Re: RC: Introduction and foul weather conditioning

[Teresa Van Hove <tvanhove@uswest.net>]

> Barb,

I don't have to deal with the weather you do - living in Colorado the common weather challenge is the wind.  But I'll throw my $.02 in anyway.  No one can tell you if you should cover your horse because horses vary a lot in their comfort zones.  My gelding is a big chill baby - If I'm riding him in cold and wet its usually a good idea to pull out my rump rug when the pace drops.  I suspect that most horses would not need to be covered while at a working pace, but some horses should probably be covered at the end of the work during their cooling out period to prevent cooling too fast.   Not all horses need this, but as I said my guy is a chill baby - I have to watch him and be ready to throw a rug on him at vet checks on mild days where other folks are sponging.

Teresa

> Anyway, I've been putting the miles on my little guy in all sorts of foul weather and I was hoping you good, dedicated folks, could offer some opinions on whether to use any sort of rain cover on him.  If not, he gets soaked with sweat and rain, but if so, he still gets soaked with sweat but stays fairly warm (maybe too warm?) under the rain sheet.  I really don't know which is healthier.  We've got a lot of wet weather left and I want to keep him as comfortable and healthy as possible. I'd love to hear how you handle foul weather, in the best interests of the horse.
>
> Thanks so much, for any advice!
>