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For riders, it can be difficult to find the right time to put a rug on their horse. It is either too hot, and the horse will be very sweaty, or it is suddenly so cold that the horse is freezing. No matter what, you are basically always behind when it comes to blankets. However, it is also complicated to find the right rug size or texture for your horse. It is either too small or too big, too thin or too thick. But do not worry. In this article, we guide you on how to find the perfect rug for your horse.
There are several different sizes of rugs, and if the rug does not fit properly, it can create discomfort for the horse. If it is too small, marks can appear on the horse’s front from rubbing. If the blanket is too big, it will not provide the correct warmth and can easily be destroyed when the horse is turning in the mud or playing in the field.
To make sure that the horse ends up with the correct size you need to find your measuring tape and measure from the ending of the horse’s mane and bag to the beginning of the tail. Table one provides an easy overview of the different sizes.
| Length of the bag of the horse (cm) | Depth of the seating (cm) | Total length of the horse from the upper part of the main to the tail (cm) | |
| Pony | 115 | 75 | 165 |
| Small horse | 125 | 85 | 175 |
| Medium horse | 135 | 95 | 185 |
| Large horse | 145 | 100 | 195 |
| Extra large horse | 155 | 100 | 205 |
| Extra extra large horse | 165 | 105 | 215 |
You probably often worry when you decide if it is time for your horse to wear the rug again. The first thing you want to do as soon as the weather changes is to rush home from work and visit your horse to make sure it is neither too cold nor too hot.
It is difficult to predict the weather changes and, therefore, it is important to have different rugs for all types of weather conditions or temperatures. It can be a winter rug, one for the summer to protect the horse from insects, an autumn rug, and one for rainy days.
To avoid all the troubles you might have, and to prevent from looking at the weather channel all the time, you can use the following guide:
| A non-trimmed horse | A trimmed horse | |
| Rain rug | Between 0 and 5 degrees (Celsius) | Between 5 and 10 degrees (Celsius) |
| Rug with a small amount of filling | Between -5 and 0 degrees (Celsius) | Between 0 and 5 degrees (Celsius) |
| Rug with a large amount of filling | Lower than -5 degrees (Celsius) | Lower than 0 degrees (Celsius) |
Several horses are doing fine without being covered by a rug, and others might need it to stay warm. And sometimes, it is more about what the rider prefers – if he or she enjoys spending hours cleaning the horse during wintertime or not. Some horse owners believe it is not right to interfere with the horses’ natural change of coat while others need the rugs either if the horse is old and has trouble staying healthy or in terms of competition. As you probably already know, it is not very easy riding top dressage or showjumping if the horse is covered in its winter coat.
MS Rideudstyr, Happy Horse, Horze, Lundemøllen
