What rug should i put on my horse

If you have a horse or pony who is a world-class rug ripper, then a higher denier rug is the one for them! Fill - The fill is used to describe the rug weight and can be categorised as:. When choosing the right rug for your horse, consider:. As a result, the horse will be continuously trying to cool down which can place a lot of stress on the horse, causing them to sweat and making them uncomfortable. It is much easier for a horse to warm themselves up then it is to cool themselves down.

Instead of un-used calories being laid down as excess fat, the horse can use the calories to keep warm.

Reduced body temperature: A 0g rain sheet can be a great choice in light rain, however, be conscious that in very poor weather, the rain is likely to seep through. If rugging your horse, it is vital that the rug fits correctly to limit any chance of rubbing or soreness. If your horse wears a rug it is important to remove it daily so you can check for signs of rubbing or soreness and then refit or change as necessary.

An ill-fitting rug or one left on for too long without checking may cause discomfort or even start to rub and cause injury as shown in the image below.

Mejdell, C. Boe, K. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Vol David Marlin -The Science of Rugging. Rugging Share this Twitter FaceBook. January How Horses Naturally Keep Warm It can be really tempting to rug our horses to keep them cosy, especially when we feel cold ourselves, but as horses will naturally grow a thick winter coat, it is important to assess whether rugging is truly necessary.

If in a group environment, they will also huddle closely to share their warmth. Natural shelter: Thick hedges and tree lines make great forms of natural shelter, or they may have access to a field shelter. They have dropped the GSM weight down to gsm instead of gsm in a Denier. Please follow the link to our range of Waterproof Turnout Horse Rugs.

It is very common to see rub marks on horses who otherwise would never get them, from late January to early March , this is when horses grow out their summer coat which is very thin with a thicker winter coat, during this time a horse coat is more susceptible to rub. A good fit will reduce the likely hood of your horse developing rub marks from pressure points from a rug.

We design our horse rugs, blankets and sheets in such a way to ensure that pressure on the chest and shoulders is kept to a minimum. We also incorporate anti-rub linings in all our horse rugs. Keep in mind that some rugs are heavier than others like Fly mesh , Canvas or Turnout Rugs and these will apply more weight to pressure points.

Rub Marks are caused by a combination of :. With some horse's you may not be able to identify why a particular rug causes an issue. Just like people, the same size shirt will fit 10 of the same size people differently. Horses are no different and have their own different shapes, features and postures and movements. Getting a good match between horse and rug size will ensure that you won't have any problems.

If your horse has rub marks - something is usually wrong with the rug sizing you have chosen or your horse has features outside the 'norm'. Rub marks can be caused by a wide variety of issues out of our control.

Some horses may need a bib to help alleviate. The above example shows the start of a rub mark on the shoulder from a rug that has been too big and slipping behind the wither. The image below shows what can happen in just a few days if the rug is too large and slipping over the whither which causes the rug to pull up in the chest area.

The most common fitting problem we see is horse rugs that are too big for the horse. The rug should sit nice and high on the neckline, up past the wither at the base of the neck. This will ensure that the rug doesn't slip back behind the withers. Some rug brands may have a very deep cut neckline i.

These can be very good on stocky horses i. This will create rub marks on the chest and shoulders. Both the upper and lower chest straps should be on the same buckle hole, ideally the first tightest or second buckle hole. In this case, the rug is the correct fit - but is sitting way too far to the rear - it needs to be pulled well forward and done up so that it is ample overlap of the front edges of the horse rug.

We often see rugs that hang way too far over the rear end of the horse. The argument is that people want to make sure the horse isn't bothered with flies. Unfortunately going for a rug one size bigger to get extra length will give you a longer rug, but keep in mind that all the other dimensions on the rug increase as well. There are lots of arguments for and against gussets. A rug with a well-positioned gusset will help prevent shoulder rub issues, ensure a better fit and increased comfort for your horse.

However, we see far too many rugs with gussets poorly positioned, generally too far forward, or with insufficient depth. These will create a whole new array of fitting issues. Without gussets, you are placing a lot more pressure on the chest and shoulders. We have devoted an entire page to Belly surcingle adjustment - see our article here. Getting a good match between your horse and a suitable horse rug size, will go along way to extending the life and comfort of your rugs?

Hopefully, this page will give you a few pointers on how a rug should fit when used on your horse. Be sure to also read our detailed Horse Rug Size Guide , to learn how to measure your horse for our rugs and more detailed information on Caribu Rug sizing.

We have a detailed guide devoted to the use and adjustment of hoods and masks. Because we use standard Australian sizing for our rugs, it makes it much easier for sizing and comparison. We also understand that while horse rug sizes are standard - horses aren't! They come in all shapes and sizes. Our rugs are designed to fit the majority of horses, the majority of the time.

