Yes, I'm an interfering bag...

[Spring Feather]

No fill or lightweight rugs really don't flatten the coat as they are, as their name suggests, lightweight. There is a layer of warm air trapped underneath them as a poster above says. A few people I know keep their horses all winter in lightweights or no fills and every time I check their horses they are always toasty warm. My own horses are kept outside 24/7 in medium weights all winter and are always warm in -10 temperatures as well as in -30. Just a FYI coming from someone who lives in a country with slightly cooler winter temperatures than you OP.

 

[Brightbay]

I have heard this theory of sheets being colder than naked a lot lately and it makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. How the heck can a soaking wet horse be warmer than a dry one.

Exactly. You have to compare like with like.

So you have (a) horse unrugged in windy sleety rain. Coat is wet and flat. Same horse has a no fill rug on, coat is flat but dry and the horse is protected from wind. Which horse is more comfortable?

And you have (b) horse unrugged in e.g. -10. Coat is dry and fluffed up. Same horse has a no fill rug on, coat is flat in places, but dry. Which horse is more comfortable?

And finally, (c) horse unrugged in e.g. dry and +5. At this temperature, my unrugged horse has barely any visible piloerection. With a no fill sheet on, about the same.

So, who's writing all these articles about how no fill sheets make horses cold (and are they, by any chance, in the business of selling filled rugs? ).

On balance, I think I'll just pass on "what I read somewhere", and continue to look at the horse in front of me and make my decisions based on how he's feeling

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Mine is usually in a lightweight, unclipped. It's mostly for practicality, a horse covered in mud can't be ridden. As he's in tonight, I've put a m/w weight on (shoot me). Now he's lost his sharer, he'll be naked if not ridden.

Unless the owner's a total numpty, I'd leave well alone. If you questioned me, I'd be a bit peed off.

 

[TigerTail]

Wouldnt bother me in the slightest - it was -8 here last night with snow on the ground and both mine were out naked.

Theyre animals not babies to be cosseted and they survive in countries a lot colder with less new fangled well marketed products

 

[Goldenstar]

Wouldnt bother me in the slightest - it was -8 here last night with snow on the ground and both mine were out naked.

Theyre animals not babies to be cosseted and they survive in countries a lot colder with less new fangled well marketed products

Gosh do you have to cosset babies good job I did not have any.

 

[LD&S]

I have noticed my mare's coat is much flatter when she's had a rug on even though it's been a no fill, in fact my other two though they've got heavier rugs on now start the winter in no fill or l/w and their coat under the rug is flat and smooth but their necks are fluffy.

 

[maccachic]

Why is the horse soaking wet? Left to their own devices the coat is waterproof with natural oils design etc. its soaps and conditioners that ruin this barrier.

 

[FfionWinnie]

My native wears a no fill turnout and has a bib clip. She is still alive

I think the non fluffing coat thing is a HHO myth. Mine certainly can fluff up underneath it just the same as my arm hair can fluff up underneath my light weight berghaus.

She would be too warm with anything else. This keeps her clean enough to ride, and the rain off her back as well as cutting the wind chill factor.

 

[Queenbee]

However, I do have a massive problem wiht lightweight rugs, because they flatten the coat but don't trap a layer of warmth, .

this

 

[PandorasJar]

Maccachic generally I'd agree. But most of my hardy lot were soaked through last march when it was non stop sideways rain for three days. Oldies rugged for an hour to dry out and then left to it, rest were left to it. All had shelter though, a couple shivered a little but didn't want to get out of the rain so can't have been that bad. The rugged horses (not briefly) were all sweating and shivering so not a solution either. So it happens to natural coats (mine have never seen shampoo!) If the weathers crappy enough. Problem was they'd all lost winter coat ahead of horrible march!

