RUGGED TOO MUCH?

Sir — As a freelance instructor I come across a lot of horses, and it is rare that I see any out in the field without a rug on, be it a New Zealand or a fly rug and hat.

Although my own horses wear rugs as required — and clipped horses in the winter certainly need them — if the flies aren’t too bad, I turn mine out without rugs so they can get the sun on their backs and a healthy dose of vitamin D. The writer of letter of the week wins a bottle of Champagne Taittinger

We humans need vitamin D to absorb calcium to promote bone growth, but what of rugged foals, youngstock and older horses? Are we raising a generation of equines who will be lacking in vitamin D?

I know there’s an endless choice of supplements on the market, but I feel we should be aware of just how much time our horses spend wrapped up.

Denise Talmage

Bramshaw, Hants

H&H vet Karen Coumbe replies: “Vitamin D metabolism is not fully understood in the horse, but some research shows no significant difference in these vitamin levels in horses

with or without rugs.

“Vitamin D is vital to maintain body calcium levels. It also helps mobilise stored calcium, with an indirect impact on bone mineralisation. People with malnutrition, especially children with insufficient vitamin D, can develop rickets. Thankfully this is not an issue for horses, who have a different metabolism to people.

“Horses obtain plenty of calcium from their plant-based diet, hence the fact they often have cloudy or gritty urine as they pee out extra calcium. Equally as horses have hair coats, the skin is more covered up than in people in the sun, so their vitamin D absorption is thought to be different.

“Sun-cured forage contains vitamin D, so horses that consume good-quality hay and go out on grass will obtain sufficient vitamin D with or without rugs. So this is not an issue that should cause concern, but regardless of rugs, horses benefit from turnout.”