Who else is still not rugging?

Sorry, now partly joining the league of ruggers, tonight at least. Oldie thoroughly drenched, so by the time she's dry will be late, & cold, & a bit mean to whip off a thermatex & put her back out. Unfortunately, oldie has different ideas now warm & is busy trying to undo her door on the off chance I'm planning on being mean enough to keep her stabled overnight! Not a fully fledged rugger yet though, the other resembles a drowned rat but is lovely & dry underneath. And currently playing football loose in the barn with daughter.
 
Tb rugged and in tonight - 3 year old trak out and unrugged - do feel a bit mean but he'll be in over night from the weekend
 
Cob is out unrugged, completely unphased. Having said that, I did waver and bring him in for the day considering the horrific weather today! He'll stay unrugged 'til he's clipped, unless it turns bitterly cold with driving rain... then we might give in to a lightweight :P
 
Have a very hardy native/cob cross who's been sweating gently most days recently due to the profusion of winter coat already coming through so today he was in his element, nice and cool in the wet and the coat doing the job it's made for beautifully. He's in at night to keep him off the grass. We had 24 hours of solid rain from yesterday to today so not surprised that those with finer/older horses put rugs on as was vile and not warm at all here - south west! - constant rain like that can be draining on some horse especially if wind gets up a bit and not much shelter in field. Mine will stay without a rug until temps really drop for proper winter or until he's clipped...whichever comes first.
 
Cob isn't as he's barn kept and has the biggest fluffy coat currently.

Welsh mare isn't, but is now on hard feed.

TB is in a lightweight but out 24/7. Hard feed 3x's a day.

Warmblood is in a MW and out 24/7 as very shivering like mad. Hard feed 3x's a day.
 
Both of ours are naked and will stay that way for as long as possible, they have access to their stables/barn, it's so cold here, we have had the fire lit and heating on, but apart from coming in for a haynet, both horses are happy out.
Our 18 yr old mare is an unknown element, this will be her first winter with us, so we will monitor her and rug (or not) accordingly, my X trotter lad tolerates rugs only in extreme conditions
 
CBFan said:
...erm... no it's not... haven't had one night get below zero...it is chilly yes, but given he chance and adequate grazing and natural shelter they really don't feel it like we do! ;)
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Erm, we've had a few nights below zero here now. Daytime temperatures no more than 12, with wind chill and lashing rain taking the temperature actually felt down to low single figures !
Maybe it's not cold where you are, but you can't generalise for the whole of the Uk.
Every horse is an individual and should be rugged or not accordingly depending on the individual and weather conditions in your OWN location. ;)
 
Here in Scotland, we have had really stormy weather. My clipped WB is in at night and now in a MW....Even unclipped I wouldnt leave her out naked in this.
 
No mine arn't yet. I've got an Arab x Appaloosa, a hairy cob and a fat Irish sports horse. I want them to get good coats as they will be living out more this winter. They have their stable doors open at the mo though, so they can just go in and out if they like for shelter.
 
Mine aren't yet either.

I have a 3yr old iberian and 2 shetlands, all of which are warm to the touch and unclipped. I have got a rug at least for the iberian but it will probably only go on in the coldest and wettest conditions as he is generally a very warm horse
 
mine live out, ive put a rain sheet on him simply because he has a foot injury and i want him to us e his energy to heal his wound - but ive noticed hes put on weight
 
None of mine are yet. Welsh D Connie shetland and two donkeys. They are loose in yard at night with access to stables and barns with hay and turned out during day with access to stables etc. so they please themselves really. I always check them and so far even when I have felt chilly they are too warm for rugs.
 
Mollie's out today unrugged but I'll probably bring her in tonight, only because her fieldmates are in and she gets lonely. :rolleyes:

It would be interesting to see where in the country you all are. I wonder are the horses in the North more likely to be rugged because it's colder? But there again Northern horses might be tougher! ;)
 
Wet, windy and cold here in Cambridge. Freddie is still the only one un rugged..and will be for a while yet. He hasn't even started getting a thicker coat really!
 
Idiotpony and friends are still out and unrugged. They are in Surrey though and weathers not as bad there as other parts of the UK. They have trees to shelter under but Idiotpony has been out happily munching away

Have been talking about bringing them in starting this weekend though
 
My boy had his rug put on whilst I was on hol but I would not have chosen to do this just yet, it is only a lightweight though and is good for if I want to ride, which I wanted to do in between showers today but didnt manage.

However it is hard not to rug when everyone else is rugged.....makes u feel bad!

He is a hairy cob and I want a good coat on him for living out this winter and also to keep his weight down.....however I am torn between that and clipping him so he is not so sweaty when ridden!!! I am on the fence haha.
 
