When to rug

mine have had their 40g/light with sheet on for past few days, on both day and night as it's been very autumnal here. Supposed to be warming up tomorrow though, so here's hoping so! Rugging up is making me feel very depressed, but trying to keep the coats nice for their last shows of the year in september!
 
My TB poor-doer is in at night (has been for a while) and has a light weight rug on in the stable and if it's bad weather he'll have his rug in the field but if nice than he's still naked. :)
 
Wearing a leopard print pink fleece for night my skinny Arab x is. She also goes out in a rug in the day but naked whislt in the day.
 
Err, no, and I own a namby pamby warmblood cross thing who is out at night without a rug, and a fully clipped cob.

Far too early. What on earth are you all going to do when the weather gets really, really bad?
 
always think whilst you may feel chilly they are a horse adapted to keep warm - i learnt a lesson last winter - before i have over rugged and lad trashed his rugs ripping them - last year i laid back put rug on but no necks etc and less rather than more - a happier horse no trashed rugs - big lesson learnt and my lass will be nude again all winter as the last 2
 
TheoryX1 said:
Err, no, and I own a namby pamby warmblood cross thing who is out at night without a rug, and a fully clipped cob.

Far too early. What on earth are you all going to do when the weather gets really, really bad?
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Hi, im glad you said this as my horse is without rug day and night all the other liveries have started rugging except for me - hence the thread! It may be cold to us and i do check the base of her ears but she is always still toastie x
 
I am rugging BH (medium weight or fleece and light weight depending on night time temps) but Nitty is still a naked pony. He feels the cold, and for anyone who disbelieves me you are welcome to come and see him at 7am shivering his behind off if I don't put rugs on.

When it is really cold he will come in at night and will wear his heavy weight in the day.
 
It's all well saying lesson learnt etc but when you can't afford for your horse to drop the smallest amount of weight you do tend to pamper them a bit.

My old horse was unrugged right up to his death which was just before the winter freeze last year, I suppose it just differs from horse to horse. :)
 
I only rug since when I've been coming down in the morning my ponies hair has been slightly stood up and she felted chilly. She's shed all her fur since starting cushings drugs and is quite ribby, also 22 haha. But my friend hasn't rugged her boy up yet since he's always warm. She won't til mid October/ November
 
I've rugged all the time bar a few days of nakedness. My fly rug has turned into my light turnout rug and when it gets a bit colder it'll get a bit thicker.
 
Skydancer - dont worry, some of the liveries on the same yard as me are rugging up in the day. I used to over-rug, thinking I was looking after them, but my cob hates being hot and will trash his turnout rugs and I have many times turned up at the yard to see him naked in mid winter with his rug hanging from a tree or fence post. Our mare is a warmblood/tb cross and you would think she is a bit precious, but nothing could be further from the truth. We only rug her as we need to sedate her to clip her and she oddly enough grows a heavyish winter coat, and she competes at dressage and showjumping over the winter.

Glad to hear I didnt start a typical NL bitchfest, and be accused of being cruel to my horses. They are horses! They arent cold,and I know them better than anyone. I say leave it until you really, really need to do it.
 
TheoryX1 said:
Skydancer - dont worry, some of the liveries on the same yard as me are rugging up in the day. I used to over-rug, thinking I was looking after them, but my cob hates being hot and will trash his turnout rugs and I have many times turned up at the yard to see him naked in mid winter with his rug hanging from a tree or fence post. Our mare is a warmblood/tb cross and you would think she is a bit precious, but nothing could be further from the truth. We only rug her as we need to sedate her to clip her and she oddly enough grows a heavyish winter coat, and she competes at dressage and showjumping over the winter.

Glad to hear I didnt start a typical NL bitchfest, and be accused of being cruel to my horses. They are horses! They arent cold,and I know them better than anyone. I say leave it until you really, really need to do it.
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No, i totally agree -no bitchfest required;) mine is a 16.2 ISH and hates being rugged to the extent she turns to bite you when you put it in her back but then she is a bossy mare:rolleyes:
I dont normally start rugging until about end october but when i look at the paddocks and she is the only one naked i start feeling like a bad mom;)
 
mine has cushings , is 20 and is clipped so i have been putting a med wt on at night as its been very cold and raining. i dont feel its fair to leave her naked in the rain.......and i sleep better knowing she's warm and dry....
 
