What rugs do you have on your horses when it is cold?

[Rollingdinosaur]

I bought a horse in November. Since I've had him he's been in a lightweight rug pretty much all the time. He feels warm, and is a good weight. He is clipped, but just a bit off his neck/chest. Just about every other horse at the yard where he is kept seem to be in medium/heavyweight rugs when the temperature drops below about 5 degrees and I am starting to doubt myself. I'd be interested to know what rugs people on here are using when it gets chilly. Thanks.

My horse is fully clipped out, head included and lives out 24/7 except for 2 nights a week before hunting. If it's below freezing he wears a Weatherbeeta Orican heavyweight, plus his snuggy hood but any temp above freezing he's in a medium weight with snuggy hood. He lives in a large field with plenty of shelter with access to a stable (never comes in) and is fine. When he's in the same rules/rugs apply although I usually take the snuggy hood off - sometimes he wears stable bandages as I wash his legs and if it's chilly it keeps him warm and dries them quicker.

I check his ears for warmth and also under his rug along his flanks - if he's warm there then he seems fine. My vet always said to under rug if they're outside as they can warm up easily enough but it's hard for them to cool down if over rugged.

I have an unclipped lightweight cob who's in at night and usually goes out from about 9am-3/4pm in winter. She's quite fat atm and I don't think she'd really get cold, but she's in a hooded medium weight when out and if it's a milder night then a thick fleece rug at night, if it's colder then just her medium weight with the neck rolled down.

I have an unclipped Connemara and I'm really having to hold my nerve at our yard as he only has a rainsheet on days like today when it's been raining all day down south (no shelter in field) but is naked on the fresh bright days we've been having. He is in at night and has a lightweight fleece he wears indoors if frost is predicted at night but I have been looking online for a stable rug as it's going to be getting cold at night and everyone else is in quilted stable rugs and turnouts. He could do with losing some weight and I would hate to over rug him but I don't want him to be miserable either - has anyone else got a native in at night? I just feel that he can't walk about much to keep warm so might need more cover?

Bandito I have a native who sounds similar to yours. Rugged in a rain sheet during the day. In at night naked with a straw bed, so he snuggles down, but when it's frosty I put a Shires 100gm stable rug on. It's perfect for fat natives.

I have a rotund unclipped welshie out 24/7 and not rugged. He has hedges to shelter against if required, but he doesn't use them. They get hay in the morning if its frosty. I'm hoping that he can lose some weight over winter by keeping warm. I'll see what's under all the fluff come spring!

My warmblood is clipped (just a trace) he's in at night and out 9-2ish and has just gone into his heavy weight mostly because he's destroyed his medium weight!

All fully clipped, and they are all in Premier Equine heavyweight (400gm fill) rugs tonight (below freezing). They get their lightweight rugs on if it gets up to about 7 or 8 degrees. Unfortunately I don't have any medium weight ones at the moment.

No rug for mine, an in at night out in the day native type.
She seems to hate having rugs on, snaps her teeth, raises back leg when sorting fillet string and generally crabby.
For years she was on livery and even if I left her naked, the yo would put a rug on her....very often not mine as I didn't leave them down there.
Now I have her at home, I don't feel the least bit guilty leaving her au natural.

I have two half thoroughbreds (north Scotland) and neither are currently rugged or stabled.

But back in the day when they were in full work and the big one clipped, rugs depended on weather and how they felt.

Don't pay too much attention to what others are doing with theirs. Feel his ears, if they're cold, he's cold. If he starts (gradually) losing weight despite eating, then he's possibly cold.

What breed is he?

My DD section b is trace clipped and has a lightweight masta turnout with neck and a masts medium stable tug at night
My tubby cob is fully clipped. He has a masta heavyweight turnout with neck and heavy masta stable rug with neck
Dh warm blood has heavyweight masts with neck turnout and same as Cob stable rug also clipped out.
All on straw bed at night.
My Cob dosnt like being rugged and gets the other two to rip his off at least twice a winter so he has to have new ones. My DD says they suffer from 'rug envy' 😂🏇🏇🏇

Agree with not to worry about what other folk are doing.
Stick your hand in the rug and feel horses shoulder, ears are less reliable.
What does their coat look like when you take the rug off, if it very starey they may be too cold.
Just like people some feel the cold more than others, and some yards/fields are much more exposed than others.

Like a PP says, it doesn't actually matter what other people do, horses vary so much.
That being said, my aging flimsy thoroughbred is in a heavyweight plus hood if it drops below 2 degrees, medium with hood between 2 and 8 degrees and light with half neck thereafter. Bless him, he's a feeble mite. There have been occasions when another layer may go on. He hates to be in so out 24/7.

Masta rug grrrr auto correct

Trace clipped TB here. He's just gone into his Shires heavyweight combo turnout the last couple of weeks. Then at night he has a 360g weatherbeeta combo stable at which I shove a fleece cooler on underneath if it's below freezing. I left his fleece on under his turnout this morning as it was thick ice and frost up there earlier and the yard is very exposed.

He's a warm horse but i clipped him and then mistakenly under rugged him and he was so cold and behaving very strangely. Have upped it since.

Thanks for all the responses, what a range of horses we have! Mine is a warmblood. His coat looks lovely and shiny when I take the rug off, definitely not starey. The one time I put him in a heavy weight rug he was dripping sweat when I got him in, although he could have been galloping around in the field before I got there, who knows. Its gone below freezing the last few days, so he's been in a medium weight. Now I am worrying in case he is too hot!! I really wish they could talk sometimes, to avoid all this guesswork.

My beautiful boy

DD section b in stable

Not really a problem for a horse to be slightly underrugged as long as they have good forage going through them to warm them from the inside. I do get annoyed at people who say 'if they are cold they will run round to keep warm'. My horses live at home and I've never once seen them move more when they are cold. They are far more likely to stand tucked up at a gate if they are cold.