It's dropped cold - is it time for rugs yet?

[LittleD]

It's suddenly dropped cold around our way, even put out heating on at home last night!

When should we start rugging? At the moment my unclipped 17hh shire x is out in the day and in at night without a stitch on, back of her ears were warm and under her horsey armpit yesterday evening so I left her un-rugged but I don't want her to start getting cold and me not doing anything about it - it's a really cold wind blowing as well!

[Yann]

There are a whole host of things to consider, but the main one is that horses are generally much more tolerant of the cold and wet than we are. Shelter of some sort in the field and access to ample grass or hay are very important too.

If they are cold and miserable, or start to drop wieght you'll soon know about it. Some horses in our fields are rugged already, and Rio will be once she's clipped. Putting a rug on if you're not sure won't do any harm unless they obviously get too hot in it.

[Horsesarelife]

I've started rugging mine at night, but only because shes in a field with little shelter, (her stables being built, should be ready in 2 weeks:D), I wouldn't leave her in a field like the one shes in at the momment all year though, but shes warm enough in her middle weight turnout

[Little P]

No rugs yet - my TB is out all day and most nights, but kept him in last night - with no rug but plenty of hay.

If you rug too early, you'll prevent a proper coat forming. I don't intend rugging until the end of this month - unless we get snow!

[callie]

Its too early for rugging ( unclipped ) if you rug too soon the horse doesnt grow his natural coat which will protect him and keep him warm in the winter, i know it felt cold last night but remember how cold it gets when the frost and snow is here your horse wont feel the benefit ...unless he wears about 3 rugs, i dont rug any of mine and they are all happy living out all year round ...i do have stables and they come in when its really windy and raining, ive got 2 shires a fell a highland and a shetland, the natives are bred for cold climates but ive found that the shires are perfectly happy and grow thick winter coats, if anything id say put a lightweight sheet on because of the rain but apart from that id hang on we sometimes have a warm spell at the end of September....and a grass spurt that can catch out the laminitics.....

www.realequine.co.uk

[Bozzy]

This seems to be a very controversial subject at the moment. Some say do, others say definitely don't.

I personally think it depends on the horses condition/breed, how much shelter there is, the feed/hay/haylage it's receiving.

My TB is out 24/7 at the moment and has been in a lightweight over the past few nights to keep the rain off his back. He was standing by the gate shivering when I went up the other morning after I'd left him naked. Checked the weather today and the nights and days are improving so he'll be without until it worsens again. I take each day as it comes and although the weather forecasts are so unreliable(!) I go by what they say.

[tasha]

Ours are out for most of the time, they come in for 6hours or so during the day to eat hay. They have been rugged on and off since mid August. Terrible I know, and I wish I didnt have to, but twice now we have found one shivering (the 22yo ArabX) and the other is slightly underweight, with the tendency to drop all fat cells immediately once a tiny bit of cold air comes her way (16yo TBx). They are nakie in the stable when they come in during the day.

As my sister and I were discussing the other day-you rug to the conditions, not the month name!

[Mehitabel]

some of ours are ruggeed. one is an elderly chap who has had laminitis this summer so isn't as round as we'd like going into winter, so he is rugged in bad weather so he doesn't have to use the food he eats to keep warm.
petal is rugged as she's been lame and on box rest, so has stressed off a lot of weight so rugged for the same reasons, she's also just gotten over rainscald.

some of the liveries are rugged as their owners think they'll melt in the rain.

the majority are still nude, starting to get their winter coats, so when they start sweating and need clipping, we normally rug then to make up for the clip, or when it's consistently wet and muddy and it's getting impractical to scrape all the mud off before they're ridden.

i'm sceptical about rugging having *that* much of an effect on coats - there are so many other factors involved, likedaylight hours, breeding etc.

[G.Gracious]

Not sure what to do about rugging this year, last year Grace was rugged up by now because she had a full body clip but this year i'm leaving her hairy and as she's quite a big Cob she's not going to be getting cold any time soon. Barley, who's an Arab x ID, was rugless all winter last year and he was fine.

Do you think i should bother rugging Grace at all??

[Esther.D]

Those of mine that wear rugs don't normally get rugged until late November or even early December unless the weather is really rough. We only rug once we are really into a gales and snow, the rest of the time they are naked. But they are all native and have plenty of belly and coat to keep them warm :D

[Coloured Horses]

mines rugged up now the nights have dropped colder she wont grow a coat even if i leave her without one it is her breeding

http://www.colouredhorsesuk.com

[larri]

Well I have an unrugged Luso, who hardly grows any winter coat - she'll start wearing a lightweight when out when it gets properly cold and wet..i.e in winter. The ancient welshie and TB (both mid twenties and out 24/7) will get rugged when they need it, and unless the weather turns artic in the next month it will probably be late Novemberish as usual (although we were into December I think last year but October the year before - I go on the weather not the date!

[Esther.D]

Incidentally - larri's post reminded me to say - Rupert hardly grows any winter coat either, he is rugged but always seems toasty warm (and fat) and is the first to ask for his rug off in the spring. If we were not so high on the moors I would not rug him but we do get extreme weather up there and there is less shelter for Rupert and Pablo than for the shetlands who just tuck in behind the stone walls;)

[Lgd]

The girls wear some form of rug in the field all year round - fly sheets all summer, on the wet & windy days they are now wearing a lightweight turnout.

They are wearing a 4oz lightweight stable rug at nights now.
They are both working hard and will be clipped out at the end of September. Peri is nearly full TB and has a fine coat, although she turns woolly very quickly. Tavia has a very fine, but dense coat and is already quite woolly. She will be clipped out as soon as the clippers come back from being serviced.

Peri has always needed rugging in winter, even as a youngster in light work, as she really feels the cold and drops weight quite easily. I suspect she will still need babying even when she is in foal.

[Anth.P]

My TB Squirrel has his LW turnout on when he's outside during the day and his stable rug on overnight as it's just so cold where we are at the moment. I tend to check the overnight low temperatures on teletext and make a preliminary decision. Before I turn him out on the morning I just see how warm he feels and what the weather out is like. When it gets too bad he'll have his new HW combo turnout on.

[katieB]

Lightweights over night where we are, the temperature has been really dropping overnight recently and ive found Ellie shivering in the morning when ive gone down. I always thought it was amount of daylight hours that made a horse lose/grow a coat though?

[chev]

I think coats depend on several factors - daylight hours being one, type and breeding being another, and how warm it is being a third. I have four Welsh - the two Bs have just started to think about growing soem extra fur now. The C/D is only a baby but no sign of any extra fur just yet. The A, however, is already woolly.

[happyhorse]

Mine is rugged in a light weight summer rug in the day and a fleece at night, but hes 18 and feels the cold easily. I decided to put rugs on him when i found him cold one moring and all his hair puffed out like they do when they are cold.

[bevb]

These rugging topics make me laugh as most people seem to feel that they start rugging thats it for the winter, whatever the weather.

I only ever use rugs if it very wet, windy and cold and take them off on the other days it is not. Horses like the freedom of being rugless and just because they need one today doesn't mean they then have to wear it every day till next summer. Rug or remove as your horse needs it.

Bev

[TWH Addict]

Depends on where you live and what kind of horse/pony you have. Ive been putting a heavy outdoor rug on for the last week. Gales and rain and max temp around 8 degrees. Also a heavy indoor rug as our stables are old granite buildings and can get very cold. We put a thermometer up and overnight it can get close to freezing.

You try and get Lacey out of her stable without a rug on.. Its one step forward, 3 steps backwards.