Putting rugs on/off

Goldie'sGirl

Goldie'sGirl

Be brave.."Trot on"
Apr 2, 2005
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Lancs England
Hi
I've looked round on here but I can't find anything about which order do do up the straps when putting a rug on/ off? Can anyone help?
Goldie'sGirl :p
 
hello

You would do up the cross surcingles first when putting on and last when taking off.
If you did up the breast straps and some wind blew the back end up over the horses head it would panic.
 
I don't undo the chest straps at all on the ponies. To take off I undo leg straps (clip them back onto the rug to stop them dragging in the mud), then the surcingles, then lift the rug over the pony's head. To put rug on; repeat in reverse...

Probably a lot more difficult with bigger horses and rugs... with Willow I undo leg straps, then surcingles, then chest straps to take off. Going on I do the chest first. Not sure how keen she'd be on having it lifted over her head! I've found if the chest straps are left til last you sometimes end up having to pull the rug back towards the shoulder to do them up, if it slips as you do surcingles up at all. If it fits well, it should be pretty stable once the chest is fastened, and it means the hair is lying flat underneath. If it's so windy that it's going to blow up once on the horse's back, then it'll be blowing around as you put it on anyway.

Is there actually a recommended way to do it?
 
As I understand it, you work from front to back when putting a rug on, and back to front when taking it off ...
So, to put a rug on, fold it in half widthways inside out, and place the front end over the horse's neck/withers with the fold towards the back. Fasten one chest strap then unfold the rug and slide backwards into place. Fasten both belly straps (crossing them over so the back strap attaches to the front buckle and vice versa), then both leg straps (each fastens on its own side, the second strap passing through the first between the horse's back legs), and/or pull the tail through the fillet string. Then go back to the front end and fasten the other chest strap.
To take a rug off, first undo one chest strap, then any leg straps, then belly, then the other chest strap. Fold the front end of the rug over towards the back end, and gently slide off the horse. It's also a good idea to refasten the leg straps to the rug, and knot the belly straps together after you undo them, to avoid getting anything tangled or whacking the horse with them.
Putting on & taking off a rug is not without risk, but to minimise this it should ideally be done in a sheltered place with the horse tied up to string.
 
chev said:
Is there actually a recommended way to do it?
Click to expand...

The method of doing the surcingles first when putting on and then last when taking off is the BHS and PC way to do it. I did my C test in the summer and we were tested on this.
But in the real world who actually does it?! :p
 
Hi Goldie's girl,
I thought you just posted that question.
This is a topic that is asked when we go through our instructor's certification here in Canada.
With your rug/sheet/blanket folded in half (back end over front), place on horse near the withers (similar to a saddle pad or numnah), fasten the front chest buckles first, unfold the back end of rug and slide back into place over rump. Then fasten the body straps just snug enough (approx 3 fingers width) so a hoof can't get trapped, and finally the leg straps.

When removing the rug, unfasten the leg straps, then the surcingle (or body straps), then the front straps. You then fold the front half over the back & slide off.
From my Rider 2 manual:"This system prevents the horse from being startled by the blanket slipping around while it is being attached." Horse need to be introduced to blanketing carefully so as not to scare them.

This is how our country's and provincial associations teach us to blanket a horse.

LMS
 
aliw said:
The method of doing the surcingles first when putting on and then last when taking off is the BHS and PC way to do it. I did my C test in the summer and we were tested on this.
But in the real world who actually does it?! :p
Click to expand...

Cheers :)

I was shown the chest-straps-first-rug-folded method when I had lessons as a kid (theory being you don't want the rug to slip round under the horse's belly) and that was BHS.

Mind you in those days we only had canvas NZ rugs for turnout (would take a force nine to lift them they were that heavy) and all but the poshest stable rugs were jute, with layers of blankets underneath... can't imagine that a lot of what I was taught is that relevant now! :eek:
 
I was taught chest straps first and then pull the rug backwards so as to avoid causing the hair to be sent in the wrong direction. Does it really matter what order the belly straps/leg straps/fillet string go?? I agree with anitagcs.
 
