Why do horses have rugs on when owners are in t-shirts?

One horse has a 70g at night and still cool in the mornings. Unrugged during the day unless it is raining and then she will have a rain sheet.
The other is still unrugged unless it is raining when she will have a rain sheet on.
All horses are different. I check one horse for a friend and he was shivering at 8:30 with a 100g rug on.

As for t-shirts. I was riding in a t-shirt this morning and you could have wrung it out by the time I had finished, but then I during the winter and it is minus something and I am still riding / mucking out I in just a t-shirt. When I finish, on goes the fleece and winter coat, though.
 
Apache Warlord said:
I can assure you may horse won't be looking miserable in a lightweight turn out, he's an arab and feels the cold.

Each horse should be rugged based on his / her needs..
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Yes I agree with the latter, however by rugging early you are inhibiting coat growth therefore making the animal less able to cope with the more extreme winter weather conditions.

I have a 16 year old TB broodmare who copes ably without a rug all Winter. I did used to rug her but stopped 3 Winters ago and without a doubt she fares better without a rug when she is allowed to grow a decent coat and use what nature provided her with.

We have 2 TBs who compete and live in overnight - they both have very fine coats and both are out rugless today and perfectly happy - if they were feeling the cold and needing rugging in 15 degrees (which it is here today) I would seriously be questioning their state of health!
 
Mine is out 24/7 and still in a sweet itch rug. Ive no doubt she probably feels more chilly during the night, but it won't kill her. She will just grow her own coat! Come October she will be fully clipped and rugged accordingly.
 
Having taken up residence in a hut (tent) next to my PBA overnight he does need rugging much of the summer in the early hours! (Away competing with him stalled so not wanting him to stiffen up or tuck up).
I'm glad my D only needs 100g clipped in -degreesC but I don't hold it against my PBA that he needs a fleece overnight when stalled and 50g in the autumn or a rain sheet when it's windy and wet. I'm nice like that :p It saves on ever clipping and worrying about over heating and scratching his mane out handily :)
I don't need to question his state of health I know it, and I know he deserves to be as comfortable as possible :)
 
ester said:
Haha, have you managed +10 today?

I just clipped my pony and he's out in the field in the sunshine but I'm up for everyone else for making their own decisions.
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no, its 9 degrees but feels balmy as not much wind, kinda midgy unfortunately. I must be hard as am in polo shirt :)

It was forecast to be pretty cold last week one night so I took the thin skinned, pathetic coated lusitano up his shiny new 70g rug. He took one look at it, turned tail and so I took it that he didnt want it. Maybe its the colour? burgundy on bay, hmmm.
 
Hellfire. The sun has come out and then been re-covered by cloud no fewer than fifteen times in the last half an hour. I have been in and out of the hut like a blooming madwoman, I even turned my ankle on a rather nasty molehill at one point as I tore out at haste to ensure horse's optimum temperature was maintained. I have been throwing rugs on and off with such wild abandon that I have managed to take his eye out with one of the fastners and he is now utterly terrified of me, but he is the OPTIMUM BLOODY TEMPERATURE!!
 
This is the bane of my life at the moment with our weather so changeable - one minute its cold and drizzly (needed a jacket a couple of days ago) then the next its warm. Two of mine literally LOOK at rain and start shivering so its always a stress of mine as to if I should remove their rugs in the mornings if I'm out for the day (luckily I'm generally around most of the time so I'm in and out like a yo yo!). I was panicking the other day as it was really quite warm at work, I'd left their lightweight rugs on, thought they'd have melted so rushed home early to find that actually on our hill there was a cool breeze so it was quite chilly! Wish you could get a rug robot :(
 
Pingu42 said:
But I'm not talking about wet and cold weather! I'm talking about 17 degrees and warm and sunny! Banging my head against a brick wall! If people want to rug their horses when warm and sunny then they should be wearing at least a jumper and anorak themselves and walking around a field to understand how a poor horse feels!
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And YOU don't know what the weather was like when the horse was turned out. I stand by what I said, it is really really hard to get it right at the moment. I left the yard at 6 tonight. It was still warm, but checking the temp shows it is going to really drop tonight, so I left him in a 100 gram stable rug. He had a no fill in the field today. He was naked 2 days ago, but I can not keep heading down to constantly swap rugs as I do not live on site. I take the longer view, will under rug for turnout and normal when he is back in his box. It was really chilly this morning and yet this afternoon...hot again...

