Over Rugging Horses Australia

I often see horses rugged 24 hrs a day in winter rugs basically wearing winter rugs from.

Over rugging horses australia.

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. All too often are horses over rugged as their owner is feeling a bit nippy. 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. A basic guide to rugging horses.

Risks of rugging or over rugging rubbing especially if causing the horse to sweat. Over rugging can also affect the appetite causing a horse to eat less as well as the body s ability to control its metabolism. Just like us every horse is an individual so changing your horse s rugs. Overheating in rugs has got to be terribly unbearable for horses.

This is especially important for horses that have white skin over areas such as the nostrils and therefore get sunburned easily. As detailed in pony club australia s revised syllabus of instruction c certificate manual every living creature has a tnz. 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. If horses have access to shade they will utilise it in the heat of the day.

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. 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. Are you over rugging your horse this winter. Rugging over heating and other considerations.

However if not monitored carefully over and under rugging your horse can have consequences for their health and wellbeing. This is a temperature range at which the body can maintain normal body temperature without expending too much energy. 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. Horses have a very different thermoneutral zone tnz to humans.

Rugs and stabling prevent sunlight from reaching the skin which is necessary for the generation of vitamin d. So some horses will lose weight when they are too hot all the time. 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. With the arrival of winter your horse may appreciate an extra layer of insulation to keep them warm in cold temperatures wind and rain.