plenty of hay, is that enough so there is a little left in the morning? What rugs is he wearing at the moment?

 

[Shilasdair]

You ain't going to like my suggestion but here goes.
If he's cold in the box, turn him out.
That way he can move around to warm himself up (if you have given him enough 'fuel' in forage).
S

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Is he dropping weight ? Ad lib hay and a deep, dry bed are probably the best way to enable him to keep warm.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Is he standing still, head down and shivering?
If not he is warm enough....chill !!!!!!
Bryndu

^^^^^^
This.
Horses are really not meant to be 'toasty', warm enough will do. Ad-lib forage will help to keep him warm.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

You ain't going to like my suggestion but here goes.
If he's cold in the box, turn him out.
That way he can move around to warm himself up (if you have given him enough 'fuel' in forage).
S

I thought that but wasn't brave enough to suggest it.

 

[Shilasdair]

I thought that but wasn't brave enough to suggest it.

I don't suffer from any posting inhibitions, as you can probably tell.
S

 

[FanyDuChamp]

I have a wimp as well. Layers are best, they trap the air between them and then warm it. So rather than one really heavy rug I would use a couple layered. Does he like a neck? Is he losing condition? If not then he is probably not as cold as you think, How do you check he is cold. I was always taught base of ears and armpits.

FDC

 

[zoelouisem]

What bedding is he on, a big deep straw bed is alot warmer than a shavings. Espeacially if you bank it up well and possibly even deep litter it.

 

[dotty1]

How about bandaging him, might be a bit cosier, and I presume the rugs he has now include neck covers.

 

[3Beasties]

RB - The stable isn't particularly exposed, his window is shut, top door open (not closing that as he would go nuts!). He does lie down and is on rubber matting with a pretty thick shavings bed. I'm loving the idea of sheep plastered all over him

B - Nope he's not but he's a wimpy TB that will drop weight if he's cold

TGM - There is always hay left in the morning but he doesn't eat very much so have bought some Just grass today which I will start giving him tonight in a big Tub Trug, I'm hoping that will warm him up a bit as he'll hopefully eat it through the night.

I've been checking his ears and under his 'armpits' (2 other horsey people have also had a feel for me as I was convinced I was going mad but they have both said he's cold, not freezing but not particularly warm!).

Tonight I have put ANOTHER rug on him so he is currently wearing a 100gm stable with neck, a 200gm under rug with neck, a 300gm stable rug with no neck and to top it all of a 400gm stable with no neck. He also has a turnout hood on under the lot. Seems very excessive I know ! I did go down the less is more route (two rugs) to see if he would warm himself up but that didn't work!


Shils - He won't eat hay out in the field though and there isn't enough grass to sustain him (plus we have 5 inches of snow out there )

 

[Silverspring]

Snuggy rug or Dress Circle double Sherpa are amazing! My girl was shaking in the field (cos she prefers to stand at the gate rather than eat the massive bail of haylage avaliable!) so I put her double sherpa on under her medium weight rug. She's not clipped so has fuzzy coat, super cosy fleece and medium rug with neck. Seems warm enough now, not toasty but not shaking!

 

[3Beasties]

I have heard good things about Sherpas, do you have a link?

 

[*hic*]

Well I suppose it's a bit late now but if you think the cold spell is really set to continue until March start deep littering, preferably on straw. It raises the temperature in the stable by a good few degrees. We don't get frozen buckets in the deep litter stables, we do in the "clean" ones.

Bandaging his legs might help as well.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

If he won't eat hay, will he eat haylage?
Our oldie (who used to be one of the greediest horses I've ever met) would only eat a small amount of hay last year. This year we're giving her haylage and she loves it! - We supplement her feed with dried grass.

 

[chestercharlie]

Sherpa Fleeces are fab, I tend to go for lots of layers. Straw is always warmer than shavings although not sure why...?? maybe it's just a human thing, it looks cosier!

Stable wraps on his legs? The one's similar to old fashioned travel boots....

Short of that I am all for turnout if they will EAT when out, at least they are moving round and keeping warm. I am assuming his stable is large enough for him to mooch about in to keep himself moving and warm?

Other than that unless he is shivering and "looking cold" if he doesnt seem worried I wouldnt lose any sleep over it.

 

[Mistyrocks]

Don't worry i also have a wimpy tb who drops weight almost instantly if cold, who is fully clipped has 6 rugs on and is now only toasty. Doesnt matter how many rugs your horse has on as long as there warm enough...

