Because I live in aus and the temperatures range from *lowest 6-10C winter* and highest around 36C in summer, with no dramatic weather usually, would a horse the is kept out in a paddock all its life **pleasure horse** need such rugs like winter and summer etc? (if it was clipped or didn't have a nice big fluffy coat))thanks.
Yes it will. im in aus to and my horse always has a rug on. Where looking at a HOT summer this year mate. And hot summers mean COLD winters. Use a rug!
I have three horses and live in Victoria. Two of them were unrugged this winter - a QH with a thick coat, not in work and a QH weanling with a thick coat. My first cross QH mare was clipped (hunter clip) as she was worked so she was rugged. The temps were getting down to -1C overnight. Mind you, my horses were hard fed twice daily and lived on average grass (not much grass because of the drought). If they weren't hard fed, they all would have needed rugs, including the weanling. The feed (especially roughage such as hay or chaff) ferments in the horses bowel, which warms them up from the inside. Less feed = less internal heating = more rugs required to keep the weight on. In summer, my show horses are rugged to keep their coats nice and prevent sun bleaching. If they aren't being show, then they don't get rugged. At the moment they are all unrugged as there are no shows because of EI. I am lucky enough to have my horses on full livery so there's always some one there to change their rugs if it gets too hot or too cold. If you aren't lucky enough to have someone keeping an eye on your horses (or if they aren't kept on your property) then you have to be very careful when keeping your horse rugged as they can get themselves into trouble. Rugs breaking, caught in fences, tearing and leaking, horse overheating because of a sudden patch of sunny weather, skin conditions because of sweating/overheating - the list goes on and on. Hope this has helped and not confused you further!
I'm English , but understand the weather in AUS . A horse that is clipped out , will certainly need a rug during the winter . Even thoroughbreds with a full winter coat are actually better without a rug , your temperatures are not so cold . Rain is an important factor , that can seriously harm their skin . From your temperatures , I guess you to be in Victoria , where they have heavy rain , sleet and snow . I imagine you to be riding daily , or as often as you can . Keeping them clean is another factor , you don't want to waste your time scraping the mud off them . I recommend a Rambo New Zealand rug , if you can get one ; they never shift no matter how much rolling . My big Thoroughbred had one with a net lining , it better not to coddle them too much .
If you are going to clip the horse then absolutely it will need a rug. Depending on what you are doing with it as far as excercise goes maybe it will even need two rugs and a neck rug. In the summer time if you are doing lot of excercise or if you are living in a place where the flies are bad (which is most of Australia) then a light summer sheet might be useful too. Horses are pretty adaptable and will grow long hair in the winter to keep themselves warm but just remember this, if you decide not to rug your horse in the winter you will have to spend more money on food for the horse because it will be using all its energy to keep warm and may struggle to put on weight. If you do not rug then DO NOT clip. That would be cruel! Hope this helps.
Hi there, It all depends on what you are doing with the horse and where it is being kept. If you are going to show the horse then yes you will need to rug it. If you clip it it will need a rug. If it is very thin then again rugs have their place. Having said that mine are just for pleasure and I don't rug. It takes alot of hassle out of looking after them. I don't have to worry if it is too hot or cold, did or didn't I take the rug off and then the weather changed? We get everything from snow through to 40 deg. Most horses are smart enough to get out of the rain or heat by moving into shelter. My horses are out in a paddock and do just fine. I have to tell you that my Whaler X mare is not too fond of the snow. She look at it as a personal insult, having spent most of her life in the Northern Territory. Were as my daughters pony just turns into a mamoth look a like during the winter. The other up side of not rugging is that rugs rip and need repair, this can add up. I rugged my mare the first winter she was down here, thought I was doing the right thing. By the end of winter I had two rugs that where more patches than original rugs, they had been brand new. So I gave up trying to rug her. We are both more happy about it all now. Hope that helps.
