Horses – A Remarkable Species Designed To Withstand Extreme Temperatures
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Traditionally, although many owners do use horse rugs, the general view has been that horses per se do not need rugging. After all, the ancestors of the modern horse migrated from North America via the Bering Land Bridge between Alaska and northeastern Russia around 2 million years ago and settled down in some pretty cold parts of Europe. They were eventually domesticated on the cold, snowy steppes of the Western Eurasian Pontic-Caspian region, which is now part of Russia. So they’re no strangers to living without rugs in extreme weather!
Courtesy of this evolutionary history, horses have developed some excellent coping mechanisms that allow them to survive in harsh weather conditions.
- In winter, they grow a thick, dense waterproof undercoat that can be fluffed up to trap warm air against their skin. The long outer hairs on their coat also act as a shield, directing water down off the coat to keep the undercoat dry.
- They don’t have many blood vessels close to the surface of their skin, which reduces heat loss. Those they do have can be retracted to further help conserve body heat.
- Their hindgut, designed to digest bulky fibre, produces heat during this process that acts like an internal combustion stove. Digesting one kilo of hay for example can generate enough internal heat to keep a horse warm for up to 3 hours.
Research Sheds Light On Temperature, Weather Conditions, And Rugging Horses
However, research done over the last decade has thrown up some interesting information that challenges this widely held view that horses don’t need rugging.
It seems that what we should be asking is not ‘Should I rug my horse’ but rather – Ät what temperature does my horse feel comfortable wearing, or not wearing, a rug?
This is because, although horses can, and do, handle extreme weather conditions without rugs, whether or not they’re comfortable doing so is another matter entirely! Here’s why…
At What Temperatures Do Horses Want A Rug On?
In 2013, researchers conducted an experiment using a group of 22 horses kept at 2 adjoining properties in central Norway. They taught the horses to signal their rugging preferences by touching a particular symbol on a board. The owners did not change their rugging protocols during the project.
When the horses touched symbol 1 (vertical black line) it signalled they wanted their rug taken off. Touching symbol 2 (horizontal black line) signalled they wanted a rug put on. finally, touching symbol 3 (no line) signalled no change.
Once the researchers were satisfied all the horses clearly understood the consequences of touching each symbol, each horse was tested on 3 days of different weather conditions.
- Days 1 & 2: sunny with ambient temperatures of 20°C and 23°C respectively
- Days 3 & 4: continuous rain with ambient temperatures of 5°C and 9°C respectively
- Days 5 & 6: -12°C and 1°C with sleet, respectively
Note: some horses were not available to be tested on the 3 designated days so were tested on other similar weather days, hence there being 2 testing days for each type of weather condition.
Testing day
On testing day, the horses were presented with the ‘no change’ and relevant symbol board for their rugged status (i.e. rugged horses were presented with the ‘no change and ‘take rug off’ symbol boards, unrugged horses were presented with the ‘no change’ and ‘put rug on’ symbol boards).
- Days 1 / 2 – ALL rugged horses touched the ‘take rug off’ symbol board and ALL unrugged horses touched the ‘no change’ symbol board.
- Days 3 / 4 – ALL rugged horses and TWO unrugged horse touched the ‘no change’ symbol board. The rest of the unrugged horses touched the ‘put rug on’ symbol board. However, the 2 unrugged horses that indicated they wanted to stay unrugged were both tested on the 9°C day and may have chosen to have a rug put on had they been tested on the 5°C day.
- Days 5 / 6 – ALL rugged horses touched the ‘no change’ symbol board and ALL unrugged horses touched the ‘put rug on’ symbol board
Further to this, the researchers noticed during the training that when the horses realised they could communicate their rugging preferences to the trainers, some of them – the rugged horses in particular – started ‘requesting’ access to the symbol boards of their own volition. When they were brought in and allowed to do so, they invariably touched the ‘rug off’ symbol board and were subsequently found to be sweating underneath the rug.
What Does This Tell Us About Horses And Rugging?
We can draw several conclusions from this research:
First – horses understand the connection between rugs and their thermal body comfort
AND
Second – horses can survive without rugs in cold, wet, freezing weather but most appreciate the protection and comfort provided by one in these conditions!
However, when it comes to rugging your horse, several other factors should also influence your decisions:
- What type of shelter your horse has access to – if your horse doesn’t have any way of getting out of the rain and wind if it wants to, he or she will likely appreciate a rug.
- Your horse’s age, health, and body condition – old, arthritic, or thin horses need help keeping warm and should be rugged
- Clipping and work – clipped horses definitely need a rug when the temperatures drop below the high teens. Horses in work may also benefit from a rug to keep their coats shorter.
At What Temperature Does A Horse Need A Rug?
- In the above research, the rugged horses all wanted their rugs taken off when ambient temperatures had reached 20°C, and the weather was otherwise fine and sunny.
‘Ambient temperature’ is the ‘what it feels like’ temperature, not what the temperature gauge says it is.
So – based on this, we can assume most unclipped horses are comfortable without rugs on in ambient temperatures from the mid-teens (15°C) upwards. Clipped horses will probably need an unlined or light (100gm fill) rug on at this temperature but shouldn’t need one when temperatures are in the high teens and above.
- All bar 2 unrugged horses wanted rugs either left on, or put on, when the ambient temperatures were below 10°C.
From this result, when the ambient temperature is between 5 and 15°C, most horses will appreciate having a rug on, but it probably only needs to be a light 100gm fill. Once the temperature drops below 5°C, clipped horses may need a medium fill (200gm). Unclipped horses may or may not appreciate a slightly heavier rug as well depending on their age and body condition.
- All horses wanted a rug either left on, or put on, when the ambient temperature was below 5°C AND it was wet and windy.
If you live where this type of weather happens in winter here in Australia, you should consider either providing shelter from the wind and rain, or popping a rug on your horse! Clipped horses will need at least a medium fill.
The answer straight from the horse’s mouth!
So there’s your answer – straight from the horse’s mouth, or nose, so to speak – at what temperature does a horse need a rug, or more specifically, would like one on… They’re also telling us that, although they don’t ‘need’ a horse rug specifically to survive, they do appreciate the thermal comfort one provides when temperatures drop below the mid-teens or it’s cold, wet, and windy.
