Blankets are essential for keeping your horse happy and healthy. There are several different kinds of blankets that all serve unique, important uses. These include an anti-sweat sheet, a stable blanket, a New Zealand rug, a summer sheet, an exercise sheet, and a hooded New Zealand rug.
Anti-sweat sheet:
An anti-sweat sheet is made of mesh. It is put on a sweating horse. Its purpose is to prevent chills as the horse cools down.
Stable blanket:
A stable blanket is used to keep a horse warm when indoors. It is often made of canvas or quilted. You can check some of these out at Statelinetack.com.
New Zealand rug:
A New Zealand rug is most helpful in the winter. It is water proof, so it is great when the horse is outside.
Summer sheet:
A summer sheet, made of cotton, is to keep a horse clean. This is especially helpful at shows or when traveling.
Exercise sheet:
An exercise sheet is great when it’s winter. It is to be put on during the horse’s exercise, including riding. Your saddle pad and saddle will go right on top of it, and it will keep the horse’s back warm during the cold winter months.
Hooded New Zealand rug:
A hooded New Zealand rug is very similar to the New Zealand rug. They have lots of the same features, such as being waterproof. The difference is that a hooded New Zealand rug goes all the way up a horse’s neck, keeping not just the horse’s back but their neck warm too. It is perfect for really cold winter weather.
Those are some kinds of horse blankets. Surcingles are also important. They can come either straight or crossed, and are used to make the blanket stay on your horse. They do not have to be extra tight. Another method of keeping a blanket on a horse is a roller. A roller is round and goes around a horse’s body over the blanket, making sure it doesn’t fall off. A roller, as opposed to surcingles, does fit tightly around the horse. There is also something called an anti-cast roller. It is a roller with an arch in the middle. The arch prevents a horse from getting cast, or stuck, if/when it rolls. Also, some blankets, like New Zealand rugs have leg straps, which also keep the blanket in place. Leg straps are woven through a horse’s back legs. They must be looped through each other, or else they will rub against the horse. There are several kinds of blankets that all serve unique purposes, and several ways of keeping them on a horse.
If you are looking for blankets for people rather than for horses, then our upcoming blog posts may be more interesting to you. So return soon to read about the various options there. In the meanwhile, you can check out http://zuniquely.com for custom blanket choices.