To rug or not to rug?

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I bought a pony in June, he’s a Welsh X New Forrest I think (defo a native breed!) and I wasn’t planning on rugging him very much over the winter because he isn’t clipped and has plenty of shelter/ feed to insulate him.

However, I have just moved yards and it is quite cold because it is near the cliffs and gets quite windy, the other woman on the yard rugs her welshD (but she’s rugged him so much he’s not grown his winter coat) and now she’s making me feel bad about not rugging mine.
Should I stick to my gut and let my pony use his real winter coat until the weather really turns (snowing!!) or just rug him and risk him being too hot?!
 
I would see how you get on and if your pony has a good coat and plenty of shelter then your original plan should be fine.

You'll be able to tell if he does start to feel the cold and take action then. I have 3 living out with shelter and last year I only rugged on 2 days when driving rain and wind left one of them a bit chilly. tbh even in the snow I find a good coat keeps them toasty if they have enough to eat and somewhere to tuck their bums out of the wind. You'll get to know what he needs, so play it by ear for now.
 
Never be peer pressured by people who rug.

That is not to say you shouldn’t rug but make your decision based on your pony.

A native with a decent coat shouldn’t need rugging for anything other than owner convenience - but you are best guided by the ponies condition, if dropping too much then a rug might be needed (but up the forage first)
 
Stick to what you think is best. Normally healthy, sound horses, especially native ponies, who are not clipped, or only have a small clip, are unlikely to need rugs. If you feel the skin behind his elbows and he feels warm enough (not 'toastie'), he will be fine. The best way to keep an equine warm is to feed it plenty of forage.
 
When I changed yard a few years ago I ended up with a mare who hadn't been rugged for years not coping with the more exposed grazing despite ad lib hay. The combination of extra rain and wind together just stripped the warmth out of her and she was shivering, so for her own benefit she was rugged as she required.

So in your position I would have a rug available for the pony, but I wouldn't rug to appease the fellow livery. It would be there in the tack room just incase the pony needed it in exceptionally bad weather.
 
Faracat said:
When I changed yard a few years ago I ended up with a mare who hadn't been rugged for years not coping with the more exposed grazing despite ad lib hay. The combination of extra rain and wind together just stripped the warmth out of her and she was shivering, so for her own benefit she was rugged as she required.

So in your position I would have a rug available for the pony, but I wouldn't rug to appease the fellow livery. It would be there in the tack room just incase the pony needed it in exceptionally bad weather.
Click to expand...

Thank you, yes I’ve got a few rugs ready to be used just in case!
 
My hairy natives might be rugged for the odd night but I don’t make a habit of it. If it’s really cold and heavy rain they might feel cold and then I’ll put a 100g on, but generally cope really well. It’s amazing to see their coats do what nature intended.

I have a Welsh who is not as hardy so she gets rugged.

I’d agree, have a rug “just in case” but don’t use it unless the pony needs it.
 
my full bred native is the least hardy of my lot, she is welsh too and definitely thinks she's in danger of melting if it rains :p
the others are all part bred WB/arab and much tougher!
 
Go with your gut, as long as you are not stripping the oils out of the coat with lots of washing or grooming the pony should be fine.
For what it's worth though when it snows most ponies cope far better than in driving rain. A layer of snow will often sit on top of the horses natural coat and the pony will be fine.
 
I tend to rug when it is any 2 of the following.

Wet
Windy
Cold

Belle my good doer is clipped with a blanket clip and is very seldom, if ever rugged. Bonnie my poor doer has a blanket, albeit not as high and will be rugged accordingly.
 
My unclipped anglo arab is still naked, she hates the rain so if it rains hard I do put a light weight 50g turn out on her but she's been naked since Saturday. She is the only naked horse on the yard, all the others look like they are ready for an arctic expedition!
I'm sure I am the subject of a lot of talk but I don't care. I check her armpits every morning & she is warm.
People get so het up about what rug to put on their horses but I don't find it a hard decision - my horse is healthy so if she is cold I put a rug on her, if she isn't I don't.
 
