To rug or to not to rug?

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waggerz

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Ok so abit of back ground info firstly... I have a 28 year old arab x exmoor horse, she is i think 1/8 exmoor, so mostly arab. I will post a picture of her if i can work out how. :)

Anyway last year she got really thin and was being fed 1/2 a bucket of food every day. I would like to not start to feed her too early but was thinking maybe of rugging her. Shes not getting thin or anything but is just starting to look abit old and rough.

I dont want her to over heat so am in too minds to try a rug on her... she hasnt had one on for about 15 years and the last one she had on she took off in a record of 4 minutes. So no idea if she'll keep it on but its worth a try.

What do you think, is it too early to rug?
 
our oldies are rugged at night at mo only a rain sheet tho. just to give a bit of extra protection. One of them doesnt like rugs but as she has aged she likes her lw amigo on as its not too heavy for her. i would try her and see how she goes or give her some hay to munch so she can keep warm from inside!
 
My problem is that my mum looks after them during the week and i go and see them about once a week. Then my brother who is not horsey looks after them on the weekend. Shes in a paddock with three youngsters who are nicely fat, if i feed her i have to feed them and that will mean them getting too fat before it really gets cold.

Im just not sure as id try her and go off instinct wether she ok or not. I might see how she goes then try the rug next week to make sure it fits. If it does ill try it on her and mum can take it off if she gets too hot.

This is her yesterday.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?....497184979233.272470.680454233&type=1&theater
 
can't see the photo.

could you section off a part of the field and put hay in here for her? If not, then I'd proably rug to try and help her to stay warm and to keep weight on.
 
If she's starting to look "old and rough" now, what will she be like in a few weeks time? Don't wait until she looks really bad before you do something about it. Rugs are very different now to what the were like 15years ago. Get a good medium weight rug that will keep her snug at night, and perhaps a lighter one for the day when it is milder. Obviously her rations last year were not enough, or she wouldn't have got so thin. Half a bucket doesn't sound much, and of what? You can't not feed her because of the others. As someone else said, she needs lots of hay/haylage to keep her warm from the inside out. If the others are young and still growing, they will need hay as well, especially when the last of the grass goes, and the snow comes. It's not entirely a bad thing to go into the winter fat, far better than a bit ribby. She is an old lady and needs a bit more looking after than a youngster, she has different needs, and they must be catered for.
 
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