rugging native non clipped pony

SO1

SO1

New Forests Rule!
Nov 26, 2004
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I have seen the weather forecast and it looks like it is going to start getting quite cold at night -1 and I was wondering if I should start rugging my new forest as he might be cold. I was thinking about starting off with a light weight turn out as he is not clipped and lives out all year and the fields are quite sheltered - also would mean that it if starts raining alot he would be dry when I bring him in to ride. :D
 
I would starts by putting a lighter weight rug on. When it turns colder later you can put a bigger rug on him. He will feel the benefit this way. :)
 
A lightweight to beginw ith def sounds the right way to go. Thats what my new forests are in now, mainly to keep them dry. If it does get cold, you can always put a thicker one on him later, then he will benefit more :)
 
the real LW ones are really for warm wet weather - they flatten the coat so they can't fluff up and trap air to keep warm, but don't replace it with any filing, so in cold weather they can actually make the horse colder.

check him first thing when it is cold - check base of ears and up between his back legs. if he is cold there then use a rug with a filling, and if not then leave him nude. you can always scrub with a towel and put another towel under the saddle for riding if he's soaking.
 
I read in Your Horse an interesting letter saying that horses are often over rugged and they dont feel the cold in the same way as we do but if they get too hot its very uncomfortable for them. I think I'd rather he was a bit cold than too hot as least he could run about about a bit to get warmer whilst if he was rugged and got too hot there would be nothing he could do!

I find the whole rugs debate v confusing at times.
 
yep - they cope much better with being a bit chilly than to owarm. best bet for keeping warm is plenty of foarage feed - ad lib hay inthe field when the grass stops growing, and of course to find out what each horse does best with. we have some who are fine in minus temps if it's dry, but freeze and shiver and drop weight if it rains, and others who can cope with wet but not cold, some who ar efine if it's not wet and windy, and so on. as you get to know him you will find out how best to manage him - this winter will eb a bit trial and error.
 
Im really mean - I only rugged Jack because I wanted to put weight on him.

Other than that I tend to make my horses live out cold to get nice and fluffy :o. It's good for natives to lose some weight over winter apparently. In fact I read an interesting article which suggested the best way to guard against laminitis is to let natives get a bit poor over winter, as that is what they are designed to do. That interested me...

Native ponies were designed to live on these cold isles with nothing but their coats to protect them and they've survived for thousands of years before we came and put rugs on them :p.

xxx
 
I don't rug Little Un in the field unless it's wet, windy or very cold. I do put a rug on at night though because he's stabled so can't move around to keep warm or get away from any draughts.

Re the over rugging theory - I'd love to explain that one to Jim!I can always tell if he's a bit cold - he's grumpy as hell, won't eat & shoves himself at me to be checked (lovely picture for you - ID walking backwards nearly into me while lifting a hind so I can feel he's cold. Anyone who didn't know him would panic!). If he's a bit too warm (IMO) then he won't let me check inside his hindlegs or touch a rug strap without a "discussion" but he does look very smug. I'm afraid as long as he isn't on the point of breaking out in a sweat I let him be the judge of comfortable temperatures!
 
What jo said, but I'm even meaner than her:p

I certainly wouldn't be rugging on the basis that he 'might' be cold! He's a hairy native! I he IS cold, then rug him but i suspect he's be too warm rugged.

Like Mehitabel said, they can easily keep themselves warm but they find it very hard to cool down if too hot under a rug.

Our ancient old hunter, Kim, was rugged every winter for most of herlife, unclipped, as that what you do - rug horses when it's cold. She was rarely sweaty under her rug but every year she would go through 3 rugs at least, and rip them to shreads.

The last two years she's been naked, and has never been happier. She gets a light-weight on when it's been horribly wet for days and says but otherwsie she's just fluffy. She looks like a very over-grown shetland pony:o
 
This website explains really well how horses keep themselves warm and why we probably overrug.

Mine isn't a native type (maybe a tiny smidgeon of connemara blood but the rest is IDxTB) and lives out all year round unclipped and mainly unrugged. We rug using LWs if the forecast is for prolonged rain or rain+wind.

It is amazing how warm he stays, and it's also amazing how clean he stays. 90% of the time, if I want to ride all I need to do is flick the dust off the saddle area. Mind you, today he looked like a mud monster :D but that's unusual.

His field companions include a Highland who is never rugged and is the warmest wee beastie you could find (he gets lots of cuddles when it's cold because it warms me up). I think native types are designed to deal with pretty bad weather and if it's a bit cold, they know what to do to warm up. On the other hand, if they have a rug on and are too hot, there aren't any horse behaviours designed to cool them down (standing under a shady tree doesn't work in winter :)).
 
Yep, my "hardy" welsh D got himself into a right tizz when the weather turned. He was really quite cold so now has to wear a l/w when out and thin sheet when in overnight. he's much happier :)
 
of course some horses are warmer naturally than others, that goes without saying. and of course comfortably warm is better than either too warm or too cold - that also goes without saying, even if comfortably warm for horse X is surprising either by how many or how few rugs it means.

If he's a bit too warm (IMO) then he won't let me check inside his hindlegs or touch a rug strap without a "discussion" but he does look very smug. I'm afraid as long as he isn't on the point of breaking out in a sweat I let him be the judge of comfortable temperatures!
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too warm does mean on the point of breaking out in a sweat - plenty of horses do end up sweating in their rugs because of owners who think they are chilly. obviously your horse is comfortably warm when he won;t let you taker the rug off, and bless him for being so clear about it! a lot of ponies are too stoic to object to being made uncomfortable.

but i'd still rather err on the side of underrugging than overrugging, with a horse i don't know - SO1 hasn't had this chap long. so i would leave naked until horse was definitely cold, rather than seeing how many rugs i could put on before it started sweltering.
 
I will use a light weight rug or a heavy weight when really cold, but probably not for another month yet.

However its got me thinking. I worry about the horse being rugged, but I never worry about my 12 cows getting a rug on them and there out 24/7 the same as the horse. I personally don't see why the horse should wear one if the cows aren't.

I wonder if all farmers rug there cows in the fields. I think people would find it weird if we started rugging cows and sheep.
 
i think if we're asking the horse to use its energy by being an athlete, carrying round a rider like athletes run with weighted rucksacks to increase fitness, we need to treat them more carefully than one who can conserve energy to keep warm

if you've ever tried getting fit (i did not with much success) your body feels more susceptable to the cold

ETA this is in response to the cow argument :) not a general comment

my native hosses aren't rugged yet either :) nice and mild weather so far
 
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Homey is looking a bit round and his coat is very shiny too so don't think he is loosing condition - the field is big and the grass is still good, he's has not been interested in eating hay when presented with it back at the stable so presume he is full up with grass, he gets a tiny bit of meadow mix which he loves and some NAF mudguard supplement, not that the field is that muddy at the moment as it drains well.

It's quite sheltered in the field I think its actually colder at the yard than it is out in the field. He doesnt look cold but then I am not at field at 3am when its -1. I think as long as it is not really windy and stormy then sounds like he'll be ok naked for the time being so lightweight turn out and medium weight turns rugs will stay in the tack shed for the meantime!

He's the first native pony I have ever had so not used to having something so robust and its weird seeing the other liveries all rugged up and not being rugged. Retired horses and school ponies still all naked though!
 
Falcon's still naked. If it gets really wet and cold, I'll put a lightweight rug on him but if not, I'll leave him starkers!!!
 
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