Over Rugging Horses Australia

First the science bit.

Over rugging horses australia.

A basic guide to rugging horses. With the arrival of winter your horse may appreciate an extra layer of insulation to keep them warm in cold temperatures wind and rain. Sweating causes the skin to become hyper hydrated the effect you get when you stay in the bath too long and more prone to damage and infection. If this is an issue for you confine your horse to shade through the day in hot weather with access to hay and turn them out at night.

Horses actually handle the cold better than heat and a common misconception amongst horse owners is that horses needs to be rugged at night as soon as it is getting a bit cooler at nights. As detailed in pony club australia s revised syllabus of instruction c certificate manual every living creature has a tnz. Rugging over heating and other considerations. Horses are mammals and they maintain their internal body temperature at around 38 c through a well developed mechanism known as thermoregulation which has developed through evolution so that the body temperature is maintained within a narrow range.

If horses have access to shade they will utilise it in the heat of the day. All too often are horses over rugged as their owner is feeling a bit nippy. I often see horses rugged 24 hrs a day in winter rugs basically wearing winter rugs from. Horse owners have different opinions when it comes to rugging your horse correctly for temperature rain humidity sun and protection from insects.

Risks of rugging or over rugging rubbing especially if causing the horse to sweat. Horses have a very different thermoneutral zone tnz to humans. Are you over rugging your horse this winter. One of the horses i saw in winter rugs during my ride on that warm winters day standing in the shade to try and cool down.

This is a temperature range at which the body can maintain normal body temperature without expending too much energy. However if not monitored carefully over and under rugging your horse can have consequences for their health and wellbeing. Just like us every horse is an individual so changing your horse s rugs. Rugs and stabling prevent sunlight from reaching the skin which is necessary for the generation of vitamin d.

This is especially important for horses that have white skin over areas such as the nostrils and therefore get sunburned easily. The owner may think the horse is losing weight because it is feeling the cold and so they put another rug on making the situation worse. Over rugging actually causes many more problems than those associated with a cold horse and many manmade issues can be avoided with correct usage of rugs. Over rugging can also affect the appetite causing a horse to eat less as well as the body s ability to control its metabolism.