To go naked or not

[gails]

I am in turmoil

, as I have posted my ld Tb boy came back to from loan very skineey, he is starting to put on condition, however top line is still shocking.

I really feel as if he would benefit from going rug free. I check under is rug every morning and his hair is a mess, and have to pull it out by hand as a brush or curry comb is just not cutting the mustard.

It seems as if we are for some good weathr, and although we may have some showers, it seems as if it is going to be plenty warm enough.

If he was normal weight his LW rug would have been oof for good almost a month ago, I just worry that he may get cold, although at the minute his body seems to tell another tale.

Advice please

 

[Tinypony]

If you put a LW rug on him it will keep him dry, but it will also flatten his hair and therefore he won't be able to keep himself warm efficiently.
Personally I would leave him naked, unless it rains - hard - and then I'd put a LW on until it stops. But I wouldn't beat myself up if he happened to be naked and get wet. Make sure he has plenty of forage to eat, if his field is short of grass offer him hay as well, that will help him to keep himself warm.
Topline will come when you can start to exercise him a bit. Good luck with making him better!

 

[Pixxie]

do what you think is best as you know him better than anyone
the only thing i will say is that horses use 80% of their food energy to keep warm (think thats the right percentage) so if you want to get weight on him i would recommend to keep rugging (lightly) to stop him using that energy for warmth and use it to put on weight

hope that helps a bit x

ETS: Woeisme is correct about the rug and hair flattening so that is another factor you need to take into consideration

 

[4leggedfurries]

Agree with pixxie, even if its just a lw it will just keep the chill off without over heating him, and he wont be using up all his energy. But ultimately go with what your head says.

 

[Tinypony]

If I rug for warmth it has to have padding, personally I think it's too hot for padding at the moment during the daytime. If a horse gets too hot it will lose weight, and get itchy. If you are finding clumps of hair under the rug, he's probably being over-rugged. Even if a horse is under-weight, it is still a horse, and by horse standards it is not cold now, not even at night.
Just bear in mind that physically it is worse for a horse to be too hot than too cold, regardless of their condition.
You ensure there is plenty of fibre going through the gut, and at this time of the year, they will be warm enough.

 

[gails]

He gets hay, alphalpha, barley cubes, buildup, and free grazing. They are about to go out on to new grazing on saturday, this was going the be the day regardless of weather that he would be naked.

I was concerned that he would also loose weight if too hot so, tomorrow may be D_day and I guess I can pop up intermittantly during the evening to check if he has chattery teeth

THanks to those who have replied, and I know I am wrapping him in cotton wool, but he deserves it

 

[Tinypony]

If it helps, you are welcome to pm me. I've rehabbed a few starved horses, and the good news is that they all came good, so I'm sure yours will too.

 

[gails]

thanks woeisme, I have pm'd you

 

[MrsMozart]

You may have seen the pictures of the Dizzy one lately - if you haven't, think coat rack on legs

. Thanks to teeth.

The weather has been so barking mad, she's been out twenty-four/seven on good grazing, and I've kept her rugged in a full-neck MW this week. She's actually managed to put on a few pounds in the last four days