It certainly feels like winter is on its way this week! Many horse owners have started to dig out winter rugs, so if you are tempted to start rugging, you may be interested in the following advice from the Royal (Dick) Veterinary School, Edinburgh.

- Horses and ponies that are obese, unclipped and live out do not require a rug! Use winter to your advantage – allowing your horse to use their fat reserves to keep warm will help weight loss and dramatically reduce the laminitis risk next spring!

- The temperature range at which an animal does not have to expend any energy to keep warm is called the Thermoneutral Zone. Horses have a much lower thermoneutral than humans. Horses thermoneutral zone is 5-25̊C, humans is 20-35̊C. This means just because you are cold doesn’t mean your horse is!

- Excessive rugging can cause overheating, which may lead to dehydration, stress, colic and even heatstroke. This is even more of a risk when the temperature is changeable throughout the day – less is more!

- a survey recently found that peer pressure was the biggest factor in influencing an owners decision to rug their horse, but remember, every horse is different and what suits your friends horse may not be right for yours!

- horses have a caecum which acts as a giant internal combustion engine producing heat by fibre digestions. This means that horses with constant access to forage will be able to keep themselves warm from the inside and have less need for rugs. The human equivalent of the caecum is the appendix, which produces no heat

The chart below gives some suggestions of when rugging your horse might be appropriate, and how thick a rug they might need, but remember to assess your horse as an individual. Consider body condition scoring your horse to keep tabs on their condition over winter.

If you would like any further advice on managing your horse over the winter, please get in touch with one of the practice team - 01363 772860