When should I begin rugging my horse, and how many should I use? These are among the most frequently requested questions. Having the correct Horse Blankets and Horse Equipment from the start will make your experience and your horse’s life a lot easier!
The number of rugs to use on your horse varies depending on the equine and the situation, just as it does for humans. When rugging a good trainer, it’s usually best to go light than heavier at first until you learn to interpret your horse’s safety indicators. Horses are more susceptible to heating than humans.
In the cold months
For all those inexperienced to horses, understanding when to blanket and how many sheets to apply can be difficult, especially if you are unfamiliar with horse gear and jargon. With the exception of making your horse comfy, there are two compelling reasons to rugs your horse: maintaining a short display coat and reducing feeding in the cold.
Rugging is a technique for keeping a short coat from becoming too long
The duration of the day acts as a cue for a horse’s coat to recognize when it’s time to start developing a winter coat. As when the days get shorter, a biochemical trigger occurs, signaling the start of the winter coat’s growth. This is why so many horse owners put their equine under lighting in the evenings to cool the horse’s biological clock into believing the days are prolonged and slow coat growth.
In addition, starting in early February, mild rugging maintains the coat shorter as the temperature gets cooler. Many individuals make the error of using winter rugs for horses only when the temperature begins to get colder. Nevertheless, your horse’s winter coat has already begun to grow at this point.
Lowering Feeding Bills
In cooler temperatures, horses require significantly more grain to provide the body heat they require. Rugging your equine can help you save a lot of money on feed. The extra horse equipment you’ll need to keep him toasty will be less expensive than the additional feed you’ll spend over the course of a season!
In the warmer months, rugs your horse:
There are a few major reasons why you might want to rug a horse in the summer, and depending on your primary reason, you’ll want to utilize a different type or technique of rugging. The thinner the rug, the comfier your equine will be, but it’s all about striking a balance between cooling and lightweight and sturdier and more lasting.
Insect Protection:
Insect bites are the most common cause of rugs in the summer. Mosquito bite responses can be extremely painful for many horses. If you’ve had a sensitive mare or little biting insects (such as sand flies), you should choose a rug that provides the best protection, such as a cotton rug, which provides 100% Blockout and is hard for insects to infiltrate.
Avoid bleaching your coat and provide some heat resistance
As the summer continues, bleaching might be a problem in the heavier coats. In paddocks with minimal shadow protection, the sun’s relentless heat could be a problem. A lightweight cotton rug or netting is the best option in both circumstances.
They would provide protection from the sun, and if you choose extremely light cotton (such as a flag rug), your equine will be fresher than if you don’t use one. Flag equine rugs are cool, but they’re not very durable. A light fly mesh may well be the perfect compromise if your mare is a little rough on rugs.