Winter Rugs Road Test

When Teddy moved to higher ground during the Qld floods he was wearing one of his trusty old WeatherBeetas - he wore it through all that torrential rain and stayed dry!

Now that the cold weather is upon us, one of the most important considerations for horse owners is winter rugging.  Even stabled horses need warm winter rugs and for those that spend the winter outside, durable, waterproof and warm rugs are even more important.

Luckily there is a great range of rugs available and it's just a matter of finding out what rugs and combination of rugging best suits you and your horse.

If your equine is a competition horse who will be competing over the winter months, it's important to maintain a short, show-ready coat, not just for looks but for health reasons - nothing worse than trying to cool down a sweaty heavy coated horse after training or competition.  Stabling with lights seems to help maintain a short coat but the right rugs are also important.  If it doesn't matter what you do your horse still grows a thick winter coat, you may need to clip him, in which case it's even more important that you purchase the right rugs.

In regard to spelling or retired horses, it's usually best that they do grow a winter coat to help them stay warm in the colder months, however, a cosy waterproof rug will make their life more comfortable and enable them to more easily maintain condition.

There are plenty of good rugs on the market and everyone has their favourites.  I love the WeatherBeeta range of rugs because they all are extremely waterproof and have a great shape that fits most horses and doesn't move around, even with all the running around and rolling they're subjected to with paddocked horses.  These rugs are always of a good quality and last for years.  I have WeatherBeeta rugs that have been worn every winter, but are still waterproof and going strong after many years. The one in the photo would be at least eight years old (I cut the belly straps off during the floods, just in case I had to get it off extra quickly, but it still kept Teddy totally dry).

All WeatherBeeta rugs mentioned below have an outer fabric that is 100% waterproof. This high specification of waterproofing ensures durability over a longer period. Fabric waterproofing is measured under laboratory conditions by an independent testing agency.

The rugs are also fully breathable - breathability is the ability of a fabric to allow sweat and excess moisture to pass through it to the outside air. This horse rug is made up of a "hydrophilic" (water loving) coating on the inside of the fabric that draws excess sweat and moisture to it. Temperature differences between the air inside and outside the rug then force moisture outwards meaning that your horse stays dry and comfortable, rather than clammy and chilled.

These are some of the most popular new season WeatherBeeta rugs:

Orican Freestyle Combo Heavy

Taka Original Combo Medium

Landa Original Combo Medium

Orican Freestyle Combo Heavy

• Ultimate durability with a Waterproof and Breathable strong 1200 Denier Triple Weave strength outer
• Freestyle Gusset, Cupped Shoulder Dart and Full Wrap Tail Flap for ultimate freedom and protection
• New for Winter 2011 is the exclusive Comfort Cuff to provide extra warmth & protection for your horse
• Convenient Quick Clip front closure, plus the exclusive Wither Relief pad to help reduce rubbing and pressure to the wither area
• Stainless Steel surcingle fittings for strength and to help prevent rusting
• Very warm 300g Polyfill with a hygienic and strong 210 Denier Oxford Polyester lining and removable web/elastic leg straps

Taka Original Combo Medium

• Waterproof and Breathable super strong 1680 Denier outer with Teflon coating
• Original side gusset and New large tail flap for added protection
• Warm 220g polyfill with a hygienic and strong 210D Oxford Polyester lining
• New easy to use Quick Clip front closure and removable web/elastic leg straps

Landa Original Combo Medium

• Value Protection - Waterproof and Breathable 600 Denier Ripstop Polyester Outer
• Original side gusset with Warm 220g Polyfill
• Now with polycotton lining for breathability and removable web/elastic leg straps

CLICK HERE to find out more about the WeatherBeeta range and all the other rugs available at Horseland, which is really your one stop rug shop!

Horseland have also provided a handy Rug Size Guide so you can work out exactly what size rug your horse needs - CLICK HERE for the Rug Size Guide.

If you're not sure where to start with your rugging regime, here's what the Horsezone team are currently doing with their horses:

Haylie (NSW & NZ): For my horses that are in work, I usually have a cotton sheet under their other rugs and then in winter I've always had them in the Rambo rugs from Ireland - they last forever (Rambo are similar in construction and shape to WeatherBeeta). While at the Sydney CDI a fortnight ago I figured I was going to freeze in the evening while watching the Dressage, so I went and bought a Bucas winter rug from Alex Townsend's The Animal Company (http://www.theanimalcompany.com.au/) to keep me warm and when my horse Louis arrives from NZ in June he'll be all set!

Jo (QLD): For my western show horse, (who happens to be in a paddock due to flood damaged stables, but still needs a show-ready coat), I like a good quality cotton combo rug with tail bag as the base rug, then a quilted stable rug and on really cold days/nights one or two wool kersey rugs as well, with a waterproof Weatherbeeta combo over the top.  For my retired horse and in-foal mare, who I want to grow nice warm winter coats, I just have a waterproof WeatherBeeta combo for really cold and/or wet weather.  The Weatherbeeta I use is the Landa Original Combo Medium - this seems to be a good weight for Queensland.

Jenny (NSW): For my show horse, in the stable in winter I would use a cotton combo, or cotton rug and hood, a moleskin, a wool and then a really heavy rug, just at night or on super cold days. With hacks it is important not to let their manes be rubbed out by heavy hoods or combos so you tend to not use too much on their necks. Some hackies don’t put any more than just a cotton hood on but have stacks of rugs.  My horse will be getting turned out soon and I'm in the market for a good quality heavy waterproof rug, so I think I'll be picking out one from the WeatherBeeta range very soon!

Georgia (NSW):  At the track (Georgia rides track work for Bart Cummings) the horses are all stabled full time and wear a light canvas/cotton through the day and heavier lined canvas rug at night.  Depending on the weather, they may wear the warmer canvas all day. We don't usually double rug, however, that could be different this year with it being so cold so early! In the winter the horses wear a woollen rug before and after work and in summer sometimes a fly sheet.

Leah (NSW): In the cold weather I like to put a Lycra hood on with a cotton then woolen rug, doonah, and a combo waterproof thick WeatherBeeta.

story: Jo Johnson