Like people, there will always be horses that have shapes that don't conform to the norm, and sometimes a custom made rug is the best option. If you do have a fitting issue its usually due to having the wrong size rug for your horse rather than an issue with the rug itself.

We suggest if you are not confident with sizing, to put a sheet over your horse when trying your new rug on for the first time, to keep hair and dirt off the rug. Read our detailed size guide here. A good match between your horse and your new rug will ensure you have no problems.

A poor fitting rug, due to incorrect sizing for your horse, will accelerate the likely damage to a horse rug, or more importantly your horse. Horse rugs are usually damaged by:. We have a detailed guide on using and adjusting hoods and masks here.

Synthetic denier gets its waterproofing from the membrane that lines the underside of the fabric - not from the fabric itself.

Waterproof synthetic rugs use a chemically treated membrane, underneath the denier, to prevent water passing through the fibres, while allowing air to pass in between the fibres.

Synthetic rugs are the best rug for keeping your horse dry and outperform canvas rugs in this regard. A waterproof membrane is applied to the underside of the fabric to provide the waterproof feature of the horse rug.

The quality of this membrane is the single biggest differential between cheap and expensive horse rugs. Many manufacturers sacrifice the quality of the membrane with a cheap alternative - this creates a rug that leaks under heavy rain, or the membrane starts breaking down quickly when in use and the membrane starts to peel away from the fabric. Its also very common to see waterproof deniers that do not have breathability built into the membrane - its simply waterproof.

On waterproof deniers its the fabric that is waterproof, not the seams and fittings. Obviously, sewing puts 's of little holes in the fabric. To address this, heat sealed waterproofing tape is applied on the inside of the fabric over the joins in the fabric. This is before any internal lining is added. We use tape on all our side seams and on the stitching behind belly surcingles.

There are some places that can not be tape sealed - behind chest straps, rear leg strap D Rings and tail flap joins. With chest straps to achieve the best strength, chest fittings are attached to the rugs after the internal lining.

The chest strap fittings need to be sewn through all layers. Same with D rings used for leg straps, they are stitched through all layers of fabric including through the rear surcingle binding. Tail flaps are a little more complicated. It's just not possible to tape seal a tail flap attachment as you can not gain access to the underside of the stitching.

Tail flaps are a separate panel of fabric attached to the horse rug. On initial use you will find that the tail flap seam will let some moisture through - the stitching thread we use needs to settle and swell with initial use, and fill the sewing holes, slowing water entry. Most users find that within a few uses and moisture issues reduce as the pours in the fabric swell around the stitching. This is aimed at covering under rugs as much as possible. Many other manufacturers will use a smaller tail flap with a much much narrower join to the rug, which allows significantly more water to enter down the sides of the tail flap.

On a correctly fitting rug, the tail flap seam should be situated below the top of the horses tail. The number one reason people think their rugs is leaking is that in wet conditions non-breathable denier will breathe. To check to waterproof is easy. The best way to check your rug is waterproof is to use a sink or large tub, lay the rug over the top and create a small indent with the denier - ensure you choose an area of the rug with no fittings.

Then pour a glass or two of water into the indent and allow the water to pool. The denier should hold the water and not allow any seepage to the inside.

Your synthetic denier gets its waterproofing from the membrane that lines the underside of the fabric - not from the fabric itself. Once the membrane is damaged, you cant reseal like you can with canvas. If you have an unlined rain sheet , you can see the underside of the denier through the mesh lining. If you hold the rug up to the light and look up from the underside — you will see the thousands of little pins holes of light — these are the waterproof pores in the fabric that give the rug its breathability.

The waterproof membrane ensures the holes are smaller than a water molecule — so water can not pass through the rug. Denier fabrics can be made breathable via using ultra tough hi-tech fabrics which are then coated with a micro-porous formula making the fabric completely waterproof and breathable. This means that the outer fabric will protect your horse from the rain and elements while still allowing sweat or condensation produced by your horse's heat to escape through. The waterproof membrane also needs to be breathable otherwise your horse will overheat quickly.

Cheap turnouts often use membranes that have a non-breathable membrane. This problem is exaggerated if your horse does some sudden activity. A quick 30sec gallop across a paddock can cause an average horse to perspire very quickly and the rainsheet just doesn't offer enough breathability for the horse to cool down quickly. Keep in mind that regardless of the rugs breathability rating - in wet conditions, it will be reduced to almost zero. Water covers the rug's fabric pores.

This can cause condensation to accumulate on the inside of the rug. This extra moisture on the inside may also give the illusion that the garment is leaking water in from the outside when in reality it is your horse's perspiration and condensation causing the moisture.

This is more common when using rain sheets, especially in open neck rain sheets, where water enters in around the neckline and then condenses from body warmth.

Most Winter Fill Synthetic Turnout Neck Rugs have a fill or lining of up to grams and this alleviates this problem, as it assists the rug to breathe and keeps the horse's excess perspiration off the horse's coat.