And rugging doesn't automatically inhibit a horses coat. My old mare a couple of years ago was living out all summer. Come November, she was still unrugged (it was mild) but had only thrown what could be deemed to be bum fluff. I brought her in and gave up!
 
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Serious question - how much does rugging affect coat growth? I thought it was reduced daylight acting on a centre in their brain that triggered coat growth. A friend of mine used to keep her show pony in some type of rug all year round, to inhibit growth, and it did seem to work.
 
Depends on the horse I think, nothing will inhibit my welshie from getting super hairy! Though I know some arabs/tbs that can grow monster coats if unrugged.
 
I can't believe how many people don't know how to check the weather forecast and blame "but it was cold when I turned him out".

I have a futuristic device called a smart phone and when making rugging decisions I can use it to look at the Met Office App and it gives me hourly forecasts for the next 24 hours. Even from the middle of a field....Marvellous it is😉
 
JulesRules said:
I can't believe how many people don't know how to check the weather forecast and blame "but it was cold when I turned him out".

I have a futuristic device called a smart phone and when making rugging decisions I can use it to look at the Met Office App and it gives me hourly forecasts for the next 24 hours. Even from the middle of a field....Marvellous it is��
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Must say that the BBC weather has been spot on for the last two days in the West Midlands! And another warm one tomorrow!!!! Yay, I might even get my shorts on! Clipped pony gets to have her rug off again :-) Oh, that would happen anyway even if 10 degrees and cloudy as she has hair on her back and lots of yummy food to keep her warm!
 
JulesRules said:
I can't believe how many people don't know how to check the weather forecast and blame "but it was cold when I turned him out".

I have a futuristic device called a smart phone and when making rugging decisions I can use it to look at the Met Office App and it gives me hourly forecasts for the next 24 hours. Even from the middle of a field....Marvellous it is��
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And yet I do have the met office app and up here it has been quite wrong most of the week
 
But that was my earlier point, do you rug for the warm 3/4 hours or the colder 8 hours :p. The forecast is irrelevant even if it is right if you are turning at 6am and it isn't going to be warm for another 6 hours at this time of year.
 
ester said:
But that was my earlier point, do you rug for the warm 3/4 hours or the colder 8 hours :p. The forecast is irrelevant even if it is right if you are turning at 6am and it isn't going to be warm for another 6 hours at this time of year.
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Today in west midlands it was warm and sunny at 8.30am until 6pm. Tomorrow is predicted to be the same! My pony has clip too! I would have no issues with taking her rug off at 6am and defiantly no issue with a horse with full coat of hair! It is only September and not middle of winter! Oh and dry!
 
Regandal said:
Serious question - how much does rugging affect coat growth? I thought it was reduced daylight acting on a centre in their brain that triggered coat growth. A friend of mine used to keep her show pony in some type of rug all year round, to inhibit growth, and it did seem to work.
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It does help. Though nothing can prevent coat growth entirely, try having something qualified for HOYS and desperately trying to keep it's coat and avoid the clippers! A combination of rugging and having a timer on your stable lighting will inhibit coat growth to a point though.

Our TB mare has way more coat now than if she had been rugged. She does seem to get a little hairier each year too.
 
ester said:
But that was my earlier point, do you rug for the warm 3/4 hours or the colder 8 hours :p. .
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I am not picking on you ;) but if it's even only partly dry, I rug (or not) for the warmer hours (with all the normal disclaimers of healthy, unclipped horse obvs).

