Support needed from the owners of fatties

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins

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Oct 10, 2004
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Please tell me that someone out there has clipped their horse with a blanket clip or similar and turned them out naked. Or, am I the cruelest owner in the world?

I re-clipped Ben today and tonight he is in his stable as he is still recovering from the foot abscess. However, hopefully on Monday or Tuesday I will get the all clear to turn him out and ride him again, and I plan to turn him out naked. Some people are horrified that I am doing this and think that he should be rugged.

I'm doing this on vets advice. Ben is losing weight, but he is too fat to go into spring. I do not want him getting laminitis and the vet warned me that this may well happen unless he shifts the weight.

He is currently naked in his stable and I went to see him at 9pm tonight where he was warm to the touch all over. The base of his ears were warm and he wasn't shivering at all. I really don't think he was cold.

So what would you do - follow the vets advice and be seen as 'cruel', or rug to keep everyone else happy? Ben is the only horse on the yard who isn't rugged. I am very much the 'odd one out'.
 
fatties

Me too! Mine had a trace clip beginning of December but I live in Cornwall where for the last 4 weeks at it has been mild and so I have been turning out naked and he has been fine. At first I was worried about it and bought him a fleece rug for night times in the stable but his top coat is really thick and he was too warm in the fleece so I left it off. He only has it on if the temperature goes below freezing and yes he is the only one on the yard to be naked. The only downside is that he gets absolutely filthy without a rug but he loves it !! Don't worry, your horse would tell you if he was cold by looking miserable, losing weight fast and shivering, he might look tucked up as well. My cob has never shown any of these symptoms. My other horse, an arab has a full coat and she doesn't have a rug on either unless it goes below freezing when she has a lightweight fleece but to be honest I question whether it does any good because it flattens the hair which traps air to keep the horse warm. Also remember in the stable they are not being subject to any of the elements like wind and rain. Horses do cold a lot better than we give them credit for. Its the wet and wind that quickly chills them.

Hope you feel better now :)
 
Be cruel, and you'll check him fifty times, realise that you're not as cruel as you think cause he'll be absolutely fine and then you will do the same next year without a care in the world!
Don't worry, I get to this time very year and panic that he's still too fat for spring but somehow he drops it in these two months coming. It's the putting it back on around may that I can't get a bloody handle on, but this year! This year!!
 
I too am the only cruel mummy on the yard, and Cracker is habitually turned out naked. Even big fat hairy cobs are turned out in heavy weights and wear pyjamas, then the poor things get less hay because they are too fat, and are bored and grumpy with empty haynets and bald paddocks. Crazy.

Crackers weight is quite stable, he is about right for the time of year and is a shiney and bright eyed happy boy, he never feels cold. He isnt clipped because we dont do enough work to warrant it, but if he was reguarly working up a sweat I would do a small clip, and would only rug or not according to his conditon.

Why not use the natural resources of cold weather to control weight? seems silly not to if your horse is hardy and able to cope with the cold.

Obviously its different for thinner coated or veterans, but it seems that when the owners are cold the horse gets a rug. :wink:
 
It just hasn't been cold enough for them to shift much. But next year i am thinking of a low trace or bib and belly and not putting rug on.
Don't forget we over rug generally.

When i went to view the cob she was out in snow without a rug as a 2yr old.
 
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I'm guessing what your asking for is not whether its ok for him to be clipped and out naked, but blanket clipped and out naked.

I've only ever done a low trace clip on Joy but increasing the neck has got higher and higher.

In my situation, I wouldn't go straight for a blanket clip and naked. I couldn't tell you why, I'd need to get there gradually taking a bit more off each time. Having said that, you vet has told you what to do and Ben does come in and get respite which mine don't.

Funnily enough, I've been considering a different tact for her last clip. My more convinced than not to get a full clip and rug with either a no fill or lightweight. I'm thinking this would offer less protection than what hair she does have now as she is very fluffy.

