Rug changes

IT’S that time of the year in Ireland where we get a little bit of every season thrown into the one week, and sometimes even the same day. Horse owners are no-doubt tormented trying to contend with wild temperature swings, wet weather and neumerous blanket changes. Having a good layering system in your blanketing arsenal will make your life immensely easier.

One of our favourite turnout rugs, which was developed to help combat this issue, is the Rambo Duo Turnout, which comes with a removable 300g liner, so depending on the varying trans-seasonal temperatures, you can within minutes make your rug a heavy or lightweight rug.

We also recommend downloading our Horseware Turnout Guide App and using it to help in chosing a rug for your horse. It is the first app that takes the guesswork out of rugging your horse. The app gathers data from weather forecasts for the coming three days, it makes an intelligent recommendation on which turnouts will best suit the conditions and your horse, making sure you’re aware of any sudden weather changes.

Remember you know your horse best, some horses run hot and some cold, so knowing these extra details will greatly help how you choose your rug.

Jessie Smith, Horseware Ireland

To find your nearest horseware retailer visit horseware.com

Wood chewing

Owners of wood-chewing horses generally cite boredom as the basis for the frustrating vice. However equine nutritionist, Kathleen Crandell of Kentucky Equine Research said: “I’ve seen a lot of pastured horses with access to acre upon acre of lush grass sidle up to a fencepost or plank and begin nibbling at it, systematically shredding it. Horses crave fiber, and green grass contains little fiber. In fact, growing grass is composed nearly entirely of water. When a horse desires fiber, it heads to the fenceline when no hay is available”.

A dietary change might help alleviate the need to chew wood, according to Crandell. This can be as simple as offering hay in addition to pasture.

Kathleen Crandell, Kentucky Equine Research

For more information visit bluegrass.equinews.com