Any Advise on stopping rugs getting ripped?

Ginger Bear

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My gelding has some nice new rugs..bought his a heavy weight combo & one of the ponies he is turned out with plays with him & bites his rugs & rips them. Yesterday my boy was rolling in the field & the pony ran over to him grabbed his rug & ripped in literally the whole way down the middle of the rug.. he has has that rug 1 week!! It's the second rug he's done it to in 3 months.. if my boy was ripping them I wouldn't be so aggrovated..but it's other people's horses ripping his rugs..any ideas? I thought of just sticking an old lightweight with no fill over his rugs when I turn him out??
 
Have exactly the same problem and posted a thread a few weeks ago asking the same. Some one suggested McNasty - a spray but haven't managed to find it yet in the local shops. Another reply was to put a cheap lightweight rug on top but that sounds a bit of a palaver.

It's an extremely frustrating problem though and expensive.
 
Is Mcnasty like a spray that tastes nasty to stop them biting them? If so that sounds like a good idea.. Will have to google it. The thing is he's in a really nice herd of boys & all 7 of them are really playful & love being together so wouldn't want to split them up..it's just one of them annoying things I guess... I did put an old lightweight over the top today..I'll see if it's worked when I get up there tonight but it was a bit of a pain having to put an extra rug over the top..so if that spray works that would be fab!!
 
No advice on stopping them getting ripped I'm afraid - but you should see my gang at the moment. All four of them are in rain sheets only. Warrior's rain sheet has only got half a chest left. Reine's has just got the border of what was once a tail flap, Pharaoh I noticed last night has a tear or about 4 inches in one shoulder, and Miri's tail flap is hanging on by a thread!

I must be putting the whole neighbourhood to shame! But do I care?

The horses are content and well, the rugs are comfortable and aren't rubbing and keep the worst of the rain off of them (it's the rain they don't like - they don't seem to mind the cold). Ultimately, they'll go into heavier rugs and then the current lightweights will get repaired where possible, but until then my gang will have to remain the scruffiest herd in the neighbourhood!

(Actually, yes I do care - but am too skint at the moment to buy new rugs!)
 
I had this problem a couple of years ago. My young colt thought it was great fun to hang off my geldings rugs. I put on old scrappy rugs and heavily sprayed them with NAF Crib Stop. Once the 'habit' has been stalled, back to nice rugs with a light spray. Worked a treat :)

Oh, word of warning, keep your mouth shut when spraying and removing rugs, it has a damn awful taste!:D
 
I'm definately going to try the sprays..sounds like a great idea..plus the fact that the whole field is post & rail so there's not even anything nasty for him to catch his rugs on..just other horses lol..I know what's going to happen though, it'll be my boy tearing someone else's nice rug, that'll just be my luck...
 
Do you find the stronger denier ones don't rip? I was having this discussion with someone yesterday & they thought that they'd just cost more & still rip if a horse was biting & tearing & then even more expensive rugs would be getting damaged.. what do you think??
 
We have two geldings that play like this. they are best of friends, but grab each other's neck straps and lead each other about. After spending £80 repairing six rugs last year, I put grazing muzzles on them this summer, which worked a treat, as all they could do was poke each other (very funny to watch!) Now the muzzles have come off, they seem to have forgotten the game..

Cribbox spray sounds a good idea, but you would get it on your hands each time you put the rug on, and I always end up forgetting and itching my eye or something when I've used that stuff!
 
haha..yeh I can imagine but the thing is it's not my boy who's biting rugs it's his buddy so can't really ask someone else to muzzle their horse. I'll just have to use the spray..gonna get some later today & let you know how I get on.. Someone mentioned McNasty which is a spray used for rugs..
 
Oh dear been there done it etc :( spray didn't work for us. My friends horse had (note I say "had") :) Amigo 1200d, Mark Todd, wetherbeeta, Rhino & other cheaper rugs. They ALL failed to stand up to the "boys"

She too put a lightweight over the top after the Amigo lasted ONE day, ripped from shoulder to rump!!

Nothing seemed to work but we noted that my lads rugs were ok (they are all as bad as one another) so I suggested she put either my Fal or Bucas on her horse. Yippee he came in with it intact!!

I have the Fal Viking but even the Fal Chieftan (it's like the Fal value range) stood up to the abuse :)

We have a rule now that we only get ballistic nylon rugs and *fingers crossed* it seems to have worked. I also have a premier equine rug 1680d ballistic nylon (£129) and it is still intact.

I'm afraid it's not cost effective to buy the cheaper rugs so they can be thrown away & replaced. My friend did exactly that but when a rug lasts one day, nothing cheap about doing it that way :(

Good luck & hopefully the spray will work for you. Ours are just determind to play so put up with the dreadful taste :)
 
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