Usually I wouldn't even be dreaming of rugging, but Genie has had a stable sheet on at night for a few weeks now since she's been ill and has felt the cold. So unlike her as she is a cave pony and was happily in a lightweight turnout despite being clipped out in December last year.

Titchy will only get a rug when it gets really really muddy and that will just be a lightweight as she's not clipped.
 
Kokopelli said:
It's all well saying lesson learnt etc but when you can't afford for your horse to drop the smallest amount of weight you do tend to pamper them a bit.

My old horse was unrugged right up to his death which was just before the winter freeze last year, I suppose it just differs from horse to horse. :)
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Good point Koko, it certainly does differ from horse to horse.
I got my mare in winter 2009 and she dropped weight dramatically all within 1 week (hence purchase of Fal rug). She is really well now, so I don't have to rug her up so much.
 
my wimpy wb has a cotton sheet on at night but that's more to stop the birds that live in the stable pooing on him :rolleyes:
if it's wet he goes out in a no-fill turnout.
hoping I won't need to dig out his lw/mw until October
 
Both fuzzies out 24/7, no rugs - and both rather too round :o
Rugs wont go on big Fuzzy till it loses some weight - or I go too overboard with clippers :D

Will be clipping big Fuzzy a high trace or chaser clip before the end of Sept, but prob won't rug overnight till temps stay below 8 to 10 degrees overnight.
Usually a LW anorak will go on last week of Oct - more to keep clean for riding as seems to have hide like a rhino & no thermostat! :D

Little fuzzy only wears a mack in very wet & cold weather as has coat like a yak but being old has dipped back now & she doesn't like frozen puddles in her loins so we take lots of tlc these days.

However, some I have had in the past have already been in rugs by now - it all depends on the type & how they keep condition on.
 
Haven't yet; no one at the yard has (as far as I know) - but it is pretty mild here still even at night. I will hold out as long as possible but he will be rugged eventually as he's going to be clipped this year.
 
Well as Nadia has arthritis I'll need to rug a little earlier than normal so I'll probabaly start with the LW when she is out from tonight as I was told that she was a little on the cold side this morning.
 
I rug depending on the weather conditions, the individual horse and whether or not they are clipped. Time of year has very little to do with it with the current British weather. They are also always rugged if out when it is very heavy rain, unless the temperature is over 15 degrees. Most of mine were out naked last night, but they were rugged a few weeks ago when we had a cold spell. They were in for three nights last week and turned out in the all weather during the day due to the heavy rain too. This is highly unusual for August.
 
My horse is 32 so is mollycoddled

During the day if is hot he has fly rug on, if not his mac, rainsheet no filling
At night its been getting quite cold so he's got his 100g light quilt on

You just have to go by the weather really, soon as he's clipped he'll progress into his autumn wear, then winter wear, they all laugh at me on my yard, he has so many rugs

So.... he's currently in what I would call his summer/autumn range lol
 
Nope, not rugging although horse is getting quite a thick coat now and losing his summer coat in abundance. How depressing in August! :(

I usually don't rug until I clip, which won't be until I come back from my hols in October. He's a hot horse anyway and even when it was -18C, had a blanket clip and a half neck 350g rug (which he was probably a bit too warm in, really).

He has dropped a bit of weight so I'm assuming he is feeling the cold a bit overnight but he could do with losing some more anyway, so won't be rugged yet. He's out on plenty of grass (all long, dead/gone to seed stuff) so he has plenty to eat to keep him warm. He does come in during the day, about 8am to 7pm-ish, but that's to give his creaky joints a break from the hard ground rather than anything else.
 
TheoryX1 said:
Err, no, and I own a namby pamby warmblood cross thing who is out at night without a rug, and a fully clipped cob.

Far too early. What on earth are you all going to do when the weather gets really, really bad?
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Oh crikey - I read down to this and was really starting to wonder..... they are horses you know!

I can totally understand the need to keep a coat good for late season showing classes but generally - sorry, no, they are horses and they can regulate their own temperatures far better aunatural than piling on the rugs already.
 
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