Horse Rug

A horse rug is an animal coat or a blanket which is meant for providing warmth to a horse. It also aids in protecting a horse from wind or other elements. A horse rug is fashioned to fit around the body of a horse from chest to rump. It has straps that cross under the belly to fasten the blanket. The horse can move about freely while wearing it. There is a variety of horse rugs to suit different needs like cotton horse rugs, woolen horse rugs, and nylon, or synthetic rug. You can find further information about horse rugs in the following paragraphs.

Saddle Pad

A horse wears a pad or a blanket under a saddle while being ridden. This pad or blanket is known by many other names such as numnah, saddle pad, saddle cloth and. Generally, the whole body of the horse is not covered by these pads. A quarter sheet is placed under the saddle which is a hybrid design- a cross between a saddle blanket and a horse blanket.

This sheet covers the horse from shoulder to hip while it is being ridden. At times, quarter sheets are used in cold weather to keep the muscles of horses loosened up when they are warming up for a competition or also on horses that have to keep standing when under saddle and have the danger of stiffening up in case their muscles catch a bitter cold.

More Designs of Horse Rug

An almost square blanket is known as a mantle or cooler. It is used to drape over the horses that are perspiring after an extreme workout. It is also used to cover those horses that just had a bath and are completely wet. Usually, it is made up of synthetic fleece or wool. Sometimes a few designs are seen to be made of woven cotton. This allows sufficient circulation of air for the horse to dry but at the same time averts the horse from becoming hypothermic. It is so designed that it can be tied in the front.

A majority of the designs have a tiny brow band which helps in firmly keeping it on the neck. It may also have a loose cord that goes under the tail to thwart the wind from blowing it off from the rear but generally, it does not have other straps or attachments. It is used on a horse when it is being led or kept in custody by a person and not left on an unescorted horse. An ‘anti-sweat sheet’ is used for absorbing moisture.

This sheet is made of loosely crocheted cotton and looks like a traditionally-shaped blanket. In Australian thoroughbred racing, at times a ‘barrier blanket’ is used. Few horses react positively to it and are more effortlessly loaded and feel calmer in the stalls. Any of the blankets may have the supplementation of a neck cover or a complete hood. Often, neck covers are attached directly to the blanket. A separate piece of horse clothing is hooded that envelops the neck and comes to the head to just over the muzzle of the horse, with holes in it for eyes and ears.

Customary horse blankets are generally kept on a horse when it is unfastened in a stall or pasture as well as when traveling. Sometimes, they are used to keep horse hair short. Lightweight blankets help horses in warding off the flies and avoid hair coats from being bleached. Diverse weights are contrived for different weather conditions. Some of these horse rugs are water-resistant or even waterproof. Modern materials analogous to those used in the clothes of human beings are usually used in blanket fabrication.

See more: Horse Riding