What are your 'must have' rugs?

[Miss_Millie]

I will soon be buying my first horse and am overwhelmed by the choice/range of rugs! If you were buying a horse and starting from scratch, what would you say are the must have/essentials for all year round? Horse will be stabled at night and is unclipped. It is quite mild here, rarely goes below -5 Celsius at night in the winter. So far I am thinking:

1. Cooler/travel rug (could this also double up as a stable sheet for mild nights/is there a big difference between the two?)

2. Lightweight stable rug (around 100g)

3. Medium weight stable rug (around 200g)

4. Lightweight turnout rug (around 100g)

5. Medium weight turnout rug (around 200g)

I'm kind of going off of this temperature guide on Equus https://www.equus.co.uk/blogs/community/temperature-guide-to-rugging-a-horse

Any advice is much appreciated, thanks

 

[milliepops]

I'm a fan of liners as they are easy to wash and saves putting turnout rugs through the cleaners, so they last much longer.

Therefore my must-haves are a LW outer that can be used year-round and a couple of liners according to the horse's needs.
my most often used rugs are the 0g outer and 100g liners but I do have some thicker ones stowed away in the cupboard. My preference is for Rambos and I quietly keep an eye out for second hand ones so now all my horses have them.

The Amigo stable rugs are brilliant. they are light to handle and wash really well. I would buy a LW one in your position in case your horse gets cold in the stable, but it really will depend on what kind of coat it grows as to whether it needs rugging indoors.

Otherwise...
I love a thermatex for drying a wet horse or travelling but the winter weight ones might be too thick for an unclipped horse.

Back on Track mesh rugs are really versatile sheets which keep the horse warmer than their weight suggests IME, a light layer, or before/after exercise, or travelling etc.

And this year i added a Rambo Summer Series to the collection which is a great in betweeny light layer for turnout and I wish i'd coughed up for one years ago.

Fortunately 5 of mine wear the same size so there's a lot of sharing going on

All that said, so far this year i've only just put rugs on the stabled ones this week as it's been so mild up to now. but normally i'd have some clipped and working to justify the wardrobe!

 

[Miss_Millie]

I'm a fan of liners as they are easy to wash and saves putting turnout rugs through the cleaners, so they last much longer.

Therefore my must-haves are a LW outer that can be used year-round and a couple of liners according to the horse's needs.
my most often used rugs are the 0g outer and 100g liners but I do have some thicker ones stowed away in the cupboard. My preference is for Rambos and I quietly keep an eye out for second hand ones so now all my horses have them.

The Amigo stable rugs are brilliant. they are light to handle and wash really well. I would buy a LW one in your position in case your horse gets cold in the stable, but it really will depend on what kind of coat it grows as to whether it needs rugging indoors.

Otherwise...
I love a thermatex for drying a wet horse or travelling but the winter weight ones might be too thick for an unclipped horse.

Back on Track mesh rugs are really versatile sheets which keep the horse warmer than their weight suggests IME, a light layer, or before/after exercise, or travelling etc.

And this year i added a Rambo Summer Series to the collection which is a great in betweeny light layer for turnout and I wish i'd coughed up for one years ago.

Fortunately 5 of mine wear the same size so there's a lot of sharing going on

All that said, so far this year i've only just put rugs on the stabled ones this week as it's been so mild up to now. but normally i'd have some clipped and working to justify the wardrobe!

This is so helpful, thank you! So I'm assuming a 0g turnout is the equivalent of a lightweight waterproof human coat - very thin and you build up the layers/warmth underneath with the liners?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I use shires and weatherbeeta with liners I tend to buy 50g and 100g turnouts and 50g liners swish and Derby house do them and they fit on all of my turnouts.

Although it's cold I have one on box rest and his an unclipped Arab and is naked during the day with just a fleece on at night, my other Arab will be clipped this week so he will have thicker rugs on.

 

[milliepops]

This is so helpful, thank you! So I'm assuming a 0g turnout is the equivalent of a lightweight waterproof human coat - very thin and you build up the layers/warmth underneath with the liners?

yep basically.
You can buy a rug for all occasions but I prefer a top quality well made outer that will last for years and years... i think cheap rugs are a false economy and it's another way to reduce the amount of waste in your life.

 

[iknowmyvalue]

Another who uses a liner system now. My preference is rhino/Rambo outers, but have previously used weatherbeeta too.

Stable rug wise, a cotton sheet is useful as a light layer or to use under another rug to keep it cleaner. Then a cooler/travel rug for drying a wet horse, as a thicker layer in the stable, and to travel in when it’s too cold for just a cotton sheet. As MP says, thermatex are great for this purpose, but if you look around you can find plenty of decent copies for less money until you know how much you’ll use it. To be honest I doubt an unclipped horse will need much more than 100g in the stable, and if needed you could layer another rug underneath or use a liner from a turnout rug. Or if you’re being lazy(/efficient) just use the turnout as a stable rug!

 

[gryff]

I'm another one who, after spending small fortune in rugs in the past, wouldn't be without my Rambo Duos. I bit the bullet and both my horses have them. Worth every penny for the flexibility they give in terms of using the layering system. They fit so nicely - lightweight Section D and dainty Arab. Never rubbed either of them. They have been bone dry underneath them living out in torrential Welsh rain. I also keep them on in the stables.
The other rug I find more useful is a 50g turnout. I don't especially like 0g as they don't massively stay dry. My Swish 50g are the nicest ones I've bought.