I would feel bad if my horse was in a rug at 17 degrees for a few hours even if it were only 10 the rest of the time (seriously, does it ever get to single figures down south? what do you do if it does, put the heating on? :0) given that I know he's not cold at 9 naked. He's as fine skinned as any arab or TB, he was bred in Portugal and came over in 2014.
 
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Lol, me too- I tell him to run round ;). but I still think owners get to choose.

The 32 year old TB on my yard had a rug on today, he was the only one that did. Frank's definitely changed a bit since last winter, he was always a hot bod but seems to be feeling it a bit more now older.

And I definitely don't have my feet on the radiator (I don't pay the bills ;) )
 
Don't know what part of the country are in tshirts but Scotland has probably had about three weeks worth of tshirt weather this summer!

My boy is fluffy but tucking up a little behind which means he is feeling the chill winds that are blowing up her and it's into singles figures at night here. So he will be getting his lightweight on as of tomorrow. They are still out 24/7 but the grazing isn't lush and Autumn flush is winding down.

Every horse is different just the same as every human, I go by my horses weight and how he's looking as to how to rug him, not how I'm feeling as I'm a very cold-rifted person and I'm always of the cool side lol ;)
 
MotherOfChickens said:
course they do, I don't really care but the threads are fun-until the novelty wears off in March.
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Now, I feel bad for being the first to start a rugging thread :( Just wish that poor horses got some choice over whether they should wear a rug over a hairy coat on a 17 degrees warm, sunny day! I don't think some people are even going outside to check the weather! It was cooler inside my house today than it was outside!
 
It's funny time of year for rugs - too warm in the day when the sun is out but too cold for some horses at night now. It's hard to get the balance right and unless you keep your horses at home it's not really possible to keeping nipping up to the yard to change them every time the weather changes. As long as you are doing what you think is right for your horse that is all that matters, what others choose to do with theirs isn't really any of your business...
 
Lovely sunshine here today and as it's the weekend and I'm not in work I took louts rug off. Return 4 hours later to a horse that is very run up and frankly desperate for his rug, he wears a bib under his rug and practically dove into it when it was offered.
So it's very much about knowing your horse. Mine will keep his lightweight on from now on
 
My fully clipped cob is out in a 200g mw rug tonight, as it's going down to 6 degrees. Least I can do is rug her after taking all of her hair off. One night last week, I went up to check on her about 10pm and she had the same rug on. It was raining and about nine degrees and I thought that I could warm my hands by putting them in her rug. There wasn't an ounce of 'toasty' or even 'warm' to be found.

Why are people so bothered about what other people do? If it's not a welfare issue then it's a preference issue and hardly life or death. I am sure there are some on my yard that have thought my rug choice crazy tonight but if they knew my horse and bothered to give her a feel then they would agree I had made the right choice.
 
spotty_pony2 said:
It's funny time of year for rugs - too warm in the day when the sun is out but too cold for some horses at night now. It's hard to get the balance right and unless you keep your horses at home it's not really possible to keeping nipping up to the yard to change them every time the weather changes. As long as you are doing what you think is right for your horse that is all that matters, what others choose to do with theirs isn't really any of your business...
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Surely the simple solution would just be to ensure that a horse is rugged/unrugged accordingly in the morning for the forecast for the daytime, and then again in the evening prior to night? The temperature isn't going to alter drastically during the day from what is forecast. It isn't going to forecast 3 degrees and end up being 18 degrees.
 
Mongoose11 said:
My fully clipped cob is out in a 200g mw rug tonight, as it's going down to 6 degrees. Least I can do is rug her after taking all of her hair off. One night last week, I went up to check on her about 10pm and she had the same rug on. It was raining and about nine degrees and I thought that I could warm my hands by putting them in her rug. There wasn't an ounce of 'toasty' or even 'warm' to be found.

