Rug wrecking- any proven remedy?

McNally

McNally

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My big horse is the worst rug wrecker EVER and appears to be getting worse.
My daughters pony has the tattiest rain sheet on there are rips and chunks out everywhere- its beyond repair.
This was a lovely quite expensive l/w Rhino last week!!!
The problem is its getting to the point that he needs a thicker rug but i cant face all his lovely rugs (a lot of which my daughter saved for a long time to buy him herself!) being destroyed!
Last night i sprayed with a spray specially for this problem- this morning more damage.
tbh i money is tight right now and with winter coming i need to try and stop this. I cant afford the constant repairs. Spray used to work to an extent but now he's completely un phased by it!
I cant separate them as this makes big horse really unhappy and i really dont want this - he loves the pony and its not nasty just playing or trying to windsuck on him i think!
Any ideas?
 
Cribox? Chilli oil?

I feel your pain - at old yard Kal was out with a serial rug wrecker - I spent a fortune getting rugs repaired :(. The Cribox worked to a degree - didn't try the chilli oil but I'm reliably informed that it does the trick.

Good luck.

P
 
Muzzle? To be honest other than separating them there isn't really much you can do. What a pain in the neck. The other thing is get some "Daves Insanity Sauce" and mix it with a cheap vegetable oil or even water and then blitz the field mates rugs in it. D.I.S is seriously hot and he'll only try it a couple of times!
 
Fab idea's thank you! I did try muzzling him once (for weight not rugs) he destroyed the muzzle within 2 hours!
tbh its so much worse if its someone elses horse, We were at livery last winter and fixing rugs other people's horses had ripped really irritated me- this is just the money thats annoying mainly!
What on earth is Daves insanity sauce and where do i get it? lol i like that idea!
The flash may also be worth a try- he does open very wide and grab so that might help.
Once he has a stable built it wont be so bad he's ok by himself for a time and i'm thinking once he's in at night a few hours alone will maybe be not so bad- or at least a few hours with a tougher muzzle as it ban come off once he's inside.
 
I have the exact same problem, one of mine rips the others rugs. I'v spent a fortune replacing and getting them repaired. They couldn't be separated as got too upset, can't muzzle him as he gallops around kicking my other one in anger! I'v tried that spray on rug stuff, cribox, watered down jeyes fluid to no avail!! I found that rubbing in hot chilli was effective, however when it rained it dripped down onto my boys chest and brought him out in a rash so obviously had to wash rug and stop using!! He is a sensitive soul though!!

It really is an awful situation to be in! My boy who gets his rugs ripped by the other one is so careful with his rugs, I'd always bought him rambos etc and they'd lasted years!! My newer horse now just trashes them, out of dominance! Trouble is the rug victim is a tb so needs rugging!!

I do find though that I still buy the more expensive rugs as they do have more of a chance than the cheaper ones! With the cheap ones, they tear from front to back, although the more expensive ones do tear but thats about it (ripstop). They then have more chance of being repaired. I'd never go less than a 1000 denier either. Shires do a 2000 denier hw rug which I'd try but they're not a good fit for my tb.

Sorry I'v not been much help, (although try the chilli!) I just wanted to let you know that I'm in the same boat so can empathise!! Keep me posted though if you find a solution!!!
 
McNally said:
Fab idea's thank you! I did try muzzling him once (for weight not rugs) he destroyed the muzzle within 2 hours!
tbh its so much worse if its someone elses horse, We were at livery last winter and fixing rugs other people's horses had ripped really irritated me- this is just the money thats annoying mainly!
What on earth is Daves insanity sauce and where do i get it? lol i like that idea!
The flash may also be worth a try- he does open very wide and grab so that might help.
Once he has a stable built it wont be so bad he's ok by himself for a time and i'm thinking once he's in at night a few hours alone will maybe be not so bad- or at least a few hours with a tougher muzzle as it ban come off once he's inside.
Click to expand...

