Rugging/unrugging in the field

Do you ever rug/unrug a horse that is loose in the field?

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We don't have any rugs with legs straps these days - hate them! We rug/unrug in the field. The only time it's been a problem is when my youngster took off and the rug slid to the side. It was terrifying. He brought himself down at least once at a gallop (thankfully, there was thick snow at the time). After that we did put a headcollar on him before changing/putting on a rug. All the rest though are old enough and well-behaved enough to do it in the field without being held. I generally put them on, put fillet string under tail, do front straps and then the belly ones last. On the basis really that, should they tale off, if you have the front straps done and fillet string under the run should stay in place fairly well.
 
Auslander said:
I remove one leg strap and turn the other into a fillet string the moment I buy a rug - hate legs straps with a passion. When I rug in the field, I do the cross surcingles first, then the front clips.
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This.....I have a huge bag full of odd leg straps.
 
I do front straps first because if the rug is far enough back to do the rest it is often difficult to get the front ones done up. Then I slide the rug back so that the fronts are snug and do up the surcingles - you can do all of that from one side so if you do get a spook you have a chance of not finishing the front ones or doing a speedy fasten of a surcingle before they take off. Both surcingles then leg straps - I do use some fillet strings with plastic covers but by and large I don't like them - they get covered in ***** and can get over the tail and the rug can then blow over the horse's back.

ETA - only when horse is eating, or I know as a veteran it is highly unlikely to wander off. I have had too many rugs stomped into mud over the years to take any risks!!
 
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JanetGeorge said:
The BHS teaches that horses' rugs should be done up front first, then surcingles, then leg straps. And for removal, release legs straps first, then surcingles, then front straps! The BHS DOES say that horses should be cauht and held while this is done.

Now as long as your horse is caught, and held securely, it doesn't actually MATTER what order you do the straps up in. BUT, if the horse is free in the field - and you do it in BHS order - what happens if the horse spooks - and takes off - when only the front straps are done up?? No prizes for guessing. The rug slips around the horse's neck and he treads on it. If he's lucky, the front trap breaks beore he falls and breaks his neck, or his leg, or his shoulder. I have heard of this happening at least 10 times - the last time just a week ago.
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Except if you have a rug with only leg straps done up and pony takes off they can wreck their legs. I've seen a pony put down because of the damage done due to this.

I do change rugs in the field but horse is either held or eating their dinner. we only have ours in the field - I wouldn't change rugs in a field with horses other than ours
 
I don't tend to use leg straps, so I put the rug on, sort tail string, then do the front up. I don't do the cross surcingles up first having seen a horse seriously panic when it disappeared with just the surcingles done.
If its windy, I catch first. If the rug just has front straps and leg straps, then I do up leg straps first.
 
My girls are fine but my gelding (youngster) can be a bit spooky woth having a rug put on in the field. I always do his surcingles up first incase he pegs it. He does not have leg straps..none of them do.
 
interesting post. i was taught to do front to back and taught my daughter that way. She was most aggrieved when she went to a pony party at a riding school recently and was told our way was not correct!! it must have been revised at some point!? however i do agree that it makes sense to do front up last in case the horse does take off in which case the rug just slips back and off, although legs caught in surcingles would worry me.

Also i rug and unrug loose in field more or less daily and I remove all leg straps on rugs now, and just use a fillet string. Have seen too many problems with leg straps. never had a problem with just a fillet string
 
All of ours are used to being rugged/unrugged in the field. I actually do the front up first and then the belly, they have fillet strings not leg straps - they're usually all very good and stand still....usually....!
 
Back to front always as if horse takes off the rug just slides off and a buck extricates the legs, experienced it before. Mine all stand like rocks to have their rugs done, trained to do so but you should never take chances I suppose :)
 
starbar said:
Yes, I rug and unrug without a headcollar.

Rugging - front straps, leg straps, surcingles

Unrugging - Leg straps, surcingles, front straps
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Yup, I always do it this way too.

I worry that if I did front up last/undid it first, and they ran off, that they could get the rug caught around their legs and completely panic.
 
Didn't vote as option I do wasn't there :D

I sometimes rug in the field, and to put on I do up front first, then pull over bum and put tail through (can't abide leg straps) then do up surcingles.

