At 19:44:44 on 12.08.11, minki31 wrote:
hello, I was just wondering what rugs a 15-16hh thoroughbred who lives in at night and goes out in the day would need. If you want more info about the horse just ask! thanks x

At 22:02:56 on 12.08.11, Angelalain wrote:
It will depend entirely on the weather and if he is clipped or not (and how much) With no clip you would probably need a light weight and middle weight stable rug, and the same for turnout (Or a lightweight with an under rug if its cold instead of a middle weight). You would only need a heavywieght if you clipped the horse. (Unless he is really thin skinned)' You also need to think what you will do if your turnout rug gets soaked and doesn't get dry by the next day, then you will need a spare!

At 22:04:28 on 12.08.11, Angelalain wrote:
It is perfectly possible for a TB to live out without a rug if he's acclimatized, well fed and has access to some sort of shelter.

At 09:37:12 on 13.08.11, Flicka wrote:
We have some roughed off TB's who live fully turned out, unclipped and without rugs on even in the snow and they cope perfectly well. I have a couple of TBx mares in work, who I have also kept unclipped. With Millie who can lose weight over winter, I used a rug at night when she came into the stable, but I left the fattie (Willow,pictured below looking at Fran like he's a real wuss lol) without a rug and she never seemed to get cold or look unhappy-funnily enough she doesn't get as hairy as Millie but obviously her coat and her fat is pretty efficient. Remember also that rugs can stop the coat doing what it is meant to do which is control the horses temperature. There is a new rug though which is good for unclipped horses that is meant to allow this to happen, I mentioned it last year and will try and find it for you, especially as you've reminded me that I wanted to buy one :)

At 11:43:23 on 13.08.11, Part Arab wrote:
Hey minki31 are you getting another horse?

At 01:49:45 on 14.08.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I fully clip grenville in winter so he has heavy weight full neck turnout on and in really bad weather when it freezes and snows and stuff i put a under rug on too, and at night he is in his stable with a fleece, insulator and a full neck stable rug on haha but in summer he only has a thin waterproof sheet on for rain or a fly rug when it's nice, and i am always careful not to over rug too early but it all depends on the horse, grenville feels the cold, some horses don't

At 20:25:49 on 15.08.11, minki31 wrote:
Thanks everyone!! Well the first horse a month or so ago we had him on trial and decided that he wasn't the horse for me so I'm now considering rehoming a racehorse so if I do get one then I would know what rugs to buy

At 03:13:42 on 16.08.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Word of advice, ex racers are great (grenville great example) but i wouldn't advise it for a first horse, they have a tendency to be a handful, unpredictable and exciteable, there are good ones out there, gren is soooo layed back he is half asleep 75% of the time but when he misbehaves its not shall we say suttle lol. I know a girl, she has her first horse now, he was a retrained ex racer, very fat and very lazy but she refuses to ride him cos he scares her and has never hacked him out in a whole year so now he bucks and rears in the school and is very touchy, they are also known for being really really smart so even if you were ready for the riding side of a ex racer if you were new to the whole horse ownership thing and you let a TB get away with something once then they would prob play on it all the time, the same friend has this problem, she will nto walk behind her horse and is scared to tack up, feed him or groom him because he bites and kicks, and i don't see it as him being mean he is just smart, grenville takes advantage of her! And he has really really good manners. This has turned into a rant lol but i wouldn't recomend TB for first horse, i would go for a schoolmaster to help you learn the ropes of horse ownership :)

At 05:25:40 on 17.08.11, Part Arab wrote:
My thoroughbred mare (7 yo; 15.3 hands) is out 24/7 unrugged in rain, hail or shine. We don't get snow here but we do get very hot summers (40 degrees plus). As long as there is sufficient grazing/hay, fresh water and appropriate shelter I don't think a healthy horse needs rugging but that's just my opinion.