Which way round do you do up the clips on your rugs?

[Paint it Lucky]

Well this has been bugging me all day, I have always been taught one way but today someone else told me you should always do it the other way and there are valid reasons for both so here you go! :

On stable or turnout rugs where the chest strap do up by way of buckle clips (like you get on lead ropes), which way round should you do the clips?

So that the trigger release bit faces towards the horse
Or so that it faces away from the horse.

Hope this makes sense! Please answer with your reasons for doing so.

 

[mattilda]

I do it so the clip faces inwards towards the horse so it shouldn't get caught up on anything else. In saying that though my warmblood managed to clip himself to his haynet one night. Thankfully he didn't panic so all was well. He now never wears a rug with the clip type chest fastening!!

 

[hussar]

Having years ago found a horse clipped to a fence that he'd leant over - definitely clips facing horse.

 

[Laafet]

On rugs definately towards the horse, I had a livery a few years ago who's Rambo Rug got attached to an electric fence that someone else had turned off so he was grazing over it, he then panicked and tore it all down, and it was the wooden posts not the little plastic ones. Cue lost of horses all rampaging about and carnage with the remaining fencing. Lead ropes I do away from the horse to prevent the clip going through their lip, but then I don't use them much.

 

[Paint it Lucky]

Interesting! I was always taught (and so have always practised) that the clips should face away from the horse, so that they don't dig into them and also so that should the horses rug become caught somehow and tight and you have to release the horse quickly that it is easier to get at the clips to undo them when facing this way. Saying that I have never seen a horse get caught up by it's rug clip on something so it never occured to me that this could happen!

 

[miss_c]

I find them easier to undo when they are facing towards the horse otherwise when the rug slips back they pull tight and they are a b*gger to undo. Plus if they are facing towards the horse they cannot get caught up on things.

 

[Ali2]

Clip towards the horse so he can't get caught up.

 

[jnb]

I actually witnessed the horse opposite mine clipping himself to a haynet, and another to a fence due to them having their clips fastened facing away from the horse.
I always clip them that way - having heard of a horse that clipped itself to a gate and pulled back, breaking a leg

 

[glitterfuzz]

Ive always been told to clip them facing the horse so they cant get attached to fencing or haynets. Same with leadrops (pet hate of mine!) clip it with the clip facing away from the horses chin incase an accident happens and the horse ends up with the clip stick in its chin! everytime i see one clipped on forwards I have to turn it round after someone told me the "clip in the chin" horror story!

 

[SunSmile]

Ditto all this, i too have had a horse attach itsef to a fence! Luckily he was very calm about it and just looked bemused!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I knew there was a reason I don't like rugs with clips. I only have one, which came with the horse and I have never liked it. I only buy rugs with buckles. Up to now my rationale for this was that the clips make the rug very heavy. Having read some of these horror stories I now have another reason to avoid them like the plague.

 

[legaldancer]

Surcingle style clips on the front of rugs can also get hooked up in stock wire if they lean against it. I've also had a conventional buckle get completely wrenched off the rug & have never found it.

 

[timefort]

Like AllySmalice I was always taught that the clips should be done up facing outwards so they didn't dig into the horse. I never really understood this since a) there was generally heaps of padding between clip and horse, and b) I would have thought it would be easier for the horse to unclip itself when clips were facing outwards. I'd never even thought of horses clipping themselves to other things!

I think in future I'm just going to have to avoid rugs with clips thus saving myself the now inevitable dithering and confusion... I can see it now, clip in..? clip out...? in..? out..? bring back the buckle!

 

[kildalton]

I do it so the clip faces inwards towards the horse so it shouldn't get caught up on anything else. In saying that though my warmblood managed to clip himself to his haynet one night. Thankfully he didn't panic so all was well. He now never wears a rug with the clip type chest fastening!!

The same thing happened to me, luckily no harm was done.