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Original poster

Why do horses get coats and cows don't?

258 replies

noblegiraffe · 13/10/2023 19:59

Today I was driving in the pouring rain past a horse field, and they were all, bar one, wearing coats. Then there was a cow field, obviously no coats.

Which led me to wonder why some animals get coats and others don't. Who decided that horses need coats, and why? Was the coatless horse just like a cool teen who will not wear a coat however much you tell them to, or a rock-hard horse who doesn't actually need one?

Why do some dogs get coats and others not? Did they try to sell coats for cats but cats said no way?

Do other animals get coats?

OP posts:
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Original poster
noblegiraffe · 14/10/2023 09:10

IamRa · 14/10/2023 00:47

Interestingly, light-coloured cows that stand in the sun all day can sunburn. They benefit from a good coat of ... sunburn lotion. Not even kidding.

Which raises the prospect of.....cows with sun tans?

OP posts:
CloudyAgain · 14/10/2023 10:27

I used to put suntan lotion on my grey Connemara. He has a hairless pink nose and got awful sunburn. I liked the zinc cream. Plus a mesh fly mask to protect his eyes.

Happy days.

woofwoofandwoof · 14/10/2023 10:56

Cows...aren't ridden.

Shame really. Maybe we could start cow riding as a thing. "I'm going cow riding at the weekend".

Probably pleasant - a slow amble in a field.

Unless you had this one....

https://preview.redd.it/82kt6malph231.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=b82a64f30f8d6c260d4da2cf0486d291fd9fff97

woofwoofandwoof · 14/10/2023 10:57

my adverts on this page are all horse blankets

Thunderpunt · 14/10/2023 11:26

I've been out of horses for over 20 years, but I still remember (not fondly) us desperately trying to get NZ rugs clean after the winter months, scrubbing off months of caked mud, patching up any tears, and then a whole row of them hanging to dry over the fence rails..
And do those sweatsheets still exist, the hole-y ones that looked like the 80s T-bag T shirts?

Floralnomad · 14/10/2023 12:25

Thunderpunt · 14/10/2023 11:26

I've been out of horses for over 20 years, but I still remember (not fondly) us desperately trying to get NZ rugs clean after the winter months, scrubbing off months of caked mud, patching up any tears, and then a whole row of them hanging to dry over the fence rails..
And do those sweatsheets still exist, the hole-y ones that looked like the 80s T-bag T shirts?

Now you just pack up all your rugs when you’ve finished using them and send them off to be cleaned and repaired at one of the many horse laundrettes , it’s much easier . I’m currently in my 46 th continuous year of horse ownership and have witnessed many changes .

PabloandGustheGreySquirrels · 14/10/2023 12:30

Bovrilla · 13/10/2023 20:00

Because in winter horses get their coats clipped

This is to stop them overheating and sweating too much, and then getting a chill when exercised in winter.

Cows...aren't ridden.

Edited

Imagining a cow racetrack 🐄 😆

PabloandGustheGreySquirrels · 14/10/2023 12:31

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 13/10/2023 20:02

I’ve always thought of horses as being more fashion forward.

Swishy hair, shiny hooves, etc.

Cows tend to stick with the 80s style black and white. Classic, but kind of dull.

😆

Thunderpunt · 14/10/2023 12:35

@Floralnomad omg that sounds like a dream
I can also remember taking their night rugs to the local launderette as a teenager because they were too big to go in my mums washing machine..... the hair that must have been left in there for the next person Blush Shocking really!

Unfortun8 · 14/10/2023 12:39

Donkeys have long fur, but unlike horses they aren't waterproof in the same way so need rugs when it rains

Needmorelego · 14/10/2023 13:15

"Sooooo..... Google show me pictures of cow riding"....

Why do horses get coats and cows don't?
Needmorelego · 14/10/2023 13:17

This feels like a plot for a story from Bunty Comic. The poor scholarship girl at the riding school who can't afford a horse but her uncle lets her use his prize cow instead.

afaloren · 14/10/2023 13:20

My dog hated the coat we bought for him. He’s a Labrador and to be muddy and wet is his natural state! I just put up with it now and hose him down every day.

CharlotteStreetW1 · 14/10/2023 13:22

LaBohemia · 13/10/2023 20:07

I reckon zebras blow dry. Their manes stick straight up. Ditto Exmoor ponies.

Show quote history

😂

(Incidentally zebras have inbuilt aircon)

Floralnomad · 14/10/2023 13:25

@Thunderpunt my mum was always round the launderette with the bigger rugs , the only ones that fitted in the machine at home were the shetlands . We had 2 mares who wore webbing type head collars and they got washed twice a week in a pillow case so the buckles didn’t damage the machine . If the New Zealand’s were very wet she used to put them up in the utility room on ironing boards so they would be dry for the next time they were needed - mad woman . Only person in the world who owned 4 ironing boards . At our peak we had 3 horses and a Shetland .

therealcookiemonster · 14/10/2023 13:36

I'm tired of all this discrimination. it's time ALL animals were offered coats.

also, cows can definitely be ridden... we just haven't tried hard enough

Daftasabroom · 14/10/2023 13:41

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 13/10/2023 20:02

I’ve always thought of horses as being more fashion forward.

Swishy hair, shiny hooves, etc.

Cows tend to stick with the 80s style black and white. Classic, but kind of dull.

Have you seen the hoof rings they were? Posers.

LookItsMeAgain · 14/10/2023 13:46

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 13/10/2023 20:02

I’ve always thought of horses as being more fashion forward.

Swishy hair, shiny hooves, etc.

Cows tend to stick with the 80s style black and white. Classic, but kind of dull.

You’re the winner of the internet today! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

MrTiddlesTheCat · 14/10/2023 13:49

My dogs have coats because they're Westues and small and have clipped coats. I hate dog coats but if they don't have them they shiver with cold.

My cats are hard as nails and would rather freeze to death than wear a coat.

LookItsMeAgain · 14/10/2023 13:52

noblegiraffe · 13/10/2023 20:19

You might be right. I was googling horse coats and coming up with nothing, but now I've gathered the correct term is 'rug', look at all these snazzy numbers.

Show quote history

They used to sell those in the middle aisle of Lidl at one stage. The rugs like, not the horses…though some say they were in the frozen food section until food quality got better!

Malarandras · 14/10/2023 14:01

Some horses wear coats because they are not native breeds so they don’t grow in a thick enough coat for our weather. Some native breeds are clipped because they are still in work so they need a coat to keep them warm when in. Native breeds who are not in work might still wear a light coat in the winter to keep them dry and a bit warmer. Some don’t wear coats if they have a thick enough coat naturally and aren’t clipped. It depends on the horse and how active they are, also where they live.

Nor sure about cows. Maybe because they have a different physiology? Or maybe try yea are just less fashion forward as a previous poster indicated!

Scrowy · 14/10/2023 14:15

There is a saying round our way that cows eat with five mouths if they are outside in the winter.

Not having them paddling up the field, eating all the grass for the sheep AND buying them a bloody coat each into the bargain.

Naw, they can go in the shed pick a cubicle and a rubber cow mat each and make do with pickled grass and mains water for winter.

(5 mouths = 4 hooves each smushing a mouthful worth of grass into the ground every time the cow takes a step forward to take another bite)

Conkered · 14/10/2023 14:16

I hate to say it too, but for horses, we try to extend their life expectancy and we need to look after them as they age. Sadly cows are not really destined for old age and are often young and hardy.