Mare won't leave rug on!

Wicked

hi folks,

well i have the horses in for the winter but for an extra bit of comfort i rug them at night time,

twice i have gone out in the mornings to find my tb happily looking out over the door at me and her rug is on the stable floor beside her.

following closer inspection i've found that all buckles on the rug are still closed !:rolleyes:

buckles include two clip's at the front chest area and two cross surcingles under her belly.

just wondering has this happened any of ye and what did you do about it or have i just got a magician on my hands?!!?

on a serious note though should i just leave the rug off her? i dont' want her getting cold either...

p.s happy birthday to all the horsey's

looking forward to reading comments

Jemmy

lol thats a special mare! TA DA MAGIC!!

On a serious note, she obviously doesn't like it on so maybe leave it off. It must be causing her more distress having it on and going to the trouble of taking it off every night. Try her without it for a few days see how she seems, or maybe just a lighter rug even.

convert

Don't suppose her name is Houdini, by any chance?

Does your mare bite at her rug, or try to tear it when you put it on her? It could be that she doesn't like that particular rug? We had a horse a few years ago who had a NZ rug which he really liked. When we bought him a new quilted rug, however, he didn't like it at all and would take it off at night - he was able to open the buckles at the chest and pull it off over his head. He'd then walk it into his bed, just to add insult to injury!

Maybe try another type of rug (if you have one - even a cooling rug) and see if she does the same thing.

marlie2005

Hi, your post didn't say if your rug had leg straps on them.. i think if they don't that may be the problem.. Horses tend to pull at the front and they come over their head.

A rug with leg straps should do the trick but make sure the leg straps are linked to one another when closed.

Wicked

marlie2005 wrote: »

Hi, your post didn't say if your rug had leg straps on them.. i think if they don't that may be the problem.. Horses tend to pull at the front and they come over their head.

A rug with leg straps should do the trick but make sure the leg straps are linked to one another when closed.

hi no i don't have leg straps on it, i have the strap under her tail but obviously that's not doing much

i'm in a bit of prediciment cos i don't want to put it on her if she dosn't want it ya know.

marlie2005

Hi Wicked , the bit for the tail is useless for trying to keep the rug on especially if your horse is a bit of a nibbler.. she probably eats the brushes you leave in the stable or other items that may be tasty.. Yes I've had a few of those !!!
The real question is if your horse needs it? Is she clipped, fine hair, heavy haired etc..
i know turnout rugs definatley have legs straps and some stable rugs.

She is also in a habit of doing it at the moment, she probably see it as her little 'project for the night'. if you could makeshift two legs straps for a few nights i'd say it would be problem solved..

Marlie

Wicked

hey,yeah your right she picks up the sweeping brushes and forks outside the stable to!! she's not clipped and has a nice stable so i'm going to leave it off her for now, when and if she really needs it i will definitly use leg straps because the clips are on the rug and i use to use them :)thanks for the advice

MDFM

if you're putting the rug back on, try putting an elastic surcingle around it and fasten it somewhere where she cant reach the clips/fasteners..it should keep the rug more secure maybe!

ecaf

Just wanted to say, I know of 2 other Houdini's that did this. But it was in the field, wouldn't have thought they'd have enough room in the stable. I'd love to see them in action, it always amazes me to see how they leave the straps closed (no leg straps too, so obviously helps them). :rolleyes:

Wicked

ecaf wrote: »

Just wanted to say, I know of 2 other Houdini's that did this. But it was in the field, wouldn't have thought they'd have enough room in the stable. I'd love to see them in action, it always amazes me to see how they leave the straps closed (no leg straps too, so obviously helps them). :rolleyes:

i know its funny, the stables aren't overly big and she is a relatively big mare, i'd love to see them doing it, hidden camera or something! it must be stuck on their head for a certain amount of time!!

if anyone gets knows of video of it please post a link it would be a right a a laugh, shows how clever they are. :rolleyes:

princess_sara

I have a mare who used to do this a lot in the field. She wasn't clipped and it was cold so she needed her rug. To this day I have no idea how she did it! Two years ago I went out to the field and her daughter had her rug off as well! She must have taught her how to do it!

I found the leg straps did the trick!