29/09/2024
Friday focus….my obligatory post that I share every year about over rugging now the temperatures are starting to drop!
Obesity is a huge welfare issue here in the U.K. and there are many contributing factors. Over feeding, lack of exercise and over rugging are considered to be the main causes. If you have a good doing or native type, then please, before you reach for your rugs, think whether they need them or not!
The colder autumn and winter months are fantastic for helping weight loss if you allow your horse or pony to use some of their energy to keep warm! I am not saying never use a rug and I am not saying that they should shiver their weight off either; that would be a welfare issue and that is definitely something I would never advocate.
I am however, saying that we generally over rug; we rug according to how cold we feel, not how they feel, and that a huge amount of our horses and ponies do not need the weight of rugs we put on them. I often see native types with 300g-400g rugs on and this is definitely not a needed for an animal that is very well equipped to deal with the worst of the U.K. weather!
Horses are really good at keeping warm, if they have plenty of forage to eat, they have shelter and can escape the elements, they can regulate their body temperatures very well on their own. There are some exceptions to this and some do feel the cold and I am not for one minute saying rugs should never be used, but I am saying many do not need the weights of rugs we put on them. Many do perfectly well with just a rain sheet or lighter weight rug on. There are however many that do need to be kept warmer; finer skinned, the young, the elderly, those underweight, ill equines, those with muscular issues etc. so they should be kept warm!
As part of weight loss programmes, I often recommend keeping rugs as light as possible over the cooler months and the response this gets from some on the yards is astounding! Not rugging or lightly rugging an overweight, good doing or native type horse or pony is not cruel in any way shape or form! What is cruel is letting them stay overweight as this significantly compromises their overall health and well-being.
So if you have a native or good doing type that has come out of the summer carrying some extra weight, you will make life much easier for you and your horse if you let them gradually lose this over the winter months. They will not lose weight if they are over rugged. Even reducing the weight of the rug you use will help make a difference over the course of the winter.
I choose not to rug my own horses as they can come and go to and from a bedded shelter as they please. There is enough forage for them to eat in their shelter and they have restricted grass to eat too. This works very well for them and they both regulate their temperatures well enough on their own. However, if I kept them in a typical yard situation, they would be rugged as needed and they will be rugged if either of them struggle to regulate their temperature in their current environment. So, all I am saying here is that be led by your horse and their environment and do not be pressured into rugging if you don’t need to.
