How should my Horse Rug fit?

Getting a good match between your horse and a suitable horse rug size, will go along way to extending the life and comfort of your rugs? Hopefully this page will give you a few pointers on how a rug should fit when used on your horse.

Be sure to also read our detailed Horse Rug Size Guide, to learn how to measure your horse for our rugs and more detailed information on Caribu Rug sizing.

The Basics:

There are a few common rules to follow to check the fit:

• Put the rug on the horse, the rug should sit forward and in front of the wither.  The top chest buckle should be fastened to the 1st or 2nd hole.  If you are using the third hole or more, it may suggest the horse may need a larger rug size.
• The rug should sit firmly around the neckline and chest. 
• Leg straps should be loose enough to prevent chafing - but not hanging down low.
• Surcingles should be adjusted so that they allow a hand's width between straps and belly.
  
• Rugs that are too big for a horse tend to create more problems from rubbing etc than rugs that are to small. If a rug is too big in the neck area, the rugs slip back over the wither and put pressure on the chest. This will cause more fabric to hang over the rear end of the horse and you will have issues with slippage and horses getting caught in surcingles and stepping on their rugs when getting up or rolling.
• The seam where the tail flap attaches to the rug should sit on top of the tail. If it sits beyond the tail, the rug is too big, if it sits up in front of the tail, the rug is too small.

Avoiding Rub Marks:

A good fitting horse rug will reduce the likely hood of your horse developing rub marks from pressure points from a rug. We design our rugs in such away to insure that pressure on the chest and shoulders is kept to a minimum. We also incorporate anti-rub linings in our rugs. Keep in mind that some of the rug fabrics are heavier than others (like Fly mesh or Turnout Rugs) and these will apply more weight to pressure points. Rub Marks are caused from a combination of :

• Incorrect sized rugs that are too loose or too tight for the horse in question,
• Late January to early March horses grow out their summer coat with a thicker winter coat, during this time a horse coat is more susceptible to rub.
• Wearing rugs for extended periods (i.e. during winter) will eventually have an impact on pressure points and bibs are advisable
• Some horses have fine coats and are more susceptible to rubbing and may need a bib under heavier rugs to provide an extra layer of padding. (Especially Fly mesh rugs which are often heavier and coarser)
• Some horses have features which do make them more susceptible. (i.e. high withers)

Neckline Fit:

The most common fitting problem we see, is horse rugs that are too big for the horse. (or rugs that have a very deep cut neckline). The rug should sit nice and high on the neckline, up past the wither at the base of the neck. This will insure that the rug doesn't slip back behind the wither. Some rug brands may have a very deep cut neckline (i.e. large deep neck curve). These can be very good on stocky horses (ie: Quarter Horses etc) but will create all sorts of issues on horses that aren't extremely broad in the shoulders.

^ The rug above is sitting to far back behind the wither.

^ The rug above will slip back behind the wither and pull up higher on the chest under the neck. This will create rub marks on the chest and shoulders.

^ The Rug above shows the correct fit, nice and high up the neckline and over the wither.

The above example is the start of a rub mark on the shoulder from a rug that has been too big and slipping behind the wither.

Chest Straps.

Both the upper and lower chest straps should be on the same buckle hole, ideally the first or second buckle hole.

^ The rug above is either too small, or hasn't been pulled far enough forward up the neckline and over the horses wither.

^ The rug above shows and ideal fit. Both Chest straps done up evenly.

Tail End - getting the correct fit.

We often see rugs that hang way too far over the rear end of the horse. The argument being that people want to insure the horse isn't bothered with flies. Unfortunately going for a rug one size bigger to get extra length - will give you a longer rug, but keep in mind that all the other dimensions on the rug increase as well. All Caribu Horse Rugs come standard with Tent Tail flaps, there is no need to have an over size rug.

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Gussets

There are lots of arguments for and against gussets. A rug with a well positioned gusset will go along way to alleviating rub issues and insure a better fit and increased comfort for your horse. (especially when rugs have belly surcingles). However we see far too many rugs with a gussets poorly positioned, generally to far forward, or with insufficient depth, these will create a whole new array of fitting issues.

^ If your rug has belly surcingles, gussets play a very important role in allowing the fabric to mould around the shoulder and allow the rug to tuck up under the belly behind the surcingle straps. Without gussets you are placing a lot more pressure on the chest and shoulders.

Sizing Issues

Because we use standard Australian sizing for our rugs, it makes it much easier for sizing and comparison. We also understand that while horse rug sizes are standard - horses aren't! They come in all shapes and sizes. Our rugs are designed to fit the major majority of horses, the majority of the time. Like people, there will always be horses that have shapes that don't confirm to the norm, and some times a custom made rug is the best option. If you do have a fitting issue its usually due to having the wrong size rug for your horse rather than an issue with the rug itself.

Some issues that effect sizing decisions:

• Many of the imported rugs (including some big name brands) used to make rugs especially for the Australian market and sizing. However in recent years they now manufacture one rug for distribution in all markets - Europe, UK, US and Australia. (Often based on European designs) Each region measures their rugs differently (i.e.: Europe measure from wither to tail along the top edge of the rug). Unfortunately the sizing's don't slot in neatly with Australian sizing - so its not unusual to have one of these rugs that can be out by almost a whole sizing - i.e.: a rug labeled as a 6'0, but when you measure them they can be closer to 6'3 or even 5'9.
  
  
• Necklines are often very deep cut (or poorly designed!) on the cheaper imported rugs and this has the effect of making the rug a much bigger fit compared to better fitting brands in the same size.
  
  
• Winter or lined/padded rugs are often a tighter fit, when compared to normal summer rip stop rugs or sheets. This is due to the fact that the padding takes up additional space. Also keep in mind, that if you use a summer sheets, wool, fleece or similar rug under your winter rug to create layers - this adds more padding again and has the potential to create a tighter fit again. If your horse is normally borderline between sizes in a normal summer rug, this may mean the difference between going up/down a size.
  
  
• Young horses often have underdeveloped chests, which can make them a challenge to rug. Often a dart in the shoulder line can take up the slack and be taken out when the horse fills out.

We suggest if you are not confident with sizing, to put a sheet under your rug when trying your new rug on for the first time, to keep hair and dirt off the rug.

Read our detailed size guide here.

Avoid damage to your rug or horse:

A good match between your horse and your new rug will insure you have few problems. A poor fitting rug, due to incorrect sizing for your horse, will accelerate the likely damage to a horse rug. Horse rugs are usually damaged by:

• Having your horse in a rug a size to small, resulting in excessive pressure on chest buckles and the wither area and/or
• Having your horse in rug that is to large, resulting in a rug that slips easily on your horse and/or
• Having Leg straps fitted to loosely , and the horses rug slips, usually allowing the horse to either step thru the leg strap or catch their hoof on the strap - which results in the strap being pulled off.
• Loose Belly Surcingles, which allows the horse to get his legs caught in a strap when running or rolling.
• Any of the above issues are exaggerated when your horses rolls or canters.