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| Author |
Message |
    
Martin Rushbrook (Murphy)
| | Posted on Tuesday, Oct 16, 2001 - 4:21 pm: |   |
Hi,
I have a 12 year old Thoroughbred mare and have owned her since she was 6. We keep her at a livery yard where she seems happy. However, last winter she stopped grazing when she was turned out and would just stand in the field by the gate all day. Thinking that she may be getting bullied we moved her to another field with a fairly easy going horse. Still the same. However, this summer she seemed to settle down again and started grazing.
We thought that everything was fine until the weather turned and we put her rainsheet on. You guessed it as soon as she was turned out she went and stood in the corner of her field. Take the rug off and she grazes, put it on back in the corner. Not only is this frustrating for us she is obviously not enjoying herself when rugged and winter is approaching.
What do we do now as we have run out of ideas !!! |
Leah Hinnefeld (Belhaven)
| | Posted on Tuesday, Oct 16, 2001 - 4:42 pm: | |
Could the rug be too tight and making her feel restricted when she tries to graze? |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)
| | Posted on Wednesday, Oct 17, 2001 - 5:18 am: | |
Hello Martin,
You could try leaving it on all the time to see if she will become use to it.
DrO |
Bonita (Bonita)
| | Posted on Wednesday, Oct 17, 2001 - 7:31 am: | |
If you follow Dr. O's suggestion & then notice your mare NEVER putting her head down, it's a safe bet that Leah is right about a poor fit. I've seen some rugs that appear to fit properly until the animal reaches down for something - then you can almost see their eyes bug out from the constriction around the neck, chest, & shoulders!
On the other side of the coin, I have a dog that will NEVER, I mean NEVER, urinate or defecate while wearing any sort of dog coat. She is old & virtually hairless at this point, but would rather cross all 4 of her little legs then let loose - no matter how long you walk her. When you finally give in & take the stupid thing off - she lets loose like Mt. Vesuvius. Needless to say, the coat is a thing of the past. I just severely limit her outdoor time when the weather's poor. Mental? Probably. |
