Who's rugging and feeding for winter ??

If they are cold they are cold. Mine have shivered in a heavy may shower before. The ponies at mine are in hw combos.
Big chap who I struggled to put weight on is in mw combo. Youngster same. Coloured in mw standard neck.semi retired one naked and fluffy.
 
I had the misfortune to be out there at 4am a couple of nights ago (escaped pigs! don't ask) took the opportunity to feel their ears which were absolutely toasty - supprisingly so. i was considering rugs but that convinced me to wait a while.

A skinny poor doer I might rug but I agree with above if you need proper rugs while the temp is in double figures what do you put on when it's -10 and snow. I think i'd up feed before rugs but grass still growing strongly here now we've had some rain
 
No rugs for mine. My retired tb mare always gets a very woolly coat for winter and she dislikes being rugged intensely. She can come into the barn if she wants but she never bothers - there's lots of shelter in the field and she's still got plenty of grass. Young one is part connie and I doubt I'll need to rug her but she's stabled at night anyway, she loves to come in. Her paddock is bare so she's on ad lib haylage and a small feed of unmollassed beet when she comes in. It's 13 degrees here so not exactly cold.
 
Not feeding except supplements here and a bit of haylage in thestable for one (still summer system ) mountains of grass still .
They have got lightweights on at night though .
 
I've started rugging, only because my horse has been vile to handle these past 2 winters, and I've always rugged on the cool side, but he is a gem when it's the summer so rugging him toasty this year to see if he prefers that (much against my normal habits!) but if he is happier that then so be it. Not much hard feed, he's a cob and although he is in hard work he is prone to being a fatty and is a great weight at the min so leaving that as it is, will up the feed if he needs it, but hopefully won't need to, especially if he kept warmer
 
I am so glad I am not the only person who hasnt started rugging up yet! EVERYONE at the yard I am on has their horses in rugs and I feel terrible putting my girl out with nothing however she is a chunky clydesdale x cob so really doesnt need anything unless it is really cold or wet.... she has a nice little layer of winter coat coming through so should be fine.

She gets fed a lite balancer all year round and from 1st November - 1st May she will be stabled over night with 1 net of haylage per night plus ad lib haylage in the field when turned out during the day :)
 
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My boy has a little bit extra feed and he's already in a medium weight (200g) full neck turnout. He feels the cold very easily and I'd rather him keep a good weight for winter
 
I've started rugging overnight in LW's according to weather report. Mine will be out all winter, and they are all sports horse types rather than natives, so I'm planning to rug well. They've been on minimal hard feed just to get supplements into them, and will hay them at some point, but I have 10 acres of ungrazed paddocks with shedloads of grass, so planning to use them as standing hay for a while yet.
 
Mine has rain sheet on for the out,but nothing on in stable yet. She has a real good winter coat coming on which I'd normally be mortified about so early, but as she has been recovering from an op and will only be in light work over winter, I won't bother with clipping this year. Feed wise she has spent the last 2 month's putting the weight back on she lost while in hospital so she has been on hard feed for ages already. I did think I'd cut it out by now, but winter seems upon us and she ain't fat at all so may as well just stick to it.
 
It's dropped chilly here these last couple of days so mine have both been rugged overnight in 50g rugs. I change for rainsheets in the day as it's still cold and windy and they appreciate the rain being kept off their backs. We have no grass in the field so am bringing in for hay in their stables for a hour (both still living out) each morning and yes, this morning they were both shivering when I took their rugs off :( I put rugs back on :)
 
I caved and put a rain sheet on my girl today, as I want her to keep on enjoying being out and not be miserable. She is an Arab and lives on an exposed hillside, so I do have to help her out a bit as she isn't really designed for howling gales! Her weight is fab though, even though the grass has gone back a bit, and her two fieldmates are regular little fatties, so no additional feed needed for any of them atm. I'm not even sure they'll start needing hay until December, or maybe even till it snows, as they can move paddocks as and when they need to and one of these paddocks has loads of grass in atm. In fact, they can't move until the grass has gone back completely or we'll be having laminitis issues left right and centre!
 
