worried about horse out?

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SarahRicoh

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hi guys.

well weather was ok yesterday so didnt put rug on nute. just come up to yard and its been raining for couple hours. caught nute to put his rug on cz although hes already wet hell be freezing over night if i didnt put it on!

anyway hes shivering,well i guess hes shivering hes all quivering... will he be okay? im worried now. i know they must shiver when theyre cold like us but will he be ok. theres nowere to bring him in to dry him off or keep.him in so he has to stay out :/ will he be ok? is it ok to put a rug on a wet horse?
 
The modern breathable rugs allow moisture to escape from the horse due to their bodyheat. So I'm sure that as long as the rug is a good one that does not leak, he will soon warm up.
 
On balance if you can't dry him off before turning back out, its probably better to leave him unrugged as he'll dry off when the rain stops. If he's cold, perhaps you could put hay in the field so he can warm himself by eating.

There are rugs on the market that are made to use on wet horses. Bucas do a wonderful one. Expensive but very handy.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
For goodness sake - he is a horse and it will not do him any harm to be out without a rug on.

I have mares and foals still out without rugs and they are all fine.
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for god's sake what is wrong with people on here a person asks for advice and all most people do is jump on them with insults.
 
Sarah, what sort of horse is he? Is he used to living out? Is he clipped? And lastly, what sort of rug are you putting on him?
Shivering is normal, but of course you need to exercise a bit of common sense if the horse isn't used to living out, has no coat etc etc.
If he's cold forget LW rugs, they won't make him warmer, in fact might make him colder by flattening out his hair underneath.
I have used a rug with a 40g fill (Fal) once this year, but that was when it got quite cold, and there was heavy rain and wind. I used it on an Arab who hasn't really got his winter coat through yet, but it came off as soon as the weather improved and he's naked 24/7 again at the moment.
If your rug is a breathable one then you can rug up even if your horse is wet, they will warm up and dry as the moisture wicks away through the rug.
Any of that helpful?

p.s. Foxhunter, you obviously know more about Op's horse than the rest of us. That could be really bad advice to give an inexperienced person with a horse that isn't used to living out or not being rugged for example.
 
I had a handy tip from an old experienced horsewoman, to put a couple of handfuls of straw on their back under their rug. this acts as insulation, and wicks away the moisture from their coat. It works!
 
There is no need to worry about thatching, or leaving a wet horse unrugged, if you have a modern wicking rug. The rug does all the work for you.
 
op they can dry under modern rugs - i clipped and bathed my boy at the weekend.
Turned him out in his light weight still slightly damp - went to check on him on him couple of hours later and he was dry as a bone x
 
oh dear yet again someone comes on here worried and asking a very good question and is worried and they get jumped on. there are ways to say things with out being nasty.

Ok hun dont panic a horse can cope short term being cold - shivering is natural reaction. And im someone who does not rug at all in winter rain snow or minus temps - but depends on breed.Mines a healthy weighted sec D and good doer. What you could do why weather is so changeable is put a rain sheet on - keeps rain and wind of but with no padding it doesnt over heat them if sun comes out. Look to keep rugs light at mo as worse weather will come later but most of all dont panic and always come on here and ask as there are some lovely people on here - just be thick skinned and ignore the nasty comments - Ive had them to lol
 
OP - I was like this when I first moved my horse to his new yard a few weeks ago where he's living out 24/7. Try not to worry, although it's only natural :) He'll be fine, as mentioned they are a lot more adaptable then we give them credit for.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
For goodness sake - he is a horse and it will not do him any harm to be out without a rug on.

I have mares and foals still out without rugs and they are all fine.
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This isn't necessarily true. I have a horse who is white over her back with pink skin and she gets rainscald very easily. If I was to leave her out in rain overnight she would get scabby and be off work for a number of weeks.

This also causes me a problem if I wanted to rug her whilst already wet as the bacteria would love to breed like wildfire under a nice rug, even a modern breathable one.

OP I have always been taught not to rug a wet horse so I am inclined to agree that it's best to leave them unrugged if you have nowhere to bring them in and dry off before rugging.
 