To take of I undo front, then surcingles. This was the way I was tuaght for my bHS exams and I passed? The reasoning being that if a horse bogs off (which it won't as said horse will be tied up ;) ), the rug will exit stage rear, rather than end up like a bib and trip the horse up.
 
Nobody's mentioned the benefit of Velcro fixings on the front! Rug on, Velcro front, secure middle, sort out fillet strap then secure front fastening. IME the BHS examiners will accept a variety of answers if there is a sound reason for doing it that way i.e. not just because "I've always done it that way and not had a problem".
 
No because about 10 years ago someone I know did this and the horse took off with the rug half undone it twisted around the front got caught up in her front legs and she broke one and had to be put down. She was a flighty type though.
 
JanetGeorge said:
The BHS teaches that horses' rugs should be done up front first, then surcingles, then leg straps. And for removal, release legs straps first, then surcingles, then front straps! The BHS DOES say that horses should be cauht and held while this is done.

Now as long as your horse is caught, and held securely, it doesn't actually MATTER what order you do the straps up in. BUT, if the horse is free in the field - and you do it in BHS order - what happens if the horse spooks - and takes off - when only the front straps are done up?? No prizes for guessing. The rug slips around the horse's neck and he treads on it. If he's lucky, the front trap breaks beore he falls and breaks his neck, or his leg, or his shoulder. I have heard of this happening at least 10 times - the last time just a week ago.
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Janet so totally are with you on the fitting of any cover - especially if you are out in a paddock when doing so.

For a cover with no surcingle
Do up back straps - if horse gets loose cover slides off
Do up front straps - cover now secure!
Do up belly straps
Do up neck rug

For a rug with a surcingle or that uses a surcingle/roller - and this is what BHS taught when I took my exams
Do up surcingle - rug now held in place
Do up front straps
Do up back straps/fillet string

For the non-believers that refuse to do leg straps first!
I was working in a racing yard where all the horses wear canvas (New Zealand) rugs. They work, get hosed and dried, cover put on and put into stable to wait turnout later.

Horses in this story were turned out by a member of the yard staff - off they went as TB's do with heads and tails up, bucking and prancing. Then one finds his cover moving and true to TB form starts panicking and goes faster, round and round her went as he did his cover twisted and flapped at him - He went through the top of one fence and over the next into the walkway between all the paddocks.

In his panic he galloped on and then because his cover was now under his feet trod on it and fell, he scrambled up and now facing towards the stables galloped off again straight through a handler and two horses which he knocked to the ground, he galloped past a whole group of us, fortunately tucked in a gateway and then fell again - this time he didn't get back up.

We ran to him and this I will never forget - he had broken his neck AND smashed out all the front teeth from his skull.

So if you value your horse do up the back straps first.
 
Just a bit more!

Stabled horses were always done,
middle, front back! - this would be so that you secured the carefully folded blanket under the neat jute rug.
Then you did up the front as for many rugs this was it - a surcingle or anticast roller and the front straps. Some such as day rugs had a fillet string as well.

The early New Zealand rugs generally had leg straps and a front strap. BHS advised that leg straps be crossed between the back legs - with the left strap being clipped to the D on the right and the right strap to the D on the left. Unfortunately this doesn't help the rug to stay in place or prevent the horse from wriggling out of them. They also believe that it prevents chafing.

Legs straps are best wrapped around each other - eg do up right strap and clip to right D then thread left strap through the loop before clipping to the left D. This helps 'right' the cover after hooning and rolling. It does not cause the straps to chafe the horse! If they are fitted correctly and kept oiled then they are no problem. Here in NZ many racehorses live in theirs 24/7 with absolutely no problem.

Another key point to note is to make sure that the clip is done up so that the moveable edge is facing inwards - not fun trying to unclip a horse from an electric fence!
 
I do leg straps up first and then front straps. My reasoning is, if something spooks either of my horses and they take off before I am finished, the rug can slide off over their hind quarters and they can get out of it...
If the front straps are done up, there is the rug can slide around and get trodden on potentially causing injury and damage to my horses and/or the rug.
 
I've always done front straps last, as it is how I was taught and I passed my BHS exams over thirty years ago doing it that way.
 
JanetGeorge said:
The BHS teaches that horses' rugs should be done up front first, then surcingles, then leg straps. And for removal, release legs straps first, then surcingles, then front straps! The BHS DOES say that horses should be cauht and held while this is done.

