Boulty
Well-Known Member
I think the range of rugs you need depends a bit on your horse, how you keep them & what you do with them.
Assuming young adult & fit & well a native type is less likely to need heavier rug weights than a finer type. If you’re in an area prone to colder temperatures / you’re somewhere quite open without a lot of shelter then you also might need heavier rugs.
Unclipped and with access to enough forage & shelter when needed the average horse will probably not need a rug the majority of the time and their needs when they do will likely be served by a rainsheet or a 50-100g if weather really bad. A cooler of some sort for shoving on when wet / for travelling in probably also a good idea.
If you’re going to do a partial clip then you’ll likely need a 100-200g in addition to the above and you may want a neck rug.
If fully clipping about 200g-300g plus (more if horse feels cold, less if doesn’t)
If horse works hard and gets sweaty or if you bath a lot in cold weather you might also want a wicking rug (eg thermatex type thing) for speedier drying.
Going to be honest I’ve not used stable rugs for years. Modern turnouts are breathable & comfortable enough that they’re not really necessary a lot of the time. (Also the fastest way to dry a wet rug is to leave it on the horse… unless of course it’s leaked through but if it was doing that on a regular basis I’d be binning it tbh!)
Some people like having a range of different individual rugs, some like using a liner system. Pros & cons of both (although would recommend having a spare lightweight turnout vaguely compatible with your liner system if you are using liners just in case the “main” one gets ripped).
Assuming young adult & fit & well a native type is less likely to need heavier rug weights than a finer type. If you’re in an area prone to colder temperatures / you’re somewhere quite open without a lot of shelter then you also might need heavier rugs.
Unclipped and with access to enough forage & shelter when needed the average horse will probably not need a rug the majority of the time and their needs when they do will likely be served by a rainsheet or a 50-100g if weather really bad. A cooler of some sort for shoving on when wet / for travelling in probably also a good idea.
If you’re going to do a partial clip then you’ll likely need a 100-200g in addition to the above and you may want a neck rug.
If fully clipping about 200g-300g plus (more if horse feels cold, less if doesn’t)
If horse works hard and gets sweaty or if you bath a lot in cold weather you might also want a wicking rug (eg thermatex type thing) for speedier drying.
Going to be honest I’ve not used stable rugs for years. Modern turnouts are breathable & comfortable enough that they’re not really necessary a lot of the time. (Also the fastest way to dry a wet rug is to leave it on the horse… unless of course it’s leaked through but if it was doing that on a regular basis I’d be binning it tbh!)
Some people like having a range of different individual rugs, some like using a liner system. Pros & cons of both (although would recommend having a spare lightweight turnout vaguely compatible with your liner system if you are using liners just in case the “main” one gets ripped).