Daves Insanity Sauce.... Well being a chilli hot head - my brothers and I had a little sibling competition to find the hottest chilli sauce. I must admit Daves Ultimate Insanity Sauce is hotter but generally less than an 1/8th on a tea spoon of D.I.S is too hot for most people!! We had a very greedy guy who disliked hot currys etc. Anyway he used to help himself to things in the fridge and pate on toast was his favourite. So I offered to make him a slice (He would fold the slice into one quarter and eat it in one.) Anyway I made said pate on toast but added a teaspoon of D.I.S to the slice of bread. My brother's and I were in hysterics!!! This was about 10 years ago as I am obviously far too grown up to do it now!!! Stick it into Google but you can get it in most major supermarkets. You need something like that as if you get Sweet Chilli Sauce or similar they will just lick it and enjoy it!
 
Aces_High said:
Daves Insanity Sauce....
Click to expand...

I may give this a go too, perhaps watered down or mixed with oil it may not bring my boy up in a rash like neat chillis do. Will put some on the back end of rug where most rips occur and watch in satisfaction as my other boy takes a good bite!! :)
 
bumblelion said:
I may give this a go too, perhaps watered down or mixed with oil it may not bring my boy up in a rash like neat chillis do. Will put some on the back end of rug where most rips occur and watch in satisfaction as my other boy takes a good bite!! :)
Click to expand...

I have used it on wood to stop them from chewing and also covered an area where a rat was trying to enter. It stopped chewing from both parties! I would say as long as it is on the top behind the wither (about 10 inches) going backwards you should be fine as when it rains no matter where his head is the water + chilli shouldn't run or contact anywhere near his skin.
 
I feel a trip to Tesco in order! although living in the sticks i very much doubt my Tesco will have it! I also suspect if i go in and ask for a bottle of Daves Insanity sauce they will think i'm nuts!

Will track some down though.

Bumblelion yes your right about the decent rug thing. I went through a phase of buying cheap rugs which got torn from end to end first wear but this Rhino has lasted a few weeks and has holes rather than rips (just the holes are now joining together!)

The other thing i considered is keeping this shredded rug to use as a top layer so the nice rug underneath hopefully stays intact!....but i'm a bit of a snob and i do hate horses in shredded rubbishy rugs!
 
McNally said:
Bumblelion yes your right about the decent rug thing. I went through a phase of buying cheap rugs which got torn from end to end first wear but this Rhino has lasted a few weeks and has holes rather than rips (just the holes are now joining together!)

The other thing i considered is keeping this shredded rug to use as a top layer so the nice rug underneath hopefully stays intact!....but i'm a bit of a snob and i do hate horses in shredded rubbishy rugs!
Click to expand...

Lol, you sound like me, I'm a bit of a rug snob too and hate seeing him go out in shredded rugs, with bits of duck tape flapping about!! I'm the only person that sees them too! I used to have a rug addiction, my tb has over 20 rugs now (every turnout is ripped, it's soul destroying!).

I never thought about putting a lw on over the top though, don't really like too many straps about but I suppose plenty of people layer rugs with fleeces etc! May give it a go if I can't get hold of this chilli stuff!!
 
sounds a bit strange but i used to put good old english mustard on the back of my boys rug as other horses in the field used to chase and pull all his tail flaps off. Cribox worked for a while but didnt last long so sounds daft but we used to have a dog that snatched food and to teach him not to put some mustard on a cracker snatched right outa hand and hated the taste after that used to be much more polite in taking treats.. so this is where my theory comes from.. worked on mine,horses tried once then very dubious about it next time only problem was dosent look great with a big splodge of mustard on the back of nice new rugs.. but worked a treat.. might be worth a try if nothing else works. Just have to hope field mate isnt a secret mustard lover lol xx:D
 
my 4 year old is a chronic rug ripper. my lot don't fight in the field at all, he just likes to walk through the hedges - he developed a nasty habit of this last year, nothing phases him he will literally walk up to a hedge and just keep going until he is through, he isn't subtle about it either. this is how he rips his rugs, he gets them torn when he tries to STEP over barbed wire fences to get into next door's fields, it got so bad last year, he went through 3 HW combo turnouts which were about £80 a pop, got to the point that i just decided oh to hell with him and stopped putting rugs on him. i've never seen a pony grow a winter coat so fast in my life!!

here is a pic of him with his last rug during winter looking rather smug.

68787_10150284295845654_794465653_15235119_320261_n.jpg
 
I have this problem I can't stop the horse but I have bought a large piece of rug material from our saddlers and some uhu glue. Putting the good rug under and torn one is a good idea.
 
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