What month should you put a rug on you're horse ?.

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RosieM

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I have a Newforset Gelding, he has a winter coat and it will be october soon, when should I put his coat on him, in October when it starts to get cold. ? Thanks He's 7years old. :)
 
Put it on when he needs it - when he's cold, not necessarily when you think it's cold. Don't go by the calendar, go by the horse. :)
 
RosieM said:
I have a Newforset Gelding, he has a winter coat and it will be october soon, when should I put his coat on him, in October when it starts to get cold. ? Thanks He's 7years old. :)
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It depends on the level of work you are going to do and whether you are going to clip him. I have a New Forest x 3 year old and she is not rugged yet and will only have a rain sheet on all winter, but she won't be clipped or in any work apart from light lunging/leading out.

It's actually worse for a horse to be too hot rather than a bit cold as they can't cool themselves down when we cover them in rugs! New Forests are very hardy ponies so if i were you I would under rug rather than over rug.

what work are you doing with him over winter?
 
I don't think there is a particular month, I had a cob that I had to put a rug on in May a couple of years ago as he was so cold he was shivering but my arab is currently unrugged and hopefully will stay that way for another month.
It depends on the individual horse, the weather conditions, what sort of shelter they have, if he warm enough without?
 
Any month at all :)

As others say, rugs go on when the horse needs them.

Ignore dates, temperature, what anyone else says - if he looks cold, wet etc, then rug up, it doesn't have to stay on. You know your horse best.

My horses let me know in no uncertain terms when they want rugging, and when they don't.
 
I have a New Forest and she doesn't actually ever need to be rugged. However if you want to keep them clean and dry so you can ride then use your judgement of when to put a very lightweight rug on.
 
Holly Hocks said:
It depends on the level of work you are going to do and whether you are going to clip him. I have a New Forest x 3 year old and she is not rugged yet and will only have a rain sheet on all winter, but she won't be clipped or in any work apart from light lunging/leading out.

It's actually worse for a horse to be too hot rather than a bit cold as they can't cool themselves down when we cover them in rugs! New Forests are very hardy ponies so if i were you I would under rug rather than over rug.

what work are you doing with him over winter?
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Basic Flatwork, Jumping, Hacks & Fun Rides :) He's not rugged now but I'll leaved until it gets colder :)
 
My rugs are used more as draft excluders in the barn, my horses have acess to their stables but rarely use them, I rug if the temp drops below freezing, or if their ears feel cold, but that's more for my consience than wether they need them and I only use med weights and the horses are toasty warm
 
Do be careful about just putting a "Lightweight" on a horse.

Rugging is all about replacing natural thermoregulation that has been taken away by clipping.

If the horse has a full winter coat, putting on a lightweight rug can actually make the horse colder as the sheet flattens the coat so the follicles can't lift the hairs to trap air and keep the horse warm. Particularly on the shoulder joints and hip joints.

The horse would then be better off without as his own coat will do a better job of it than the sheet.

So you need to rug according to what natural heat trapping ability the coat once had. You need to consider at least a medium fill rug in this case.

Personally, I only rug if it is wet and windy. If cold and dry, it's pretty perfect weather for a horse left to his own coat-growing devices. :)
 
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