Does my Icelandic horse a need a rug in summer?

Winter time is rug time. Sure. But what about in summer? Today we'll tell you which blankets you should always have on hand in summer.

Autorin: Karolina Kardel, 360 Grad Pferd

We actually always have the following three blankets ready to hand in the saddle cupboard for our horses in summer:
Cooler Rug
Fly Rug
Rain Rug

Sweat rugs protect against muscular tension all year round

Most of us use our Sportsfreund Cooler Rug made of of fleece or virgin wool mainly in winter. This is also good: If a horse is warm and sweaty from training, on the one hand the blanket helps to dry the thick winter coat by transporting the moisture to the outside, on the other hand it prevents the muscles from getting cold and tense too quickly.

Although the wet sweaty summer coat dries much faster than the thick winter plush, the risk of muscle tension also exists in summer: we don't always have sunny 25 degrees, it is often windy and rainy in summer too. If we put our horse, warm from training, back in the paddock too quickly on a windy and rainy day, it can easily happen that the muscles cool down and tense up. This especially affects the sensitive saddle area. That's why we always have our sweat rug handy: We let the horse dry first and only then put it back on the paddock or meadow. In this way we prevent unnecessary muscle tension - an important point, by the way, for all competition riders among you!
In order for a horse not to continue sweating under the sweat rug, it is important that it is absolutely breathable and transports moisture well to the outside. This is guaranteed by our Sportsfreund sweat rugs.

But not only wet sweaty horses are protected with a sweat blanket from muscular tension caused by draught, also during a ride in the horse trailer the blanket can protect your horse.

Especially in summer, the sweat rug made of 100% virgin wool is particularly recommended due to its temperature-regulating properties. If you are worried about your horse overheating under the blanket, you are on the safe side with wool.

Fly blanket for protection against insects

Blanket number 2, which we always have handy in the summer, is a fly blanket to protect against annoying insects. Fly blankets are available with a saddle cut-out for riding as well as for the pasture/paddock.

A fly riding rug is interesting for all those whose horses do not like to be sprayed or who are reluctant to spray their horses with chemicals. A fly rug should always be light and breathable so that heat does not build up underneath.

If the fly blanket is to be worn in the paddock and pasture, it is advantageous if it has a cross strap on the belly and leg cords under the tail, similar to an eczema blanket. This way, it will survive rolling, sleeping and playing.

Rain Rug in summer? Of course!

Blanket number 3, which we also use from time to time in summer, is our rain blanket.

A rain rug for an Icelandic horse? We say: Yes, an Icelandic horse also needs a rain rug. And that's why we have our rain rug ready to hand at all times, even in summer.

Why we always have our Rain Blanket to hand in Summer
Our dream of summer is pure sunshine and warm temperatures. But how often do we have cold summer days with constant rain? Without the warming undercoat, it can then quickly happen that a horse starts to freeze - perhaps because it is old, because it is very thin or because it is in poor health for other reasons.

Even if an appointment with an osteopath, chiropractor or physiotherapist is scheduled, it is advisable to have a rain rug handy so that the horse is dry for the treatment even on rainy days and the loosened muscles do not tense up again immediately because it is standing in the rain on the pasture afterwards.

Not only but especially in summer it is important that the rain rug is really breathable, that it wicks your horse's sweat outside and at the same time does not let the wetness from outside through to the inside.

This is where the new softshell blanket from Sportsfreund is ideal. It protects you from moisture, prevents condensation and is breathable.

Which blankets do you use all year round? Feel free to tell us in a comment!