 

[horserugsnot4u]

Both of my unclipped ponies are out 24/7 and have lightweights on and they seem to be warm enough underneath. I do think some lightweights, especially the cotton lined, lower denier outer ones can be a problem as I have found when they get wet they cling to the horses body making them very cold. Since using Horseware Rhinos with 1000d outer and nylon lining, they seem to keep ponies much drier and warmer and the rugs feel much lighter on their backs. I think some brands of lightweight aren't up to the job in wet weather but are ok when it is just cold and/or windy.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

its been a huge education to have bruce retired and feral this winter, and i can well see that an even tougher horse would be absolutely fine in a no fill rug.

he's a wuss, and has only been roughed off for 1 winter so far, but is only in a thin fleece and LW at night and im constantly amazed that he's ok, but sure enough every night, he's nice and warm. He's in a 300gm rug in the day when out as not much shelter but by next winter think he'll probably only need his 220gm rug, its been boarderline this year and by next year he'll have been feral and roughed off a lot longer.


after years of clipped, super fit, competition horses i think ive forgotten just how warm a thick coat is for them-i had to bib clip bruce in nov to stop him OVER heating!

the 2 TB's are in 2 or 3 HW's and an under rug and are *just* warm enough, but brucey in his thin layers is toasty!

 

[Antw23uk]

...but would you honestly keep a horse turned out in a no fill rain sheet in this weather (its been down to -4 here).

I'm not slagging anyone off as I don't know the circumstances of the horse or owner, I am fond of said horse, it's very sweet and enjoys a scratch over the fence (much to my mare's disgust).

Would anyone here turn out in this type if rug, if so for what reason? I am genuinley interested.

Personally with my horse NO i wouldnt. She is in heavyweight rugs at the moment and is a lovely plump TB mare.

On my drive to work this week in one of the fields there are about six, what look like Thoroughbreds turned out with no rugs. Its fairly dark when i drive past but they look TB!
This morning they all looked hunched up and very still. There was a big pile of 'hay' in the field which they werent eating .... it was dark so it could have been a big pile of dead horse but i couldnt tell!

 

[feisty_filly]

I've got 2 ponies out in rain sheets 24/7. There very warm and happy. They only have them on in case it rains / snows as both are prone to scald if it gets too wet.

 

[Faro]

4 of my 5 (Arabs and a TB X Spanish - NOT your hairy native types) are out 24/7/365 in no-fill turnouts - all completely unclipped. The only one who isn't is the 31 year old, who's in a heavyweight - no neck mind - and she's in that simply because of her age.

The no-fill turnout rugs I've got don't appear to flatten the coat. I mean, unless they're in contact with the horses body over every square inch of the horses back (which they aren't) - then how can they?

In these current temperatures, my gang are not too hot, not too cold under their lightweights, they appear perfectly content. What they DON'T like is when it's wet and/or windy (the temperature could be ten degrees higher even!) - and that's when the lightweight turnouts really come into their own, giving them some extra shelter from the elements.

If we do get these anticpated blizzards tomorrow/Saturday, then if necessary, I'll change them into their heavier rugs.

I'm sure I won't be popular with a lot of horse owners, but I'm confident that I know what's best for my own horses.

 

[AmyMay]

Would anyone here turn out in this type if rug, if so for what reason? I am genuinley interested.

During the summer or autumn yes. However, not in the winter where heavy rain is likely as it will more than likely make the horse colder rather than offer any warmth.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Why is the horse soaking wet? Left to their own devices the coat is waterproof with natural oils design etc. its soaps and conditioners that ruin this barrier.

While this is true to a certain extent, there are exceptions. A feral horse not limited by the confines of a paddock can find forage and find shelter from trees, hedgerows and dips in the landscape.
A domesticated horse may not have such freedom to look after itself, standing in a muddy, exposed paddock, there comes a point when after periods of relentless heavy rain, the coat becomes saturated.
Even a duck with its fantastic waterproofing, can become waterlogged and drown if unable to get out of the water to dry off.

The bottom line is, if the horse looks tucked up, miserable and prone to dropping condition, then it needs the minimum protection that will enable it to cope comfortably.

Although my cob has a thick coat, due to an earlier full clip, his hair is not the length that would give him enough of a barrier to keep the hair near the skin dry. he doesn't need a rug for warmth, just protection from driving rain.