Over the stable door with Hamish

Greetings Fellow Equines and Horse Owners!

By now many of you will be putting rugs on horses as the cold nights set in. It is handy to always have a spare rug or two from previous years just in case the present one gets a  tear or whatever.

Especially by the time we get into July/August, there’s nothing worse than having to rush out to replace a rug on a foul day, only to find that there isn’t a spare interim rug. These days the modern synthetic rugs are super warm, even if not as robust as the old canvas ones were. There are advantages to both. The canvas ones lasted for years with care, but they could be heavy, didn’t always fit well and therefore could rub. The newer ones, being lighter are less likely to rub and are easier to fit; but don’t last as long!

As equines, we do actually have our own fur coat, but there are times when even that is not sufficient to keep us warm. Days that have a chill factor, such as wind and rain together (as we would tend to get in the hills) can make it really difficult for us to keep warm. Things that an owner can do to help alleviate this are; to provide adequate shelter and provide plenty of roughage. The shelter can be in the form of a man-made structure such as an open sided shed, a valley or a copse of trees. A plentiful supply of ad lib, good quality meadow hay will help to generate heat and keep your neddy warm. Bear in mind too that young, thin or older horses are less tolerant to the cold and will definitely need that shelter and extra roughage.

Come summer, and the rugs need to come off. It can be tricky trying to juggle that in the spring months when the weather is quite changeable. The coats are starting to shed and we get quite itchy under the rug, so keeping the inside of the rugs clean at this time of year is important too. Rugging is also useful for keeping the equine clean and with lighter coloured horses a rug or face veil can be used to prevent sunburn/fading.

Turning a horse out can have its challenges too. We are very adaptable creatures, but like a reasonable time to adjust. So anything, and this can vary according to age, health, time of year etc. between 10 days to 3 weeks is a good time to allow for an adjustment period.

As equines, we can withstand quite a range of temperatures without having to expend extra energy. This range is called a thermal neutral zone or TNZ and the temperature ranges from 5degC to 15degC. So basically, excluding a chill factor, we don’t really need a rug when the temperature is over 15 deg! If we are wearing a rug above this temperature, then our body has to work to get rid of that extra heat. That extra work can take the form of dilation of blood vessels, sweating and panting. Even a cotton summer sheet can raise our temperature.

Horsewear stores do an amazing job of promoting all kinds of colour coordinated paddock wear (especially aimed at ladies!), but a fair bit of it is unnecessary, just makes the horse owner feel better, albeit poorer in pocket.

So next time you go out into the paddock to rug your equine friend, do have a thought about whether he/she really does need that rug, or is it just to make you feel better?

Personally I have quite a good fur covering, but I am quick to run for cover when that chill factor comes in!

Happy munching everyone,

Hamish