Esther.D said:
I was taught chest straps first and rug folded method, then unfold in direction of hair...that was at Pony Club...but a good few years ago ;) like Chev that was in the days of a canvas nz and a jute stable rug with blankets. :D
Click to expand...

And I am doing my NVQ1 in Horsecare which is now affiliated to the BHS and have been taught just this week to do it the way described above. Sounds like there is lots of conflicting advice out there!!
 
We were always taught (Ponly Club & BHS) to do up the surcingles first, and undo them last, so that if the rug slipped over, it would at least be held up off the ground and there would be less chance of it getting tangled in the horse's legs (?) than if it were only attached round the neck (.... by having just the front straps done up).

Personally, I find this way difficult and tend to either fold in half and do the front straps up first, then unfold (or fling the whole rug over - good boy Murph! - then do up the front straps and pull back and "rearrange"). Given that you're trying to keep the hair flat and lying in the correct direction, I think it's really difficult doing up the surcingles first and leaving yourself enough slack at the front of the rug not to have to end up pulling it forward agains the hair when you do up the front straps.
 
When i was studying for my BHS exams I was always told to do chest straps first as if the horse has a fright the rug isn't going to cause any damage. If the cross surcingles were done up first and the horse had a fright the rug would swing under the horse's belly and could scare him even more or cause injury. I still do it this way now
 
drookitsheep said:
We were always taught (Ponly Club & BHS) to do up the surcingles first, and undo them last, so that if the rug slipped over, it would at least be held up off the ground and there would be less chance of it getting tangled in the horse's legs (?) than if it were only attached round the neck (.... by having just the front straps done up).
Click to expand...

I was told that for stage 1. Never do it though :D I normally do chest straps then leg straps/ fillet string as that means I have front and back secure, then do surcingles. I'd now fail any BHS exams doing it that way ;) I'd also fail for flinging the rug at the horse :rolleyes: :D

I've only really struggled once doing that which was in an open field in gale force winds when I had to take a rug off to put an under rug on as well and had no headcollar. That was fun! Took me about 15 minutes as both rugs were all over the place, but I defy anyone to have managed it without a problem. Thankfully due to my usual rug-flinging, my horses tend to be fairly unflappable with rugs blowing round them. And in that case it was a good job :eek:
 
Zingy said:
I was told that for stage 1. Never do it though :D I normally do chest straps then leg straps/ fillet string as that means I have front and back secure, then do surcingles. I'd now fail any BHS exams doing it that way ;) I'd also fail for flinging the rug at the horse :rolleyes: :D
Click to expand...

I'm really glad you said that as I was starting to think from the other replies if I'd dreamed that method up in a moment of madness! I hate to think how many "bad habits" I have picked up since I did those BHS exams though.... I remember getting told off in my stage II for undoing the throatlash before the noseband when taking the bridle off.... "You've got more chance of being able to catch hold of the throatlash than the noseband to catch and stop the horse if he walks off".... um, he's tied up in a stable? And anyway, the reins would still be over the horse's neck at this point, so wouldn't they be even easier to get hold of than the throatlash? Grr!! :p
 
I always do mine the pony club way (not that I was ever in pony club, but the book was useful when I got my first horse). It's also helpful in the winter when its really cold - you can fold the front of the stable rug over the back, put the front of the outdoor rug on, then pull the outdoor rug back over the quarters whilst pulling the stable rug off. the rug you have just taken off is then immediately in the correct position to go back on again. Also, if you have a really tall horse (I once had one 17hh3", couldn't reach ...) it's much easier to do it this way. Mind, I'm the only person I know who does it this way ...
 
Zingy said:
I normally do chest straps then leg straps/ fillet string as that means I have front and back secure, then do surcingles. I'd now fail any BHS exams doing it that way ;) I'd also fail for flinging the rug at the horse :rolleyes: :D
Click to expand...

That's how I do it! I always have to rug up/unrug out in the (very windy) field so do it that way so it's secure both ends...although the other day when I was taking Phantom's full neck rug off...it blew forwards and he had the whole thing hanging off his head lol...whoops!

Don't remember how I did it in my stage 1...no one uses the BHS methods in real life anyway do they? :)
 
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