Who else is cruel....

justabob said:
No it is not a marketing ploy at all. It depends on the breed, weather and how a horse holds its condition. Cows dont have coats on as they live inside in the winter with normally 200 other dairy cows, sheep do lose condition, especially in wet weather, its just that you cant see through their fleeces. Just to add that the life expectancy for a dairy cow is 3 lactations. We all hope our horses live a lot longer than that. Your point is beyond ridiculous.
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3 lactations?! Not on my farms it isnt.

My point isnt beyond ridiculous at all - im asking you think about the horse as an animal not as a pet. They function wild all over the world - except here ;)
 
my 5yr old has just gone to a friend to play the whole grown up having a job kinda thing she has a medium weight on- she loves the mud and we dont so it saves time.

my daughters is clipped (full clip last yr) heavy weight on now, but always lives out 24/7, so i think the rug is justified
 
TigerTail said:
3 lactations?! Not on my farms it isnt.

My point isnt beyond ridiculous at all - im asking you think about the horse as an animal not as a pet. They function wild all over the world - except here ;)
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Not my horse, and we have many native bred horses in this country that are wild living on the moors and on the mountain so dont wink at me. We are talking about rugging the domesticated horse, the horses that are not wild that live in the confines of a small field which will be boggy, cold and poached.
 
All mine are in their own winter woolies even my tb... she isn't part cob either. lol Of course I don't think I'm cruel but know others might. :D
 
justabob said:
No it is not a marketing ploy at all. It depends on the breed, weather and how a horse holds its condition. Cows dont have coats on as they live inside in the winter with normally 200 other dairy cows, sheep do lose condition, especially in wet weather, its just that you cant see through their fleeces. Just to add that the life expectancy for a dairy cow is 3 lactations. We all hope our horses live a lot longer than that. Your point is beyond ridiculous.
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rugs are for our convenience but they are marketed as being essential for a horses well being, of course in some cases they are needed for a horse to hold condition but the majority of horses if left unclipped would cope just fine.

oh and the beef cows on the farm i livery on live out all winter with no rugs, and a few of them live a lot longer than 3 years, earlier this year Dollycow went to the big pasture in the sky aged 19!!!
 
No chance, I'm soft. My cob is full clipped and was turned out in her heavyweight yesterday - she was cold when she came in. Out today in heavyweight with her fleece added and was nice and toasty tonight :D We are on the side of the fell tho and it was very very cold
 
I was extremely cruel and hairy cob was out in minus etc etc. If temperature rose ie 10 cent he was a slow too hot creature. As soon as temp dropped he loved it, cold weather he was a lot faster and comfy etc. Cold blooded. Loved delving in the ice bucket for a guzzle too. Vets always commented on his loverrrly coat. But other horses we kinda had a rule at below 5 cent would put rug on thin coated oldies(36 years old) but they were always taken off in morning and put back on at dusk(unless it was raining). It makes me mad to see same rug on 24/7 particularly when sun comes up in day time. Poor things are boil in a bag.
 
Ibblebibble said:
rugs are for our convenience but they are marketed as being essential for a horses well being, of course in some cases they are needed for a horse to hold condition but the majority of horses if left unclipped would cope just fine.

oh and the beef cows on the farm i livery on live out all winter with no rugs, and a few of them live a lot longer than 3 years, earlier this year Dollycow went to the big pasture in the sky aged 19!!!
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I was talking about dairy cows as was the poster I replied to.
 
Unclipped horses do not need rugs in our moderate climate. I have kept horses in Colorado winters (including thoroughbreds) without rugs to no ill effect; I regularly have horses out in -degrees without rugs. Only when it is lashing rain and blowing a gale will they either come in or have rugs. Horses stood in a cold stable and unable to move around to keep warm, on the other hand, will have light or medium weight rugs on. Rugs ARE useful - to keep horses clean for our convenience.
 
Life is too short to work full-time and then spend several hours to scrape of mud from hairy horses at the week-end (the odd day off) to ride them........therefore mine are hunter clipped, in at night - go out for about 4-5 hours with good NZ and an under rug.....only have to scrape mud off head, a bit of neck and legs - 10 mins and done - result!!
PS I also like to be the bees knees when riding out - and can't do that when riding something with a coat that is 2 inches thick and dripping in sweat after the first incline - and would hate, really hate to hunt unclipped, mostly because when one of my horses gets really hot, he kicks - but does not when clipped!!
 
