It s sadly commonplace to see heavily rugged horses looking miserable on warm days.
Over rugging horses uk.
Dangers of over rugging horses like humans have a temperature range with which they don t have to expend energy to lose or gain body heat.
Not every horse needs to wear a rug.
Unfortunately rugs create their own set of problems and now charities even issue advice against over rugging.
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I will admit i over rug my horse but they never seem worse for wear but it is a personal thing.
Overheating doesn t only cause unnecessary discomfort but reduces movement and can cause skin complaints.
Allowing your horse to self regulate his temperature and keep out of driving rain without the risk of over rugging.
We recently had a new livery who stated she does rug up well etc etc but putting 2 lightweights on to me is not over rugging but she said the other people at her yard thought she over rugged so it does depend on the yard also.
Many horses will thrive on a grass only diet but it is vital that tethered horses are moved regularly to ensure a constant supply of fresh food.
In the short term it can lead to overheated horses she said.
We are called out to horses displaying signs of colic but.
Horses should gain weight during the summer and lose weight during the winter by over rugging we mess with their hormone levels which as already mentioned can lead to laminitis and other problems.
If he is hot under his rug his ability to cool down naturally is lost too.
To help with the decision of what rug to put on ruby daily i use this chart which helps me to decide when i should be using certain rugs on her.
Over rugging or putting a rug on too soon can compromise a horse s ability to do this.
During the winter months or any other time when grass is limited additional forage such as hay or haylage may need to be provided.
As gs says some people over do it whether because they don t realise horses aren t humans or are under peer pressure or just buy all the new rugs in all the new fancy designs and some people overdo it and end up with cold skinny sick horses.
This range is 5 25 degrees celsius.
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Horses have adapted to maintain their body temperature within this range and specifically when temperatures are below 5 degrees these adaptations include.
To be honest i ve been getting rather sick of all the holier than thou rugging posts that have been appearing all over fb recently.
To read more about over rugging and how keeping your horse more naturally could make them healthier read the full article in issue 457.