Now as long as your horse is caught, and held securely, it doesn't actually MATTER what order you do the straps up in. BUT, if the horse is free in the field - and you do it in BHS order - what happens if the horse spooks - and takes off - when only the front straps are done up?? No prizes for guessing. The rug slips around the horse's neck and he treads on it. If he's lucky, the front trap breaks beore he falls and breaks his neck, or his leg, or his shoulder. I have heard of this happening at least 10 times - the last time just a week ago.
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I do what I was trained BHS .

I do rug and unrug in the field more often than not without headcollar
 
Just out of curiosity .

I was taught BHS in 70's you do not pull the front strap tight flat across the chest you leave an arch in the strap so if cold hands or swollen leather straps you can undo ok who else practices this???

By the way in the old days when front straps were leather this proved handy on may occasion
 
I do mine most of the time loose in the field - I do use common sense and get a headcollar if it's windy/ next door are shooting etc.

I've said front straps first in your poll but actually I loop tail through fillet string (hate leg straps), then do front straps then belly straps.

If they go to wander off I grab the rug round the next and a firm stand usually does the trick - I am spoiled with the behaviour of mine tho - they are very very good.
 
touchstone said:
I've always done front straps last, as it is how I was taught and I passed my BHS exams over thirty years ago doing it that way.
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I did BHS exams just over 30 years ago too - and I was pulled up on it by the examiner, who accepted my 'mistake' because she liked my explanation of WHY I did it that way. It wasn't considered 'correct' though.

It seems there's a lot of confusion WITHIN the BHS Instructors 'set' - one posted on the BHS FB thread that they'd always been taught - and taught their students - to do up middle straps, then front, then leg straps! I've e-mailed the Exams department to try and get some sense on it - no reply yet!
 
For those that don't believe it matters what order you do things - creating a HABIT ensures that you do all parts of an action.

If you ALWAYS do up back straps first, front, belly then neck - you are unlikely to miss a step.

The cause of the accident I wrote about in an earlier post was because the person who put that rug on tended to do things any how - in no particular order and he screwed up!
 
Jericho said:
interesting post. i was taught to do front to back and taught my daughter that way. She was most aggrieved when she went to a pony party at a riding school recently and was told our way was not correct!! it must have been revised at some point!? however i do agree that it makes sense to do front up last in case the horse does take off in which case the rug just slips back and off, although legs caught in surcingles would worry me.

Also i rug and unrug loose in field more or less daily and I remove all leg straps on rugs now, and just use a fillet string. Have seen too many problems with leg straps. never had a problem with just a fillet string
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The introduction of synthetic rugs without rollers changed the system - leg straps replaced the roller, then belly straps came into being. Your way was correct for a stabled horse with the old system of rugging.

I must admit I am surprised how many of you take off the leg straps and rely on the fillet string to keep the rug in place. Mine would be out of hers and smirking if she didn't have leg straps.
 
At the moment I always catch them first, but that's because there are others in the field and I just don't trust one of them. When it's just my two, it's mostly without anything - have done it whilst eating and not!

I do it the BHS way (although I wasn't taught). Never had them take off. Both are really good with blowing rugs. One of Chloe's fly rugs hangs too low on her back end, so I haven't put the fillet string on it (rarely used as she uses the sweet itch hoody). When I do use it, though, she's often found 'flashing her knickers' in the field, completely oblivious!
 
Whenever I am doing anything with mine in the field they have a headcollar on.

Firstly I really don't want to risk them taking off whilst I am putting their rug on, for the sake of 10seconds it takes to stick a headcollar on it seems a bit of a no brainer for me.

Secondly ours know that they are expected to stand still when they've got a headcollar on, as opposed to wondering about whilst I'm trying to do rugs up.
 
RunToEarth said:
Whenever I am doing anything with mine in the field they have a headcollar on.

Firstly I really don't want to risk them taking off whilst I am putting their rug on, for the sake of 10seconds it takes to stick a headcollar on it seems a bit of a no brainer for me.

Secondly ours know that they are expected to stand still when they've got a headcollar on, as opposed to wondering about whilst I'm trying to do rugs up.
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Mine know 'stand' means it, even the youngster. I pick their feet out and do their rugs loose in the field together, only fly repellant needs a headcollar.
 
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