When I Turn My Horse Out, When Is It Apropriate To Rug My Horse?What Rug Should I Use For Different Seasons And All Tht??I Live In Northern Ireland So Winters Can Vary From 12 to -3 DegreesAnd Summer Around 25 to 10 degreesFANX
hi i live in ireland aswell! in the summer i leave my horse without a rug day and night! in winter i use a heavey weight rug a masta brand its very good at night i bring him into his stable and put on a stable night rug which is not heavy also masta! if you want to in the summer u can use a fly sheet which are very light and do not make the horse too hot! good luck !! : )
God, I love the English language...when I first read your question I had visions of horse skin floor rugs and was just going to check out all the smoke and flames, LOL!!! I'm in the US...my horses are out in the pasture at will with an 18' x 40' under roof with that they can get in as they wish. If it's going to be butt-freezing cold, (around 10 farenheit or lower or freezing rain, I bring them in to their stalls at night.) I don't use blankets (rugs) much... In summer months, I do use a lightweight fly sheet at times.
It all depends on your horses breed if its a light horse for example a arab it will need to be rugged in the cold if its a cob it probably wont need rugging until winter but if its going to be clipped it might need a sumer rug i have a norweigien fjord horse and i never rug it!!! it doesnt need rugging because it is a hard type of breed and gets a very good winter coat. i think if you wanted to be cost efficiant dont rug your horse if it can be helped cause if you do it wont grow a thick coat and will you will have to keep rugging it. The only rug i have is a shires lightweight turnout rug and my horse stays out 24/7 and the rug only gets used if its 3ft deep in snow,raining/hailstone. it gets worn about 3 times a year and i have had it for 6 years lol
I have a 15.2 hh Fat horse, as round as a pumpkin! He is generally a 60 rug but can fit into a 59! He is also a cob! If you are going to have a couple of rugs, id have the bottom one or 2 as a 59 and the top ones as 60. Also i rekon he would be a cob. But i dont think there is much difference in a 5'9and a 6'0, so if you thought he may fill out or get rounder once you get him than you may be better just going with 6'0!
Yes, it's appropriate to rug your horse upon turnout. make sure his rug is well tied so he doesn't trip on the strapping. There are all kinds of turnout rugs for all kinds of weather - heavy rugs for cold weather and lighter ones for spring and fall - and even a fly rug for the summer - which is especially helpful in muggy, buggy areas. Rug your horse especially if: 1. he is clipped in the winter, 2. the weather is inclement, 3. his pasture is excessively muddy (spring time, especially) or 4. there is no shade or shelter to prevent him from getting sunburnt (greys and roans are especially vulnerable to sunburn) Re inclement weather - if you won't stand outside in your shirtsleeves for an hour - rug your horse.
