The photo: There’s a strong school of thought that horses are healthier unrugged, provided that they have plenty of shelter like Micki in Alaska here, even though in this instance he is comfortable choosing not to use it. Funnily enough in much warmer Australia, I rug my horses a lot more, because we don’t have as much shelter from the icy cold wet winds of winter. Plus I have some horses who just like being rugged in the cold.
The Lesson
Now who would think that they needed to re-train a horse who has been wearing rugs for years and years?
Well Peace needed rug serious rug training AND he had had been rugged as a racehorse for years and years AND it took quite a few days to do the job properly. I have come across many, many more horses that need that re-training too in exactly the same format that you are by now getting used to:
1. RELEASE any old “stuff” around being rugged.
2. RE-LEARN to be comfortable about having a rug flapped around them, like it does on a windy day – but preferably BEFORE the windy day! (A fabulous high energy lesson).
3. RE-PROGRAM that learning into happy AUTO-PILOT.
Lots of horses will put up with things when they don’t have any say in the matter – but when you ask them “Are you OK?” they will tell you they are not.
You may not want to rug your horses – there’s lots of evidence saying that it is better for them NOT to be rugged.
However, not all of us have shelter good enough for being unrugged to be comfortable for our horses in certain circumstances and consequently I rug some of my horses in bad weather.
PLUS, there can be emergencies that demand a rug – like a horse who is ill or cannot move around enough to keep warm when they have an injury for example, which means that rug training BEFORE that emergency is a good deal for them.
We had a horse when this Program first started who had a major trauma with his rugs – major… At the time of purchase he was wearing 7 of them – seven of them! OMGoodness how he must have suffered, actually suffered in 7 rugs – it’s no wonder he doesn’t want anything to do with them now.
A horse can run around to keep warm but have you ever been seriously overheated? Have you ever felt that cooking inside feeling from being overheated – it is truly horrible and quite physically dangerous to your health too – so it is for your horse.
Here’s the important reason that I am telling you about this horse. The owner of this over-rugged horse can just not go there again – never put a rug on him for the rest of his life – that’s an option.
BUT that won’t release the trauma that is already there. Just avoiding the rug leaves the trauma still there, adding to other nerves and anxieties and affecting his life unnecessarily.
Does that make sense? So whether he ends up wearing a rug or not – doing this re-training and getting rid of his trauma is a very good deal.
Please note: the Lesson referred to in this video is your Fast Track Lesson about the key to world class Feel.
What to look for in a rug
As an alternative therapist who has worked on horses’ muscles and skeletons for around 20 years, I have developed a passion for rugs that fit. I believe that a significant amount of tension in the horse’s shoulder muscles is caused by rugs that don’t fit. There are other contributing factors, but I believe rugs are a significant contributor too.
So I look for rugs with gussets (pleats) that allow full movement of the shoulder and do not restrict the horse’s ability to move. Way too many brands of rugs have these decorative little gussets that do not do the job and if they need a silk bib underneath the rug to stop rubbing – then they simply don’t fit.
When I discovered this, I sent my rugs to the rug mender and had her put in a long gusset to within about 3 – 4 inches of the neckline of the rug. Sometimes that can mean the rug stretches a bit at the neck and you have to take a tuck in there too – so it is much easier to buy it right in the first place!
Here’s another rug issue for you newbies to horses to watch out for. When you pull the rug as far back as it will go towards the horses hindquarters, the neckline must not sit on or close to the withers. If it sits close to or on the wither bones, it doesn’t fit. A rug that jams over the withers while you aren’t there, can do the most horrific damage to the horse’s bones – with suppurating sores and infections in the bone itself that are incredibly dangerous.
