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To Rug or Not to Rug a Heavy Horse/Draft

10K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  DraftGuy 
#1 ·
I would like to know what peoples thoughts are on rugging Heavy Horses. My boys have grown thick, beautiful winter coat and cold doesn't seem to bother my big lad or my baby Clydesdale. Now some people tell me I should rug my boys in Winter because he and the young 'un will lose too much weight. Other people tell me if I rug, I'll do more harm than good because they will 'lose' their coat and I will 'switch off' their own heating mechanism. Any advice?
 
#2 ·
As you have already concluded, your horses 'have thick winter coats and the cold doesn't seem to bother them'. You are doing the right thing by questioning others' advice to rug (or in the U.S., 'blanket') them. Personally, I would not! I live in a very, very cold and snowy climate and never have blanketed my horses. They too, grow thick winter coats, and with plenty of good hay and a run-in barn they don't even shiver on the most frigid of days. I brush mine regularly to bring out the natural oils and can see it working first hand in inclement weather. Horse-keeping should, (but it's only my opinion), be kept as simple and natural as possible. These amazing animals are so adaptable, and I believe healthier that way :)
 
#3 ·
I live in FL, so we don't blanket. But they have hay 24/7 to keep the heat.
I think thats part of the problem with horses, we cause alot of their problems, by trying to change nature. How many horses have you seen in the wild with a blanket? God gives them the thick coat for a reason. People don't realize that when you blanket a horse you screw up that natural coat. All the hay they can eat and a wind break, a roof if you have alot of snow, at least a few trees they can get under.
I know its hard, but don't worry to much, God has been looking out for them alot longer than any of us.
 
#4 ·
I wouldn't rug a healthy, furry draft. Just be sure they have free access to hay. There are two full drafts (5yo and 19yo) and a light draft (6yo) in our barn, and all of them are pasture boarded 24/7. They don't even think of using a shelter when the temperatures drop lower than -30 by Celsius, and are perfectly happy and warm.
 
#5 ·
This winter it got colder much faster than usual, my mare's winter coat isn't all the way in (she's a small draft). I've been blanketing her if it's under 25 degrees, but typically when she's fully wooly she doesn't get it until it's under 15. She's also stalled at night so no wind/wet. Is yours indoors?

As for them not growing a winter coat because of a blanket, it's just not true. Their coats are determined by the amount of daylight. Which is why my horse with cataracts is in a perpetual winter coat. They will grow the coat the daylight deems they need. The difference is right when you take a blanket off their hair is flat, which causes it to loose it's warmth. It takes a few minutes to fluff again to be able to properly insulate them, I find a quick curry or hard brush helps that along. But that's why horses seem 'so cold' after you un-blanket them. This is also why the blanket needs to be warmer than the coat, blanketing a horse with a blanket less warm than his coat is actually just making them colder, which is why my fuzzy little pony only has a heavy blanker (for a really awful night or if he's sick or something).
 
#6 · (Edited)
We do not blanket our drafts. We live in Maine and it gets cold, (10 degrees Fahrenheit this morning) but they grow great big winter coats so we see no need to blanket them. Though, I can say that last year we had an old mare (28 years and passed this summer due to cancer) and we did blanket her just to help her keep weight on and stay warm. She really enjoyed her blanket, but she HATED coming into the barn!

We do have a run in that they will use if it gets very windy, snowy or freezing rain, otherwise they seem to prefer being outside 24/7 in the winter.

We do have hay out 24/7 in the winter. In the summer, we are lucky, they have fields.
 
#9 ·
We do not blanket our drafts. We live in Maine and it gets cold, (10 degrees Fahrenheit this morning) but they grow great big winter coats so we see no need to blanket them. Though, I can say that last year we had an old mare (28 years and passed this summer due to cancer) and we did blanket her just to help her keep weight on and stay warm. She really enjoyed her blanket, but she HATED coming into the barn!

We do have a run in that they will use if it gets very windy, snowy or freezing rain, otherwise they seem to prefer being outside 24/7 in the winter.

We do have hay out 24/7 in the winter. In the summer, we are lucky, they have fields.
Yahoo for another Mainer! Where do you live PercheronMom? We're in Union (Midcoast near Rockland)

I don't blanket Sam (2 year old Belgian gelding). Even his first winter as a weanling I didn't blanket him. If I feel the need, I have a water proof sheet that will keep him from getting wet but doesn't provide any warmth. I only have this because his new boarding barn doesn't have trees or a run-in in the turnouts. But he is fuzzy and wooly, so I may not even use it . I don't see the point. If the temperature is over 35* F then he sweats because his coat is so thick.
 
