To rug or not to rug. This is the question.

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arty21

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After having to send back my irish draught x tb because it liked to buck my daughter off (and with malice) I finaly managed to get a coloured irish cob with a fantastic personality.
So we now have the problem of having tack to fit a 15/2 tb and a cob horse of 14/3.
As relative novices we rely on advice from more experienced horse people but the diversity of advice is mind blowing.
For instance. Our yard has an 18 yr old stable girl/manager who is very knowlegable. When asked about the tack, she replied that the tack we had would fit and we didnt need to replace. Then my daughters trainer took one look and said, the bridle doesnt fit at the cheek straps and the saddle would eventualy cripple the horse. So we buy a new saddle and bridle and get called fools by the yard staff who think we should only take advice from them:-(
Next the trainer says dont rug the horse up unless its very cold as she is a cob in a stable at night and her coat is very thick. If she is rugged up it will ruin her coat. But the stable girl says you have to rug up a horse night and day in winter irrispective of the breed. Who is right on this. I dont want to upset anyone at the yard but I will not ruin my horse because someone has given bad advice.

Anyone know?

Thanks john
 
with time you'll learn to go with what you feel is best. You'll grow to 'know' instictiveley what is right for your horse.

as far as rugging is concerned, if the stable is relativley draught free you won't need a rug if cob is unclipped.

Regarding tack, ask for recommendations of saddlers from friends (or on here) and have them check saddle for you.
 
I can't believe your ym telling you your tack would fit - without even checking? my warmblood is always rugged as seems to suffer with the slightest hint of cold weather!! Your cob should be fine unrugged if he is not clipped as long as he has plenty of hay at night. Do you know if he was he rugged by his previous owner?
 
People love to poke their noses in don't they. Get a saddler to check the tack, both saddles as they can often flock a saddle to fit a different horse. If the horse has a thick coat then it probably doesn't need a rug, it is better for the horse to be too cold as they can regulate their body heat. If it is clipped then it will need to be rugged until the weather is warmer.
 
Thanks for quick reply.
My cob is unclipped but because she has been rugged up for 2 weeks she is shedding a huge amount of her coat. And does she need to be rugged in the day when in the field.

Thanks
j
 
I would get a qualified saddle fitter out to your new cob to check you saddle fits ok. If you go to your local tack shop they should be able to provide you with some references of good ones.

Regarding rugs, if the cob is in good condition, isn't clipped and has a good amount of hay/grass, he should be fine to be left unrugged. It very much depends on the horse though as some horses feel the cold more than others.

You should check on your cob at different times of the day to see if he is warm enough by feeling the base of his ears or armpits.

It is the same with everything in life, everyone has an opinion, sometimes you have to listen to everyones advice and then make your own decision from that.
The YO and staff should respect your wishes however, so if you think your trainer is correct then follow their advice and dont worry about what others say.

Oh and enjoy your new horse!
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Hiya, It must be hard for you having so many people offering different advice to you.
I would be inclined to say from what you have said in your post that your trainer seems to be offering to better advice to you at the moment. You have done the right thing getting a saddle that fits the new horse rather than making do with your existing one. When it comes to rugs, if you new horse is unclipped and has not been rugged I would leave well alone whilst they are indoors, maybe use a light weight turnout too keep the mud and wet off. The only time you may need a rug indoors at the moment is a fleece/cooler if your new horse is warm or damp after exercise just to help keep warm while they dry off.
 
if she's hairy then TBH I wouldnt bother rugging in the day.

You can always pop a lightweight turnout rug on if it makes you feel better, but minus a rug she will be able to roll and rid herself of the moulting coat (which will make her feel heaps better, moulting makes them itch!!)

They're all shedding coats at the moment, as someone else said, so long as she has hay at night, she will be fine. As above, you can always pop a fleece on at night if you're worried...
 
In my experience as a long time YO I would say ignore the liveries' advice near enough totally.
Your trainer sounds sensible and I would listen to her.
Your cob shouldn't need rugging, work on the basis of a stable equals one warmth point, a stable and a rug equals two, if clipped you skip the first point and go straight to point two if that makes sense!.
So if you turn the cob out in bad weather it needs a rug, but not inside except to dry it off.
If you think your horse is cold inside use a very thin rug which you remove during the day.
The biggest mistake novice owners make is feed. base your diet for him on mostly bulk like hay or haylage and keep the actual hard feed to a minimum.
Get to understand his level of energy before feeding a lot, if necessary a few pony nuts and some carrots will be fine provided he has enough hay.
You have raised your daughter without killing.starving her, as horse is no different. use your common sense and ignore the interfering busy bodies..
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for quick reply.
My cob is unclipped but because she has been rugged up for 2 weeks she is shedding a huge amount of her coat. And does she need to be rugged in the day when in the field.

Thanks
j

[/ QUOTE ]

She's probably shedding her coat because the weather has suddenly gotten milder - nowt much to do with the rugging. I know plenty of people who rug during the day but leave naked when Stabled and their horses are perfectly fine. Outside they are exposed to all the elements and in winter there is very little for them to eat which is how they keep warm, which is why we rug... we also rug for our convenience (so we don't have lots of mud to remove before riding) and for our comfort (having your horse tucked up nice and cosy is a nice feeling). My 8 month old foal is naked 24/7 and has been sweating in some of the milder days. your cob will be fine.

As others have said...you'l learn to trust your insincts on these things but when it comes to tack its worth getting it checked by a proffessional fitter as even the same horse can change shape so much that it needs adjustments made to saddles especially between seasons...
 
