Would you rug a fluffy?

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Polos Mum

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A little background - 14hh companion pony c.19 y/o, lovely good doer usually - huge polar bear style fluffy winter coat, has wintered out happily for last 5 years. Ad lib hay and shelter in the field.

This year he lost a little condition, turned around now with a little speedibeet and Alfa A oil and the spring grass we've had for the last couple of weeks. He looks good and I want to keep him that way.

Weather is turning cold again this week, -5 by the weekend. He's never worn a rug before, but I have practiced putting one on and off as part of his basic education when he came - so I'm happy I can.

My question is will a lightweight keep the wind/chill off or will it flattern his lovely coat and stop it doing it's job which is to fluff up and trap air to keep him warm?
I think it would be a bit much to suddenly pop a heavy weight on!
 
If the food is doing its job in keeping the condition on, then I wouldn't especially as he has his shelter.

If he needs it, then you know you have a rug available for him.

Its not so much the temperature as wind/rain that makes them cold. I'd much rather my horse out in -10 temps, than warmer temps and rain and wind!
 
No, I wouldn't. A fluffy natural coat is much better. They don't mind the cold, it is the constant damp, wet and wind chill they hate! If he survived that, then simple cold would be bliss for him.
 
Thanks for your views, I tend to get them in when it's raining (our ground is heavy clay sadly!), it's been easy to pick him back up to the right condition, and he's not on a lot of feed by any stretch.
I could do with some proper scientific research to know what a flattened coat equates to rug weight wise!
 
fidleyspromise said:
If the food is doing its job in keeping the condition on, then I wouldn't especially as he has his shelter.

If he needs it, then you know you have a rug available for him.

Its not so much the temperature as wind/rain that makes them cold. I'd much rather my horse out in -10 temps, than warmer temps and rain and wind!
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This! wind+rain+oldie = rug, but take away either the wind or the rain and they dont normally need one if they are a hairy, esp as once you start to rug you really have to continue to do so in those conditions as their coat loses its magic properties.
 
No - a 'rain sheet' will just flatten his coat and make him colder. If it's wet and windy and he's losing condition, then a heavier rug will keep him warm.

With adlib hay and shelter he should be fine as you are keeping such a close eye on his condition anyway (and I feel your pain re: clay!)
 
My haffy also has a fluffy coat and hardly ever wears a rug, but I try to put a lightweight on when it is raining AND cold/windy to keep the chill off. I was expecting her not to be very warm due to flattened coat but she is just right underneath and seems happy in it on those nights now she is used to it. I built up times with it on slowly.. The first full night she was sweaty and in the next paddock having barged the gate off its hinges and I thought she'd never let it near her again :-/ but seems to have got over it now!

So I would say leave it if cold and dry but worth putting it on if rain is forecast :-)
 
Absolutely not! All you will do is flatten his perfectly adequate coat and make his job of temprature regulation more difficult.
 
No from me as well I would just monitor his weight but as long as he is being fed appropriatelly which he sounds to be he should be fine as he will regulate his own temperature
 
Yes and I do. I have an arthritic welsh a and he feels the cold. When it drops below 0 he has a heavyweight, fleece and leg wraps. Judge me all you want but I know my pony and what he needs. OP if you are concerned then pop a rug on, otherwise just keep an eye on him.
 
No, and yes I do have one.

Put the warmth in his tummy and get him in if it's peeing down for days on end and the rain penetrates his coat.

I have a cob with a coat like a bison. Nature has given her a coat that is quite remarkable. The top layer is long, peel that back to reveal another layer of longish hair which is much more dense, beneath that is a short very thick layer and beneath that is a velvet soft layer next to her skin.

I did rug her when I first had her, she took it off without damaging it, folded it up, put it in the corner of her paddock and poo'ed on it - I got the message!

When it is frosty she looks like a ghost, the coat is so good it does not allow heat to escape and melt the frost on her top coat, so she walks around in an icy jacket. She is in foal and I stood with her last night in the rain thinking I would get her in, but when I folded the coat back she was a dry as a bone, warm and comfortable. They are all different of course and some might need a rug.
 
