Summer Horse Rugs

Summer rugs come in a combo or rug style. The combo includes the neck attached to the rug, while the rug, has no neck and can be matched with a neck rug or a hood. A hood includes covering the face.

There are pro’s and con’s to all styles.  Unless the combo is properly attached to  halter it can slide down the neck and when this happens the mane can be rubbed out. It does offer protection from flies. The rug on its own fits very well, however if protection is wanted on the neck from sun and flies a neck rug or hood must be attached. The problem is wherever there is an attachment there is a weakness and it is not uncommon for neck rugs and hoods to be broken and ripped.

Summer rugs are also made out of different material. The most popular is ripstop. Ripstop rugs used to be 100% cotton as the original polyester rugs were very hot. This has changed, these days most ripstop rugs contain a higher percentage of polyester but feel and breathe like cotton. This ensures they last longer and keep their shape.

Other variations include flag, mesh and a mesh – ripstop combination. Flag rugs are very cool. Being extremely lightweight they are also not very strong – so best used if your horse is not a rug wrecker, or just kept for very hot days. Mesh rugs are great in humid environments. Again the lighter the mesh the cooler they are, however they are not as strong. In many situations in Perth the mesh ripstop hybrid is perfect – allowing cool airflow along the sides and the strength of ripstop across the top.