#8 ·
You live in the UK where it rains a lot. Horses in dry cold cope a lot easier than horses that get rained on as the rain flattens the horses coat and they can get soaked through, and this cold.

So to answer your question,it depends on the following:

Do you work your horse sufficiently hard and often to need to clip him in the winter? If so, then you should rug.

Does he come in at night, or live out 24/7?

When he is in the field, does he have good shelter from the rain? If yes, then you shouldn't have to rug.

I'm an advocate of not rugging when unnecessary - but if your horse is in a field with NO shelter from rain for 24 hours a day then in that scenario even I would be rugging. Or preferably, moving to a field/paddock/yard with shelter. :lol:
 
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#10 ·
You live in the UK where it rains a lot. Horses in dry cold cope a lot easier than horses that get rained on as the rain flattens the horses coat and they can get soaked through, and this cold.

So to answer your question,it depends on the following:

Do you work your horse sufficiently hard and often to need to clip him in the winter? If so, then you should rug.

Does he come in at night, or live out 24/7?

When he is in the field, does he have good shelter from the rain? If yes, then you shouldn't have to rug.

I'm an advocate of not rugging when unnecessary - but if your horse is in a field with NO shelter from rain for 24 hours a day then in that scenario even I would be rugging. Or preferably, moving to a field/paddock/yard with shelter. :lol:
My horses only have natural shelter and live out 24/7, my 2 yr old haflinger will have a bone dry coat underneath the outer layer even after driving rain for days. Rain is not always an issue, but it depends upon the horse, my shetland cross will get cold in the same conditions and so needs rugging even though his coat is excessively thick.
 
#13 ·
The biggest problem we had in the UK was days on end of rain and lots and lots of mud.
Unless you intend to clip then I wouldnt bother rugging them, they dont need it - though having to scrape 2 inches of dry or wet mud off a horse every time you ride it might make you want to invest in a light waterproof sheet!!!
What I would suggest though is that unless they have a shelter with dry standing underfoot you stable them at night to give their legs/backs a chance to dry out when it is really muddy and or endless rain - which according to most of my friends in the UK its appalling and many who's native ponies always live out have had them stabled at night for months now rather than have them standing hock deep in mud.
The Horse & Hound was reporting a huge rise in mud fever cases back in the summer and their advice was the same as mine
 
#14 ·
We have had the wettest year I have ever known in the UK in 50 years. Mud in some of myhorses field is knee deep and they don't like it one bit. They always move to higher ground. I think you are all saying what I was feeling about rugging/blanketing. My boys do have natural shelter during the day but at night they are in large airy stables with wood shavings about 4-6" thick, large haynet each, a bowlful of feed and breakfast each morning! In fact theya re taken better care of than I am. Anyway, thanks guys for the really good advice. You've given me some things to think about.
 
#15 ·
I have several blankets for Ahab, but only use them if it is really cold and he is wet after a ride (which is anytime he goes more than 1/2 a mile). I usually put a few towels under the blanket, and replace them when they get wet. The blanket is off just as soon as he is dry. I also used blankets (sometimes) if it is sleeting heavily, but take it off as soon as I can. Ahab pees and poops outside, so he always has a thickly bedded stall to go into. If it is raining, though, he likes to be out in it. Even when his coat covered in icicles, he is bone dry next to his skin.
 
#16 ·
Living in Australia it just doesn't get that cold for my boy to grow a full hairy coat,during summer he suffers from Qld itch/sweet itch,so he has to be rugged 24/7 to stop him scratching his skin off,and because i show,keeping him rugged helps keep his coat/mane/tail clean and shiny
 
#17 ·
That is totally understandable. We have a Connemara who has serious sweet itch and was going to be euthanised. He was saved by a cats whisker by a young lass. He has to be clipped summer and winter, bathed daily 3 seasons a year and wear special covers 24/7. he only goes au natrel when he is competing. He is an amazing eventing horse and won top level competitions. And to think he wouldn't have made it. The girl has had him now for 3 years and her dedication has paid dividends. Don't give up on your horse, ever.
 
#18 ·
Thanks for all the messages guys. Some really useful advice. However, I bit the bullet tonight and rugged 'baby' and my big lad. The temperature is going to drop to -12. When I got to their stables tonight, their poo was frozen solid and I had to break the ice in their water buckets INSIDE the stable. They won't be rugged when they go out tomorrow morning though.
 
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