Fly rugs.. which ones best?

Jessey

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2004
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Suffolk, UK
OK, I am sure this has been done before but I tried searching and apparently there are no posts that contain the word fly :confused:

Anyway, where I keep the horses we get tons of flys as we have 2 rivers running through and 10 acres of wetlands.

Last year I brought a Bucas Buzz off fly rug, someone on NR kindly pointed it out on Ebay :D I got a 5'9" as at the time that was OK to share between all 3 (phoenix is really a 5'6", Bo was 5'9" and Jess was 5'9") but the Bucas came up small, so could only be used for Phoenix, none the less a great rug.

This spring I brought a shires rug for Bo, I thought a 5'9" would be OK, but I think I should have gone for a 6' really, its OK but where it has a seperate neck it seems to twist and slip back alot, it also doesn't have very much adjustment for the belly band (only just goes round Bo's belly) and generally just doesn't seem to stay put.

Now Jess is into about a 6'3" or 6'6" she is a 15hh quarter horse X paint but she is very broad (bulldog type). I have kept a close eye on her since I brought her as her 1/2 brother gets bad sweet itch. Yesterday I went up to see her to find she has been bitten all under her belly and has loads of huge lumps from it, they are visible from meters away :eek: so she needs a good rug, it must protect her belly and whole body/neck (she also had lumps all over her neck and shoulders).

So which would you vote as being the best fly rugs for:
value?
protection?
life span?

Thanks

J x
 
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Ive got the rambo sweet itch hoodie and itss great-its pricy if you wanted to use it just for a fly rug tho.

The new wethabeeta ones are supposed to be good I think there about £45-£50 quid.
 
Horseware Amigo are now doing one that looks quite good and is reasonably priced.
I have got the Mark Todd fly rug, Mark Todd do come up small so I bought a 6'6 for my 6'3 which fits really nicely. Its got quite a wide belly wrap on it which is nice as my horse always seems to get them underneath. The neck cover is lined too to stop it rubbing his mane (I found quite a lot of them arn't.) and the chest is too. Everyone says he looks like an Alien in it but if it keeps the pesky flies off him I dont mind.

Lovesson do one that looked good and is very well priced at £31.20 (comes in different colours too) They didnt have it in my size when I bought mine. I am not sure about lifespan but I have a medium weight turnout made by them and it is doing very well.
Heres a link - Just realised they have 20% off all fly rugs on this site
http://www.thesaddleshop.co.uk/prod...History=cat&strKeywords=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=207


I just looked on Rideaway and the Amigo Bugrug retails at £37.99 I cant find the Mark Todd one but I think it cost me about £45 ish
 
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Is yours the MT combo rug? I am really after an all in one so if thats working well I may order one. The only thing is I finally last week recieved my new MT fly mask, and I can't stand it (I love all their turn outs etc) it seems a funny shape and hasn't stayed on 1 day yet!

Any more thoughts? does anyone have the Snuggy Hoods Sweet Itch Hoody? how do the sizes come up? what about the boett - is it worth the money?

J x
 
Jessey said:
Is yours the MT combo rug? I am really after an all in one so if thats working well I may order one. The only thing is I finally last week recieved my new MT fly mask, and I can't stand it (I love all their turn outs etc) it seems a funny shape and hasn't stayed on 1 day yet!

Any more thoughts? does anyone have the Snuggy Hoods Sweet Itch Hoody? how do the sizes come up? what about the boett - is it worth the money?

J x

I was thinking of purchasing a snuggy hood for my mare as its more in my budget than a boett. I contacted snuggy hood to ask a number of questions... here was some of the replies (incase you are wondering the same thing):

Hi Donna
Thank you for your enquiry. To answer your questions;

1) The Sweet Itch 'Body' is for use 24/7, the fabric is fully breathable, has a stretch so should fit like a 'second skin' (this is to prevent flying insects getting inside the rug) The fabric is Man-made and the horse can stand out in the heaviest rain, and ,when the rug is removed, may have the odd damp patch. The fabric dries as quickly as the horses coat.With regards to the horse overheating we do send our rugs to countries like Australia, South Africa and California, I am sure there is always an exception to the rule,but, on the whole most horses adapt really well to being covered in the hot weather. I would rather my horses be a little warm than being eaten alive!!

2) With regards to her tearing the rug, there isnt a fabric in the world that will stand up to an itching horse when they decide to rub,but, the fabric is easy to repair. We also offer a full repair service at a very reasonable cost - this should not be a 'One season' garment...You can send us back your bundle of rags at the end of the season and we will turn it back into a new one!

3)Size.. If your mare takes a standard 6'3 rug then that is the rug size you should go for. The hood (Which is seperate and self-fixing) we take the bridle size of the horse ie; if the horse is in a full size bridle then we go for a large,if in an extra/full go for an XL, or if a cob/full we go for a M/L. We also offer an alteration service for the few horses who dont fit into a standard size.

The cost for these sizes is £185.95 INC. P&P if you wanted a zip in the hood (makes getting on much easier) add £6 . The delivery at present is approx 3 weeks as it is our busiest time. I think you will find it well worth the wait.
 
Thanks, thats very helpful, they do look pretty grovey too :D I am very tempted purely because from all my net searching this is the only one I found that covered inbetween the front legs, where my mare has been bitten I couldn't possibly put a girth round her at the moment, it just wouldn't be fair and I do want to be able to use her in the summer! But there is always the cost issue, its certainly not the cheapest option!

