Recommendations for a cheap but lightweight fly rug please

[Birker2020]

Hi I'm after a cheap but very lightweight fly rug recommendation please. The Premier Equine Bug Buster is just too heavy and hot for my horse.

I'm not bothered about colour or design but it needs to have a neck cover and a fair bit of chest room as he's quite broad across the chest, the PE is quite tight across his shoulders/chest.
I'm looking for something under £30 ideally because I don't want him to wreck another expensive one! Thank you.

 

[jnb]

Stupid question, but does he really need one? Has he shade and/or shelter to get out of the flies?
I have the hugest shouldered cob and have never found a fly rug to fit him except the Snuggy in which he sweats when the temp is over 22c so naked he is! I make sure he's got a shady shelter wherever he's turned out and really, with Phaser fly spray, and udder cream on tummy & in ears, he is fine with no mask or rug.

Cheapies that friends have used are Gallop & Rhinegold, wouldn't fit my cob but possibly will your horse if you definitely need one.

 

[scats]

Shires tempest fly rug fits my deep bodied horse well. Bit more expensive than £30 but worth the money.

 

[Birker2020]

Stupid question, but does he really need one? Has he shade and/or shelter to get out of the flies?
I have the hugest shouldered cob and have never found a fly rug to fit him except the Snuggy in which he sweats when the temp is over 22c so naked he is! I make sure he's got a shady shelter wherever he's turned out and really, with Phaser fly spray, and udder cream on tummy & in ears, he is fine with no mask or rug.

Cheapies that friends have used are Gallop & Rhinegold, wouldn't fit my cob but possibly will your horse if you definitely need one.

Its a lovely long paddock, and I maintain it very well, the surface is quite flat although the paddock has a slight slope. The adjoining paddocks are all in strips. Its about 160m x 30m approx. But it has no shelter or shade. Its a long way from a water course or the pond, so that's good.

 

[Birker2020]

Shires tempest fly rug fits my deep bodied horse well. Bit more expensive than £30 but worth the money.

Its is quite lightweight?

 

[jnb]

If my horse had no shelter or shade in their paddock and 24/7 turnout wasn't possible I would turnout at night.
I have seen a horse with heat stroke and it's not pretty.

My mums horse at 33 is out 24/7 but as we have sprayed his usual paddock apart from the area with his shelter in and a small grassy area surrounding it, he is not going into his alternative paddock until 8pm as there's no shade. Yes it means I have to go to the yard 3 times a day but I'd rather that than him baking his poor old brain in this heat.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Please don't turn out during the day in hot weather in a paddock without any shade or shelter. As the poster above says, you risk him getting heat stroke if you do.

Can you not turn out at night instead?

I'm sorry but I don't have any suggestions of £30 fly rugs.

 

[SpotsandBays]

Gallop fly rugs are cheap, not sure on the fit of them though!
But agree with the others, they need some form of shade - especially with the days getting hotter

 

[JBM]

Derby house so cheap rugs? They have their own brand..not under 30 cheap but very close

 

[Birker2020]

Please don't turn out during the day in hot weather in a paddock without any shade or shelter. As the poster above says, you risk him getting heat stroke if you do.

Can you not turn out at night instead?

I'm sorry but I don't have any suggestions of £30 fly rugs.

Thanks but before anyone else comments he's not out in the day. He's out at night from around 5.30pm and in around 8.30am as my description on another post currently on the forum. Then in the winter he's out during the day and in at night. He has a shower when I get up after work too in this weather. Trouble is its still very warm at 5.30pm but I can't turn out later as I have gym classes booked.

 

[EllenJay]

Bridleway rugs are normally a good fit for broad shoulder horses

 

[Horseysheepy]

Gallop rugs are good. The one I had, had a belly shield on it as well. Also, the Whitaker ones are good value for money.

 

[Birker2020]

Gallop rugs are good. The one I had, had a belly shield on it as well. Also, the Whitaker ones are good value for money.

