To rug or not to rug?

[CharlieChook]

Hi,
I’m very new to all of this.
I have 2 native ponies, one very fluffy (winter) Irish cob mare, the other a wee Welshie section A.
It has been pouring down, it’s a bit relentless. Do I put a rain sheet on them?! They have good access to a stable. (Or am I being a wimp, afterall they are meant to be outdoors! 🙈)
Thankfully right now it’s not too freezing, but when it is, I was thinking about a rug which keeps them dry and a bit warm...I heard that most of the lightweight rain sheets still let in water?

 

[AmyMay]

If they’re woolly, have access to shelter and forage then personally I wouldn’t rug.

 

[Sail_away]

If they’re not thin or old, and it’s not windy or below 0 then I think they’ll be fine. Otherwise you could see how a rain sheet holds up? It’s not really the weight that makes it waterproof, it’s the denier - you want over 1000 for downpours generally. Or put some hay in their stable to encourage them to come out of the rain for a bit

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I've seen some hairy natives shivering due to well meaning owners putting on rain sheets. It traps moisture in and they cannot fluff up hair under them.
Best left naked if possible, unless they are actually shivering a while, even then a couple of hours in a stable with plenty of hay and they will warm up quickly, usually

 

[milliepops]

It sounds like you have the ideal facilities for them, so I wouldn't rug them either unless you actually see that they are feeling the cold.
I have partbred natives out naked and I don't intend to rug them unless we have a truly appalling winter, as long as they have enough to eat they stay warm from the inside

 

[meleeka]

My cob Has access to his stable and isn’t rugged. I put his hay indoors if the weather is bad so he doesn’t have to get wet and miserable. He seems perfectly happy with this arrangement and hasn’t lost any weight so I safely assume he’s not cold.

The only time I might rug is if it’s really cold and wet and windy, so the stable is getting a draught which rarely happens.

 

[Trouper]

Agree - leave off rugs as long as possible. Just do keep an eye on weight tho' - it is sometimes difficult to notice changes in them when you see them every day so, if in doubt, use a weigh tape periodically.

 

[dogatemysalad]

Each horse is different, but generally an unclipped native with excess to shelter and forage, will be fine.
Sometimes when we have unceasing heavy rain along with a bitter wind for several days, it becomes a challenge. When they get saturated, it can take 24 hours to dry off before you're able to scrape the mud off enough to rug. Even then, the mud is still trapped on the coat and rugging can trap bacteria as their body temperature increases. In an ideal world, I'd stable them ( and exercise) during extreme weather rather than rug, to give them a reprieve.

 

[oldie48]

Fatty, the sect C, goes out unrugged and unclipped and is fine generally. I did pop a rug on him last month when we had driving rain and high winds because he was cold and a bit shivery but it was unusually vile.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I wouldn't rug either.

 

[CharlieChook]

Thank you so much, everyone!
I feel much better. Presumably if it’s that bad they’ll go to their lovely shelters themselves! There are also trees. And lots of grass. And hay in their shelters! I checked under their soaking wet fur yesterday and they still had a nice cosy layer of fluff underneath by the skin. 😊
I’ll keep an eye out for shivering!
🥶

 

[meleeka]

Thank you so much, everyone!
I feel much better. Presumably if it’s that bad they’ll go to their lovely shelters themselves! There are also trees. And lots of grass. And hay in their shelters! I checked under their soaking wet fur yesterday and they still had a nice cosy layer of fluff underneath by the skin. 😊
I’ll keep an eye out for shivering!
🥶

Horses coats are amazing. I love it when it’s all fluffed up and it looks like velvet (when he’s not doing a hippo impression and it’s a rare day it’s not raining of course😂)

Mine gets very grumpy around his hay when he’s not coping so another thing to look out for.