What Happended to New Zealand rugs?

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mums the groom

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Strange question but when I was a child my pony had a lovely green canvas New Zealand rug, no messing about she went out in that all winter to keep the rain off her that was it. no other rugs just a travel fleece for going to shows/ try to keep her clean overnight. now my daughter has a pony the amount of rugs available is ridiculous. I love the pony to death I just don't like rugs (no so much not liking more not understanding). we have a hairy native (welsh) who gets fat in autumn and is left as natural as possible over winter and is thinner by spring. he is not clipped as daughter doesn't do enough on him (lead reign) to require clip what is the nearest rug to my New Zealand :rolleyes:
 
I hated the old canvas New Zealands which were heavy and slipped! New rugs are generally lighter for the horse and easier to use. If your pony doesn't need a rug then don't put one on! If you do want to rug to keep the rain off then just buy a plain no-fill or 100g lightweight turnout rug - lots of them about. Would recommend getting 1000 denier fabric or more to prevent rips and leaks.
 
I certainly remember the old NZ rugs and they were a nightmare to deal with. They were so heavy and took forever to dry. My clipped out, lives out hunter has 3 turnouts, one heavyweight for temperatures below freezing, a medium weight which he wears most of the winter and a rain sheet for now which I use before he's clipped but whilst I need him clean for autumn hunting. This is my 3rd horse and I've had the same rugs for all 3 so not in the least bit extravagant! I have an old stable rug which I don't use, and a fleece for travel and that's it. The lighter fabrics of the turnout must surely be nicer for a horse than the old NZ rugs, and because of that if my horse is in overnight he keeps his turnout on. I still have a jute rug which I've used about 3 times in the last 10-15 years as an exercise rug when it's been extra cold - over the saddle then turned back over my knees, lovely and toasty for both of us, but it's hardly ever cold enough for that.

I think there's a huge tendency to over rug, if we're cold we think the horse is. My vet is a great advocate of the "if in doubt under-rug" policy, certainly for a field kept horse who can move about to get warm but can't do much to cool down. I'm amazed at how often I think "oh he must be cold" and then find he's perfectly warm.
 
oh god, new zealand rugs. People definitely have rose tinted glasses looking back at them. Heavy, stiff, awful things. Most slipped badly, i had a few that needed a surcingle to keep them on at time. Not breathable for the horses, so when the odd hot winter day came they'd be sweating. Weighted a ton when wet. Never in a million years would i go back to using old style rugs, they just can't compare to the breathability and design of good new rugs
 
I'd just get a no-fill rain sheet for the pony :) we've got a nice JH one for our cob to keep the rain off. Lightweight, smart and has proved to be pretty hard wearing so far :)
 
Could the pony go out without a rug. My natives do that are are absolutely fine. I only stick a rug on for extreme wet, cold windy spells
 
paddi22 said:
oh god, new zealand rugs. People definitely have rose tinted glasses looking back at them. Heavy, stiff, awful things. Most slipped badly, i had a few that needed a surcingle to keep them on at time. Not breathable for the horses, so when the odd hot winter day came they'd be sweating. Weighted a ton when wet. Never in a million years would i go back to using old style rugs, they just can't compare to the breathability and design of good new rugs
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Add to that list they took forever to dry, not something I remember fondly, yes now there may be so many options but with a little common sense you don't need to buy more than one or possibly two rugs for the average pony that lives out unclipped all year.

You do have to be careful with the no fill rugs as they tend to flatten the coat and can make them very cold on wet days mid winter, a rug with very little fill is a better option so you may require one of each to cover all bases.
 
He's out all day turnout with no shelter so riding is in an arena weather permiting in the winter so he needs to be dry that's why I need a rug just thinking about how wet it was last year.
 
I have absolutely no nostalgia at all for those heavy, stiff, stinking pieces of plywood. They took days to dry out which just isn't practical in the UK - I need it dry by the next morning! My horses don't really need much rugging at all - I have a no fill rug with a neck which stays on for most of the winter. I bought a 1200d one so it doesn't leak. It's lightweight, stays straight and dries quickly.
 
Come on, no one misses the wet then frozen solid rug that weighed 30kg?!

Ugh.

My tb had a canvas sheet with wool lining, one buckle at the front and two leg straps, that thing was a wind sock on a typical day, it's a wonder he didn't freeze when he was blanket clipped :D
 
Ooh modern rugs are so much better - washable ( I swear the old ones would walk away on their own :D) much more waterproof and light enough to allow air to be retained underneath. I think the old ones were only slightly warmer than no rug at all - think piece of canvas on your bed as opposed to a duvet. No contest!
 
