What would be considered over-rugging for a TB?

[Equi]

Some horses may not appreciate it but i whack my cold hand into their butt cracks to check their temp. My little old mini got a rug upgrade today cause she was cold, the rest didn't get any rugs. I always find they hold their weights until about jan then drop quite a lot...which is great for the fatties but any harder to hold animals i would be watching closely now. But that said you sort of want them coming into spring a little leaner.

 

[CrimsonDivine]

Sorry, had to go out to see to the horses. Ok, where do I start...? From where I left off I suppose lol x.x

Tonight I'll have one draft horse who will be naked in minus 5, a native pony who will be in 100g and a part bred draft in 400g.

Might I ask why you are rugging a native pony and part draft and not the full draft? Or rather.. why rug any of them? More curious than criticism here by the way.

Ok fair enough I was judging on a score of 1 to 10 its very hard to give advice on such a thing without seeing the horse in front of you.

My 2 are well covered so I tend to under rug them and they get plenty of hay in winter so they don't ever seem to be cold.

Let me make this clear.. I wasn't looking for advice per-say, and this goes to the rest of you as well. More or less I was curious on the question at hand, since I do have a vague idea of if and when my TB needs rugging. However, I find the question of "how much?" to be the biggest dilemma as IMHO people overdo it and this is also considered over-rugging. So I was more interested in people's views on this subject than actually seeking full-on advice, more or less.

I'm not sure why you are asking this question when you seem to have all the answers.. However my TB cross won't even go out in the field in this weather despite wearing a 350g rug with a sheet under it, he returns to his stable in protest.
My last almost full TB would have happily lived out in the worst of weather but she did so in a 400g rug with a neck and that kept her condition on.

'over rugging' is when the horse is too warm. that is it, no mystery or secret to it. Some may not be too cold but may need more food to keep condition, some may be cold and need rugged and more food to keep condition. Its a judgement call by individual horse, not by breed. Age would be just as important.

Because I don't necessarily know everything and having a discussion and getting feedback on it is also helpful. Not everyone has the same point of view and it is interesting to have an insight on what others do or think. As stated earlier; be as it may but having this feedback is helpful too, despite the fact that I may seem to know all the answers. Heck, even those who do can be wrong at times.

Some horses may not appreciate it but i whack my cold hand into their butt cracks to check their temp. My little old mini got a rug upgrade today cause she was cold, the rest didn't get any rugs. I always find they hold their weights until about jan then drop quite a lot...which is great for the fatties but any harder to hold animals i would be watching closely now. But that said you sort of want them coming into spring a little leaner.

I actually found this rather amusing. Infact it reminds me of the time I used a thermometer up my pony's butt to make sure she didn't have a temperature as we had an outbreak of Strangles. Fortunately, she never caught it as I moved her into the Summer field, despite it being Autumn, immediately after the pony who had it came out of the horsebox knowing that there was something wrong with it. Although, funnily enough, everyone argued with me and claimed it was "hay fever". So yeah, I guess sometimes I really do know about these things, interesting that people who had horses for more than 15 years apparently did not... but I digress. Also wanted to state that I couldn't agree more with your closing statement. Infact I often question the fact that maybe some of us are overfeeding them during Winter as they should be losing weight and not maintaining or gaining it?? Just my thoughts on that but that's another subject perhaps for another thread. No doubt someone's still going to respond and have a crack at me for saying so but hey ho, let's discuss it if we must I guess?

 

[Equi]

Im all for the winter weight loss programs. I cant wait for winter each year because it means i can let my minis out and be fully free for months on end before they need managed. The colder the better. The less grass the better. Never have quite achieved the "perfect" weight but what they do loose helps a heap. I understand the need for some horses to maintain..but then i also expect those horses to be maintained in summer too and not let to get fat. My old boy would loose drastically and take a lot of feed to keep semi-ok looking but at the new yard where he was much much happier i still fed that way and he became obese much to his detriment. Lesson learned.

Its my first winter with the new horse and he came fairly overweight..so im enjoying him loosing weight but also trying to stop myself going down the "omg hes lost weight old owner will think im bad!" mindset. But im also working to find the balance because i simply dont know what it is yet.

 

[[153312]]

Winter is honestly a godsend with fatties ? time to breathe a sigh of relief and let frosty mornings do the work of weight management for me instead of fighting a losing battle against the flub with grazing muzzles and tracks ??

 

[Equi]

Winter is honestly a godsend with fatties ? time to breathe a sigh of relief and let frosty mornings do the work of weight management for me instead of fighting a losing battle against the flub with grazing muzzles and tracks ??

It was mega frosty/semi snowy last night. I was thinking "aww i hope the ponys aren't cold....hahahhahahaha no i don't"

 

[Surbie]

Winter is honestly a godsend with fatties ? time to breathe a sigh of relief and let frosty mornings do the work of weight management for me instead of fighting a losing battle against the flub with grazing muzzles and tracks ??

It is when we have a proper one. This warm one day, cold the next and back to warm again is NOT helping!

 

[Equi]

It is when we have a proper one. This warm one day, cold the next and back to warm again is NOT helping!

Not one bit. Ive gone through the "should i clip...if i don't theyll get skin rashes....should i rain sheet to keep the wet/warm at minimum.....oh no its cold and snowing should i bring in!!!" all in one week.

