Horse blanket
A horse blanket is a blanket for a horse that protects it from cold, wet, insects and other things.
Material and intended use
In horse care , blankets made of very different fabrics are used depending on the intended use.
Fly sheet
Fly rugs are made of mesh and protect against insects and insect bites .
Cotton fly rugs ( net blankets ) are wide- meshed and airy. When the horse moves, the insects are scared away by the net.
Eczema blankets are made of a very fine-meshed synthetic fiber fabric , often with a neck section so that the insects cannot penetrate. They are less airy. They protect against sweet itch , which is caused by black flies and midges . Black flies, which hide in the mane, cannot simply be scared away, they have to be kept away.
Sweat blanket
Sweat rugs are usually made of thin, moisture-absorbing (e.g. cotton) or transporting fabric (e.g. polyester fleece ). A sweat blanket protects a sweaty horse from cold drafts, absorbs moisture from the horse's body and releases it to the outside. The horse will dry out faster and will not catch colds easily. At horse shows , the winning horse often receives a blanket with an emblem of the show as a prize. Winning rugs are mostly sweat rugs.
Turnout rug
Willow rugs are available as unlined rain rugs or as thick willow winter rugs. Turnout rugs are made of robust and waterproof material (e.g. 1000 denier nylon material). A waxed horse blanket is heavily impregnated on the outside so that rain cannot penetrate, for example. It is often used in bad weather for horses with paddock boxes , grazing or in open stalls . A side effect that is beneficial for the horse owner is that the horse becomes less dirty when rolling in the mud . There are also turnout rugs under which the horse can sweat. Such blankets are equipped with a semipermeable membrane and are comparatively expensive.
Winter blanket
There are stable winter blankets and willow winter blankets. Thermal blankets are padded blankets that are warmer due to the thick padding.
Lunging blanket
Lunge rugs or lead machine rugs are characterized by plenty of shoulder room so that the horse can move freely. Softshell material is often used for this purpose .
Exercise and kidney rugs
Kidney rugs are blankets that protect the horse's kidneys when riding in the cold. Kidney blankets are mostly thermal blankets.
Exercise rugs extend from the withers to the croup and have a saddle cutout . Exercise rugs are mostly rain rugs.
equipment
Some horse blankets have a belly flap, neck piece or additional head pieces. Blankets that are worn by horses without human supervision, such as turnout blankets, stable blankets or fly rugs, are usually equipped with cross straps and leg straps so that they do not slip.