 

[SEL]

One of mine has a ridiculous amount of rugs so for the pony I've been going down the liner system. Weatherbeeta 0g with liners clipped inside (swish liners are nicer!). No reason why a liner can't double up as a stable rug.

Pony also has a 50g and I'm another who thinks that's one of my most useful rugs.in fact all 3 of mine have that weight.

 

[Ratface]

My extensive wardrobe of rugs, my horse and I are all as old as the hills: I have Horseware, Weatherbeata and Rambo. Horse isn't clipped as he's semi-retired. He's a purebred Arabian, has a fine coat, usually decorated with a good helping of mud. He's been wearing a no-fill Amigo rain sheet until this recent cold/wet/windy weather. He's now in his medium weight Amigo with the integrated neck cover.
He's a naturally warm horse and seems to cope well, as long as it's not torrential rain. He then tears around the field, doing handbrake turns, which has the desired effect of being promptly brought in, and roundly cursed!

 

[Boulty]

If horse is fairly hardy then would probably say a rainsheet or 50g turnout, 100g turnout & if you're planning on doing some clipping at some point a 200g turnout. Turnouts tend to be nice & breathable now & I'll be honest & say I've not used stable rugs for about 10 years, although as others have said if you decided to go for a liner system then you might be able to use spare liners for this. A decent wicking cooler is always useful for popping on a damp horse whilst they dry / for travelling in though.

 

[tatty_v]

I think I probably mostly use:

1. No fill turnout
2. 100g turnout
3. 200g turnout (winter only)
4. Fly rug for summer
5. Waffle/fleece cooler

That’s for horses who are blanket clipped all winter. You might not need anything higher than 100g for an unclipped horse (depending on coat).

Worth considering detachable necks as that gives you more flexibility, although some brands fit better than others.

I used to use stable rugs but got fed up of them smelling of wee and poo (despite a massive bed!) so now I just use turnouts as stable rugs as well. Either tha or a sacrificial cheap no fill on top of a stable rug to repel the wet and smell!

I am a recent convert to the Rambo liner system MP uses as my new boy came with a lovely rambo 100g, so I’ve bought an additional 100g liner so I can beef it up to a 200g without needing another rug.

As for brands, as well as the aforementioned Rambo, I’ve got Shires, Bridleway, Swish, and Ruggles. All have lasted years and have never needed re-proofing. I get them washed annually. I’m lucky that the boys aren’t rug wreckers though!

For waffles/coolers, I think you get what you pay for (mostly). The cheap ones are often too short or stretch in funny places. I have lusted after a thermatex for years but could never justify one as the boys are very warm ponies, but I’ve been very pleased with my Premier Equine waffle and fleece. They’ve lasted well and still look smart.

I’ve never had much luck with secondhand bargains for turnouts, but I think that’s because I’m looking in the common sizes (6ft3 and 6ft6). Most of them seem to be filthy for £50+ with the comment “just needs a good wash” ? Twotimestack online is great for good quality rug bargains, or I just buy out of season (eg now is a good time to replace a fly rug!)

Hope that helps!

 

[EmmaC78]

I am a fan of the liner system. I have a 100g Rambo outer and a 100g Amigo stable rug and then just use the liners with both of them. I have loads of other rugs but hardly use them and generally just stick with those two.

 

[Red-1]

I also use liners. I have a few outers also though, not sure that is the idea LOL.

 

[palo1]

I agree about decent quality rugs being worth the investment! I must say though that this year I bought a Derby House Evolution rug (100% recycled material) and I am really, really impressed with it. I have 2 very boisterous geldings who like to tow each other around by any part of a rug they can grab and that has seen even top quality rugs damaged. I was a bit sick of that so thought I would try this DH one (1200 D & 200g of filling). So far it is very, very good. If you are looking for or at a thermatex type rug I don't think you can beat an original Lansdown Country one; they are not so stretchy as Thermatex but every bit as well made imo.

Generally speaking I always have a rainsheet (I do buy the best or find horses can sweat horribly under cheap ones) and then 1 decent outer with a couple of layers/liners underneath. I use a stable rug as a liner if need be so that doubles up too. It is very tempting to buy lots of rugs but I have found over the years that decent quality, well looked after is both best for the horse and the wallet.

 

[little_critter]

I’m moving towards using turnout rugs as stable rugs.
I tend to use:
No fill turnout with detachable neck (for mild but wet days)
200g turnout with detachable neck for winter.
I could possibly do with a 100g turnout, but it’s not killed him yet by not having one.
100g stable rug (for cool spring / autumn nights, if I had a 100g turnout I’d probably use that instead)
I have a cooler rug, I don’t use it much. Although I’d like a thermatex.
I don’t really believe in fly rugs, if horse flies can bite through my jods then I reckon a bit of mesh won’t stop them. If your problem is midges rather than horse flies then they’d be useful.
I gave up on fleeces, they seem to stretch/shift/pull.

 

[gallopingby]

The most important thing with turnout rugs is whether they’re sufficiently waterproof. The cheaper ones will not be strong enough to withstand continuous rain, you need at least 1200d with a minimum 50 fill. After that you can mix and match any way you want.