 

[NR88]

Winter is honestly a godsend with fatties ? time to breathe a sigh of relief and let frosty mornings do the work of weight management for me instead of fighting a losing battle against the flub with grazing muzzles and tracks ??

Until the frosty grass triggers laminitis. The never ending joys of managing good doers!

 

[Cragrat]

I have 3 TB's.
They all have very different rugging requirements. One colics if he gets a tiny bit cool - in temperatures where the others are happily unrugged. One hates to be too warm amd get furiously itchy and pissed off if she gets warmer than she'd like - in temperatures when the others are in 300g she is in 100g.

There isn't much difference in their coats - it seems to be a metabolic difference, although the hot and the cold one both hold weight well, the hot one eats HUGE amounts of haylage - she literally never stops eating, and although she's well covered she's not Thelwell fat. The one in the middle in terms of rugging requirements could do with eating far more haylage, but he'd rather watch whats going on or snooze - the warm one never takes a break :/

 

[Equi]

They are funny. I just remembered one time when my TB literally snatched the rug back out of my hands because i dared to take it off to do stuff. He was like "uhh naaah its cold, put that back on!"

 

[I'm Dun]

My old pony wore 1200gms of rugs some nights in winter. Current ponies have no rugs at all. My TB only has 300gms on now its below freezing. He isnt a particularly cold horse but he drops weight if not rugged appropriately. I can see why someone told you to rug a thin TB. Its one of the first things you do. I'm all for using winter for natural weight loss in good doers, but not in blood horses prone to dropping weight.

 

[Hallo2012]

you rug by individual not breed.

same as people....currently in office in 2 x jumpers with a blanket on my legs, but my friend opposite is warm enough in 1 jumper and no blanket.

i have 2 x unclipped natives (neither grow a thick coat) one is in 200g no neck, other in 350gm full neck.

both are comfy but if i swapped rugs neither would be. its THAT simple.....

 

[Widgeon]

It is when we have a proper one. This warm one day, cold the next and back to warm again is NOT helping!

Yes it's a pain - I can only go up once a day (YO does breakfast and checks) so mine is in a 100g all the time because chances are that *at some point* in any 24 hour period it will drop to freezing, pee it down or pick up a gale. Or all of them at once. Then back up to 10C again. It's very difficult to rug according to the weather conditions when they change every six hours! At least mine is out so he can regulate himself to an extent with grass and self-warming by moving about. It's a constant compromise in my eyes but actually the horse seems fine.

Sorry, that was off topic - just having my daily moan about the weather!

 

[Elno]

My friends young tb, unclipped, is in between 250-550 g depending on how cold it is. Today she was in 250 and it is roughly - 10 out.

My guy who is an older warmblood, also unclipped, was in 350 g.

They both have ad lib hay which also helps them to keep warm.

 

[Somewhat Off The Way]

All of mine (2x TB unclipped, 1x native clipped) were out rugless last night. Got down to -3 but no wind or precipitation. All warm and happy.

It's now 6 degrees but wet and windy. Native still rugless, TB are in 100g and 200g. All warm and happy with piles of hay and a bit of grass.

 

[honetpot]

If I had any horse with a condition score of 3 living out unclipped I would still rug it because to me the horse is struggling to maintain a healthy weight especially if its getting extra forage.

I would be thankful, because mine pile on the weight in summer despite having restricted grazing and a track system. None of mine are rugged and that included the IDx youngstere I had.
There was frost on their backs this morning, a sign that the insulation is working, they are still far too fat. The grass has been growing and it's about twelve weeks to spring. I am thinking of clipping the tubbies.
Every winter is different, and every horse is different, I worry about the wind and the wet, they come in to dry off if they start shivering, not the cold.
My are not quite like this, but not far off.
https://www.rbth.com/travel/332899-yakut-horses-photos

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would be thankful, because mine pile on the weight in summer despite having restricted grazing and a track system. None of mine are rugged and that included the IDx youngstere I had.
There was frost on their backs this morning, a sign that the insulation is working, they are still far too fat. The grass has been growing and it's about twelve weeks to spring. I am thinking of clipping the tubbies.
Every winter is different, and every horse is different, I worry about the wind and the wet, they come in to dry off if they start shivering, not the cold.
My are not quite like this, but not far off.
https://www.rbth.com/travel/332899-yakut-horses-photos

My 2 horses are well covered so I tend to under rug them but if a horse is ribby I would rather keep it a bit warmer with a thicker rug or make sure they have a good supply of hay in winter if the grass is not enough.

I know it is a battle when they are good doers mine are as well so I do understand how hard it can be.

They are very cute ponies on the link like big Teddy bears.

 

[maya2008]

Well… I have a full TB who required a thick double duvet on top of a fleece, under a heavyweight rug with neck, just to keep weight on and be ok at night in winter when in work - and now can live out in a rain sheet as a retired old lady. She does grow a lot more coat now though!

If your horse is being fed well but is losing weight or obviously shivering, it’s cold. If it is sweating under the rug, it’s too hot. Too cold horses also have cold noses when you kiss them. That’s about as far as I go. Since the TB I have bought natives - no rugs, no fuss!