I got it wrong about rugs last night

[Treblesallround]

After much agonising about what to do last night I left GD's mare out without a rug as it was warm and she sweats in a rug if it's at all warm, but now it's raining and I haven't got transport to the yard. DH's and my hardy horses are also unrugged and will be fine (and need to lose weight) but poor little mare (connemara/tb) will be cold and wet and she shivers if she's cold.

She's going to have to tough it out till DH gets home and I can get up to the yard and bring her in. I wish I'd put her sheet on last night, I feel so mean. She will be ok, won't she? Or am I just a bit soft?

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

She will be fine. There's plenty of grass about, she can keep warm eating!

[Treblesallround]

Good point Saggy. I'm a bit chilly, wonder if there's any cake left

[AlpinePony]

It's June. Rugs?

[marialuisa]

We managed to leave dpony out in the rain all day in the starvation paddock......Very wet, shivery pony at 3pm who was stood at the gate shouting as soon as he saw us turn up the drive . He didn't seem to come to any harm but was very unimpressed.

Alpine-ponies have barely had rugs off and we've had to have the heating on. It's cold and wet here.

[Notinmylife]

She will be fine, the way the weather is at the moment it's impossible to get it right all the time! I am sat here waiting for horse to finish his food debating whether to go for rug on or off. If its on he'll be hot when the sun comes out, off and he'll freeze when it rains, you can't win!

[Treblesallround]

At least I took her fly rug off so she hasn't got clingy wet nylon to contend with

[Callisto]

I left DD's pony out in a sheet last night and then swapped it for his heavyweight winter rug this morning as it was so cold and wet here. It has rained all day and I've got the woodburner is going so I think I got it right this time. But it is a nightmare trying to decide which rug to put on him. He should be naked by now and prancing around a sunlit paddock with flowers in his hair, not rugged to the ears and fetlock deep in mud.

I'm sure your mare will be fine Trebles. We all definitely pamper our ponies and horses way too much (apart from Alpine ).

[SilverSky]

I'd rather mine was cold than too hot. Horses move around, eat, take shelter to keep warm. The weather is so changeable at the mo. My chap can afford to lose a few pounds and a bit of bloatage so it won't do him any harm to be out naked.

I've spent many a time looking out the window at the weather feeling sorry for him only to go and find him not half as wet as I thought he would be and warm under his armpits/base of ears.

[horseylady]

Im with silversky!!ESP this time of year!! They both had lightweights on a couple of days last week!

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

I have to put up my hands and say that I have resorted to a rug today! All live out, even in the winter quite naked! I used two bales of straw as winter feed, between five last winter, and I am a H.A.R.D owner!
However it's been raining here, in the dryest part of the country, yeah right solidly all day and my poor little aged fuzzy felt, (late 20s) was absolutely shuddering with cold! She is decidedly rotund, and didn't feel that chilly underneath, but just couldn't stand still! So she is wrapped up cosy now in a nice mid turnout.
She won't be able to get cold now, as she instantly became a baby magnet! Both babies are likely to spend the rest of the night followin her about,swinging off her rug, chewing at it and generally being annoying!
The rest of them, however, can lump it and be cold! fat gits!

[Butkin]

Upgraded Palomino's rug from lightweight NZ to medium weight this evening. He was shivering and his fur was fluffed up under his lightweight which was saturated. Had to give them more paddock as well because it was just mud under their Oak tree.

[frostyfingers]

It's an absolute nightmare - my TB's rugs are all usually washed and put away by mid May, but I haven't dared get them done yet. A couple of times I've decided he's fine only to go and find him standing tucked up in a corner shivering, or galloping round and round in mud. My policy now is if it's windy and wet he has his lighter turnout, but if it's just wet or just windy he goes naked, but I do keep having to check his ears to keep my conscience clear!

My vet has always told me it's better to under than over rug, as they can get warm by galloping about, but find it hard to cool down and could catch a chill if they sweat under a rug and then get cold.....

[Backinthebox]

Silversky has it right.

My pony has spent the best part of 13 years living out 24/7. He's only been stabled part time since we bought him in Jan, and that's only because I need to preserve my grass for the horses and not let him stuff himself with it all!

I did relent and put a rain sheet on my horse though this week - it is just not summer at all out there!

[Pixel]

Dhorse is usually a bit of a wimp, I had to put his rug on last summer because he was shivering from head to foot, and I've never had to do with any of our others, even elderly ones. He's fine atm though, surprisingly, considering it has poured non-stop for about a week now, we have barely any mud and he seems to spend all day in his shelter (he's suspiciously dry! ). I was wondering why he was so fat, he's actually got a crest which is something I'm usually so careful about. Then today I caught my mum moving the electric fencing so he could get some lush grass, then bunging him an extra armful of lovely green hay and some wild parsley and goosegrass! (this was after his feed btw). I said "what are you doing? He's enormous already" and she said "Oh well I feel so sorry for him in this weather". Grrr!

Dshetland looks lovely and sleek in the rain, like a little seal .

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

When I returned to the field this morning, Enid, the old girl I had to rug up last night was still shivering. Really quaking! Her ears and teats were frozen. So she has been upgraded to super thickness, and has spent the day in the grass yard, under observation in case she has colic. (she shivered like this last time she had it) we decided that the long grass would probably give her the shots and she would clear any blockage! She stuffed all day, warmed up nicely and did two huge poos! I think she had just caught a chill. So she can stay in her big rug for a while! fucking weather

[AhsataN]

my two old girls 26 and 27 have gone out tonight with lightweight rain sheets. i plan on leaving them out until Thursday morning. so they wont get too hot if it perks up, i made the mistake of putting a medium weight on my conn/tb and she was roasting hot and not very impressed.

[Treblesallround]

She came in for the night on Monday to dry off and is now in a rain sheet so at least she's dry. I am so sick of the rain, but at least we'll have haylage for the winter.