 

[Shilasdair]

Shils - He won't eat hay out in the field though and there isn't enough grass to sustain him (plus we have 5 inches of snow out there )

Ok, if he's not a great hay eater (and some horses aren't), perhaps you could try giving him unmolassed sugar beet (brands such as KwikBeet and Speedibeet).
Sugar beet has a number of advantages in the winter;
1. You can soak it with fairly hot water, which helps increase the moisture content in your horse's food (and defrosts food buckets at the same time).
2. It contains a lot of cellulose which is broken down in the hind gut to produce heat.
3. In my experience, horses love it and will eat it very happily.
4. It is relatively cheap.
5. It actually counts as a forage in rationing, not a concentrate.
On a different note, it might be worth getting your horse blood tested to see if he has any underlying health issue.
S

 

[ladyt25]

If he's not looking miserable and/or shivering then I would suggest he is not cold. Mine was actually shivering the other morning when I took his stable rugs off - nothing excessive (shivering is a method of warmimg up anyway) but I was quite shocked as he has a rambo duvet underrug thing on with fiull neck and a stable rug on top and I usually worry he's a bit too warm. Also, although he is technically fully clipped he's more or less grown all his coat back and I am not clipping again til the weather improves as haven't ridden properly for weeks!

I think your horse will be fine. Mine is in at night but out all day with a fair bit of hay. As long as they are well fed and watered and have adequate rugs on they shouldn't be getting too cold really. Feeding is the best way of keeping warm as is being able to move about so he may well get a little cold being stood in so maybe making the bed a little thicker will be helpful. It's not been so cold here (minus 12 at night) and hopefully is only relatively short term!

 

[3Beasties]

He's on Quick beet already shils, gets fed it warm 3 times a day

 

[Dancing Queen]

did i read it right that he has a total of 700g or was it 800g?

layers work best but human duvets with a surcingle are suitable.

 

[Shilasdair]

He's on Quick beet already shils, gets fed it warm 3 times a day

In that case all I can suggest is to put bandages on him, or take him out for a late evening walk to help his circulation.
Or maybe stick a thermometer up his bottom to see if he really is cold?
Or finally - migrate to somewhere warm and sunny.
S

PS Don't try Gloucestershire.

 

[mcnaughty]

Put stable bandages on - I was always told that bandages are worth a rug on top.

Please make sure you put them on properly though with fibregee/gamgee or similar pads underneath - if you don't feel comfortable with your bandaging abilities use stable boots - something like thermatex leg wraps or similar.

So long as he is not dropping weight though - don't worry they are horses....

 

[3Beasties]

Ok so layers and stable wraps seem like the way to go, might dig a duvet out too and see if he finds it warmer then a rug.

I will stop stressing, I will stop stressing!!

 

[Tinypony]

"100gm stable with neck, a 200gm under rug with neck, a 300gm stable rug with no neck and to top it all of a 400gm stable with no neck."

Isn't that a heck of a lot of rugs? Or am I too used to tougher horses? Could he be too hot, sweating, and then getting cold because of that dampness cooling down under his rugs as the temperature drops? Are these rugs designed to layer up like that, or could it be that their breathability is being adversely affected?
I've got an Arab living out 24/7 in the snow wearing a Fal Pro medium weight rug, they seem to come up "warm" compared to other rugs. I can't imagine, even when clipped and living in, that he'd ever need that thickness of rugs.
I'm asking questions really, to see if it sparks any useful ideas.

 

[amandap]

I was thinking that too Tinypony. I don't use rugs though so that sounds a lot to me even for a clipped horse. My TB is out in the yard (with barn access if she chooses) naked with just her fluffy coat and is fine at -17 we've had the last two nights.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

too many rugs means weight and cold! if you are going to layer you need light puffy high tog rugs.

 

[Tnavas]

Try to put a wool rug or blanket next to his skin - many of todays rugs are synthetic mixes which TBH are not as warm as the old Whitney blankets, made of wool. If you have a wool day rug that would be ideal. Leg bandages over gamgee, we used to blanket stitch the edges to make it last longer. I now use a folded hand towel - just the right size for legs under bandages.

Definately deep litter, leave all the wet in as it soaks to the bottom and as it starts to breakdown the shavings it generates heaps of heat. Make sure bed goes right to the door and that the banks are deep to stop draughts. I remember that for some of the reall wussy horses we hung a sack over the top doorway so they could look out if they wanted to but it reduced the amount of draught without compromising the flow of fresh air. Shutting top door is not good for horses lungs.

Something a friend told me was to cut the toe off wool socks and use them to keep legs warm. Never tried it as the area I'm in in NZ doesn't get too cold just the occasional frost.