If there’s one topic of conversation I can guarantee I overhear at the yard on a daily basis, it’s “What rug are you putting on your horse?” – and I always refer them to our horse rugging guide. Non-horsey people would not believe the amount of time we all spend deciding what rug to put on our horses – or whether they even need a rug – especially when the temperatures are fluctuating.
Below is a guideline of when a horse is likely to need a rug, which you can use as a starting point for your decision making. When using this guide, consider a clipped horse to be one where the majority of the hair has been removed, such as in a full clip or hunter clip. A horse with a low trace clip or similar, that leaves much of the coat on the horse’s body, should be considered “unclipped”, especially if they are a good-doer or tend to be overweight.
Horse rugging guide based on temperature
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Temperature
Clipped
Unclipped
Above 15°C
No rug or a lightweight no-fill rug, such as a summer sheet
No rug
10–15°C
Lightweight stable rug (50-150g) or a lightweight no-fill rug, like a summer sheet
No rug or a lightweight no-fill rug, like a summer sheet
5–10°C
Middleweight stable rug (around 200g)
Lightweight no-fill rug, like a summer sheet, or a lightweight stable rug (50-150g)
0–4°C
Heavyweight stable rug (around 300g)
Lightweight stable rug (50-150g) or middleweight rug (around 200g)
-10–0°C
Heavyweight rug (300-400g) with a neck cover
Medium weight rug (200g), possibly with a liner
Below -10°C
Heavyweight rug (300-500g) with neck cover, plus a liner if needed
Medium or heavyweight rug (300-500g), with neck cover if needed
Light or medium weight turnout rug (150-300g) with neck cover
Below -10°C
Heavyweight turnout rug (300-500g), plus a liner and/or an under blanket and hood if needed
Heavyweight turnout rug (300-500g) with a neck cover
Horses have a wider thermoneutral zone than humans, so don’t feel the cold as quickly
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Importance of rugging based on temperature
It’s easy to assume that if you want to wear a coat while you’re outside, then your horse would like to have a rug on, too. But this is not a good rule of thumb and vets have been warning for years about the dangers of over-rugging horses.
In the short term, over-rugging can lead to overheated horses and heatstroke. In the long term, if an obese horse is rugged too much it will prevent them from losing weight, which puts them at higher risk of laminitis.
Horses don’t feel the cold until a lower temperature than humans do. Research has shown this means a fit and healthy unclipped horse typically feels cold only when the temperature is below 0°C and they feel hot when it reaches 25°C. Humans have a much narrower thermoneutral zone of between 25–30°C. So when we think it’s cold outside, horses still feel quite comfortable.
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Wet and windy weather may require you to select a heavier rug
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Factors to consider when rugging a horse
For horses that are turned out, the weather plays a significant role in which rug they need. Wet and windy weather will have a chilling effect and those who are young or old are likely to be less able to maintain their body temperature in these conditions so that should be taken into account. But if shelter is available and the horses have access to plenty of forage, which helps keep them warm from the inside through the digestive process, they may still not need a rug even when temperatures drop.
When horses are stabled, however, while they may be more sheltered, they aren’t able to move around to warm up if they need to and so in some cases will need a heavier rug.
Before deciding which weight and type of rug to put on your horse, you need to consider all of the variables, such as their level of work, their feeding and stable management regimes, whether or not they are clipped (and, if so, what type of clip they have), the condition that they are in and their access to forage, plus obviously the weather, tailoring your decision to the individual horse’s needs.
It’s important to remember that every horse is different, and the more you get to know your horse, the less you’ll need to refer back to a horse rugging guide. My pony, for example, is a 17-year-old Fjord – his breed has evolved to thrive in the cold. I’ve had him 10 years and in that time the heaviest rug he’s owned is a 200g – and he’s fully clipped over winter.
He’s an exceptionally good-doer and I know exactly what temperature ranges and weather conditions warrant his rain sheet, 50g, 100g or 200g. However, I also know that as he ages I’ll have to keep an eye on how well he copes, and when I eventually retire him – and therefore don’t clip him – I’ll have to reconsider it all again.
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