TB living out rugging dilemma!!

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Brandy

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So, the old TB is now living out, after many years of night time stabling. He is managing fine with this, has lots of natural shelter, and a lovely field shelter. However, I amin a quandry about the rugging.

Normally on a day like today - warm, sunny, then overcast and possiby raining, I would turnout without a rug, then if he got wet (which he's not keen on) when he came in at night, he could be rugged and warm and dry out.

BUT if I leave him rugless now, and he gets wet, I can't bring him in and put a fleece on. If it continues to rain he will continue to get wet and cold and miserable. So I left his lightweight turnout on. But now its mega sunny and warm, too warm for a turnout really, but then its going to chuck it down before I get to him later.

What do other people do?? Err on the side of caution at least he'll stay dry or what?

Thought living out would be less complicated!!
 
You can get a rain sheet, it has no padding whatsoever, its just to keep the rain off.

It might also be worth putting in a field shelter, so you have somewhere warm to put him, if he does get wet and cold.
 
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I have exactly the same problem as my 19yr old TB mare lives out. At the moment I haven't rugged her as the field has very good shelter but I'm always checking the weather forecast! :) She hates being wet and cold, so as soon as the temp drops much more I will put her LW on.
 
Well presumably if he was that bothered about getting wet he would go into the field shelter?
I'd personally leave the rug off during the day, and at most put it on overnight if he is prone to running a bit light, or not if he's a fatty
 
Without rug during day like today. If it rains later during day rug remains off.
At night I rug her in lightweight. If she is wet fromt he day's rain, I bring her in with a light fleece for the night.
 
My rule of thumb in your situation would be, if forcased rain but is still warm and muggy, leave him natural, he'll dry off, providing he's moving around and has plenty of grazing he'll keep himself warm, specially this time of year, he's needs harden up a bit if he's wintering out anyway.

But if it's a cold (and it has been at times this month) and forcased rain, bob a light weight on, (basically just a shower proof) making sure it's a light colour, dark colours will absorb the heat.
 
Thanks for the replies, there is a nice field shelter, which you would think he would use when it rains........

He does sometimes, but we had a couple of days of really heavy rain a few weeks ago, started at about 4pm, and he was soaking wet and shivering when I got there at 6pm, had been mega warm earlier in day. It was actually still warm when raining but he gets muscle judders (if you know what I mean....) when he gets wet, the softie. So then I couldn;t put the turnout on while he was wet. Put feed and haynet in shelter, next morning, still raining, standing in middle of field, still shivering. doh.

He does have a rain sheet no fill but still seems very warm when the sun is out.

I have an abundance of turnout rugs for when the weather is cold to help him along, its just this in between bit I'm struggling with!
 
My TB lives out 24/7, she won't have arug on until she has grown a coat of her own, when i first started to leave her out when she got wet she was miserable as she was so used to being wrapped up all the time, she has now hardened up and doesn't mind the rain to much. I'd leave the rug off, if you really want to put a rug on at nigth because of the rain, towel her off well, then put a turnout on her, the rugs nowadays are breathable and she'll dry herself off and the rug in no time. done this with my horses for years and they are all still alive and fit and healthy.
Weather forecast watching is something us horse people live our lives by.
 
Thanks, didn;t like to put the rug on once wet but have done the towelling thing.

Guess I'm just mega paranoid about the old boy. All the others are natives!
 
I was always dead against putting a rug on a wet horse but you do a good towel dry their body heat drys them off in no time under a rug. We are soft with our horses. Just need to teach him to be tougher!!!! not always possible with the TB's!!!!! Good luck with it, but he'll be fine.
 
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