Why are people so bothered about what other people do? If it's not a welfare issue then it's a preference issue and hardly life or death. I am sure there are some on my yard that have thought my rug choice crazy tonight but if they knew my horse and bothered to give her a feel then they would agree I had made the right choice.
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I think the whole issue is when it DOES become a welfare issue that is the point. I see a woman walking her yorkie past my house daily through the year, and it ALWAYS without fail has a thick woollen silly designer jumper on. When it got to last summers heatwave and she was still walking it around in it, it became a serious welfare issue. However, I fully imagine her excuse would be that she knows her dog best and that people should mind their own business.
 
I have to say I'm yet to hear of a horse or pony dying of heatstroke from having a rug on, could anyone point me to a confirmed case? Not a hearsay, I'm talking someone who has had their horse have serious complications from being rugged up and welfare societies have taken the case up and proesecution or proof of detriment has been found and convicted?

I'd be very interested in this as I'm afraid that in many of these occasions it's a case of 'but out' and 'mind your own business'.

The dog mentioned above could have a disorder that you aren't aware of, could have missing hair you aren't aware of, so you could very well be getting told that the lady knows her dog and made to eat a large dish of crow ;)

My oldie doesn't look nor act old and because he is half native he grows a good coat but he is 24 and does feel the cold but to you walking past his field you would condemn the fact he is wearing a rug without knowing anything about him.

These threads inevitably go this way but it's fun watching people justify their condemnations.
 
Black Beastie said:
I have to say I'm yet to hear of a horse or pony dying of heatstroke from having a rug on, could anyone point me to a confirmed case? Not a hearsay, I'm talking someone who has had their horse have serious complications from being rugged up and welfare societies have taken the case up and proesecution or proof of detriment has been found and convicted?

I'd be very interested in this as I'm afraid that in many of these occasions it's a case of 'but out' and 'mind your own business'.

The dog mentioned above could have a disorder that you aren't aware of, could have missing hair you aren't aware of, so you could very well be getting told that the lady knows her dog and made to eat a large dish of crow ;)

My oldie doesn't look nor act old and because he is half native he grows a good coat but he is 24 and does feel the cold but to you walking past his field you would condemn the fact he is wearing a rug without knowing anything about him.

These threads inevitably go this way but it's fun watching people justify their condemnations.
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Lol, if that dog has got a disorder which requires that it dons a woolly designer jumper YEAR round in every weather going then I'm afraid it's a new one on me. If it wore the jumper because it feels excessively cold, then it would have more than the jumper on in the icy weather too I would imagine, wouldn't you? The dog is not bald, it has a full coat on every other part of it's body that you can see.

How do you know I would condemn your oldie wearing a rug?

ETA, even if the bloomin dog had hair loss, it would not require a bloody woollen jumper on in 28 degree heat mid summer. Absolutely absurd. If there was some bizarre disease which made it require that, then it would require a hell of a lot more than that jumper in temps of minus 5 in the winter wouldn't it? Yet it still walks past in the same jumper in those temps...
 
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I'm not sure a dog in a jumper is a serious welfare issue if it's conditioned to it like you say it is- it'll probably still be cooler than a husky (or even a Lab) living in the UK or a dog of the same breed in much of the world where summer is much warmer than here. It'd be a welfare concern to put a rug on my hairy spaniel as he's not used to one, but a small breed dog conditioned to wearing a coat I can't see as being up there with serious welfare problems.
 
rara007 said:
I'm not sure a dog in a jumper is a serious welfare issue if it's conditioned to it like you say it is- it'll probably still be cooler than a husky (or even a Lab) living in the UK or a dog of the same breed in much of the world where summer is much warmer than here. It'd be a welfare concern to put a rug on my hairy spaniel as he's not used to one, but a small breed dog conditioned to wearing a coat I can't see as being up there with serious welfare problems.
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I suppose it would be acceptable to lock said dog in a hot car too then.

Seriously, there are some very worrying opinions out there on animal welfare. Just because it 'may' be cooler than a husky in the UK does not make it acceptable to put a woolly jumper on a healthy dog in temps of 28 degrees or more. This poor dog was barely able to walk down the pavement without stopping every few steps.
 
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