Horse Blankets – The Agony of Choice—No Problem with the Horse Blanket Guide
If you’re looking to buy a horse blanket for your four-legged friend, you’ll likely be spoiled for choice thanks to the wide variety available. A horse blanket is, generally speaking, a protective covering for the horse. It’s designed—or rather, must—protect the horse from unpleasant external factors in various situations, such as weather conditions and pests, all the way to preventing a chill after a strenuous ride.
Our horse blanket guide is like a roadmap that leads you through the maze of different types of horse blankets. Take your time when visiting our online store and explore our selection of horse blankets—from A for riding blankets to O for outdoor blankets to Z for accessories.
The Right Horse Blanket for Every Situation
A horse’s life is extremely varied. They spend time either indoors in the stable or outdoors in the paddock. While your horse stands calmly in the stable, in all other situations—figuratively speaking—it’s on the move. You can certainly compare the various horse blankets to your own outerwear. You change your clothes several times a day for professional, personal, or athletic reasons. It’s much the same for your beloved four-legged friend. Horses need the right or appropriate horse blanket for different situations and activities.
This is where you, as a horse owner, come in. You can find detailed information about every single horse blanket—including the right size for your horse—in our online shop and then choose the blanket that’s right for you.
Cooling Blanket
A cooling blanket protects your horse from drafts and the cold. It’s best used after a workout, as well as during and after a competition. The functional material of the cooling blanket wicks sweat from the horse’s skin to the surface of the blanket. This ensures that the horse dries off while wearing the cooling blanket. This prevents the risk of catching a cold or even developing a kidney disease. The moisture-wicking fabric is polyester fleece, and the sweat blanket, made of a thin cotton fabric, absorbs moisture directly.
Eczema and Fly Blanket
Eczema is an itchy, but non-contagious, skin inflammation. You can choose between an eczema blanket, a fly blanket, or a combined fly and eczema blanket. Each one consists of a tight- to fine-mesh synthetic fiber netting and protects your horse from both insects and insect bites. Fly rugs made of cotton tend to have a coarser mesh and are therefore much more breathable. As soon as the horse moves, the insects are scared away. Summer eczema, an allergic skin condition, is caused by midge and black fly bites. They are particularly bothersome when they hide in the horse’s mane, as they are not easily scared away from there. You’ll find eczema and fly rugs for pasture use in our online shop in various sizes, including full-body rugs.
Fleece Blanket
This horse blanket is primarily used as a cooling, stable, or trailer and transport blanket. The term “fleece blanket” refers to the fleece material. The English word “fleece” translates to “flausch” in German. It is a synthetic woven fabric or faux fur made of velvet and plush with a high pile content. Fleece blankets are easy to handle and can be put on and taken off in just a few simple steps. Depending on the brand and model, they feature leg and neck straps, with or without a belly strap.
Kidney Blanket for Riding
During trail rides, the horse’s kidneys need special protection from the cold. A kidney blanket ensures this by covering both the back and the torso muscles. In our online shop, you’ll find dedicated blankets for trail rides and kidney protection, as well as combination blankets. Kidney blankets range from beneficial to indispensable when your horse needs extra warmth or when its muscles need to be kept warm. If you’ve clipped your horse for winter, a kidney blanket is absolutely essential. The trail riding blanket features a saddle cutout that extends from the horse’s withers to its hindquarters.
Reflective Blanket
This isn’t a separate type of horse blanket, but rather a specific feature of horse blankets. The blanket is equipped with reflectors that make the horse more visible in the dark and under other poor visibility conditions. As a rider, you’re already wearing a reflective safety vest, and your horse, similarly, wears its reflective horse blanket. Either the entire blanket is reflective, or it has a reflective trim.
Rain blanket
The name makes it clear that these horse blankets protect against damp to wet weather. This includes rain, fog, and wet precipitation, including snow. The blanket material is water-repellent and, depending on the brand and quality, may also be waterproofed. The goal is to keep the horse dry for as long as possible. Rain blankets must always be breathable and moisture-permeable on the inside—that is, where they come into contact with the horse—so the horse doesn’t get wet from the inside. The horse will feel especially comfortable under a rain blanket with an antibacterial and warming inner lining.
Stable Blanket
A stable blanket, as a warm winter blanket, protects a clipped horse from cold temperatures, even down to freezing. You’ll find stable blankets in our online shop in various weights and thicknesses. One of the main characteristics of stable blankets is that they are neither waterproof nor windproof. As such, stable blankets are exclusively indoor blankets, meaning they’re only suitable for when the horse is in the stable. Stable blankets are typically made of cotton or sturdy jute.