I agree leave it. I have in the past been tempted to rug our little companion but as everyone said he got a flattened coat and felt colder and more miserable (probably due to embarrassment to be fair, he's a little hard nut and his rug and fairy cakes on!)

Adorable Alice I absolutely love your posts!
 
He also gets the frost on the top effect, the insulation is amazing!

I'm sure some do need the extra warmth and then clearly rugging is appropriate, I wasn't trying to question anyones decisions. Just trying to get a feel for how much warmth I'd take out by flattening his coat and taking out oils etc with a rug. It sounds like quite a lot, he doesn't need a big heavy rug so it sounds like I'd be causing more trouble meddling!

I would hate for him to get sweaty in a med/ heavy weight as I think he'd loose condition much more quickly from being wet!
 
Before rugging Id get teeth done, worm tested and an MOT .

19 yrs is no big age for a pony and he should not be finding it harder to keep weight simply 'due to age'. Horses do not 'age' like dogs, or even people, and rarely suffer the whole system slow breakdown that causes them to show classic signs of age. The only thing that usually kills horses (except in the relatively rare cases of illness) is their teeth or lameness (arthritis) so if he is not keeping weight well now Id guess there is an actual problem. If he's can't chew as well, or he's in chronic low grade pain he won't maintain weight as well before.

I've just had the exact same thing with my older girl , a 19yr old cob. Always a very very good doer, over the last year or so she's now just an 'average' doer. Easy to just put down to 'age' but had her teeth done (for first time in 3yrs since she's come back from loan) and she's got quite a lot of age-related dental issues. Vet also thinks she's a bit stiff now too. Both explain why she doesn't put weight in quite so easily (thank god!). She now wears a rug having spent her whole life naked.
 
Kallibear, you are spot on he does have a tooth problem but I didn't want to muddle up my question on fluff vs. rug.

He is seen regularly by a qualified dentish that is well regarded, but he is missing most of a tooth (from before my ownership of him), the dentists view was that even if he was a £25k competition horse that was fully insured for dental work he wouldn't put him through the operation to take the rest out (even though it could cause him problems in the future, and may be the issue now). They would have to drill a big hole in his forehead to get at the root and the risk of complications/ infection etc. make it not (in his experienced view) worth it in any circumstances.
He is nervous of strangers, doesn't load and wouldn't cope well with the box rest necessary for such an op - so I won't put him through it.

I fully accept that at some point I'll be feeding him just soft wet hard feed as he won't be able to cope with hay but I think we're a long way from that just now.
 
I also agree not to rug.

However if you did rug I would go heavier than a light weight. I think however everything you are doing is fine.
I feed my fluffys linseed as well but if your feed is working then I wouldn't change it.
 
Aha, do I win a prize? :D

So he's loosing weight because of his teeth, not because he's cold (unless he's become skinny and therefore doesn't have the body fat to keep him warm). Therefore putting a rug on will do little to up his weight and quite possibly make his itchy and sweaty and loose more weight.

Pink is rugged because she ISN'T a fluffy polar bear and in the past I've used having her naked as a method to control her weight. Now she's rugged and on ad lib haylegde she's maintaining/slowly putting on nicely. But for your boy you'll just need to give him more easily chewable calories (as you're doing).
 
Kallibear said:
Aha, do I win a prize? :D
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Certainly, ! You're right I suspect it's teeth not cold being the problem but I wondered, as he must use some energy to keep warm (even in good condition it still takes something) whether I could save him some energy with a rug - but people have confirmed my fears - unless I was out there every 30 mins taking his temp and swapping rugs accordingly I can't do as good a job a nature!
He is grey so his coat is 100% polar bear look alike
 
Polos Mum said:
Certainly, ! You're right I suspect it's teeth not cold being the problem but I wondered, as he must use some energy to keep warm (even in good condition it still takes something) whether I could save him some energy with a rug - but people have confirmed my fears - unless I was out there every 30 mins taking his temp and swapping rugs accordingly I can't do as good a job a nature!
He is grey so his coat is 100% polar bear look alike
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The thought of you nipping out each 30 mins to take his temp and change his rugs has made me giggle. :)
 
When they are in your back garden you can dream up all sorts of odd ideas!

When I've been worried about them I have been in and out like a yo yo, but for rugs I think I'll let the fluff do it's job
 
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