Horse Rugs

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

I had this no rugs, no shoes philosophy. And until this year, the no rugs thing worked really well.

Let me explain the no rug thing. I found the rugs to be a very expensive thing, and neither of my boys get clipped in the winter, and we have some winter days that are like summer days and I can't always get to the paddock to take their rugs off, so I would let their coats grow naturally and I'd add all the right supplements to their feed: garlic, manuka honey, cider vinegar. And they seemed to thrive in the winter months. Also, Sammy would go through rugs like most people do socks. Rug would be brand new one day and the next he'd have ripped the back of it beyond repair.

This year however, my boys and I moved. We now only live 20 mins west from our old place, but we live closer to the Southern Alps (a mountain range that runs just off the middle of the South Island (A tectonic plate runs under it too)), we are also higher up. So it gets a lot colder here than it did at mum and Bruce's place (more chance of snow). Forgetting my principles, I went out and brought them rugs.

At first I felt really guilty as it went from being cold to almost like being the middle of summer again, and there were days when I couldn't take their their rugs off. I don't feel guilty anymore.

In the past two days, we have had a month's worth of rain. And to add salt to the wound, they say we haven't even seen the worst of it yet.

Basically, rock on horse rugs!!!!

[.Rissa.]

Yeah, I am still like you were. My horses never get clipped, they always grow winter coats. It can get really cold here in Oklahoma, but they have a three sided barn, that faces the south, so it is weather protected, they go in and out as they please. They also have plenty of trees for shelter. Obviousley, the wild horses on ranges make it fine in the winter, so why wouldn't these guys?

Blankets are very expensive, I had one on Indy, a baby blanket, becuase he did start shivering last year when he was a little baby and there was bad snow. I have a grown one for, just in case situations. But it has never been used as of yet.

[chey]

I only put blanket's on for when it get right down cold and there is freezing rain and wind chill is below -0 other than that they usly don't have a blanket.

[emmaandfudge]

Lewis wears a rug throughout winter in and out of his stable because he gets clipped every winter. He also has an exersise rug which I put on him if its really cold, heavily raining or snowing. But in summer he doesn't normally wear anything part from maybe in spring/ early summer when it can get abit chilly then he wears his fleece rug. Also if he ever happened to rip his rugs to shreds theres like a whole stable full of them (yes they have a stable full of turnout/ stable rugs) that are used on the clipped riding school horses so yer im lucky in that sense that I could just use the riding schools rugs.