Rugging an over weight mare.

[mileoutmillie85]

I have a 15.2 Connie x And she is over weight, a very very good dooer you may say. She is hacked out approx 4 hours a week and maybe hour in the school (I hate schooling) she is only fed a medium bet of haylege at night and out in the day for now. No hard feed! She is fed less then anything on the livery yard Yet she is still the fattest livery on the yard! Yet basically the only one ridden. She had a hunter clip last weekend as she was sweating a lot when we were hacking out.

My question is I don't want to over rug her as I want to try and get the weight off her. Obviously I don't want her getting cold either. She is turned out in a Rambo medium with the neck off and she wears it in the stable too more so as it's easier in a morning to throw her out on the way to work. Someone has said to take her rug off at night in the stable as she is inside and has a good straw bed and she will keep her body temp warm. I'm not so sure.......

What's people's thoughts ?

[luthien]

Hi there,

I am in a similar-ish situation. I have a 16hh Anglo Arab, she is over weight as pretty much been a field ornament & currently unbroken, so I am working with her at the moment.

I live in the Highlands and it's freezing at the moment. However, I have her in a 150g Turn out rug. When it's warm during the day I take it off but put it back on at night. I was going to get her a heavyweight turn out rug for when the weather worsens (but don't want to put her in anything too heavy just now). I check the back of her ears to see how she is. At the moment, she seems ok.

Maybe keep the rug off at night or just put a fleece on? Then when it gets colder rug at night too. I suppose it really depends on what she is used too.

[VeronicaF]

I say go with your instincts,you know your horse better than anyone else, if you feel she is cold day or night don't feel you can't put a rug on.

This winter is going to be very harsh,and very long

[clipclop]

Personally I am not a fan of making them cold to lose weight. Of course you don't want to 'over rug' them but the idea of them 'shivering weight off' in inhumane imo.

Yes, in the wild they are unrugged but they are also clipped, not worked (therefore not sweaty and exposed to getting a chill) and have a large environment to roam and find shelter from the weather. In most domesticated environments they do not have this luxury.

Rain sheets are useless in winter as they flatten the hair and just make them cold so something from 40g-200g is ideal. The only problem with taking it off overnight in the stable is whether it will be dry enough to put on the next morning.

Tbh, to help her lose weight I would probably offer ad-lib soaked hay. If she's on a minimal amount of haylage, it will be providing more goodness than she needs but not enough fibre for her metabolism to stop storing fat.

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