Yes most of his rugs are Gallop they tend to fit really well. The one you had with the belly shield, was it a fairly lightweight rug?

 

[Horseysheepy]

I think so, it was a very soft fabric rather than the mesh, or stiffer fabrics you get. It did pill a bit though, so maybe wouldn't last long if he could scratch on things!.

To chose between the two, I'd say Whittaker would be more sturdier.

 

[Birker2020]

I think so, it was a very soft fabric rather than the mesh, or stiffer fabrics you get. It did pill a bit though, so maybe wouldn't last long if he could scratch on things!.

To chose between the two, I'd say Whittaker would be more sturdier.

Thank you. That's really helpful. My friend has a couple I can try tomorrow and buy off her which are 6ft 9 but if none of those are lightweight enough its great to have something in reserve.

 

[ihatework]

Always worth seeing what is available secondhand locally on Facebook market place - it’s what I do with the hooligan youngsters who get through fly rugs at a rate of knots

 

[Britestar]

Gallop, lightweight and inexpensive.

 

[Birker2020]

Gallop, lightweight and inexpensive.

thank you.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

I put Dolly (SI horse) in a cheap zebra fly rug when it is too hot. Very lightweight and keeps the worst offenders off her. But her SI is very well under control so not sure if its a good option for a horse that does need a proper SI rug throughout the summer.

 

[Birker2020]

I put Dolly (SI horse) in a cheap zebra fly rug when it is too hot. Very lightweight and keeps the worst offenders off her. But her SI is very well under control so not sure if its a good option for a horse that does need a proper SI rug throughout the summer.

https://www.equus.co.uk/blogs/commu...nt showed fewer flies,horses that you can get!


The experiment showed fewer flies landed on zebra fly rugs as they just flew past them or bumped into them and bounced off! This means that a zebra-print fly rug is one of the best fly rugs for horses that you can get!

 

[Rumtytum]

I’ve just ordered this for ‘my’ RS horse. £36.73 inc p&p. Several others at the yard have them, it’s going to look like Safari time ?

 

[Birker2020]

Ooh they have a 6ft 9 left. If my friend doesn't have one I will buy this.....to heck with it, I pressed the Buy it Now button. Its Gallop so I know it will fit and its mesh so it will be lightweight. Thanks everyone.

 

[Uliy]

I bought a Whittaker zebra fly rug for cheap, and then realised why it was so cheap - very odd proportions! The belly flap hung really low, to the point legs could get caught in it. So stay away from that one! I love my shires tempest fly rug.

 

[sjdress]

Hy Equestrian do a cheap fly rug, about £35. Not too thick. Only issue was the neck cover came up quite small.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Thinnest cheapest fly rug I have is a Shires Asker

 

[scats]

Its is quite lightweight?

Yes, nice and lightweight. I can’t stand heavy ones so I’m quite fussy with what I buy.

 

[poiuytrewq]

https://www.equus.co.uk/blogs/community/why-a-zebra-rug-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-protect-your-horse-from-flies#:~:text=The experiment showed fewer flies,horses that you can get!


The experiment showed fewer flies landed on zebra fly rugs as they just flew past them or bumped into them and bounced off! This means that a zebra-print fly rug is one of the best fly rugs for horses that you can get!

SI is midges though rather than flies hence really needing a proper SI rug. The zebra/broken colour thing whilst brilliant doesn’t apply really to midges

 

[Sossigpoker]

These are pretty good value , had one for ny old horse and have just ordered one for current horse https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25554472...abkPrdmpOCFLF857POFDcwL3Ab8n|tkp:BFBMktDRiK1g

 

[throwawayaccount]

Not sure if you’re near to hope valley tackshop, but they have lots of cheap fly rugs £35-40 ish low range. X

 

[Winters100]

I'm afraid that my experience of the nice thin rugs is that my geldings destroy them really quickly. Now I tend to turn them out in only masks unless the flies are truly terrible. They go in the shelter to escape when they need to, and I also spray them with Farnam Endure, which is the only spray I have found which seems to make a difference for anything other than a few hours.