Horse blanket

A horse blanket or rug is a blanket or animal coat intended for keeping a horse or other equine warm or otherwise protected from wind or other elements. They are tailored to fit around a horse's body from chest to rump, with straps crossing underneath the belly to secure the blanket yet allowing the horse to move about freely. Most have one or two straps that buckle in front, but a few designs have a closed front and must be slipped over a horse's head. Some designs also have small straps that loop lightly around the horse's hind legs to prevent the blanket from slipping sideways.

Protection from the elements

Standard horse blankets are commonly kept on a horse when it is loose in a stall or pasture as well as when traveling. Different weights are made for different weather conditions, and some are water-resistant or waterproof. Modern materials similar to those used in human outdoor wear are commonly used in blanket manufacture.

Blankets are sometimes used to keep the horse's hair short. If horses are blanketed at the beginning of the autumn, especially if kept in a lighted area for 16 hours a day, they will not grow a winter coat. Blankets also protect horses that are kept with a short clipped hair coat for show purposes. When a horse is given a full body clip, or even a partial "trace clip", it needs to have a blanket kept on at all times if the weather is cool because the horse no longer has the natural insulation of a longer hair coat. If a blanket is put on a horse at the beginning of the winter in order to suppress the growth of a winter coat, or if the horse is kept clipped in cold weather, the blanket cannot be taken off until warmer weather arrives in the spring. If a horse is subjected to cold weather without either a blanket or a natural hair coat to keep it warm, it may become ill, and vulnerable to sicknesses such as influenza.

Horse blanket (disambiguation)

A horse blanket, also known as a horse rug (UK), is a type of coat or blanket that covers almost the entire body of a horse. The term may also refer to: