Horse Blankets – Must-Have Equestrian Products

By: Travis Moore



Various equestrian products are essential to keep a horse in peak condition. Part of responsible horse care is getting them the right equestrian products. The equestrian sport is highly competitive. While riders are just as important as their horses, winning competitions rests largely on the latter. In order to bag first place, horses need to be in the best of health, and that is what using certain equestrian products does.

Which Blanket Equestrian Product is Right for Your Horse?

Many equestrian products are available to help horses. Most horse products can be purchased over the Internet. One of the major equestrian products that every horse owner should have is the horse blanket. Some call them sheets or rugs, but it pretty much means the same thing.

Every horse could use a blanket. Horse blankets protect horses from nature's harsh elements. Like people, these animals need to be shielded from the cold, heat, wind and rain. Horses left to fend for themselves, minus any blankets, are more likely to become ill.

Different types of rugs, horse blankets or sheets are available. Their use depends on a particular horse's needs. Here are the common blanket horse products:

* Rugs or Fly-sheets – These provide protection from flies and insects during summer months when horses are grazing. Sheets can come with additional attachments like bonnets, fly masks and neck covers. The additional horse products provide extra protection for the horses.

* Liners or under blankets – Placed on horses for protection against friction from the stable rugs, they are laid out underneath the rugs. Traditional under blankets are made of wool, but these can come in many different materials. Today's under blankets consist of lightweight materials and are regarded as under rugs.

* Summer sheets – These represent a variation of other horse sheets, only lighter. They protect horses from flies and dust during summer and can also serve as travel rugs.

* Anti-sweat rugs and coolers – The name is a dead giveaway as to what these equestrian products do. They prevent horses from getting the chills when cooling down after an exercise session. Such rugs feature mesh and are breathable. Mesh size varies depending on horse-type. Fine mesh keeps flies off.

* Stable rugs – These horse products are used in winter to protect horses from the biting cold while they are stabled. Available in different weights, colors and thicknesses, the rugs offer varying levels of warmth. They are breathable, allowing horse sweat evaporation. Under blankets can be placed beneath stable rugs for added warmth, needed when horses are stabled night and day.

* Turnout rugs – Used for keeping horses clean when out in the field, these afford warmth during winter. The rugs ought to be long enough to enable covering horses' bellies. Turnout rugs' fronts should have good overlaps. There are often pleats over the shoulders to allow for movement.

Different weights and thicknesses are available for turnout rugs. They vary from the lightweights without filling for summer to the heavyweights with filling for winter.

Horse blankets can be supplemented with full hoods or neck covers. Hoods are separate pieces of horse clothing that cover the neck, coming down the head to slightly above the horse's muzzle. Holes for the ears and eyes are cut into the hoods.

Neck covers are directly attached to horse blankets. Summer weight neck covers and hoods keep away insects. These are often used to keep horses clean prior to horse shows. Winter weight hoods are mainly used for warmth.

Whether it's a stable rug, summer sheets, coolers or other equestrian products, what matters is that horses are kept adequately protected. Like well-oiled machines, horses perform at their best when properly taken care of. They are not like automobiles that can be fixed over and over again. Horses do not run on batteries. Keeping them healthy is key to enjoying better performance from them – both on and off the field.

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