I never really get these threads. Everyone is in different parts of the country/world even and all horses are different. As long as you and your horse are happy with what you do, then surely that's all that matters. I think the main thing is, to make the decision for each horse as an individual, so if you have more than one, they may have different rugging regimes. The last thing should be to have some poor animal out in a field cold and wet just because its owner has some principles about not rugging till the 1st November or similar. :)
 
nikicb said:
I never really get these threads. Everyone is in different parts of the country/world even and all horses are different. As long as you and your horse are happy with what you do, then surely that's all that matters. I think the main thing is, to make the decision for each horse as an individual, so if you have more than one, they may have different rugging regimes. The last thing should be to have some poor animal out in a field cold and wet just because its owner has some principles about not rugging till the 1st November or similar. :)
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Or indeed out in the heat of spring/summer/autumn on a hot day, perhaps?
 
Mine is out at night & in during the day still & we're planning on changing them over when the clocks changed. He's unrugged day & night even through the constant rain & wind a few nights ago, he survived ;) Want to leave his rug off as long as poss this year to help him lose some weight
 
Ours are out 24/7 and naked all year with open door stables. On Monday I could see them shivering, on Tuesday it was as if they had grown winter coats overnight- all furry and not a shiver in sight- today they all stood in the rain- only go into the stables to dry off once the rain has finished!
 
My old lady is in a MW, wooly and holding her weight nicely. She has had some sort of viral thingy, and has been so cold Ive hardly been able to get her warm! The horses at work are all rugged, and stabled, one retired in a MW hoody, the other retired in a light weight standard neck, 1 comp boy in a MW hoody, second in a 180g hoody and the other comp boy in a sheet. All on the same block and all with different needs.

Each to their own and all that!
 
TChamp said:
However it is hard not to rug when everyone else is rugged.....makes u feel bad!
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It is, isn't it? Mollie's a youthful, healthy and slightly overweight 18 year old. She's 14.3, not finely built but not exactly a cob, with a good woolly coat. I'm sure she doesn't need a rug tonight but she's the only one on the yard out without one and I keep getting a twinge of anxiety. :o
 
nikicb said:
I never really get these threads. Everyone is in different parts of the country/world even and all horses are different. As long as you and your horse are happy with what you do, then surely that's all that matters. I think the main thing is, to make the decision for each horse as an individual, so if you have more than one, they may have different rugging regimes. The last thing should be to have some poor animal out in a field cold and wet just because its owner has some principles about not rugging till the 1st November or similar. :)
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I'm totally with you on this one nikicb.
Here's a good example - I asked on a fb group what rugs are people using on their New Forest ponies. I'm looking for a 5'9" that will fit my growing 3 year old who is very bum high but has immature shoulders at the moment. Her 5'6" lightweight turnout is very neat on her....fits well around her neck and baby shoulders but is now slightly too short in length. I had lots of very helpful replies from people stating which brands of rugs fitted their NF ponies best, so now know which brands I will be looking at. I had one reply though (there's always one :rolleyes:, lol) from a guy saying "True foresters don't need rugs."
I replied, in a tongue in cheek manner, "True foresters living in their natural environment - the New Forest, have access to natural shelter as and when they need it. They are also able to roam over hundreds of acres to find adequate forage to keep warm through the action of hind gut digestion. Sadly, I do not have a plentiful supply of gorse bushes or thickets of trees in her 100 acre field, with no man made shelter for her to seek protection from the elements. By removing my pony 500 miles away from her natural environment, forest to field to an entirely different environment and weather conditions, it is my responsibility as her owner to provide her with adequate shelter (rug) and forage (grass/hay/haylage) as required for her welfare." I also said that as I had given her a full bath 3 weeks ago to take her showing, she doesn't have her own waterproofing (grease) at the moment hence her requirement for needing a rug.
He replied to that by saying that he has a 18yo NF pony living out in Perth, and that she is managing perfectly well without gorse bushes, trees or a rug. Yes, around 70 miles away from me and entirely different topography and microclimate.
Me, being cheeky again, replied suggesting that he came and stood in my pony's field for a week, wearing just a t-shirt and shorts. I would feed him ad lib porridge, as that should be enough to keep him warm. Pointing out that I would not provide any additional clothing or a waterproof to protect him from the driving rain and winds of up to 70mph, and also said that he will not be allowed to cross the field boundary to find shelter if he needed it.
He didn't answer that one, lol !

I don't ever feel guilty if other people rug/don't rug, I go by what MY pony needs and always go by the weather conditions in my own area. :)
 
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