Why Do I Need A Cooler Rug?

Do I really need a sweat rug? This is a question many horse owners ask themselves as soon as the cold season begins. We would like to give you a few reasons why a sweat rug is indispensable, especially in winter.

 Autorin: Karolina Kardel, 360 Grad Pferd

As soon as the days get shorter, the winter coat starts to grow on our horses. The thick coat is important because it warms the horses in the cold season and protects them from moisture.

Trainierst du dein Pferd wie gewohnt weiter, wirst du feststellen, dass es aufgrund seines dicken Fells vermehrt schwitzen wird. Je mehr Fell es bekommt, desto länger dauert es, bis es wieder trocken ist. (Hier findest du weitere Informationen zum Thema Hitzeregulierung und Schwitzen bei Pferden.) Stellst du nun dein klitschnass geschwitztes Pferd im Winter wieder zurück auf den Paddock, wo möglicherweise noch ein kalter Wind weht, wird es trotz – oder in diesem Fall aufgrund – seines dicken Plüschfells anfangen zu frieren. Auch Muskelverspannungen sind möglich.

Why is that?

The horse's top coat is surrounded by an oily secretion that provides a water-repellent layer of grease in the coat and serves as insulation. In this way, the thick soft wool hairs that grow under the topcoat and keep your horse warm, and the skin, stay dry.

If your horse sweats during training, the coat does not get wet from above, but from below. The skins sweat will stick the undercoat and the protective outer coat togehter. The result: the undercoat can no longer warm your horse because the hair can no longer be raised. The fur no longer provides adequate protection against the cold weather. Because of this, it can happen that your horse starts to freeze and the muscles cool down and become tense. Incidentally, your horse does not even have to be completely wet for this: A wet saddle area alone is enough for your horse's muscles to tense up. The sensitive kidney region is also part of the saddle area. Never underestimate a wet back.

Cooler Rugs transport moisture to the outside

To prevent this from happening, you should always use a sweat rug after training in the cold season. Good sweat blankets quickly transport moisture to the outside where it evaporates. This allows your horse's coat to dry faster, the undercoat can stand up again and the heat cushion is built up.

In addition, a sweat rug warms your horse while it is still wet. Because when it has cooled down again after training, it can easily freeze in cold temperatures due to the wet coat. You certainly know this from yourself: If you are wet and sweaty after a jog in winter, you will also freeze. Your horse is in a similar situation.

It is really important that you use a good sweat rug that quickly wicks moisture away from the horse without causing a build-up of heat. It also makes sense to choose a model with a neck section, because most horses start to sweat at the neck. When buying a rug, make sure that it fits snugly around the neck so that it can do its job.

All our Cooler Rugs are very suitable for this purpose because they cover the neck and chest and fit snugly due to the Velcro.

How long it takes for your horse to dry out depends on how wet it is, how thick its coat is and how humid the ambient air is: on wet and cold days it takes longer than on dry days. It is best to check under the blanket every now and then to see if the coat is still wet. You may also have to change the blanket once in a while. You can tell if the blanket is wet by the fact that there is a film of moisture like a frost on the blanket, but your horse's coat is still damp. As soon as the coat feels dry, you should remove the blanket. If you leave it on your horse for too long, the moisture will go back into the coat.