On the subject of feed. She is eating about half a bale of hay per day at the moment. In the morning she gets a scoop of hi fi and a scoop of econo cubes. with a bit of mint and a couple of carrots. . This is repeated at night. oh and she does not like polo mints or horse treats. Another person looked at her on saturday and said she needs topline and alpha a to bring her back up.
She is only rising six and still bum high so still growing. Is all this really necessary. She seems happy enough on what she is getting and has filled out in her rump since she arrived.

Should I ignore or buy the new feeds?

J
 
If she has already improved in the time you have had her, then just keep doing what you are already doing. Her topline will come with work as will her general muscle tone and the grass is starting to come through.
it sounds like you have got it right, there just seems to be alot of interference at your yard, if in doubt ask your trainer or some feed merchants/saddlers will have a member of staff that will be able to advise you.
 
so long as she has all her vits and mins (which she will be getting from what you are feeding her), then I wouldnt bother feeding anything else.

as a guide, one of ours is a cob type, is unrugged, eats around 8 or 9 slices of small bale hay in 24 hours and two scoops of spillers fibre nuts (plus carrots).


as you rise her she will get topline and will fill out.

Just chill, you are doing a grand job...
 
Ask for some recommendations for a qualified saddler in your area on here and get them to check your tack fits corectly.
My 14.3hh cob currently has adlib hay and a salt lick whilst stabled and doesn't have any hard feed.
He does seem to feel the cold and has worn either a light weight turnout rug or a medium weight turnout (220g filling) this winter, depending on the weather (apart from when he was ill). He is out at night and in for a few hours during the day and he does not wear a rug in the stable and is unclipped.
Rugging and feeding varies from horse to horse and in time you will 'know' what works best for your horse.
Do you have any piccy's of your horse?
 
I second fully what was said by Henry Horn and please don't listen to busy bodies and start giving a young coloured cob lots of high energy feed or he too could end up a nightmare for your daughter.What you are feeding now ie loads of fibre and just a little something to cover the vits/mins - and so he thinks he has had a bucket feed sounds perfect. He will build up steadily with work and the diet you are giving him already without losing his brains or giving him lami etc. Good luck and don't worry you already sound like a very responsible horse owner
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With a coloured cob you may find you want to rug even if they are unclipped, not to keep him warm, but to keep him clean ! They can be mud monsters !
Its sooooooo difficult with a new horse especially when you feel that everyone knows more than you (and they will tell you they do too !) read a lot, listen to everyones advice, then make up your own mind. Good luck !
 
Have to echo the others. Ignore the people who are poking their noses in. You have had a saddler check the saddle and hopefully the fit of the bridle too. Wether you rug or not now will depend on how she was kept prior to her arrival. If she has spent all winter unrugged, then there os no need to rug now. However, if she was heavily rugged all winter then you wouldn't just leave them off now. She will be moulting now as it is the time of year, our cob has shed most of his coat. Feedwise, sounds as if you are doing right, topline will improve with work.
So, all in all, carry on as you are!!
 
with horses, you do tend to find one person will suggest one thing, and someone else will suggest exactly the opposite - and I say this as someone who is relatively knew to the mind-bogglingly complicated world of horse ownership!! It does all get very confusing.

But as someone else has said, trust your instincts a bit. If horsey is fed and checked for injuries/illness then it's probably happy!! As far as rugging goes, a hairy cob would be fine without a rug - think of how they'd be out in the wild, but if you want to put lightweight rugs on, it'll be fine.

And this place is invaluable for info, as you're finding out!

Most of all, enjoy your new horsey....and show us some piccies!!!
grin.gif
 
If you do choose to put a light weight rug on, then make sure it has some sort of insulation, otherwise, a horse can be colder with just a rain sheet on, due to the fact that they are unable to ''fluff''their own coats up and keep themselves warm.
 
Just go with what suits your horse, my cob is in a lightweight rug at night (she lives out) and is naked in the day if it's not raining. She hates being hot and she's growing out a blanket clip. I know what she's like and i tend to stick my hand under her rugs to see if she's hot or not. She won't be rugged in the day at all now unless it's going to be wet + she's 23yrs old xxx
 
Fantastic advice from all. Thanks a million everyone. Will try and post some pics (got lots) when I find out how to do it.

j [image]c:\documents and settings\john\desktop\poppy\img_0165.jpg[/image]
 
What a poppet! Looks lovely and hairy - i wouldn't have thought he would need a rug, but you decide depending on what he is used to and whether he feels cold!
 
A lovely looking horse! No I wouldn't rug him/her - that's a lovely hairy coat. My horse is much finer and doesn't have nearly so much coat and he is naked.
Good luck with your horse.
 
I would stick to your trainers advice. I only rug those who are clipped or v elderly and have to who live in at night and out day and have not ahd a rug on all winter.
If you have a partial clip next winter, you will only need a lw or mw turnout rug and a lw or mw stable rug.
A single layer LW would also help keep him clean though!
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Our yard has an 18 yr old stable girl/manager who is very knowlegable.

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NO COMMENT!
 
no disrespect to 18 yr olds in general, just the advice you have been given to date demonstrates her lack of experience and expertise.
 
Actually, I'd be inclined to put a little rug on it. Makes life so much easier brining in nice dry and relatively clean horses.......
 
Yer. She's lovely. Fantastic temperament too. Took a while to get used to her eye, but now it looks cute.
Just put her in the field with 3 geldings. She was pushed about a bit for about 10 minutes then, like all women, she exploded, went mental at the boys then carried on munching the grass like nothing had happened. The boys, however, kept well clear. Thats my girl
 
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