I remember getting my first Rambo rug (in the mid 90's), and though they still had cotton rather than nylon linings at that early stage, it was blissfully warm and light compared to the canvas one I had before...

Fiona
 
I would second buying a rain sheet with 100g fill. My native gets chilly in a no fill rain sheet but has to have something on when it's pouring as he is miserable as hell when wet.
 
In your situation, OP I would have a no fill rug and a 100g rug. I don't understand how anyone could miss the old style new zealands. Many moons ago as a groom I had to manage eight horses with them. Horrible things. So heavy and stayed wet for days. I much prefer the modern rugs.
 
I have a couple of NZs lurking in the tackroom. One of my ponies spent the last couple of months of last winter in one, having trashed his turnout. 40 years old, and going strong!

Yes, they're heavy, but the reason nobody makes them is that there's no money in selling things that last forever.
 
Will never miss those horrid things, apart from being heavy, smelly and prone to leaking, they would also slip to one side. That and rub bald patches on your horse. I bless my new rugs every winter.
 
Vile things, my first pony came with one years ago, rubbed him raw so I persuaded my dad to buy him a Rhino 'wug' soon after they came out! So much lighter and more comfortable, he could wear it 24/7 without any rubbing at all!
OP, as other have said I'd go for a no fill and a 100g for very wet/cold days.
 
The trouble with New Zealand's was that they were so thick the horse would be immune to scratches from thorns etc and plough through hedges happily. The too small NZ currently awaiting recycling is torn to shreds whereas my newer rugs are immaculate, especially as we now fence the French way with electric all round.
 
The last time I even saw a NZ rug was about 10 years ago when my friend and I were snooping around a farm adjacent to ours that had been abandoned to development which then stalled because the economy tanked. It was thrown at the back of what was probably a tack room or something... I don't blame whoever left that behind, it weighed a ton!
 
Yeah 100g or 50 if you can find it (I'm sure I've seen one) for wet days. The no fill ones are pretty useless in anything more than a drizzle.

People who hate rugs would be shocked at the amount I have, but honestly it is necessary (not because I love rug shopping honestly). The horse shivers in even slightly cold weather, like below 10C. Plus he is one that trashes rugs. I dont get it, he is cold without it, so he destroys it once on? However he hasnt destroyed the cheaper rugs thankfully, but I keep 2 of each because then if he destroys something, I have a spare until I can buy another. Although I only have 1 400g rug because I shouldnt need it often now that he is off of the mountain.
 
Here in NZ, a fair few still use canvas rugs, I've got one, not that I dare break it out until we get into spring like now. Its just got a thinner wool lying and is really good for colder nights in spring/summer. And then I'm planning on getting a canvas sheet too. They have their uses, but I'd always take my good weatherbeeta rugs over them any day 99% of the time!
 
Us Kiwi's moved on.

We spent our youth heaving heavy, water soaked, board stiff lumps of canvas on and off our horses. And rejoiced when synthetics were invented.

That's all.
 
Finding this thread quite bizarre as this hasn't been my experience of these rugs at all! I work at a showjumping stud in NZ and we use canvas rugs on the broodmares and youngstock who live out and on the competition horses when they go out during the day. I haven't come across a single rug rub on any of the horses and haven't experienced any slipping either, and they don't take any longer to dry than other rugs, we just hang them in the barn and they're dry by morning... They are pretty heavy and I do have some effort hoisting them up on the big horses but aside from that I think they're really good rugs!
 
I am in Australia and canvas rugs are used here too. I have a wool lined and an unlined canvas as well as synthetics. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. I live in a cool (-8 C in winter) and relative dry part of Oz. The advantage of the canvas in my experience is they don't overheat the horse when the sun comes out during the day. It needs to be freezing/sleeting for me to use the synthetics with my horse as he tends to be warm.
 
mums the groom said:
He's out all day turnout with no shelter so riding is in an arena weather permiting in the winter so he needs to be dry that's why I need a rug just thinking about how wet it was last year.
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Why does he need to be dry? I would be careful with a newly backed horse, but any other gets a wool numnah on a wet back and ridden as normal. Most of the time my horses work hard enough to sweat and get a wet back anyway.
 
SEL said:
Who remembers jute rugs? They weighed a tonne and they stank!
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I still have my first pony's jute rug and curcingle, it still smells of her even though she died 16 years ago. I loved that rug she always looked so snuggly in it. I still have my canvas NZ rugs too but don't use them anymore. They were very heavy but did the job well.
 
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