Anyone tried the Derby house sheet that looks like a boett - any good?

J x
 
I was going to get the summer eczema rug from derby house as I needed a rug asap and I thought it would do this summer and I would purchase the snuggy hood or boett in the winter for next year. It does look like the material would be easily ripped though and I don't know how long it would last. I ordered it and got a phone call to say it was out of stock and would be for a couple of weeks so I just cancelled. Think I'll just go for the snuggy hood afterall :)
 
Jessey said:
What else can the Rambo one be used for then?

Its made for sweet itch sufferers but if yours aint got sweet itch I wouldnt bother with it cos there nearly £100!! Excellent for mine tho stops him itching and keeps the flies off him too!!:)
 
My MT is a combo it goes right up the neck and has 2 holes for there ears to go through - looks funny but does the job. He rolled like mad in it the first day I put him out in it and I thought here we go but it stayed put so am quite impressed. :)
I havent seen the mask so I am not sure what they fit like.
Whats your horse built like?? I will try and take a picture tommorow of him in it so you can see what they fit like and underneath so you can see what it covers
 
Robin wore the weatherbeeta combo last summer but it annoyed me because the belly comes undone (happened on friends horse too) and neck cover wasn't long enough plus it slid down so he used to get big lumps on the top half of his neck. Oh and flies still bit him through the rug, even when he wore two of them!

I gave up and bought a rambo sweetitch hoody at Badminton and it's fantastic. My only complaint is that there is some webbing on the insdie of the rug where the surcingles attach and it rubbed him, but i attacked the rug with a knife and removed the webbing, which didn;t appear to have a purpose anyway. So now it is a perfect rug and I'm very glad I bought it.
 
T used to have a Loveson fly rug, it offered good protection and lasted well, although the neck did slide down slightly, leaving part of his neck and mane exposed. It also didn't have a belly wrap. Many of the straps were ripped off over its lifetime, but were easy to sew back on and it did it's job well. Of course, 2 days ago darling T came in from the field having ripped one of the front clips off it, and leaving the clip somewhere in the field:rolleyes: That rug is now out of action untill we can find the clip, which may take a while:rolleyes:

I ordered a new one for him off ebay as his loveson was starting to look a little worn (this was before he had lost the front clip), a weatherbeeta softmesh combo. It arrived, and I was impressed, seemed a nice material, good quality rug, plus had loops to attach the top of the neck cover to a headcollar (which T already has a headcollar on it the field as he has a fly fringe attached to it). So, took it up the yard to try on him, fitted well, except for one thing. The neck was FAR too short. It was ok whilst he was stood with his head up, but as soon as he put his head down (to eat), it pulled the headcollar as far up his neck as it would go. So, I pulled the rug forwards so that the neck was no longer pulling on his headcollar as his owner had said to do, it seemed ok beside the fact that now there was a huge gap in front of his chest, ideal for flies to get under his rug. I put plenty of fly spray in the gap, and turned him out to test it.

Came up the next day, rug was pulling on his headcollar again, was pulling on his withers, the rug had slid badly to one side (there are no leg straps, only a fillet string), the belly wrap was undone, and he had managed to tear the underside of the neck and the chest (looked like barbed wire tears). T is a 16.3hh tbx, so the neck may be ok on short necked cobs, but to be fair, it is far too short for him. May have to order a new rug for him and sell that one off on ebay again.
 
Avoid Saxon as they rip to shreds instantly - or at least they did with my donkey

the masta ones are tough and they tend to come up big on the shoulders and front
 
Big Ears said:
Avoid Saxon as they rip to shreds instantly - or at least they did with my donkey

the masta ones are tough and they tend to come up big on the shoulders and front

Yeah my friend had a Saxon fly sheet than ripped really quickly.However i have a Saxon TO rug which has been excellent so it just seems to be their fly rugs that aren't so hardy.
 
Great guys, she is a chunky quarter horse X so very wide through the chest and hips so having a big neck is a must and it has to have pleantly of adjustment round the belly - she is not small ;)

OK so I am thinking the saxon and weatherbeater are definatly out.

I think the MT is a possibility, does it have lots of adjustment at the front like their other rugs? I would definatly like to see your one in situ' Atillathefun.

I think a snuggy hood is where we will end up but might have to get a cheaper on while I get the cash together and then as a spare for when that is in the wash etc, TBH I might get rid of the shires one Bo has (got there tonight and it was almost hanging off him :rolleyes: ) and he can have the cheaper one as he is less effected by the bites.

I am still thinking another bucas might be an option too, the one I have has lasted really well, b=its just there is no adjustment on the chest or belly, just fixed clips.

Ahhh, choices, there are so many.

J x
 
well I just found the MT combo on line for £49.99...so I ordered 2, if I hate the way they look I will just send them back but my poor girl is being eeaten alive so I needed to do something quick, they should be here tomorrow.
I am definatly thinking I want to get a snuggy hood, but that will have to wait for when I have finnished saving for my holiday.
Would still love to see some pictures of the MT on.

Jx
 
Jessey said:
well I just found the MT combo on line for £49.99...so I ordered 2, if I hate the way they look I will just send them back but my poor girl is being eeaten alive so I needed to do something quick, they should be here tomorrow.
I am definatly thinking I want to get a snuggy hood, but that will have to wait for when I have finnished saving for my holiday.
Would still love to see some pictures of the MT on.

Jx

Can I ask where you got it from?
 
newrider.com