Me!! retired cob, unclipped fat and hairy. This is the time of year I can get her weight right down, no rug, no hard feed just low quality hay to fill her up. Then in the summer she can enjoy some grass again! Quality of life over quantity for her.
 
me, mine has a belly and bib clip too, how awful of me to leave unrugged. She is still the size of a house tho, I am resorting to desperate measures and hoping she will shiver some weight off, cos muzzling all summer did not work.

my own fault for buying a fjord.
 
my colored cob and my section D are both fat and hairy and rugless :) they are hayed Twice per day (since the frost) and have natural shelter.

My mum is totally OTT with hers though - she has a section A - rugged and a huge fat clydesdale rugged (both have HWs) both are fed hard feed twice per day, have shelter and loads and loads of hay - unridden and very fat!!

I know my mum thinks am harsh leaving my neds naked but i believe them to be happier living a more natural state in the field.

Each to their own :)

My TB i had last winter HAD to be rugged but am a firm believer in naked natives!
 
'fraid not . . . GreyDonkey is rugged b/c he drops weight rather too . . . and his clip has almost grown back . . . in the colder weather I rug and feed him according to his needs and requirements and keep an eye on his weight both visually and with a weight tape. Oh, and he will be clipped soon b/c he will start competing but I will rug/feed accordingly. If he were being roughed off like last winter, I wouldn't clip, but I might still rug as appropriate depending on the weather.

P
 
I am the cruelest (is that a word) of all of you. My 26 and 29 year old girls are NAKED! I bought them rugs but they let me know in no uncertain terms that they didn't like them thank you very much!
 
Perissa said:
I am the cruelest (is that a word) of all of you. My 26 and 29 year old girls are NAKED! I bought them rugs but they let me know in no uncertain terms that they didn't like them thank you very much!
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:D I've got two similar ages without rugs. In fact as I admitted on another thread, I don't even own a rug. :eek:
 
These threads are ridiculous.

You can't lump all horses together, some do need a rug, some don't.

The "wild" comment ways comes up, which is a redundant comment as I'm pretty sure you don't find TB's in the wild!

I'd rather my TB didn't drop weight or run around in his field so shock horror he is currently unclipped and has a rug on.

But, if I had a hairy, fat cob I wouldn't rug, so rather than gossiping on what others are doing, just concentrate on what your horses requirements are.
 
i rug my welsh cob he is in a heavy weight. hes the right temp and i have him rugged because i want to and i can and i can rug more or less if required. aslong as he is happy i am happy :D
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
These threads are ridiculous.

You can't lump all horses together, some do need a rug, some don't.

The "wild" comment ways comes up, which is a redundant comment as I'm pretty sure you don't find TB's in the wild!

I'd rather my TB didn't drop weight or run around in his field so shock horror he is currently unclipped and has a rug on.

But, if I had a hairy, fat cob I wouldn't rug, so rather than gossiping on what others are doing, just concentrate on what your horses requirements are.
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Yes your premise (I think) is correct - horses for courses.......
But many TB's live out all year around without rugs.......all horses are more than capable of growing a sustainable winter coat. The issue is more about what horses are fed during the winter and the type of shelter that have (and it being maybe a natural shelter) when it is very wet. My comment was based more on the practicalities of riding the beasts during the winter and potenitally minimising the work........lazy bag that I am!
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
These threads are ridiculous.

You can't lump all horses together, some do need a rug, some don't.

The "wild" comment ways comes up, which is a redundant comment as I'm pretty sure you don't find TB's in the wild!

I'd rather my TB didn't drop weight or run around in his field so shock horror he is currently unclipped and has a rug on.

But, if I had a hairy, fat cob I wouldn't rug, so rather than gossiping on what others are doing, just concentrate on what your horses requirements are.
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I don't think they're ridiculous unless people start telling each other what they ought to do.

I find it quite interesting to know who rugs, who doesn't, and why. Also it's reassuring to find I'm not alone. :)

I don't think anyone here is gossiping about what others are doing? :confused: We're all just saying what we're doing. ;)
 
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