To rug or not to rug in winter?

Rugging up horses and ponies for winter is a hot topic at the moment. We are still experiencing mild days this Autumn, some temperatures as hot as an Irish summer day. Last week it was 20 degrees in the Midlands. Two days later it was 12 degrees. How unpredictable is that? But generally the nights are much colder now and frost is forecast. There are plenty of people visiting this website with rug worries.
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Do all horses and ponies need rugs? No, I don’t believe so. Small, native ponies and cobs are well able to do without. Young horses are able to do without. I’m not going to rug up my yearling pony, for instance. I will, however, put rugs on all old ponies and horses. It is not the cold so much as the rain that bothers horses. We all meet people who think rugging horses unless in hard work makes them soft but I wouldn’t like to see my older equines shivering in the rain all winter. Horses are living longer and being ridden into their twenties. They deserve looking after – I’ll be writing about caring for older equines in winter soon because they need extra attention when they get into their twenties.

Rugs will save you money because the horse doesn’t have to put so much energy into keeping warm. I always advise buying a good quality rug because it will last longer and won’t slip. I’ve seen cheaper rugs torn to sheds by horses in no time. Remember no rug will stay on a horse in wind without a fillet string. The fillet string ties across the back of the rug under the tail and needs to be fairly tight but not restricting the hind legs. A slight loop in it is ideal.

Can horses and ponies be kept out at grass in winter while being ridden? Yes, definitely. I do this with ones which are only in light work. Most of them are not clipped under the rug. They are fed hay and hard feed in the fields and are perfectly happy. Some in harder work who sweat more are given a ‘belly clip’ which is where the hair is clipped from the stomach and up the neck. This is a good clip for ones who live out with a rug all winter. A ‘low trace clip’ also works where a small amount of hair is removed along the sides of the horse. I would never clip a horse completely ‘out’ (where you remove all the hair – also called a ‘hunter clip’) and expect him to live out. Horses and ponies clipped out completely need to be stabled. More info on clipping.