Thermal Blanket
If you want to treat your horse to something special during the cold season, treat it to a thermal blanket. It’s multi-layered—usually three layers. The outer layer consists of an extremely durable and completely waterproof fabric. Even constant rain, snow, and mud cannot soak through the thermal blanket. It can be used anywhere—from the stable to the paddock box to the outdoor pasture. The innermost layer is a thin lining made of materials such as cotton, fleece, nylon, or polyester. Thick padding provides cozy warmth through its thermal effect; at the same time, the thermal blanket offers the desired—and necessary—function of wicking away sweat.
Travel Blanket
If you’re looking to choose a suitable horse blanket in our online shop, a transport blanket is a must-have. It protects the horse during long trips and keeps its body warm. Every transport poses a significant health risk to the animal due to drafts, often combined with dampness and cold. Horse trailers are often open at the back, leaving the horse exposed to drafts.
Furthermore, the ride in the trailer is an unfamiliar and, as such, nerve-wracking situation for the horse. The confined space in the horse trailer and the landscape whizzing by cause stress for the animal. It reacts to this by producing more sweat. A transport blanket made of breathable material to help the horse sweat out is helpful—even indispensable—in this situation. On a warm and dry summer day, a mesh cooler is sufficient to protect the horse from drafts.
Base layer
It is, both literally and figuratively, the “underwear” for a thinner pasture blanket. This way, the horse is protected according to the “onion principle” of layering multiple blankets on top of each other. In our online shop, you’ll find outer and underblankets from the same manufacturer. This ensures that the fasteners are compatible, allowing these two blankets—as well as other horse blankets—to be easily combined. Underblankets are always breathable; they ensure the desired adjustment to the horse’s body temperature as outside temperatures fluctuate.
Winter Blanket
Depending on where the horse is kept, a distinction is made between indoor and outdoor winter blankets. The best choice for your horse is a thermal blanket for cold winter days. Winter blankets are always waterproof and available in our online shop with various fill weights. The blanket’s density is specified as the fill weight in g/m². Depending on the manufacturer, brand, and model, the range starts at 300 g/m² and goes up to 800 g/m² or more for winter days with ice, snow, and frost. Conversely, the winter blanket should not be too thick to prevent the horse from sweating.
The Right Rug Size for Your Horse
To choose the exact right horse blanket, you’ll need detailed—or even precise—specifications and information regarding the blanket size for your horse and its intended use. Keep in mind that blanket size specifications for horses can vary significantly among different manufacturers. It’s crucial that you measure your horse yourself before purchasing horse blankets in the exact size that fits your horse.
The horse’s back length is the key factor in determining blanket size. It is measured from the withers to the tail. Standard blanket sizes—or, in other words, rug sizes—are graded in 10-centimeter increments from 65 cm up to 165 cm and beyond.
You can largely use this size chart as a guide when selecting a horse blanket
- Back length up to 65 cm > Falabella blanket size (for the smallest or miniature horse)
- up to 75 cm > Falabella (U.S. miniature horse)
- up to 85 cm > Mini Shetland Pony
- up to 95 cm > Shetland Pony
- Up to 105 cm > Shetland Small Pony Up to 127 cm at the withers
- up to 115 cm > Small Pony and M-Pony 128 to 137 cm at the withers
- up to 125 cm > M-pony and small G-pony 138 to 148 cm at the withers
- up to 135 cm > G-pony and smaller horse
- up to 145 cm > Standard
- up to 155 cm > Standard X [or L]
- up to 165 cm > Standard XX [or XL]
Some manufacturers offer intermediate sizes for larger horses; for example, up to 130, 140, 150 cm, and beyond.
A to B |
C to D |
||
| cm | inches | feet | cm |
| 115 | 45 | 3'9 | 75 |
| 122 | 48 | 4.0 | 80 |
| 130 | 51 | 4'3 | 85 |
| 137 | 54 | 4'6 | 90 |
| 145 | 57 | 4.9 | 95 |
| 152 | 60 | 5'0 | 100 |
| 160 | 63 | 5'3 | 110 |
| 168 | 66 | 5'6 | 115 |
| 175 | 69 | 5'9 | 125 |
| 183 | 72 | 6'0 | 130 |
| 191 | 75 | 6'3 | 140 |
| 198 | 78 | 6'6 | 145 |
| 206 | 81 | 6'9 | 155 |
| 213 | 84 | 7'0 | 160 |
| 221 | 87 | 7'3 | 165 |
| 229 | 90 | 7'6 | 170 |
Now a few notes on the proper fit of horse blankets, specifically regarding the appropriate blanket size for your horse.
