Does your Horse need that Rug?

As horse owners, when we feel that chill in the air, our natural reaction is to pop a rug on our horse, but a scientist believes we’ve got it wrong…

It’s almost Spring yet there’s a distinct chill in the air and many of us have been experiencing snow. When we need to pop on that extra thick jacket in the morning, we think our horses must be feeling the cold too, but according to scientist Dr David Marlin we need to alter the way we think.

According to Dr Marlin, it’s thermoregulation that is the key. We all know that if we’re too hot we sweat, too cold and we start to shiver. The same apparently applies to horses.

However, the difference is that larger animals are able to retain heat far better than smaller ones – humans feel cold once the temperature dips below 25 degrees C. However, a horse doesn’t feel the cold until it’s a chilly 5 degrees C. Dr Marlin reminds us that a horse with a natural coat is wearing the equivalent of a 4 Tog duvet! However, clipped horses may feel colder sooner – and at Remus Horse Sanctuary we have a number of animals who are elderly or have health problems, who also need to be treated differently.

If you’d like to learn more about the science behind Dr Marlin’s research, click on the link to read the article: www.yourhorse.co.uk/horse-care/thermoneutral-zone.