I'm pretty anti rug normally and I can't believe I'm even thinking about doing this! Its not the clip, its the whole idea of rugging.
 
Tillytoo said:
I too am the only cruel mummy on the yard, and Cracker is habitually turned out naked. Even big fat hairy cobs are turned out in heavy weights and wear pyjamas, then the poor things get less hay because they are too fat, and are bored and grumpy with empty haynets and bald paddocks. Crazy.
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That is exactly what I think. If I rugged Ben and/or didn't clip him, I would have to severely restrict his hay. I would rather than he carried on eating, especially when he is on box rest, but used the energy he gained from eating to keep warm rather than store it as fat.

When he goes out at night he is with 2 other horses and the yard put haylage out for them. I would much rather than he just had the grass in the field (there is loads but I seem to be the only person who can see it!). If I didn't clip him and rugged him, he would be fatter by the end of winter, not thinner.

In times like this I long to have my own private field with my own horses so I can do as I please without judgement.
 
Joyscarer said:
I'm guessing what your asking for is not whether its ok for him to be clipped and out naked, but blanket clipped and out naked.

I've only ever done a low trace clip on Joy but increasing the neck has got higher and higher.

In my situation, I wouldn't go straight for a blanket clip and naked. I couldn't tell you why, I'd need to get there gradually taking a bit more off each time. Having said that, you vet has told you what to do and Ben does come in and get respite which mine don't.

Funnily enough, I've been considering a different tact for her last clip. My more convinced than not to get a full clip and rug with either a no fill or lightweight. I'm thinking this would offer less protection than what hair she does have now as she is very fluffy.

I'm pretty anti rug normally and I can't believe I'm even thinking about doing this! Its not the clip, its the whole idea of rugging.
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Yes, you are right. I haven't yet met anyone who has a blanket clip and turns out naked.

I'm also thinking of full clipping Ben for the last clip of the year. I might do this mid/late February just as the weather is starting to warm up and the grass is starting to grow. I will have to see what his weight is like nearer the time.
 
Do you think it could be more effective to full clip and then under rug than to partially clip and not to rug?

I just don't know what to think anymore. I can't believe I'm even contemplating a rugging route so I need to be sure its worth going against my rugging prejudices to try it.
 
I haven't clipped Belle as we don't do enough work to warrant it, but YOU ARE NOT CRUEL! Surely it is far more cruel to leave him fat and end up with him getting Lammi as you well know, don't let other people influence your decision just because they don't agree with what you and the vet have decided is the best thing for Ben.
The first few chilly days we had I felt cruel for not rugging but Belle is always toasty warm so have mostly stopped worrying now. If he's not cold I wouldn't worry and even if he feels cold to touch I'll put money on it that if you get your fingers through the hair to his skin he'll feel warm.
 
Mine is 'supposed' to be out 24/7 but come next week he'll be clipped and living out again ! I do a high Irish chaser but he has no respite in during day. So I like to leave something on his back and shoulders (even if just a bit) to help him from the wind and rain. But he has access to ad lib hay.

If he were out 24/7 with a blanket clip - I don't think I could do that. But coming in each day like Ben does then I agree with your vet. i think that's a great solution. I'm holding off with the rugs as well as I like him naked. But I'm open to the idea of even a full clip and under rugging. It would stop the busy bodies on my yard for one leaving me notes :timebomb:
 
I think it really depends on whether it is dry or wet. I would have no problems in having Bob out on a dry day even if it were pretty cold and he has a hunter clip. If its dry and sunny most horses would be fine even clipped out. If it was raining though that's a different matter. It's surprising how cold they can get if they've had a thorough soaking. I once got to the stables on June day when it had been raining all day. Bob was turned out in quite an exposed field and it was very windy. The poor thing was shaking all over when I got to him so I got him in and gave him a rub all over and put his fleece on. I was surprised at how cold they can get when wet. If it were me I'd just put a rain sheet on him in the field and have him naked in the stable. A rainsheet won't give him any additional warmth but it will stop him getting soaked and freezing while you're not there.
 
crinklesb said:
I If it was raining though that's a different matter. It's surprising how cold they can get if they've had a thorough soaking.
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But the whole point of leaving him naked is that he needs to get cold to shift his fat. The vet said that even if he is shivering then I should still leave him naked because the shivering is creating the weight loss. He said (and I agree) that it is far more cruel for him to get lammi in the spring and he has the option of running around to keep warm.

