what rugs are you guys putting your horse in?

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ge0rgg

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Just wondering really what rugs you guys have put your horses in, or generally what rugs you put in what weather? Sorry if this is confusing, please give as much advice as you can - I have a Irish hunter with a full clip and I am unsure which rug she should be in now, ideally I'd like her to get out of her necked rugs now as its rubbing her mane off where it must catch ( last year this took all summer to grow back ) !!
 
It really depends on the horse, is she hot? Whats the weather like? One of mine (unclipped) is in a no fill rain sheet - she hates getting wet but is always roasting and the other 4 are naked. My friends ISP who is chaser clipped is also out naked.
 
It does depend on the horse but my fully clipped warmbloods - out during the day and in at night - are in medium weight no neck turnouts. On a lovely sunny day like today I took their rugs off at about 10:30 this morning and put the, back on when they came in at 17:30. Most of them are in 200g rugs but one is in 100g as that is what is best for her.
 
Mine have been unrugged all winter so none.
Friends ones have been in medium weights and one is in lightweight and one in medium weight as she drops weight easily.
 
Well... When mine was fully clipped...

Anything below 10 degrees he was in a medium weight.

Anything over that he was in a lightweight...

Over 15degrees... Naked!

I think this because horses produce a lot of heat, despite the shaven look... They still produce enough not to get too cold:)
 
Neither of mine are clipped, my dales is naked all the time and my arab is either naked on a warm day like today or in a lightweight turnout if a bit chilly but in a heavyweight turnout with neck cover at night as I get freezing so I assume he will be too
 
My traditional cob is in a medium weight no neck atm, as it's still quite chilly and we've been getting sudden outbursts of rain, so I wouldn't want him to get rained on then not be able to be rugged overnight because of that, as at night where we are it can still get very cold and sometimes still a frost in the mornings, but if it's a dry sunny day he goes naked :)
 
Doesn't help that this weather keeps changing from blooming freezing to virtually summer in the space of a minute! Very confusing.
 
Today the ones that are staying out at night where wearing medium weight rugs all day and have them on tonight .
One of the stabled ones wore a medium weight turnout and has a heavyweight stable rug on .
The other two had no fills on today and medium weighs tonight in the stable .
To morrow it could be different we are just deciding day by day .
 
Get rid of the neck now if its rubbing, its warm enough to do with out, often the reason for mane falling out is them being to hot. mine are all now in lightweight turnouts in the day, they would be naked if it wasn't still so muddy but i don't have time to brush and ride all three if they're caked in mud. Horses find it easier to warm themselves up than cool down and in the field they are constantly eating and moving so less is more. At night mine are still in a thin 'vest' stable rug then heavy weight with neck but I am up north and it has been frozen the past few mornings, as soon as it warms up a bit they will be back to about 200g standard necks. at the moment its a case of checking them regularly as the weather has been so unpredictable.
 
Op, you will never get a consensus of opinion on rugging. At our yard there is a heavy weight unclipped cob in a medium weight neck rug & a warmblood blanket clipped & unrugged.
Observe your horse, check base of ears, if warm your horse is fine. I was always told they should not feel warm under the rug, just a nice even temperature.
 
200 grms at the moment

fold back the neck under the rug, it is what we do and turns a combo into a neckless rug and back when needed
 
My unclipped youngster is naked day and night. My clipped out mare is in a fleece at night and naked during the day - but we're having very spring weather with temps up to 15C at the moment :)
 
My fully clipped, regularly exercised Irish horses have been in nothing heavier than 200/250 gram all winter as I like them to use their fat to keep them warm! My welshies are in lightweights as they aren't clipped but shiver if they get wet, amazingly! They are now naked during the day if it's dry. My others are naked also if it's dry as their summer coats are coming through already. We still have horses on our yard who are unclipped and in heavyweights though!! I am old school and prefer to slightly under rug than slightly over rug.
 
It's a pain, my two wimpy fully clipped ones are in heavyweights still as it was freezing first thing! Prob sweating now. Unclipped tb type pony is in a middleweight with no neck.
 
Loulou... Can't anyone change the rugs for you during the day? It's been 15degrees in most parts of the uk today and a heavyweight is extremely insulating...
 
Right now mine are unclipped and in lightweights with no necks on warmer days, and if its particularly cold (or windy, we're on a hill) then they have their mediumweights, which have necks. At night they're stabled and the Welshie has a light stable rug whilst the Welsh x Arab has a mediumweight one, probably would be a different story if their stabling situation was different but they're kept in stalls in a big agricultural building so it gets quite windy. When deciding on any rug I check the forecast and judge myself the weather when I get there, seems to work out alright!
 
I'm really struggling with my two at the moment.

Desperately need a medium/lightweight turnout with 100-200g fill, but am struggling, really struggling, to find anything. Have scoured second hand sites, the lot, but nothing! All I can find are heavyweight or the other extreme of no-fill.

Poor beasties are either sweltering in their winter turnouts which would do them for the North Pole, or shivering in no-fill turnouts. You just can't win.

Need medium/lightweights ASAP.
 
Ours went from fly rugs to HWs in the space of 4 hours the other day! It depends on the weather, at the moment it's pretty chilly, and my mare hasn't grown her clip back at all yet (hunter clip) and gets cold very easily, so is in HW, as is the 36 yr and thin skinned Andalusian, but we've got 2 unclipped veterans naked.
 
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