Would you consider this cruel?

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shuz7

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There is a horse near me that is rugged from head to toe literally. She/he has a rug on with its head and face totally covered. It doesn't matter on the weather. It has been see on a hot sunny day. Even the legs are covered.

May thoughts are, that the poor horse will never grow a proper winter coat giving it the protection that nature would provide and that over rugging stops the horse from being able to regulate its own temperature.

What do you think??
 
Hang on a minute...are you sure it is not a sweetitch rug...they cover the hole lot up to keep the midges off and would need to be on 24/7 all the time for it to have any benefit. My friends horse has one too...but they do work well!
 
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Hang on a minute...are you sure it is not a sweetitch rug...they cover the hole lot up to keep the midges off and would need to be on 24/7 all the time for it to have any benefit. My friends horse has one too...but they do work well!

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Sounds like it is a boet rug.

Otherwise no I don't think this is cruel it's only got a full neck rug on don't see how this is cruel? And I don't let my horse grow a proper winter coat...he is fully clipped and rugged
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Are you sure it isn't a bug rug?

Also, you can't pass judgement on how someone else keeps their horse. The horse not growing a winter coat "as nature intended" is no different to me clipping my Welshy early to stop him growing his fully, then keeping him clipped out all winter (and summer if needed) so he doesn't get too hairy and therefore too hot. It's equally as unnatural for me to do that and then just rug the horse up - it's my decision, my horse is happy and healthy, and I would be fuming if I thought someone was passing judgement on me on a public forum!
 
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Are you sure it isn't a bug rug?

Also, you can't pass judgement on how someone else keeps their horse. The horse not growing a winter coat "as nature intended" is no different to me clipping my Welshy early to stop him growing his fully, then keeping him clipped out all winter (and summer if needed) so he doesn't get too hairy and therefore too hot. It's equally as unnatural for me to do that and then just rug the horse up - it's my decision, my horse is happy and healthy, and I would be fuming if I thought someone was passing judgement on me on a public forum!

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I'm not passing judgement, only asking what people think. This is the only horse like it that i've ever seen in my life.
 
Sounds like a Boett to me - people used to ask a lot of questions when they saw out pony in one in the middle of summer - much better than itching like mad - it only takes one midge bite to set them off.
 
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We don't tend to get midges in this area and most people don't clip their horses.

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well maybe this horse is clipped out and owners have rugged it up to stop it getting cold?
 
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Not at all unless the horse was getting too hot. I always full clip my horses and rug them up really well.......Am I being cruel?

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I'm not moaning or anything, i was just asking a simple question as I have never seen a horse like it. Each person can do what ever they like to their horse as you know your horse better than anyone.

I just wish that I hadn't posted this question.

As I said I was only asking!!!!!!
 
Dont worry about it Shuz, sometimes people are a bit on edge for personal reasons and tend to snap.
I dont know why the horse is rugged up like this but I would presume that there is a good reason. I do know from experience that show ponies are sometimes rugged up from June/July with heavy rugs to stop them growing a winter coat.I do find it a bit OTT and unfair on them. Mairi.
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Dont worry about it Shuz, sometimes people are a bit on edge for personal reasons and tend to snap.
I dont know why the horse is rugged up like this but I would presume that there is a good reason. I do know from experience that show ponies are sometimes rugged up from June/July with heavy rugs to stop them growing a winter coat.I do find it a bit OTT and unfair on them. Mairi.
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Thanks for that.
 
Whereabouts are you to not get midges...I wanna move there.lol...

TBH, it could well be a sweet tich rug if even is face is covered. There are alot of midges and biting flies around this year. My sweet itch cob has suffered more this year than the last several years and we don't get many midges where he is?
 
Not cruel

Mine is rugged head to toe - has sweet itch though, so any part left exposed gets bitten and he scratches like mad.

He is fully clipped and recently I've taken his baby grow (aka boett) off, however think he might have got bitten in the field today, so might have to put back on.

Around here perfectly normal to fully rug with neck cover. However I don't like the lycra full face models as there is a risk to the eyes. So I use a bonnet in the summer and nothing at the moment.
 
shuz - god people jump on you dont they !! i hate it when people get like this when you just asked a question dont be put of theres lots of us nice people about
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There's a pony at the yard that is rugged from nose to toe. He managed to catch mange a few years ago and since then as got into the terrible habit of scratching non stop. I sometimes thinks it looks a little cruel esp in the summer but it is for his own good.
Saying that some people just rug up because they are too lazy to groom their horse and don't think about things like the horse's comfort/weather etc. (there's a whole family like that round us)
 
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There is a horse near me that is rugged from head to toe literally. She/he has a rug on with its head and face totally covered. It doesn't matter on the weather. It has been see on a hot sunny day. Even the legs are covered.

May thoughts are, that the poor horse will never grow a proper winter coat giving it the protection that nature would provide and that over rugging stops the horse from being able to regulate its own temperature.

What do you think??

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In answer to your questions,
No, not necessarily cruel there are most likely reasons, and, secondly,
what do I think? If it concerned me enough to think about it I would ask the owner why.
 
I don't think so, I would assume that it has a veterinary reason for being like that - either allergic to fly bites or photosensitive or something. I'm sure if the horse didn't like it it would find a way to remove it (most horses I've come across will find ways to remove offending rugs).
 
It sounds like a sweet itch rug to me and, if that is the case, most definately not cruel! Perhaps you should ask the owner but in any case - each to his own, not everyone wants to leave their horse au naturel and, being as most rugs are totally breathable these days, even if not a sweet itch rug, I would not deem it cruel to rug up - mine are all clipped and rugged - my horses - my decision. Personally I hate to see unrugged horses shivering - to me that is cruel - and yes, I know all about regulating their own temperature etc etc.

Blimey no midges in your area, well last time I was in Bedfordshire (used to live there until 2 years ago) there were plenty around!
 
it does sound like a boett, but i dont know
but i can say i dont agree with over rugging in general (not sweet itch related i might add) and i think unfortunately this does happen a bit in the horse world from my experience
 
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