My healthy cob has been out in "feels like" minus 3 a few nights with no rug. He has very little shelter but a pile of hay to eat and he was still warm in the morning. If it's been windy and raining he's had a rain sheet on. If it was to go cold AND windy AND raining I have a 100g I can put on. But once I get them to the field with shelter I am waiting for he probably won't need anything... But will be ready to rug if he's losing too much condition.

My other cob has muscle condition and is in 250-300g already! 😂 and still has cooler armpits than the naked one!

Ignore the pressure from the other person and look at the horse to tell you what he needs.

I had a snotty comment one of the nights my lad had gone rugless. It's not nice. You've just got to ignore. And I also go round loudly telling random people that I'm amazed how warm he feels when I check him in the mornings...
 
I don't think that you will know yet what you need to do and you won't know until winter is actually here! You will be able to judge if your pony is coping or not and then use a rug as needed.
That applies if your only reason for rugging is to keep the pony warm.
If you want to rug because you want to ride through the winter months so perhaps need a pony with less winter coat and to be a bit cleaner, then start rugging now appropriately.
I don't rug my two Exmoor ponies which means that they grow winter coats like yaks and I am not worried about which rug they should be wearing on each day, i feel that there are fewer things to go wrong in the field and it is a much cheaper option. On the downside, I can only ride when the weather is cold enough so that they don't get hot and sweaty and as I don't really groom, except for the saddle area, we must look a sight for the purist among you.

edited to add - I don't do smart :-)
 
My ID is almost retired. He's out unrugged for the first time in the 15 years I've owned him and I intend to keep him that way and long as I can. Even after having him for so long I have no idea if he'll cope as he's always been clipped and rugged before so I'll be playing this winter by ear. I suspect he will as he's always been a warm horse and grows a winter coat like a yak but I think I'll probably end up putting a lightweight on him simply because I don't want to spend an hour twice a week getting him clean enough to ride him for 20 minutes. This would be for my convenience rather than his needs though.

Of the 8 rugged horses at ours that are rugged (3 are retired, fat, hairy and muddy) there are many different reasons for their rugging
1 drops weight terribly if he gets cold, he's in a 200g already, will go up to 400g once he's clipped when they come in overnight (he doesn't cope with being clipped and out 24/7) and will have under rugs as well if it gets really cold
3 are clipped already - 2 of those are still in 50g rugs as they're not cold at all.
2 are in lightweights to keep them clean/dry for riding
1 suffers from sweet-itch. His fly rug was getting wet and rubbing him so his owner had to take it off but couldn't leave him naked as there are still midges around even with all this rain. He may well lose the rug once the midges are definitely gone.
1 has an owner who hates the thought of him getting cold and wet. He's not ridden, spolit and pushy, over weight and has had laminitis twice. She's the only one who tries to guilt trip us non-ruggers.

Your field mate will have her own reasons for rugging, but her reasons will not be your reasons and you may never find a reason to rug him. Her making you feel guilty is definitely not a good reason.
 
It depends how exposed your yard is and whether there is any shelter. For several years I kept my two on a yard high up in the Peak District, right on the edge of a hill. It was very exposed and there was no shelter other than dry stone walls, which might have kept the wind off sheep but weren't much good for horses. I did find I was rugging much more than I ever had before, but at the same time I could tell my horses needed it. If your chap still seems happy to be out and isn't tucked up/ calling to come in, then go with your gut and keep doing what you're doing.
 
I check the temperature of my horse everyday and know exactly when rug her and when to leave her. Despite being a veteran she a very warm horse and never needs much rugging. She used to have a cob chum who was consistently several degrees cooler than her and always need a heavier rug. The point is know your horse, check your horse and rug for your horse's needs not social acceptance.
 
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