I have my 26 year old in a lightweight at nite but my cob is still naked, i did put a rainsheet on him friday nite as wanted to ride early on and it had given rain but when i got there he was to hot so wont be doing it again, will just get there an hour earlier to dry him off. he will have a light weight on once clipped lol :)

i still have knee high grass in places and im still restricting my cob so only feed they have is a handful of safe and sound so they get their supplements :)
 
All 3 of mine are rugged and getting some form of hard feed now, 2 are on restricted grass and the big old lad is telling me he is starving to death every day so getting a small feed.
 
My thin skinned Stb is in a 100g as he's in dire need of some extra weight for winter. Our grazing is very poor at the min so he's been on a scoop of grass nuts every day and have just started adding a mug of speedibeet.
 
Kal is wearing a rain sheet when it's rainy/particularly windy b/c his field has no shelter/is very exposed . . . and has been wearing either a cotton summer sheet or a lightweight fleece at night just to take the edge off - but the other night (when it got down to 3 degrees) he was in a thermatex. He is a reasonably well-covered sport horse with a very fine coat who feels the cold (and hasn't grown his winter woollies yet) . . . but he is in reasonably hard work and drops weight/condition quite quickly. Oh, yes, and is still getting hard feed - and did all through the summer - just less than in the winter. I haven't reintroduced his speedibeet and linseed yet, but if the colder nights persist, I may.

If he were a well-covered cob/draught/native type, I would probably manage him differently . . . and I would NEVER issue some sort of blanket (no pun intended) statement about how other people should be managing their horses. Just because your horse is toasty warm without a rug/hard feed in the current conditions, doesn't mean everyone else's is . . .

P
 
I'd have had mine out another month but Mum's baby horse has had another growth spurt and looks like we've neglected her she's dropped so much weight off so she has to come in overnight to make sure she stands still and eats!

Not rugging my mare until she's clipped but she's coming in at night and getting a token feed to keep her happy while baby eats.
 
Yeah I refused to start rugging mine - too early for winter :( went out and her little (well not so little) ears were froze!! So I've started putting a rug on at night or when she feels cold.. Not started feeding yet as she's got grass n hay when she's been ridden, not losing weight or condition n doesn't need it yet IMO. All dependent on your horse really..
 
Mine have just gone into their lightweights (50g) as the weather is terrible up here just now. If it dries up them they will be taken off. We just rug depending on the weather.

One is fed all year round as she is very old with no teeth, the other 2 are still only getting a handful a day to smuggle hoof supplement.
 
My boy's had his 200gm combo on the last two days. Not going above 8/9c during the day with wind and rain! His coat has grown about an inch and he just wasn't warm in a rainsheet. He actually got a bit wet one day and came in shivering and stood like a lamb while I towel dried him and got his stable rug on.

Feed wise , I've upped his hay a bit as no grass left and have just bought in my winter supply of speedi beet today !
 
Centauress said:
Am I Right in thinking that its Wind + Rain that Courses the Cold Problems....
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I turned my pony out quite a few time in the snow with no rug when it was a 'dry' type of cold and I ahve seen horses out in Finnish Lapland with no rugs too as again the cold is very dry there.

Its the damp, wet and windy weather that my pony hates so he is in a 100g turnout despite being a Welsh Mountain pony!
 
Nudibranch said:
Er, no... it's middle of September! Mine don't melt in the rain and I am still having to restrict grazing.
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I second that! We've just moved our herd onto a smaller paddock with the larger paddocks having a rest so they are ready to move into when we really need good grass. 3 horses confined to an ankle deep grass filled mini paddock and 3 x 24/7 muzzled ponies working their way through the scrappy grass. My pony is already resembling a fluffy pom ball and despite numerous people calling me mean, even at 23, he went all last winter wearing a rug for about 5 whole days! he gets far too hot and itchy when u even put a rain sheet on his mammoth woolly body! he likes to be au natural.
 
Ummmmm i never changed for winter as she was naked all year and only increased her hay when it went below zero for 2 nights on trot or snow lay all day then she got a slice hay extra. in 7 years she came out of winter fine and well. just a bloody good doer lol :) bet she though i was a mean mum lol :)
 
Mines being fed twice a day; rugged in a 100g/rain sheet in daytime & atm a medium weight combo at night. She is a chilly horse & gets very upset when she's hungy & cold. I am hoping weather might improve so she can go in a 100g at night!
 
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