The Rugging Debate!
To rug or not to rug - That is the question that many of us ponder, especially in summer!
This topic is likely to be highly contentious, depending on your personal thoughts and experiences, but I think it’s important to be open minded about the reasons people choose to either rug or not rug their horses.
You’ve probably all heard the quote “I rug my horses because I’m feeling cold”. I don’t know it’s source and I’m not sure of the exact wording, but I’m not going to even go down the winter rugging debate in this discussion – that’s a whole different set of reasons. In this article I’ll be expressing my opinion on the reason/s it might be important to rug your horse (other than to keep them warm in winter).
If you’re a non-rugger, you’ll probably be thinking “what possible reason would there be to rug your horse in summer?” To those of us who use summer rugs there are many reasons why you would.
But let’s start with why you shouldn’t rug your horse in summer.
It’s hot in summer and your horse is probably already hot. Adding a rug to a horse can increase your horse’s heat, reducing airflow across the body and increase sweating. By reducing your horse’s exposure to the sun with a rug, you’re also reducing their vitamin D intake from the sun. Add to that the ever-present risk inherent in rugging your horse from potential snagging, catching, rubbing and the risk of harm this presents to your horse and you’d be asking why on all earth you’d consider rugging your horse in summer.
If there are so many good reasons not to rug your horse, why do so many people do it? There is not one simple answer to this – the reasons will be many and varied and they will be dictated (hopefully) by the welfare of the horse – there is no “one-solution-fits-all” answer. Here are a few of the reasons I have for rugging my horses in summer.
Reena is an easy one – she has PPID (Cushings) and is 26 years old, so has thinning skin and is susceptible to infections. She also struggles to maintain weight. Before I started rugging her (and I also use leg protection and fly mask) her summer experience was this - Insects (particularly flies) bit her all over. They drew blood and that drew additional flies. This was particularly apparent on her legs, which would swell and heat and become very itchy. She started each insect season stomping, swiping and biting at the flies until she becomes so exhausted that she simply stopped. She stopped swiping at the flies, but she also stopped grazing. She would simply stand with her head hung low, resigned to the biting. It’s a vicious cycle because once she stopped grazing she dropped weight and condition and became even more susceptible to the flies. For a horse like Reena, management of the biting was the number one priority. So rugging has been, and is the first line of defence for her. The issues of potential vitamin D deficiency and overheating are dealt with by supplementation and cooling, but rugging is a must.
Fozz and Crissy don’t have the same level of allergic reaction that Reena has, but I also rug them in summer. If I let them out in the paddock without a rug they come in with welts all over their body from insect bites. I also find that their coats can get extremely hot from the direct sun. The heat from a summer rug is needs to be weighed up against the heat build-up in their coats from direct sunlight and the additional heat from the stress of continually biting and stomping to keep the flies off.
There are other reasons to consider rugging your horse in summer and while these may not be strictly welfare related, they are still reasonable considerations depending on your circumstances. The first of these is coat bleaching from the sun. To be honest, it’s enough for me to avoid the direct sun because of the heat build-up, but the sun does also bleach the horse’s coat. There is also the practical (maybe selfish) time consideration of grooming a horse that has been protected by rugging. Even if this doesn’t apply to the everyday, most people would rug their horse after washing, before a competition to keep them clean.
When you rug your horse in summer it is important to consider the type of rug you use. In the hotter months you want the rug to be effective, but also cool. Durability, airflow, sun protection and insect protection are all important considerations as are colour (darker colours are hotter in the sun) and your horse’s sensitivity (cotton is cooler and less likely to cause a reaction in a sensitive horse than polyester). The type of fabric (cotton vs polyester), the weave of the fabric (mesh vs woven) and the weight of the fabric (heavier weights are generally more durable, but hotter) are all important factors in your choice of rug
Whatever your rugging decision, your horse’s welfare should be the priority. Please don’t judge others for their decisions just because they’re different from your own. They’ll have their own good reasons for their choices.
If you’re interested in learning more about the rugging debate I found some useful links you might like to look at.
https://www.eqlife.com.au/articles/rugging-your-horse-in-summer-part-1/
https://www.equestrianlife.com.au/articles/part-2-rugging-your-horse-in-summer/
🐴Together - making our horses’ lives better – regards, Yvette
Disclaimer: These are my thoughts and opinions and should not be considered expert or medical advice. I recommend that you seek professional advice in relation to your horse/s.