Is he warm enough???

[b53]

I've only had my horse since July so this is our first winter. I am not clipping him as he only gets ridden at weekends. He is living out 24/7 with a field shelter, and 2 other other horses (both clipped). His coat seems to be thick and furry but I don't know his history, so any tips on how to tell if he's warm enough?? He is 7 years old.

[racipaci]

You're suppossed to be able to tell by feeling the base of their ears. If they're warm then they are warm enough.

Also look out for his coat standing up - they do this to trap the air and insulate them when their cold.

Weight loss - they use their energy to keep warm

If he's is rugged up just slide your hand under the rug and feel how warm he is under there.

[larri]

Ears are totally unreliable - my neds ears are always cold (like the ends of your fingers or toes!)

To get an idea of core body temp you need to feel under the fur in their armpit or groin. Even if they appear cold (ie hair standing up) or wet they are more often than not toasty and warm under the coat.

Hair standing up is exactly what you want to see on a cold day, means the air is being trapped next to the skin and keeping ned warm. It's freezing cold and continually wet you need to watch out for - the hair gets flattened right down and looses it's insulating property.
Also be careful not to groom anymore than brushing mud off where needed to ride, otherwise you are removing the natural oils that keep the horses coat waterproof.

[Tina J]

Don't let anyone tell you that your horse needs lots of cereal based food to keep warm. The most warming foods a horse can eat are forages - lots of hay, and alfalfa or readigrass if you really feel he needs some extra protein. And unmollassed sugar beet (such as speedibeet) if he needs a little extra weight on.

The way that you are keeping your horse is by far the best for his welfare. Just look out for cracked heels if there are parts of the field that get churned up (by the gate, or around the field shelter for example). And don't worry about cold on its own, or rain when its mild (above around 8 degrees centigrade is mild). You may want to rug him when it is both cold and wet though. As larri says, its when the wet gets through to the skin that the horse can get cold. If your horse isn't clipped then you only need a light rug that will keep the wet out.

Good for you keeping your horse this way.

[bexj]

Yay well said Tina:D If I had the choice, Molly would be out 24/7.

A very thin lightweight rug with no filling is good for keeping them a bit cleaner if you need to ride straight from the field - just basically keeps the rain and mud off.

He'll be fine, just keep an eye on his general condition, if he starts to drop weight or act differently it could be because he is feeling the cold a bit.

[notpoodle]

angel is unrugged and has been with her last two owners as well without any problems i hear. still, she'll soon be the only naked pony in the field. she looks fine, is hairy, has plenty of natural shelter, hair sticking up and so far she always felt toasty.

julia
x

[Tangle]

I have read that light-weight turn out rugs may be bad news - they don't provide any insulation but stop the coat fluffing up and so can make the horse colder than no rug. On the plus side they do stop the horse getting both wet and muddy (which is definately handy).

Just keep an eye on him and see how he goes :D

[b53]

Thanks everybody for your advice and giving me the confidence to keep him as he is!:)

[joy70]

good for you keeping your neddy out 24/7, my lad lives out too, although he is clipped, only a chaser/low trace? not sure what to call it! and has a m/w rug on! he started off with a l/w because it was soo mild but now its getting chilly ive put him a m/w on! i have to clip cause he gets so sweaty when ridden at weekends.

Not wanting to hijack this thread or anything, but my boy before was clipped never came in with his coat sticking up or fluffy like people have described, why is this

[larri]

Joy - he may never have been cold enough! They only do it when really cold - it does look lovely...all teddy bearish

[joy70]

:o suppose that would be the logical explanation :D i do think we generally worry far too much about them being cold etc., and humanise them its is difficult though not to.

larri i think the one time i remember him looking like a teddy bear was one year i didnt have him clipped and it was a very cold December day minus 3 or 4 probably! he was out naked with his mates, very happy bunny! ;)

i always put my hand under by his sheath area or his armpits to check for warmth

his clips growing back really quickly and needs doing again soon, someone told me this is because theyre cold!!! can this be right?? im pretty sure he's not cold in his rug, and check him everynight, and if the rugs wet on the outside i'll put a dry one on before he goes back out

[Tina J]

Not sure if it has ever been properly scientifically tested if a horse's hair grows quicker when its cold, but from personal experience (of having rescue horses) I can tell you that the hair and hooves of a healthy horse grow quicker that one that is malnourished. So if your horse gets hairy quickly, and you need the farrier more often than your friends seem to then congratulate yourself on giving your horse a well balanced diet!

Incidentally, my TB ex-racehorse lives out 24/7. He does have rather a magnificent field shelter that my husband and I built him (more of a small barn really - 24 feet x 16 feet with a 4 feet overhang) but I rarely rug him, except in the nastiest weather. I put a good bed down in his shelter, keep plenty of hay scattered around in there, and he is as relaxed and contented as any horse could be. Much more laid back now in fact than when I had to keep him more traditionally and stable (shut him in) at night. He is also fatter than when kept stabled at night, even though he actually eats less hay now, and has no cereal based feed at all.

You might have cottoned on by now that I am a big fan of keeping a horse as naturally as possible! :D

[Yann]

I'd go with the armpit method too, you can also tell a lot with some horses based on how keen they are to come in and how hungry they are when they do.

Mine's certainly like that. Our problem though is no hay is put in the fields through the winter and although they still have plenty of grass it's not up to much foodwise. It is the fibre that keeps them warm, although she's normally out 24/7 mine will come in this year once she starts telling me she's hungry. It's surprising how quickly they can drop weight if they're using energy to keep warm and don't have anything to top it up with.