Horse Rugs

How many horse rugs do I need?

When it comes to buying a horse rug, many questions arise. How many rugs a horse needs depends very much on how the horse is kept, in what condition it is trained and what physical condition it is in.
Basically, every horse should have a wicking rug that protects the horse from cold draughts and helps it dry.
Horses that are also trained in winter and are not supposed to grow much winter coat or are clipped need a heavyweight rug. For this purpose, you will find horse rugs with different fillings from 0g to 300g in our range. For riding and walking in winter, a walker & exercise rug is useful for these horses, which protects the back from the cold and allows sufficient freedom of movement in the shoulder area.
Wind-repellent, light travel and stable rugs protect the horse from dangerous draughts, which can also be particularly advantageous in the cold seasons for horses with thin or clipped coats or for horses sensitive to the cold.
In summer, fly rugs provide the horse with a pleasant relief both on the pasture and during hacks when a lot of insects bother the horse. Horses that overreact to insect bites with itching should wear a sweet itch rug from spring to autumn.
Does your horse rug ever break and you need spare parts? Or the rug is too short at the chest? Then a chest extension could help. You can find this and more in our rug accessories.

What rug size does my horse need?

As with ready-made clothing, the sizes and cuts of horse rugs vary somewhat from brand to brand. The decisive factor here is not only the measured length, but also the overall cut in the chest, neck and shoulder area. Use a soft tape measure and measure horizontally from the centre of the chest to the end of the rump. Please note that the horses height is only a rough guide as to whether the horse tends to need a larger or a smaller rug. Big horses can be short, just as small horses can be long. In our shop you can buy rugs for horses from 5'0''. For your pony or foal, you will find rugs from size 3'6'' at Kramer Equestrian.
When buying a suitable horse rug, take a close look at the cut of the rug when trying it on: A horse with a low set neck does not fit every rug that fits a horse with the same body length but a narrow chest. In this case, a chest extension can help, which you can find in our rug accessories.

How many grams should the horse rug have?

The gram weight of a horse rug indicates the filling weight and not the total weight of the rug. Depending on the filling weight, the rug performs a different function. Lightweight turnout rugs with a filling of 0g/m² are particularly suitable for field-kept horses, in continuous rain and around 10 degrees. Turnout rugs with a filling of 50g to 100g can be used in the transitional period, as they only keep the horse warm to a certain degree, but provide reliable protection from the rain. Horse rugs of 200 g/m² or more should be used when the temperature is around zero degrees.
For extremely cold temperatures and clipped horses, you should use rugs with an even thicker filling if necessary. For this purpose, you can buy our rug combi-systems, which consist of inner and outer rugs.
Clipped horses must be rugged depending on the clipping pattern to compensate for the lack of protection from the cold. As soon as the outside temperature is between 6-10°C, a heavyweight turnout rug filled with 50-100g should be used. If the temperature drops below 5°C, a clipped horse should be rugged with a 200g or more filled rug.

Which horse rugs are available?

• Light & heavyweight turnout rugs
• Wicking rugs
• Walker & exercise rugs
• Travel & stable rugs
• Fly rugs
• Sweet itch rugs

Which horse rug for which temperatures?

This question cannot and must not be answered in a blanket way, as each horse must be considered and assessed on a case-by-case basis. Which horse rug makes sense at which temperatures is determined by the horse's age, state of health, coat condition and/or the way it is kept.
Rugging a horse in winter means interfering with the horse's natural thermoregulation. Therefore, it should be carefully considered whether a rug is really necessary or whether the horse should be clipped at all. You can read more detailed information on the subject in our large horse rug guide, where you will find helpful infographics that you can use as a basis for decision-making.