Rugging Horses In Winter

To rug or not to rug how hot is your horse.

Rugging horses in winter.

In cold wet weather a good quality and well fitting rug can help the horse to maintain condition as a cold wet horse will burn a lot of energy keeping warm. Horses are very efficient at controlling their core body temperature when the environmental temperature is between around 5 to 25 o c and in winter they can acclimatise to a wider range e g. The science of rugging horses. In mid to late august after two months of diminishing daylight hours the horse s winter coat clears the skin s surface.

Down to 15 o c. Horses that are used to the colder weather and have spent most of their time outside tend to cope better with cooler temperatures than horses that are stabled all the time. Rugging over heating and other considerations. We mustn t forget that horses are designed to use fat reserves over winter to keep warm.

About that same time the summer coat begins to fall out with peak shedding occurring around the fall equinox. Horses actually handle the cold better than heat and a common misconception amongst horse owners is that hors. Combined with which rugging is very different for every horse as it depends on breed weight climate his work load and even their coats themselves. Happiness is a warm blanket charlie brown quick notes.

Over rugging may also mean the horse warms up under the rug but not in other exposed areas. As we move towards winter and despite enjoying warm autumn days the colder nights and mornings probably have most of us reaching for our body warmers fleeces and jackets when we go to see our horses. Unlike humans normal digestion in the horse s hindgut produces a. You aren t as aware of this annual event as you are of spring shedding because shorter hairs are flying about.

Once bathed even in warm water a wicking rug should be applied until the horse is dried and then the horse can be rugged and checked a few times before a final rug choice is made. I often see horses rugged 24 hrs a day in winter rugs basically wearing winter rugs from. If he is hot under his rug his ability to cool down naturally is lost too. Bathing a horse in inclement winter weather in cold water is not ideal and is an important consideration in a basic guide to rugging horses.

Over rugging or putting a rug on too soon can compromise a horse s ability to do this. What about rugs in winter. Overheating in rugs has got to be terribly unbearable for horses.