Horse Rugs Are An Essential Item In Your Tack Room
Horse rugs are priceless in terms of their ability to keep your horse comfortable in all type of weather. Horse rugs vary considerably in material, and come in different weights, from very light to very heavy.
Horse rugs are great for keeping a horse warm, helping it cool down slowly and protecting it from flies and other flying nuisances, it is advisable to keep many different horse rugs for catering to your horse’s needs.
You should envelop your horse in as many layers of horse rugs as the prevailing temperature dictates. It is better to use multiple layers of thin rugs than to use fewer thicker ones. The thin rugs give you more flexibility: you can remove or add them with greater ease depending on circumstances. Besides, thick rugs can make horses sweat.
Regularly monitor rugged horses that live outdoors most of the time. Inspect the straps for wear and tear and check your horse’s back and shoulders for chaffing. If a horse sweats on a sunlit winter day, he is probably carrying a blanket or two too many. While most waterproof blankets do their job of waterproofing with great efficiency, they are not advisable for use as regular rugs because they are “air tight” and inhibit natural breathing of horse skin.
Stable blankets are the most commonly used horse rugs. They can be made of fabrics of different weights, usually cotton or cotton blends. Some are quilted for use in cold weather. Stable blankets are meant for indoor use, since they are usually not weather or water proof. They are equipped with chest and belly straps that keep them in place.
Flysheets are lightweight horse rugs usually made of a breathing type of material that also protects the horse from mosquitoes, gnats, and other pests. Flysheets are excellent for both outdoor and indoor use. They can be fastened securely around the horse’s body to prevent safety issues should the horse decide to roll.
For heavier protection needed in wet or cold weather, turnout blankets are ideal; they are horse rugs consisting of a quilted lining under a water proof outer layer. They come with lots of straps: one strap around the chest, a couple around the belly and another round the tail. These straps help the rugs stay tightly in place and are not easily displaced even when the horse lies down or roll.
Anti-perspiration sheets and coolers are horse rugs typically used on competition horses and racehorses that are subjected to relatively short bursts of activity followed by inactivity. These horses need to be walked and cooled down slowly under close supervision, to prevent them from going sore or stiff. Anti-perspiration sheets and coolers slow down the evaporation rates and allow cooling to take place at a controlled speed, eliminating problems associated with rapid changes of body (especially joint and muscle) temperature. Normally, anti-perspiration sheets and coolers are used together with walking to help high-performance horses maintain good health.
Anti-perspiration sheets make a tight fit around the horse, rather like light turnout blankets, whilst coolers on the other hand make loose fits. You should never leave a horse with a cooler on unattended, as the cooler, being loose fitting, will become entangled around their limbs or torso if they lie down or roll.
