To rug or not to rug - that is the question...LONG!

[bookworm]

Thinking ahead to winter (sorry!!).

My pony (20yr old NFX) has a selection of medical conditions - PPID, EMS, SPRAO and arthritis. It has taken an extremely long time, numerous vet visits and a large amount of money to finally get her to a stage where she is happy and comfortable. She is on all the required supplements and medication and has had her diet analyzed.

The arthritis is the most recent diagnosis and until she was on one Danilon a day she was not a happy pony. We are now at a stage I thought I would never get to where she is able to be hacked out three times a week with no ill effects.

She lives out 24/7 and up until now she has lived out in the winter unrugged except in extreme weather. This is because she is a native and also needs to keep her weight down. As she is on a very closely monitored diet she is mostly kept in her own patch but is allowed some grazing with her field companion. She has her own private field shelter which of course she doesn't necessarily use.

Anyway, thinking ahead to this winter now knowing that she has arthritis, I was wondering if I should relent and rug her anyway once it gets fairly cold/wet. I did mention this to the vet and she said about putting a rain sheet on her in the very bad weather but I am not sure about this as I think that would just flatten her coat and not give her any warmth.

Does anyone have experience of an arthritic horse or pony and whether rugging makes a difference to keeping them mobile and comfortable?

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

I never rug my Connie at all. My ex-racer Arab, though, has stiff, sore hips and he benefits enormously from a rainsheet when it is wet and a good thick fill rug when it is wet and cold. But he is a thin-skinned, fine-coated, hot-blooded horse, prone to rain scald and depression when it rains (my husband who is from South Africa is very similar).

I am sure there will be someone on here with an arthritic native who will help.

 

[newforest]

I had an arthritic veteran TB. She had a lw 100g in the day, medium 200g at night. Rain sheets hadn't been thought of!
She was fed corn oil from October and lived out with shelter-that she didn't use.
She has a decent coat having been born on Exmoor.

 

[Jessey]

My old cob had ppid and arthritis and in his later years was much happier kept clipped (his coat was crazy long and he would get skin conditions and lice so id do it early so he had a normal ammount of coat for the really cold months) and well rugged (220g half neck) to keep his joints warm which seemed to make him more mobile. If he did have to be stabled leg wraps helped too, turnout chaps weren't about then.

 

[squidsin]

I would definitely rug an arthritic veteran. I rug anyway!

 

[Kite_Rider]

You'll know yourself I imagine if she needs one and if she does then yes rug her, I know my arthritic bits feel much worse if I'm cold.

 

[Trewsers]

If she os going to be out 24/7 then I would rug. I have an arthritic good doer but I don't like to add to her misery if it's extremely wet, cold and windy. She has a medium weight rug - she doesn't much care for me putting it on initially, but looks much happier once back out in her paddock. She is a good doer but I don't think its fair on an older horse if they are wet and cold. My mare is twenty this time and will get her medium rug in the nastiest weather.

 

[volcy]

I rug my very arthritic 17 yr old cob. Its a balancing game because I need her to burn off some of the summer podge over the winter but I tend to notice that she is stiffer on a morning after a particularly cold night, even now with the few cold nights we have had (not enough yet for me to relent and it warms up fast enough still at the moment) however (and she lives out 24/7 with a shelter) she will now have a rain sheet on if we have any nights of prolonged rain fall and later once the winter is here she will have a 100g rug on, the most she ever wears with days of frozen ground is a medium weight. She likes lying down flat out snoring in the field at night though so she does get fairly cold on her joints. My vet told me to keep her cold enough to keep her burning off the calories and warm enough to help her joints - because that is soooo easy!! Cold and wet affects her more than dry wet weather so you might find rugging in prolonged rain (so all winter?) helps?

 

[Lemme]

Tess is 25 now, out 24/7 and hates Rugs! she has arthritic changes in her hocks, we have her on a supplement, she grows a mammoth coat in winter , last year she came out of winter a little leaner than I would have liked, this year she has struggled a couple of times on the restricted grazing weight wise so I have had to provide her extra in the bottom of the winter paddock, although shes not shown any problems with her hocks, this year I have acquired a turnout rug for her - had to get a 6ft as with her winter coat her 5ft 9 goes no where near- tried it on for fit the other day and the face said it all, she eyed us with suspicion for a few days after as well until she was satisfied No rug was in attendance, we will put it on if we feel she needs it though - face or no face!