- The horse blanket should fit snugly across the shoulders, but not be too loose
- It should fasten easily at the front and under the belly, extending over the withers
- Leg straps and croup straps must not be too loose
- A well-fitting blanket lies flat on the horse without slipping to either side
- It moves in perfect sync with the horse’s movements
- Rugs that are too large do not move evenly with the horse
- If the blankets fit too loosely, there is a risk of chafing
- Common blanket accessories to improve the fit—depending on the blanket size for the horse—include shoulder extensions, chest extensions, or shoulder pads
Caring for Horse Blankets – Here’s How
A good horse blanket guide also includes instructions for cleaning and caring for all types and varieties of horse blankets.
Cleaning
There are cleaning services for horse blankets similar to those for your clothing, home textiles, and even curtains. If there’s no horse blanket cleaning service in your area, you can find options online. As an alternative to a local drop-off location, you can send the horse blankets to the cleaning service by mail or courier. Within one to two weeks at the latest, you’ll receive the blankets back, spotlessly clean, via the same method.
Cleaning prices vary depending on the type of horse blanket—from simple fly and riding blankets to specialized cleaning for heavier outdoor blankets.
Washing
If you’re doing the laundry yourself, use your home washing machine. Depending on the size and weight of the horse blankets, you’ll need to run several wash cycles. Be sure to use a large laundry bag for each individual horse blanket. This prevents horsehair from getting caught in the washing machine. Tie ribbons and straps together beforehand and fasten any buckles securely. Each horse blanket has its own washing instructions; the standard temperature is 30° to 40° Celsius. Here in our online shop, you’ll find special detergents for horse blankets. Dry them by hanging them up to air dry.
Horse Blanket Guide – Glossary for Horse & Rider
This concise horse blanket guide serves as a quick reference to help you become familiar with specific yet common terms related to horse blankets.
Breathability
This is another term for the transfer of moisture between the inside and outside. High breathability means high permeability of water vapor from the inside to the outside. It is measured in grams of water vapor per square meter. By the way, moisture increases the weight of the horse blanket resting on the horse’s back.
Cool Dry
is a surface treatment applied to the horse blanket that accelerates evaporation from the outer fabric. This keeps the horse’s skin dry and ensures the animal’s comfort.
Rug Filling
This refers to the fill weight of the horse blanket, measured in grams per 1 m². A common practice is a fill weight of 200 to 300 g for winter blankets. A blanket fill of 300 g or more is beneficial for horses that are sensitive to the cold or have been clipped. Thanks to their thick padding, 300 to 500 g keep the horse’s body comfortably warm.
Denier and Dtex
Denier is a measure of the fineness of a textile fabric’s yarn. The lower the denier number, the finer the yarn and fabric. Denier is important in that a high denier number indicates the material’s tear resistance. A blanket for outdoor use in group housing should be durable, meaning it should have a higher denier number. In contrast, a lower denier value is more suitable for indoor use. Dtex is the modern successor to denier. Dtex specifies the yarn weight per 10,000 meters of length. Both units are still in use today.
Polyester
It is a synthetic microfiber made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET for short. The strengths of polyester include high moisture resistance, strength, excellent light and weather resistance, ease of care, and dimensional stability. The polyester fiber is round, smooth, and supple; it is non-textured, resistant to deformation and moths, and extremely durable.
Ripstop
These are fabrics that are particularly tear-resistant due to their special weaving technique. Thicker threads woven into the fabric prevent it from tearing further. The most commonly used and, at the same time, most important ripstop fiber is polyamide, better known as nylon.
Waterproofing and Water Column
Waterproofness is measured in terms of water column height. According to the EU standard for rain protection, waterproofness is guaranteed at a water column height of 1,300 mm or higher.
This means that the higher the water column, the more rain the horse blanket can withstand before allowing moisture to pass through.
Height at the withers
This is the body measurement of the greatest height at the withers, taken with a measuring stick. Horses have always been measured using a withers height measurement. A pony is defined as having a measured height of up to 148 cm; anything above that is considered a “full-grown” horse.
Conclusion on Choosing a Horse Blanket in Our Online Store
Now that you’ve learned plenty about horse blankets in general, the right size for your horse, and other details such as accessories—both in this horse blanket guide and in our online store— it should now be easy for you to choose the horse blanket that best suits your horse from among the many options available.
If you have any questions now or in the future, please feel free to contact our online shop support by phone, fax, or email.
We have at least one correct answer to every question!