He has been out naked and clipped everyday in all the pouring rain we had in November and December but he never seemed to be cold and was always as difficult for the yard staff to catch as he always was. He does run around the field to keep warm, and this is the behaviour that I want so he burns his fat off.

I do battle with myself over this. In many ways I want him to be warm and snug like all the other horses are, but this could potentially do so much more harm to him. Having such a good doer is so difficult, I think that he would get fat on fresh air!
 
Maybe it's a climate thing, I live in the Scottish Borders and bob is turned out in a steep, exposed field. The winds can be very harsh and personally I wouldn't want him soaked to the skin and shivering. The good thing for you is that he comes on every night so he can be checked to make sure he is fine. The day Bob was so cold his ears, armpits etc were all freezing. The field he was in had no shelter ..... Since it was bloody June and therefore a summer paddock!!.... I think if horses have the right facilities e.g a good shelter to get out the rain, protection from the wind etc then it's a lot easier to go rugless since they can then regulate their own temp without us interfering.
 
Mary Poppins said:
But the whole point of leaving him naked is that he needs to get cold to shift his fat. The vet said that even if he is shivering then I should still leave him naked because the shivering is creating the weight loss. He said (and I agree) that it is far more cruel for him to get lammi in the spring and he has the option of running around to keep warm.
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Well there's your answer! People WILL judge (because they do.) But you are following medical advice for a very good reason. I would not like to see my horses shivering. But I would like to see them with lammi a damn sight less! Extra weight can be a killer. You are trading comfort for health which is a trade well worth making.

My trimmer has a fat cob type who is out naked at the moment to 'shiver the weight off'. She says she never feels cruel because she is a remedial trimmer for lami and has seen horses and ponies in such agony with that awful disease. She said if owners could see some of the things she has seen they wouldn't hesitate to do what's necessary to get the weight under control.
 
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crinklesb said:
I think it really depends on whether it is dry or wet. I would have no problems in having Bob out on a dry day even if it were pretty cold and he has a hunter clip. If its dry and sunny most horses would be fine even clipped out. If it was raining though that's a different matter. It's surprising how cold they can get if they've had a thorough soaking. I once got to the stables on June day when it had been raining all day. Bob was turned out in quite an exposed field and it was very windy. The poor thing was shaking all over when I got to him so I got him in and gave him a rub all over and put his fleece on. I was surprised at how cold they can get when wet. If it were me I'd just put a rain sheet on him in the field and have him naked in the stable. A rainsheet won't give him any additional warmth but it will stop him getting soaked and freezing while you're not there.
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This^^^^^^^^
 
See your point about geting weight off but my vet told me that when there was no shelter at all and it was wet and cold Storm and Joe would need a thin rug - ie rainsheet. I can only go off what he told me.
 
I am not sure about 'shivering' weight off. I would not like to see my horse 'shivering' at all. Never do I beleive in starving weight off.

Its all about finding a balance.

I think if your horse/pony is particularly hairy there is nothing wrong with a partial clip and leaving them out without a rug as long as they are comfortable, not shivering.

I have left all mine without rugs this year. They have good coats and generally gain or shed the coat according to the weather. My very hairy one could really have done with a clip as she is sweating up with the mild weather some days (in the field, not working) and started shedding over the last week. However it has just turned cold and as she is getting an old girl (17 years) I am glad she is not clipped really so her tummy etc can keep warm when she lies down. I don't want her to end up with rheumatism.
 
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