Who else is still not rugging?

I'm not yet.

Horses still out 24/7.

Trad Cob is now retired (at nine), so he'll grow Yeti coat;

DWB showing no signs of stress or weight loss, so only a l/w if I'm going to ride and it's forecast rain. She will be clipped due to workload, so will be rugged then;

IDxTB grows a coat like a woolly mammoth. It's already thickening (stays silky smooth though, it's lovely :D). D1 only riding three times a week due to studies, so unlikely to be clipped (rugged), see how she goes.
 
There are about 20 horses at my yard & only 2 are still naked - my 2!

I'm very good at resisting the advice of the yard experts so they'll be staying that way while they are happy. Neither of them are cold so I can't see the point in rugging them, I hate seeing horses shivering so the rugs will go on if they seem cold (I have taken the rugs out of their rug bags so I'm ready to put them on if necessary)
 
starry94 said:
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
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I'm doing exactly the same Starry94. If you see a horse shivering is it because it's actually cold or is it their way of trying to keep warm. I always thought if they had access to plenty of forage to eat this keeps them warm and it is better for them to be erring on the side of cold than being too warm when being rugged as they can't deal with being overly warm. I'm led to believe you don't want them being 'toasty' and to bear in mind they do run a few degrees warmer than us. So, to say "I had 2 t-shirts , jumper & coat on & I was still cold" add another 3 degrees onto your already normal temperature you would be boiling!

I do understand however, that finer breeds or oldies maybe an exception to this rule :)
 
:( It sounds miserable there.

22C today and I'm bringing horses in away from the flies :mad:

The only thing wearing blankets with me are the stable walls whilst I sort them all out.
 
Mine have no fill lightweights on, just to keep them clean. We dont have stables and it peeves me to have to get caked in mud off them to ride, especially if its wet.
 
Polly is living out in a LW at the moment, I put one on her when it started raining two nights ago, she really hates the rain but is fine with a rug on. Bentleys still out naked, to be honest, he's not really grown much of a winter coat yet so he can't be feeling the cold too much, and he's happy out as long as he's got his mates with him! :)
 
TB's, arab's, 5month old foal, and various yearling's all out 24/7 naked until tonight. Just brought them in as were having heavy persistent rain all night. Don't mind showers even heavy ones but hours of constant rain and they really are miserable. Still naked in stables though. Don't like to rug multiple youngsters, seen some nasty accidents when playing rough. Mares will be rugged soon though, and all will be in every night by end of October.
 
23 yr old has a lw on at night, fat tb x unrugged, both out 24/7. They have a good field shelter which they use in torrential rain. Tbx will be unrugged until I clip her out fully which will be when the fields are very muddy and she starts looking like a bog pony and It takes longer to get her clean than it does to ride her ( I am one of the terrible group who clip purely to keep their horses clean - she is grey!)
 
all naked here, well the horses not me:eek: i've just moved them into a paddock that has been left all summer so they have huge grass bellies , i doubt the rugs would go round them:o Due to family stuff i'm not getting much riding in so my 2 will be roughed off and left to go native this winter, it's amazing what coat the TBx can grow when she wants:D daughters ponies are both proper natives so will be doing yak impressions by the end of the month :rolleyes:
 
my TB is naked when he's out in the day, occasionally has a LW stable rug on if it's really old at night, and a rainsheet on if it's chucking it down!
 
Ibblebibble said:
all naked here, well the horses not me:eek: i've just moved them into a paddock that has been left all summer so they have huge grass bellies , i doubt the rugs would go round them:o Due to family stuff i'm not getting much riding in so my 2 will be roughed off and left to go native this winter, it's amazing what coat the TBx can grow when she wants:D daughters ponies are both proper natives so will be doing yak impressions by the end of the month :rolleyes:
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Sounds just like my lot, although I did put lightweight rug on a few nights ago when heavy rain expected for several hours - had to let the surcingles out about 4" as not been worn since late spring. Got to get used to muddy, hairy ponies now as don't clip and only rug when very wet/cold/windy.
 
Millie is in all the time but only has a light fleece on her at the moment. I don't feel its cold enough inside for her to have a heavy rug on, she wont feel the heat of the heavy one in the real cold. She is never bothered by bad weather anyway.
 
I am rugging against the mud mostly.....don't want to spend hours grooming. But horses who are doing less work, have all those lovely oils in their coat that are keeping them warm, and they have lovely big pastures, and lovely big trees to shelter under, and might go rugless all winter - we shall see........
 
One mare has been clipped twice and in a duvet now as it grew back in two weeks before :O

The young one is in a rug and not clipped till my schools built next week,

The section A is rugged but I struggle to keep weight on him while he grows!

BTW its been really cold here over night! I went a**e over tit the other morning on the muck ramp!
 
Neither of my two are rugged. Will play it by ear, if they need a rug they will get one.
My TB x Cob is fat as anything at the moment and last winter she grew a huge woolly coat. My PRE has already got a very thick coat so will see how she goes too!
 
Don't feel mean, it totally depends on what you fancy doing with your horse over the winter. I clip any horse that will be worked for the winter, and i think it's easier to give them a full clip, as you dont have to wait for the hair on their back to dry before rugging. If they are going to be out for the winter and not worked too hard, then why would you rug. thats why they grow a winter coat. When I had youngstock, they were always out with no rugs, i used to feel sorry for them, but they were fine, not a bother. when you think about it, they are unrugged in the wild.
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Thought this was funny though!!!!! It sums it up!!!!! lol
 
My tb wears a rain sheet in the day when out, but my idxwb is naked and will only wear a rug in torrential rain and wind as he's a bit porky! He's in a lw stable at night when in, due to his arthritis as he's less stiff in morning.
 
Only one of ours is rugged at the moment, and that is only at night at the moment. The others have fluffy coats, are well covered and are toasty warm so am leaving them with natures own coat.
 
Would you rug this?:D

My Highlands would not thank you for rugging them and seldom use the shelter or the wood, although they always have access to both. The favourite type of shelter seems to be a belt of trees they can see through or bushes they can see over. They are certainly not bothered by the cold (I'm north of Inverness), but do not like freezing driving rain or horizontal sleet or snow! But then they are always well fed and have a good layer of insulating fat as well as lots of greasy hair! (Not to mention a big bum to turn towards the wind!).

As previous posters have said, those who care for their horses will judge for themselves and act accordingly. What I do object to is the moral blackmailing of those without the experience so they rug just because everyone else does it. If in doubt, get qualified advice and don't be pressured.

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I replied earlier saying I hadnt....went down this morning feeling a tad guilty and thought "if i need gloves he needs a rug" but he didnt, he was toasty all over and happily munching so GO WITH YOUR GUT INSTINCT but it is hard I know.
 
Well however many weeks later that I started this thread, Fred the ned (:D) is still naked and only just starting to fuzz up!

He lives in a 10 acre field with 9 other horses, grass up to his knees and unlimited amounts of hay, plus 4 stables to go in to if he wants. I am temped to let him go the winter sans rug...
 
Hard frost this morning, and the big fluffball is still naked and very happy. Don't know where he gets his good coat and central heating genes from, his TB side or his ID side, but on mornings like this, I stick my hands under his mane for a few minutes to warm them up :D

He will have his rainsheet on tonight, though - heavy rain forecast for here for the next 24 hours. Sheet comes off again Friday morning when the weather improves.
 
I have an Arab and a Welsh D both unrugged atm. They are in at night (not through choice - livery yard rules) already and they are the only two on the yard who are consistenly unrugged, despite most of them being native cobby types. The Arab is nearly 20 and has a lovely woolly coat :D
 
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