Rugging, Clipping & Shoeing - A WELFARE ISSUE?

Researchers have found that rugging, coat clipping and shoeing, have negative effects on the horse’s natural thermoregulation mechanisms. So does that mean that shod hooves are COLDER than unshod ones? Can rugging a horse affect how they control their own body temperature?
Is clipping a horse because he’s sweaty truly necessary or just a vanity exercise?
Lindsay Setchell, BSc (Hans), PGCE, HMB Pro Instructor
Founder: Hoofing Marvellous & the HM International School of Horse & Hoof Care
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[@bonniebellestarr]

You have taught me so much in such a short time!!! You are an excellent teacher & your drawings are awesome too My horses thank you

[@lindsaysetchell]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@BonnyCurless]

Of course good video!

[@lindsaysetchell]

👍

[@timothyhume3741]

I have always kept my horses barefoot and never used rugs. Only stable the workhorses in the winter if they are too sweated up. Never ride on pavement and I never use a saddle either. Cheers from Canada.

[@lindsaysetchell]

Sounds like you are keeping your horses as naturally and healthily as possible - well done!

[@samanthasmile8150]

Thank you for sharing your wisdom xxx

[@lindsaysetchell]

You're welcome :)

[@Starcallerz]

So I'm having a 'to clip or not to clip' discussion going on with a friend and I'd love to hear your stance on it. We've both got shetland ponies, which are notorious for having this immense winter coat. They won't ever get cold if you don't clip them, that's for sure. But especially around october they'll be sweating just from the outside temperature alone, as they'll be well on their way putting on their winter coat but the temperatures are usually still pretty warm. My friend does a lot of driving with them, so she'll clip their chest and neck to help them manage the heat. In winter it'll hardly get below -5C, so usually she doesn't rug them though and they don't seem to get cold. Mine are still too young to be in work, so I haven't really thought about it until now. I'd rather go easy on the training in these times as I wouldn't want to ruin their amazing coats for when the weather does get worse. It also protects them from the wind and rain, which we tend get here a lot. She says it doesn't matter because she only clips the underside of the chest and neck area, and they put on weight faster than you can say 'grass' if you put them out of work, so she doesn't want to halt their training. Would clipping really be beneficial for them? What are possible up and downsides? And is there a better or worse time of year to clip them when thinking about coat development?

[@away_withthefairies]

I have a 30 acre grassy field and have had liveries on it for almost 10 years. I split it into 4 and have 2 herds..one mares ans one geldings who switch fields each 3 months to let their other side rest. So we get a lot lot of grass at times, and then the horses eat it all and by the end of the 3 months they have to search around for bushes and thistles to eat. I have always wondered why we havent had issues with laminitis here...in all these years we have had plenty of native ponies and 'laminitic types' - welsh ponies, new forest ponies, fat cobs, shetlands etc...as well as TBs and sports horses. The only pony who actually did have a laminitic episode (but this was a history the trimmer found in the feet that had already healed whilst living on this grassy field...rather than an acute issue the owner had to panic about). She was an appaloosa pony and the only one whose owner was very interfering with her. I mean we put rugs on those who we feel needs them, but this appaloosa had a full clip which meant she had to be rugged 24/7 to.protect her skin from the rain. She was super warm even in a rain sheet and her body didn't grow any coat through int he winter. I have since read about how the horse uses their adipose fat cells to grow their winter coat..and i think they use a lot of energy even to grow their winter coat...and then more energy obviously to keep warm without a rug on etc. I think this is why we havent had any laminitis issues on this grassy field with all these natives, except for with that pony...because she was the only one who wasnt allowed to grow a winter coat (even those we rug are allowed to grow a thick coat first) or allowed to keep herself warm.

