To rug or not to rug, that is the question...

It's that time of year again, many horse owners are watching the weather forecast to help decide which type of rug to put on their horse. But do we need to rug them up as often as we do – and should we rug them at all?

Many horses and ponies can live without a rug all year round, provided they have a good natural coat, access to shelter and enough forage. Whether we need to rug or not depends on the individual horse, his management and workload. Those who are clipped, underweight, ill, shiver when cold, older or don’t maintain condition may need to be rugged.

Horse magazine have very kindly agreed for me to share my article on rugging do's and don'ts. You can read the article here.

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If you need further help on your rugging decision, the clever chart on the right has been drawn up by the equine department of Auburn University.