A Fly Sheet or Fly Rug is a mesh rug which offers protection from the harsh sun, allows the breeze to pass thru and keeps most flies and insects away from your horse during the summer. Not all mesh is created equally. Fly mesh can vary from lightweight brittle and stiff fabric at one end of the spectrum, to something that resembles shade cloth at the other extreme. The superior fly mesh’s are a soft weave nylon. They are nice and soft – but also strong.
Keep in mind that fly mesh is a fabric, that is by its nature, full of holes! The mesh rugs do a great job at keeping the majority of biting insects at bay, while offering your horse a cooler rug than say, ripstop. Many people prefer mesh in the heat as it offers a balance between keeping your horse cool and keeping the majority of insects at bay. If you have a very itchy horse, or an environment that is an insect haven, you will need to consider the types of insects that are biting your horse. For sensitive horses, full block out rugs (like Ripstop) will offer better protection. ie: if your horse is in a paddock that is plagued by tiny sand flies or very persistent mosquito's etc, a full block out rug will offer better overall protection. Obviously a full block out rug will be hotter and in turn aggravate itch - especially in high humidity environments! - so its finding a balance that suits your horse, between coolness, insect protection and the reason the horse is itchy)
With so many fly mesh rugs on the market – what should you look for?
Fabric Weave. The weave of the mesh is very important – most people need a nice tight weave mesh to reduce the exposure to biting insects.
There are many mesh’s that have a looser or more open weave – which won’t be effective in stopping mosquitoes or marsh flies.
At the other extreme, we have seen some mesh that is such a tight weave it won’t allow good airflow. Airflow through the weave is important – often the best way is to hold the mesh up to the light to get an idea of the tightness of the mesh weave if comparing fabrics.
Colour and Treatment. Colour plays a very important part in insect repelling. Those of us from fly prone areas will know how some colours attract flies and others don’t. Dark colours are generally the worst performing. The pantone's we use in our mesh as been tested to be some of the best performing colours.
Some manufactures claim that their mesh fabric is treated to repel insects and that the treatment wears off after x number of machine washes. We have yet to see any noticeable difference between these and standard mesh rugs (except the price!!).
Should I use Caribu’s 'Deluxe' Mesh or 'EuroMesh' rugs?
Mesh rugs have many advantages over Ripstop rugs in hot weather,:-
- Cooler, with better airflow, allowing the horses coat to breath & helps alleviate itch.
- Similar strength and performance.
- They dry out very quickly after a shower of rain - alleviating itch. While they won’t keep the horse dry they do an excellent job in preventing rain scour in most cases.
- Mesh rugs are a coarser fabric - compared to your polycotton Ripstop rugs, on horses with finer or sensitive coats, this can accelerate rubbing with extended use or if fitting of the rug is not ideal
Our Deluxe 410gsm rugs and our 270gsm Euro-Mesh rugs are both very similar. Airflow, UV Protection and Insect Protection is very similar in both types of mesh. Both rugs are durable, but each has its own advantages:-
Deluxe '410gsm' Mesh - The 410gsm mesh is a thicker weave mesh fabric, so its stronger and ideally suited to horses who are harder on rugs or suffer from itching. This mesh has become legendary for its durability and performance. Being a heavier gauge thread, the rugs are also slightly heavier in weight compared to the 270gsm mesh, the advantage being they can be more durable.
Euro-Mesh '270gsm' - The Euro-Mesh is a revolutionary new style of soft fly mesh. It features a flat weave mesh. The rugs are lighter than the 410 mesh and offer a cooler alternative. (they are good durable rugs, but the 410 mesh is stronger.) They are ideal for horses who don't suffer excessively from itchiness etc and need a cool general use rug. Being a lighter rug they are also better suited to horses with sensitive coats and can suffer from rubbing from the heavier mesh. We are getting excellent feedback and are finding many people are switching to these from Flag rugs.
Breeze '240gsm' - The Breeze mesh we use in our mini mesh rugs as well as our range of hybrid rugs. It has a slightly larger weave to our Deluxe 410gsm mesh and is ideal intermediate option for our hybrid rugs that offers excellent airflow..
