Measuring Your Horse for a Rug

Horse rugs come in lots of different styles for lots of different uses, so once you've found the right style for the particular purpose you want it for, next you need to figure out what size you need. Lucky, its is actually quite simple!

Step 1: Using a tape mesure, or a piece of string that you can take home and measure later (bailing twine can be super handy!) Start in the centre of your horse's chest and measure (in Feet/Inchs) to the point of the tail, as pictured above.

Step 2: Take your measurement - Rugs are almost always sized in 3 inch increments so if you fall on an exact size, for example 6 Foot 3 Inchs (6'3) then order that size, if you're inbetween sizes, for example 6'5, we advise you go up a size, rather than down, so you will need a 6'6.

When your rug arrives:

Step 3: Place a summer sheet on your horse first, then try the new rug over the top. This will avoid any hairs/dirt getting on the new rug, just in case you need to send it back.

Step 4: If the rug looks good length wise, check the fit generally. A few things to look for are:

That the rug fits neatly around the front, not too tight that it restricts the movent of the shoulders, but not so loose that it can move excessively. You need to be able to fit a flat hand comfortably inside the rug around the neck and chest.
Depth - the rug should cover the horses enter body from withers down to the bottom of the belly
Length - The seam that joins the rug to the tail flap (if it has one) should sit near the top of the tail, if it hangs much past this point, its likely that the rug is too long.
All over - the rug should sit comfortably and not show any signs of excessive tightness or pulling in any areas
surcingles - should be crossed under the belly, and should be fitted close to the body so that they cannot catch their back legs in the them, but not so tight that they are pressing agains the horses skin. Again you should be able to slide a hand between the belly and the straps.
Leg straps - if the rug has leg straps, first bring the left leg strap through the middle of the hind legs and fasten on the left hand side. Next, pass the right strap through the middle of the hind legs, looping through the left strap, and then fasten to the right hand side. The leg straps on your horses rug should be altered in length to allow a hand (approx 4 inchs) between the horses thigh and the strap, so that they dont restrict the horses movemnt.