If the rug is a modern one and a good brand, there will be no problems putting it on a wet horse. I have done it on rare occasions when I've been caught out and the horse warms up and dries nicely. The old fashioned wax coated rugs are different of course and should never be put on a wet horse. :)
 
thankyou everyone.. :) it may seem a stupid question to some people but i was worried. i did rug him cz i wasnt sure but from now on il leave it off. the rugs a rug from a tabletop sale so.not sure wat it is but its not lightweight. iv always had hardy ponies so never had to think.bout rugging before :/
horse in question is a 16.2hh italian sports horse. he comes from italy and before i got him was stabled 24/7 apart from weekends and hes very thin skinned lol
 
Well Sarah, what you're telling me in that last post is that you have a horse that might need rugging. I've transitioned horses from a pampered life to living out 24/7, including a TB, but I wouldn't dream of drastically leaving them naked for the winter. You need to look at the horse in front of you and judge accordingly. I would suggest you need to find someone who keeps horses living out who can actually come and have a look at your horse and advise you.
My three live out 24/7 all year round. The welshy type pony never wears a rug. The Arab and Arab cross do. If I never rugged them when they were wet I'd have some pretty unhappy horses because I can only go to them once a day. Sometimes they are wet, it's going to be cold that night, and I have to do something. If they're really soaked I put on a wicking rug, then after about 30 mins I change it for a dry wicking rug. They dry out underneath the rugs, they don't stay damp, and because they are dry they can then benefit from the filling in the rug to help keep them warm.
I think you need to take some account of the horse's history, age and general hardiness. No point in religiously keeping them naked on the advice of someone on the Net who has never seen them. You could end up with a poorl horse, or at least with him losing too much weight going into winter.
 
To be honest, I am sort of with Foxhunter on this one as they are horses at the end of the day and are designed to live outside so, if they have adequate space, shelter, food and water there is no reason to rug them. Shivering, like with us is the body's way of keeping warm. Currently the temperatures are very rarely dropping in to single figures at night so it's not actually cold for a horse.

Howeverm every horse is different and each situation is different. If the horse is not a particularly good doer and does not have a particularly thick coat then they can get a bit colder than some of the more native breeds and then they will use a lot of their energy keeping warm. This isn't good if you are trying to keep weight on them - not much point filling them with expensive feeds only for them to use that energy to keep warm. We have been putting a rain sheet on our old TB for that reason. That and the fact as he's the lowest of the low he doesn't get allowed in to the shelter with the others.

I guess what i am saying is, at the end of the day, it's your horse so do as you please. Oh, as for the putting a rug on a damp horse, if a modern rug then this should air and the horse will dry off underneath no probs.
 
darkhorse123 said:
that is so dammed rude!!!! the op is worried!!!! :mad::mad::mad:


omg if you have nothing nice to say shut up!!!!!
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Now my take on that post was that it was businesslike and reassuring,from an experienced no nonesense horse owner...not rude.

OP. Horse have a set of muscles which are used for two things,twitching at flies and shivvering. I see shivvering as a healthy reaction/resolution to the cold......However,like you I do stress when I see a horse shivvering.
 
i was only stressed cz he was shivering. bit over dramatic sorry guys. luckily hes moving yards sunday so he'l have a stable and it wont matter about weather cz theyl be people onhand to rug :) was just worrying about him shivering cz it looked quite extreme
 
as already said normally most horses would cope fine

However you say he has always been stabled 24/7 therefore he has never learn't to get a proper coat! so you were right to be concerned

I have known it take a couple of winters for horses to adjust to living out.

If he is not overweight and not a really good doer then I would have put a decent rug on him, I think if all you have is what sounds like a heavy weight, then you may need to get a couple more rugs hun as it is not cold enough to put a heavy weight on yet, I would not be putting more than a med weight on over night. In the day my WB has a 100g on at the moment

last night he had a 200g on
 
Foxhunter49 said:
For goodness sake - he is a horse and it will not do him any harm to be out without a rug on.

I have mares and foals still out without rugs and they are all fine.
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Why on earth would you criticise anyone for wanting to ensure that their horse was warm and not shivering?

As for your mares and foals good for you - and if you're happy to see any of them shiver, again good for you.

However, I for one am in the 'why would you want to, when you can do something about it' camp.
 
SarahRicoh said:
thankyou everyone.. :) it may seem a stupid question to some people but i was worried. i did rug him cz i wasnt sure but from now on il leave it off. the rugs a rug from a tabletop sale so.not sure wat it is but its not lightweight. iv always had hardy ponies so never had to think.bout rugging before :/
horse in question is a 16.2hh italian sports horse. he comes from italy and before i got him was stabled 24/7 apart from weekends and hes very thin skinned lol
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In that case you rug him at the first sign of wind and rain. And don't listen to those who say it's ok for him to stand shivering.

I'd far rather rug a horse during wet and windy weather, than risk pneumonia - as I'm sure we all would.
 
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