[@lindsaysetchell]

Thanks for sharing! Certainly keeping the horses out 24/7 and as natural as possible is going to help them, and probably the fact that you have a great deal more land than most and the horses are allowed to roam freely over many, many acres. Not contantly rugging is essential 👍 Most people get into strife when they start going too far down the rabbit hole, rugging, clipping, over-feeding, hyper-supplementing, small over grazed paddocks... that's what we see as the norm most of the time and hence why we also see a great deal of laminitis 🤷‍♀️

[@katehill21]

Thank you Lindsay for another incredibly interesting and well researched video. I can't believe how much warmer my mare's feet are (and it's all of her hoof) now that she is barefoot and having the correct diet and management of being out 24/7 on mostly hay and of course constantly moving. She has never had lovely warm feet like this which I'm guessing must be better for blood circulation in the foot?

[@lindsaysetchell]

Yes absolutely, bare hooves have a better functioning hoof mechanism, not restricting the circulation, therefore generally warmer hooves that have more of a constant temperature than a shod hoof. 👍🙌👏

[@sfinochio]

You mentioned older horses when rugging… what’s the advice on older horses and rugs?!?

[@lindsaysetchell]

My advice would always be only rug the older horse if they are struggling maintaining weight, and be cautious with your rugging, don't rug every day - if you have some fine days take the rug off even though it might be cold.

[@brittanyhicks5814]

Hi. With the rugging study.... Is there one checking how the wind, rain, and humidity affects the horses ability to regulate body temperature? E.g. we live in NZ where our winters are wet and windy. Our summers are hot and humid. The majority of horses are outside all year. One day the weather changed while I was at work, our fluffy mare was shivering in a rainstorm, we dried and rugged with a 100g she stopped shivering. The rain soaked into her coat (which would be better designed for a drier, colder climate) And a friend's black horse seemed more comfortable with a white cotton sheet on, in the middle of summer. Though rugging can be a bit crazy in NZ and many horses have the incorrect covers and/or covered when they shouldn't. I think when the horse is removed from their breeds origin, alterations should be considered with regards to covering. 🤔

[@lindsaysetchell]

Yes so wind and rain is ok but make sure that they have access to hay fibre 24/7 and this will keep them warmer from the inside out. The worst combination for horses is the wind and rain - but it's not all bad as wind will also dry them faster when the rain stops. We only recommend rugging a horse that is not able to get 24/7 hay, and/or they are sick and underweight.

[@leonienolan511]

I have seen people clip chest belly in order for good doers to help with weight management , what's your opinion on this , also if a horse is in work not clipped , sweat s up , is it not at risk of chill if turned out after exercise

[@lindsaysetchell]

Yep it doesn't work - clipping for horses to lose weight. Making horses cold and shivery deliberately so they lose weight is not kind nor natural - the best way always is to increase the movement so they burn more calories that way. With regards sweating up and chills afterwards, if you keep the horse moving after exercise and don't put them in a stable then the hair will naturally wick away the sweat very quickly. Part the hair and look at the skin and you will see it dries very quickly. Horses will shiver if they get saturated by being hosed off - that's not the thing to do, then they will chill. Keep it natural 👍

[@micheletravers1723]

What about clipping horses with cushings?

[@lindsaysetchell]

Well this is an interesting dilemma that many horse owners ask us... the problem is if you clip a horse that has Cushings (PPID) because you feel they are getting hot, what about the cold evenings? What about the stress those horses endure in the evenings when they have no depth of coat to keep them warm? If you then try to thermoregulate for them, we guarantee that you won't do as great a job as the horse themselves. So for that reason, we always say, don't clip your Cushings horse, but do allow them to find shade when they need it.

[@micheletravers1723]

@@lindsaysetchell i always leave a guard on so its shorter but not gone to protect his skin from sun and bugs

[@bonniebellestarr]

I feel the same about vaccines, I do none

[@lindsaysetchell]

👍

[@dominiquefletcher5244]

Our horses are barefoot and rug free.... BUT... we have on cushing mare that is clipped on chest/neck because this disease cause the thermoregulation to go wrong. The other horse is an Icelandic and is clipped in the fall... why? because being on the eastern coast of Australia growing a double coat in winter is more cruel than a clip... our winter equal his summer in Iceland and being IR he certainly does need as much movement as possible...

[@lindsaysetchell]

Hi Dominique, are you saying that both of your horses have problems, eg Cushings and IR? What weight are they both would you say… or over, under or just right? How do you manage them?