If you are using an unlined rainsheet in humid, extended wet or cold conditions — you may need to use in conjunction with a light cotton under-rug or similar with good moisture wicking properties. The horse's perspiration and condensation need to be transported away from their skin.

It's much like us wearing a raincoat against our bare skin - with your body heat and perspiration, you will soon be very clammy under your raincoat and any moisture that enters via a neckline etc — will condense under the raincoat. You will end up very damp in a short span of time. However, if you wear a T-shirt you will help alleviate the problem.

Never underestimate how much condensation will accumulate under the rug in a short span of time. A horse can perspire up to 1 litre per hour. Over time, water will wick its way up the internal lining of a horse rug. Water gathers on the drip lines and bindings of the horse rug and the internal linings will slowly suck up moisture via a natural capillary action. In most cases, this happens slowly and doesn't have much of an impact.

However, this process is rapidly accelerated when you have an under rug that is hanging out from under your rainsheet. You only need an under rug hanging out a few mm from the top rug and this fabric acts a bit like a sponge sucking up the rain as it's coming off the outer rainsheet and you can end up with both the under the rug and the rainsheet lining being wet.

But 5mm over 6hrs allows more time for the capillary action and for water to wick its way in. Firstly, we do not recommend machine washing synthetic rugs at all. Not all canvas is created equally and just because a rug its called canvas - don't always expect it to be waterproof. The fabric construction and waterproofing process can vary greatly.

You will see a huge range of Canvas rugs that fall between the two extremes and their performance will vary significantly. The type of weave and machine the fabric is manufactured on also plays a huge part in the success of the rugs ability to perform well. Canvas comes in different thickness or weight, often from 11oz up to 22oz. Obviously the heavier the canvas - the longer the potential waterproofing.

Corespun Canvas Horse Rugs is gaining popularity as the technology to create the fabric comes down What are the benefits of Core Spun Canvas?

A traditional canvas thread comprises of a blend of numerous fibres grouped and spun together to create a single thread, At a simple level think of braiding your hair!

Core-Spun canvas is made from a much more intensive process. This creates a very strong dense fabric that is considerably lighter and stronger but achieves the same performance as a much heavier traditional canvas otherwise would. The tighter weave also helps to improve waterproofing as the cotton around the core expands and gives better waterproofing while still maintaining excellent breathability. With Canvas, it's important to understand how canvas has been waterproofed.

There are three different processes used to the waterproof canvas. The good old fashioned Canvas, that some of us remember from days of old, is treated via an Immersion forced process. In simple terms, the fabric is submerged in a waterproofing agent and the agent is forced deep into the fabric.

This is the best process for treating the canvas because the fabric is scraped or torn, water won't wick through the fabric. However, It is also very expensive in today's market. Immersion Treated. Similar to Immersion forced canvas. The fabric is submerged in a waterproofing agent. Both sides of the canvas are treated and it relies on the absorption of the agent into the fabric. This process is much better than wax coating as it takes much longer to degrade.

Wax Coated waterproofing process is where the fabric is simply sprayed with a light wax coating. These rugs are at best, only light shower proof, and it's how most of the canvas rugs from overseas have been treated. The wax coating begins degrading extremely quickly when exposed to the elements.

Our canvas is proofed via an immersion treatment. We quote our canvas rugs as being Showerproof. They will outperform wax coated canvas and provide good protection. In our mind to call a rug waterproof, it has to be able to withstand extended or heavy wet weather and still keep your horses dry. Water will also enter via stitching seams, over time the stitching threads will expand and general grit will tend to seal the stitching along seams, however, there is always the risk of water entry, especially in initial use.

Likewise, a heavier canvas rug will provide better longer term waterproofing: ie: a 20oz canvas will outperform a 16oz canvas. While the fabric may provide good waterproofing, water will initially enter via stitching lines, along seams, necklines and around fittings.

Canvas rugs use are sewn using a specially developed cotton covered nylon thread. This is designed to swell when wet, to completely fill the stitch holes. A high wool blend lining not just felt creates a membrane between the canvas and horses coat to extend water penetration.

Canvas will absorb moisture from exposure to rain and from condensation under the rug. If you use canvas in wet conditions, you will need to remove canvas regularly and allow to dry out completely.

During heavy rain or long periods of light rain, the canvas will eventually 'wet out' and the fabric will become saturated. Heat is generated by breakdown of food either inside the cells of the body or by fermentation of fibre within the hindgut. Horses use a considerable amount of energy to keep warm and so, if he is too heavily rugged, excess energy will be deposited as fat. Due to their fur coats, horses will not lose body heat as rapidly as we do. They lose heat from the skin surface, through breath, faeces and urine, and through contact with colder surfaces, such as the ground.

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