What are your 2/3 year olds wearing?

[Hackback]

Next week the weather forecast says its going to be very cold with snow showers. Currently debating whether I should get a 100g rug for the 2 year old just in case ... Older horse is fully clipped and a fairy so I know where I stand with him, but I've never had an unclipped, unrugged horse in winter.

In his previous home I'm told he wore a rainsheet when the weather was foul. I have a spare rainsheet (handily both horses are the same size in rugs atm) but I don't think rainsheets work against the cold. He has moved from darn sarth to the frozen north, but he has got quite a thick coat for an Arab.

I don't want to have to bring him in early because he's cold and miserable, but also don't want to rug him needlessly.

 

[AmyMay]

Cold and dry should be no problem really, provided you’re supplying plenty of forage.

 

[Ali27]

I have a 2 1/2 year old ID x Welsh and no intention of putting a rug on her until she is 4, backed and clipped! My little welsh companion pony also won’t have rug on either. They have plenty of grass and will give hay after Christmas. If wet/ windy they can come in at night. My 20 year old ridden mare with hunter clip has 150g on at present and is out 24/7 and absolutely fine?

 

[BBP]

My 2yo has never worn a rug, I’m just starting the foundations of training for it now, purely because it’s a life skill and not because he needs one. He is a Connemara though and his coat resembles yak x yeti so he won’t be wearing a rug at all, just lots of hay and access to field shelter if wet.

Only one of ours is rugged and it’s the PRE x who is unclipped but has health/muscle issues and has a 100g in all but the worst of the weather.

 

[Cortez]

I've never put a rug on a 2 year old, and I used to keep horses in the Rocky Mountains.

 

[throwaway2022]

My rising 2 Highland will be as naked as the day he was born. Lovely haylage and natural shelter plus a super winter coat, he’ll be more than warm enough

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

My 3yo is wearing a good solid layer of mud.

He's unclipped, unrugged and (when I can brush the mud off) very fluffy. His breeder said he had a reputation for displaying tantrums if left out in the rain unrugged as a yearling. I'm glad he's grown out of that because I don't think I have a rug his size.

 

[Hackback]

Thank you all, I'll keep my itchy fingers off the 'pay now' button then.

 

[Horseysheepy]

My 2 year old has a 100g combo for persistent wet days. He's only worn it once so far this season!.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think as long as his got a decent coat he will be fine I've got 2 Arab's and they would both winter out without a rug if not clipped, although one doesn't like the rain so I would rug him in the wet weather but cold and dry they cope with.

 

[sport horse]

Ive never rugged a 1, 2 or 3 year old. Plenty of hay/haylage and a field with a bit of a shelter break.

 

[Sleipnir]

My youngster is now 4.5yo and he has never worn anything apart from a fleece after exercise in winter. They really don't need a rug as long as they are healthy and fit!

 

[Steerpike]

My 2 year old Arabs are out naked and are very hairy, they still have a fair amount of grass in their field, if it does get colder I may start to give them some hay.

 

[Vodkagirly]

Nothing. I know he was rugged as a 2 year old before I got him and he came with some rugs that no longer fit but seeing the damage he inflicts on the others rugs, I think my bills are high enough!
Once he is in work enough to need clipped I will reconsider but he went through last winter easily. I do have a 100 just in case

 

[Hackback]

I already put hay out as there is very little in the way of grass now. They go out from 6.30 am to dusk. 2 yr old has been unrugged and survived everything so far, I was just worried about snow and cold. I know the older one will expect a duvet day if it snows but I'm hoping to put him out as normal this year. Must get some salt sorted for the yard though, or no-one will be going anywhere.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Faran has never had more than 200g on. Never found he needed more. He is 4 and clipped and still in a rain sheet at the moment when turned out. Indoors he has a fleece under the rain sheet. It went to -1 here last night

 

[Auslander]

2.5yr old extremely poshly bred wb colt here - naked as the day he was born. We will pop a rug on him at some point, so he gets the idea, but he doesn't show any signs of needing one. I have a field shelter, which he uses when it's really really raining - if he can be bothered to come up to the pen to go in it!

 

[Landcruiser]

I rugged mine for training purposes some nights last winter when she was 2 and stabled overnight. This time round she's on box/small pen rest but I'm not rugging her. She does have plenty of hay though.

 

[Ali27]

I have bought my 2 1/2 year old a 50g rug for absolutely emergency use - later in Winter when grass has gone and if torrential rain and gale force winds!
I popped it on her a few months ago to start introducing it and she nearly killed me? Leapt in the air and jumped on me! She is better now with it and wears it for a couple of hours if in stable to get used to it. In October when my ridden mare was clipped and had rug on, baby ginger was absolutely petrified of her in it at first ??

 

[SpeedyPony]

I rugged my now 4yo as a 2yo when she started shivering- she's a very nesh creature though, I tend to go on how the horse seems- if they're shivering and miserable, or impossible to keep condition on I rug, if not they can stay naked. (If they're in work I rug for convenience too, dry and semi clean is a great time saver!)

 

[CanteringCarrot]

My yearling (about to be 2) has worn a rug, mostly for training purposes and to get him used to it. Their natural coat works really well, and if they're in good weight, I don't worry so much. If it's persistently soggy, and around 0°C then I'll put on a 100g. He even does alright with cold, dry, and windy. Occasional snow showers are sometimes alright too. Sometimes the top of them will be wet but if you feel down at the skin, they're dry and warm if they've got a good coat.

If they've got forage and shelter, they'll be alright. Mine only has natural shelter, but it actually works quite well. I did stress a bit re figuring it all out. I was used to my older clipped horse, and hadn't had one not clipped and living out for so long l!