[@dominiquefletcher5244]

@@lindsaysetchell Hi Lindsay. My mare has Cushings and is retired, being ridden was too much for her, she was unhappy. She is on Prascend, morning pasture low sugar/starch hay in afternoon and night (dry lot). She is 20 and the right weight but being a draft/cross she has a lot of hair and more so with the Cushings so she is clipped on neck and chest for her comfort only in the fall. My Icelandic was shod when I got him. Now barefoot, always had wonderful hard hooves, no rings. He has these last 6 months developed laminitis at times, Xrays showed thin soles. He has boots on while on trail. Not ridden at the moment of course waiting for the laminae to get strong and hoof to grow out. With the La Nina on the eastern coast of Australia there was a least 4 weeks without exercise and although he is in dry lot with low sugar hay most of the time except 3 hours before 10 am in pasture he gained weight. We analyse our grass and found out that this summer we had double the starch... either because the grass was stressed staying in water for so long or it was 'in limbo' and without sun the seed heads stayed on. We have since retested and starch has dropped by half. The lack of exercise probably did it. His insulin was tested and he is IR. He is now clipped (fall) not for fashion or because everyone does it but because he grows a double coat not suited to our winter and maybe he might loose some weight (although I doubt it!)... his legs are head are not clipped.

[@lindsaysetchell]

@@dominiquefletcher5244 thanks for the extra info. It looks like you have diet and management issues, especially if you are noticing laminitic events - thin soles indicating that your Icelandic is suffering from chronic low grade laminitis which will have been going on for some time. Have you thought about putting tracks up to get your horses moving more, completely eradicating any grass and feeding hay 24/7?

[@dominiquefletcher5244]

@@lindsaysetchell Thank you Lindsay. The Icelandic is off grass and in dry lot at the moment. Perhaps because his hooves were so good our trimmer didn't notice anything 'off' until this spring/summer. I believe exercise is the key for him. We are on a 5 acres property at the edge of suburbs (continually creeping in... ) and although we manage two 'lanes' from dry lot to paddocks it is not possible to make a track. It would have to pass between the pool and the living room and I do have an understanding husband but... also we are on a slight slope and would be a nightmare with the rain in this La Nina event. We are looking at buying 300 acres or so on the otherside of the ranges where the humidity is no more! Problem is prices are very very high as rain means good season for the farmers. I would like to add that the Icelandic had antibiotics for 2 weeks (Sulprim) for a laceration of his gums, this antibiotic is known for rising insulin in people and pigs. No study on horses yet. He also never had rings except when he arrived here. He now has three, one for an abscess, one for the laceration and one for the October laminitic event. We should be able to see the ring for the latest laminitic event very soon, normally. He might have had thin soles before we bought him and nobody noticed as he was shod, then he got better barefoot but this season with no exercise and high starch in our grass and difficulty in finding the right hay he went IR. The hay is a nightmare to find. Teff hay is now testing at above 10% ESC and Rhodes is low in sugars but was extremely high in Nitrates. We can only order about 15 bales at the time at $22/bale. Then there is the $80 analysis ($100 for nitrates on top only done is protein is very high just in case). The analysis takes 10 days to come back by which time you are on another batch that is always a different one... So I soak... getting a bit old for all that though!

[@lindsaysetchell]

I really feel your pain here, and thanks for the detailed response. As hard as it is, I would recommend finding a way to increase the movement and stopping grass altogether, then you won’t have to worry too much about the hay analysis. The grass will be your biggest problem. Don’t restrict the hay if possible. The constant hay acts as a good prebiotic and will help the gut find its correct pH and grow a healthy microbiome. The grass is digested primarily in the foregut by the horse’s own enzymes, the hay primarily in the hind gut by the bacteria because of the fibre. So hay, hay, hay…. and ditch the grass. Go check out my other video on grass and sugar, that might help too. 👍

[@wildrootdesigns]

"Species specific" is the perfect way to summarize how we should be approaching all animal husbandry. Wonderful vid 🤍

[@lindsaysetchell]

Yes! Thank you! 🙏