HORSES have the ability to maintain their internal body temperature at around 38°C through a well-developed mechanism, called thermoregulation.

During the winter, many horses can cope without a rug, once they have access to adequate shelter and forage. However, one problem faced in Ireland is that even though our climate is not too extreme in terms of freezing temperatures, we do experience a lot of rain. Horses are well-equipped to cope with cold weather. But cold, wet weather is where you can run into problems.