Fly Rugs to Save a Coat?

[mcnaughty]

Someone mentioned to me the other day that their LR pony wore a fly rug all last summer to protect it's coat. Is it worth the time, money and a possibly unhappy pony doing this?

I just think that they must be (unless the really hate flys or have sweetitch) happier au-natural rather than all fly rugged up?

[showingfanatic]

I'm all for au natural, but my ponies have thin mesh fly sheets on through the summer as otherwise they come in covered in bites, not nice for the pony and not good for the show ring neither! They've never been unhappy with them, grateful if anything.

[ilovenatives]

Our shettie wears a fly rug all summer and is perfectly happy . She is clipped and her coat dosnt come till about june so she gets bothered by flys if it is warm . Also being only 40 inches our other pony grooms her and ends up chewing her mane if she dosnt have a rug on . I do let her have a roll after she has been ridden though before i put her rug on .

[afe]

kool coats are the best thing, very thin cotton and save any coat bleaching whilst keeping darker ponies cool. They also do a part mesh version but they rip more easily.

[snowflake]

Our natives are fine, au natural for them! However, we've had two blood show ponies & they often come out in big lumps from flys so they had them, on very hot days.

[fanfarefan]

some covering , ie summer sheet , fly rug , does help with the coats , but its down to the individual as with anything , my minis are clipped for showing , so are paricularly susceptible to the flys so they have summer sheets on as fly rugs being nylon , get too hot , !!!!!

[pimms'o'clock (Jess)]

our fell has a fly rug on all summer, stops the fly's annoying him, stops his mane being groomed out and it helps stop his coat from being bleached

[solitaire]

Mine wear Kool rugs as they are black and go a rusty colour without one on

[sageandonion]

I am absolutely certain my white grey would be far happier naked, rolling and picking up every bit of dirt and stain he could. Unfortunately I am cruel and prefer him blindingly clean and I have the final say in the matter.

[sellyblue]

I'm with you there s&o I daren't let little blue out naked he loves to roll in the muddiest mud I'm afraid I'm a hood fan too!

[bomerang]

nothing wrong with a fly sheet, would have thought its kinder re:flies, "cruel" is when they still put new zealnd rugs on in summer!

[GinaGeo]

My connie has never needed a fly rug, he doesn't suffer from my fly bites, although he does where a mask to keep them out his eyes. However, my WelshxTB got bitten several times last year, so I will be investing a a fly rug/cotton sheet for him, as they weren't very pleasant.

[pinkis4eva]

my horses are out at night and in during the day - no need for fly rugs

[GinaGeo]

I found dawn and dusk the worse times so despite being out at night they were still bothered. We are in quite a bad place for them thouhg.

[andreab71]

I did read somewhere once....not sure how true it is but it does make sense to me. Fly rugs could be contributing to obesity in ponies. Flies irritate the pony so they walk away and hence are not eating whilst walking, whereas with a fly rug the pony is content to just stand and graze.

[sageandonion]

That's true to an extent but there are more humane ways of dieting. Fly rugs improve the quality of life for ponies who are driven to distraction by itching and for those with sweet itch are essential and can to the extreme prevent the pony from being pts. They save money too as fly spray is so expensive.

We could take it further and say, if the pony has a very bad itch reaction, then the only way of relieving them is a cortisone injection which, of course, can carry a risk of laminitis.

[bowditchblobs]

Iv been told to uv fly rug minis or stable them day time, as they will be clipped all summer and the sun can burn them, looks like im off shopping for multiple rugs, mind you got to get some clippers first lol!!!

[fanfarefan]

bdb , definately clippers first Ha ha , as to the minis by day , if i dont put summer sheets on them out in the field when its sunny , i put factor 50 sun cream on !!!!!!!! both of mine are white over their backs , and when first clipped they are very able to get sun burnt ,!!!!! hope you have a nice time shopping

[nici]

I use fly rugs if I think it is beneficial to the pony. An obvious example is Sammy Shetland, who has mild SI on his mane, so he wears a SI hood with a fly rug over the top. A less obvious example was our little white grey mini Shetland, Bridget. She wore a fly rug to keep her clean in the show season, as we showed her a lot, and she hated being bathed, so a quick wash after wearing a fly rug was preferable to long baths with several wash and rinse steps, which she needed after being out naked.

I personally wouldn't put a fly rug on a pony purely for cosmetic reasons, if the pony got no benefit from it. Our other black Shetland Teddy doesn't appear to be at all bothered by flies and hasn't inherited his brother's itches, so he stays naked even though his coat fades.

[network]

My welsh D wears a fly rug because she has a bad reaction to fly bites, there even times when they are really bad that she wears the fly rug in her stable too

[cholderton]

My black Shettie has SI, so I put him straight in a Boett rug when I bought him. He LOVES it! He knows it provides him with relief from the midges/flies etc, and turns round to you in the stable to have it back on after hes been worked!
In the summer, when all the other horses are miserably wandering around, swishing their tails and nodding, he's happily munching away!!
As an unexpected plus, we found it protected his coat from fading, and in the summer, is so shiny you can almost see your face in it!!

Andreab71 - your statement is very true, and could explain some of his extra lbs I'm trying a new tactic this winter, NO RUGS..... to see if I can get a little weight off before the spring.

[fancythat]

Oh , in my opinion, they are much happier in a fly rug, in or out of the stable. Have you ever seen snoozing horses in their stables on a hot afternoon, being plagued by one or two extremely annoying biting flies?

My ponies live out full time, they are always protected from flies in the summer, with good quality cooling fly sheets. Their coats are always in great condition and don't get sun bleached.

[randombadger]

I have a fly sheet for both my boys, not had to test show ponies fly rug yet as he has been with me over winter but being near a local marsh breeding Spanish size mozzies I think it is better on than off. The D being a stallion and jet black it really benefited him, when he was out they would plague him (must be testosterone) he remained black and stress free using the rug. I have not suffered from sweaty or uncomfortable ponies.

[adam321pink]

s&o i agree with the grey thing!

my white grey doesnt wear a fly rug as he trashes them.. im sick of buying them! im afraid im one of the crule ones as i put a rug on him if i need to keep him clean.. i tend to go for one of the cotton drill ones.. but sometimes its a light weight new zealand.. i liked the look of the Kool rugs so i may invest in one this year.. but they are lovely and white and i wouldnt like that to get dirty either ;-) mind you it never gets hot enough to worry about it up here!

got to say hes not plagued at all by flies.. my take on it is that because he is white he reflects the sun and the flies either cant see him or are repelled by his colour as he never seems to have any on him..

i dont use fly spray either as it just seems to attract them.. aside from times that he is in need of support with his personal hygiene :-) he is au natural..

[afe]

Best thing about cool koats is you can wash them in your machine and as they have hoods they can also be used for nights before shows ect ...