Rugs

[BlueBrightFuture]

Hi again,

Horse coming in the weekend but still need to get rugs. She is not clipped but her coat is not that thick (yet!?). Don't want to over rug but not being cold either. She will be stable kept in at night but out for a few hours during the day.
I would be interested to hear which rugs are getting the thumbs up nowadays? Would like to keep my collection limited and avoid having to buy 5 different ones whilst keeping horse comfortable. In our days there was only the medium one, cold winter blanket and one to cool after exercising but when I had a look online yesterday could not see the wood for the trees.

What are the best buys at the moment? Don't want to get super expensive ones this winter because I have no clue what she will do to them but I do want her comfy!

Thanks

[mrslaughan]

I have just bought one rug (for my horse) and did lots of research - as our pony has quite the collection. The one difference is my horse is in full time work for competition, so is fully clipped.
I went for a bucus- it's the silver one - has a temp range from -10 to 16. I use it as stable and turnout. I think the only other ones I will need is a rain sheet and fly rug.
But for me it was a huge decision as they are expensive. I have had it a month and really like it. I also like the way it is shaped at the front, so it fits really well and doesn't rub.
HTH

[Alfredoshoes]

It depends on her build. Different horses fit different rugs. I would start with a ran sheet and see how it goes. I like Amigo rugs and they sell liners so you can vary the weight, but they may not suit your horse?

[Pixel]

If a rug doesn't fit quite right it's usually around the front end as different horses will vary as to whether they have narrow/wide chests, high/low withers etc. The worst thing is if a rug is too big at the front it will constantly slip back and rub the shoulders and withers (a pet hate of mine!). So, if you look for a rug that has plenty of room for adjustment at the front you won't go too far wrong.
Something like this is better than this type and easier to do when your fingers are cold and wet too.
Dhorse has a couple of rugs that he's hardly worn because I thought medium weight would be useful until it got really cold but in reality they are too warm most of the time. Last year I got a 100g turnout (he gets horribly clammy under rainsheets so I don't like them) and as it didn't really freeze here he ended up wearing it for most of the winter.

[backinthebox]

Premier Equine all the way. Each of mine have 2 x PE lightweight turnouts with neck covers and then a variety of liners of different weights. They come with storage bags that are easy to stack. I don't change rugs each evening - they live in the turnouts. Other than these rugs, the only other rugs they have are a Thermatex for hunting and a lightweight sheet for travelling/keeping clean in the summer. Makes things so much simpler than have a dozen rugs by a dozen different manufacturers (DD's first pony, a shetland, had 14 different rugs when we first got her!)

[Samba1]

I've got a draft and cob so use derby house as they fit a bit wider and have shoulder pleats. That way I can buy a standard 7ft without going to a specialist. They're cheap and cheerful and almost all of them come with leg straps which works better for us. The rip stop seems to work fine and all the fastenings are good quality. You can buy direct from them and they have a clearance section I keep an eye on. I got a 7ft heavy weight turnout for £25 last month.

[BlueBrightFuture]

Bought an Amigo rug, feels nice and soft. At least I have one for when horse arrives in the weekend. I now have a bit more time to look for another one. Think I will probably layer when it gets really cold rather than getting a very heavy one. It is unlikely we will get a very long cold snap
(maybe this is wishful thinking).

[frostyfingers]

When I bought my current, used to living indoors racehorse, I rushed out and bought a fabulous thick Weatherbeeta Orican which is lovely and light and warm. I use it for about a week a year! Even though he's fully clipped and lives out 24/7 it's just too warm for him so he wears an Amigo medium with removable neck and I have a Snuggyhood to try and keep him clean. My usual combination is the Amigo w/o the neck but with the Snuggyhood underneath, although for the last month it's been mostly just a rainsheet with the hood at night. He's being clipped again tomorrow so he'll have the neck and the hood on and see how it goes - he's a warm horse anyway so less is usually best.

My vet advised me that if I was ever in doubt to under rather than over rug, particularly since the horse lives out - he can gallop about to get warm but can't do much to cool down.

[BlueBrightFuture]

Agree, I think doubling up if the weather goes really cold is the way forward rather than yet another blanket that will only get used 2/3 weeks of the year.

[RatherBeRiding]

Are you intending to clip? What rugs my horses have on depends on whether or not they are clipped. I currently have one that lives out 24/7 unrugged despite whatever the weather throws at us (plenty of shelter though). One has a chaser clip and the other a full clip. As the part clipped one is an elderly-ish TB he gets the same rugging regime as the much hardier fully clipped one. They are both in at night and are currently in medium weights - been in rain sheets in the milder weather. I will only switch to heavy weights when we get a significant temperature drop. I think if they are not clipped, and not a wimpy TB or elderly or struggling to keep weight on then they don't need over-rugging.

Some horses are just warm horses. Best to play it by ear depending on whether or not yours will be one of those, or one that feels the cold.

[BlueBrightFuture]

Will not be clipping her this year and she will live indoors at night... I was only going to use a heavy winter blanket if we get snow and it is freezing which is why I will probably double up rather than invest in a blanket I will only use for a few weeks a year.

[Pixel]

You could think about getting a fleece for an underlayer. Dshetland had one under her rainsheet last year (she's 31 so we are allowed!) and it was good because it wasn't too bulky or restricting, and was really easy to wash and dry.

[cherrytree63]

I'm a bit late to this as you've already bought your rug, but my rug tips are;
Choose one with Velcro at the front to stop the rug slip/strap rub.
Leave them in their turnouts overnight, they dry off much better (the body heat of the horse is what keeps the rug breathing, if you take off a rug that's wet outside, dry inside, even if you leave it upside down the inside will be wet in the morning).
This also stops the horse losing body heat by changing into a cold fresh rug.
Make sure the front fits well, I know people who spend fortunes on saddle fitting but don't worry about the rug rubbing on the withers.
Clips should always point towards the horse to avoid getting caught in fences/undergrowth. Tie a small loop of string onto the back dees and clip leg straps/ fillet strings to that so if horse gets caught up that breaks, avoiding rug repairs or horse injury.
Rainsheets/no fill rugs flatten the coat so preventing the natural lofting of the coat so may make the horse colder.
A well fitting fleece is useful if your horse is really sweaty after work.
Enjoy your new horse!

[Alfredoshoes]

Glad you went for the Amigo OP. I'm very happy with mine and it is very sensible to just buy liners to vary the warmth (however like most horsey people I'm great at giving horse advice but rubbish at listening to it myself so I have a total of ten other rugs too...!)