Unlimited access >

Horseware Ireland Wug without shoulder gussets?

I want to get my boy a brand new blanket He has a full neck for cold rain and snow but I am looking at the high neck turnout https://www.statelinetack.com/item/rhino-wug-turnout-vari-layer-250g/E024237/ my only concern is every turnout blanket I have ever purchased had shoulder gussets. Will the Wug prevent rubs without shoulder gussets? Also my horse measures a 78’ but sometime blankets are tight in his shoulders so I have bought him a couple 81 which are a bit long but fit his shoulders well. How do wugs fit? I need a blanket that is very waterproof. Any experiences would be greatly appreciated!

I can’t comment on the 250 gram version, but I have the 100 gram version and it gets a lot of use in central NJ. I have better luck with these Rhinos than with Amigos as far as wear and tear with blanket ripper pasturemates. I haven’t tested it to its limits, but waterproofing has been reliable for the past 2-3 years I’ve owned the blanket.

If sizing of the horse helps, my horse is a withery, large-shouldered, broad-ish chested, long-bodied Thoroughbred in his 25th year- he’s 16.1 and about 1,250 lbs. He wears an 81 in Rambos, Rhinos, Amigos, all cuts of blankets. This particular blanket is cut large and a little long in the 100 gram version and he could probably squeeze into a 78 on this particular blanket.

As far as rubbing, I have better luck with these Wug cuts and with the V-shaped Horseware front clips than with gusseted blankets and straight front closures. I think it has to do with how your horse is shaped and how your horse moves, etc.

I have used Horseware Ireland Wugs for many years. The only time I see rubs is when the 7-8-9 year old Wug’s lining material is wearing out. My older horse has had Rhino Wug Lites as his rainsheet and a Rambo Wug midweight as his winter blanket.

The current Rhino is two years old I think. The previous one was eight and after a cat peed on it I decided I wasn’t going to bother fixing the tears in the outer layer and chucked it out (yes, it was still waterproof and I never reproofed it).

The Rambo is 8 going into it’s ninth winter and I am seeing faint rubs on my horse’s shoulders, and the lining in that area is worn through. I’m debating breaking out the Rhino midweight Vari layer Wug and retiring the Rambo to back up blanket status.

That said I did aquire the Rambo second hand after the original owner’s horse wouldn’t get up once he had gone down for a roll or snooze. Apparently the BO several times had to go and undo the chest so the horse could get up. My lot have not had any trouble, not even my big QH - and from the outside his Wug looked like it ought to have rubbed him raw.

1 Like

I have used Horseware products for about 20 years, and Wugs for about 15. Provided the blanket fits, I’ve never had a rub from them. They seem to do a better job on horses who are average to broad than they do on horses who are on the narrower side; I do think the generous cut of the shoulder can be gappy and contribute to rubs on more petite horses (and this isn’t a Wug thing, I think the people doing the patterns for Horseware looked out the window at head office in Ireland, saw a bunch of Irish Sport Horses and pony crosses out in the field, and drafted accordingly.) My fellow has his neck set on a little higher and a massive shoulder. No rubs.

I use Rambos exclusively. Wug and regular fit. They don’t rub. Other brands have always caused some sort of rub, if worn long enough, even though the fit has always looked good.

As long as the blanket fits the horse, no, they really don’t rub.

If the blanket is a very poor fit–too tight through the shoulders, or just too small–then yeah, you might see a rub.

1 Like

I just ordered a 78” wug but am now wondering if I should have gone with an 81”. He is currently wearing an older 81” kodiak. Some of my friends tell me the wug fits small others have told me it fits large. Exchanges are possible but I would have to ship the blanket back. I know my friends horse wears an 81” and I think he bigger than my horse as my horse is 16.1 h.h. and he is 17 h.h. but getting a blanket to fit his shoulders correctly has been a challenge over the years

1 Like

I have found that Rambo and amigo wugs are roomier through the shoulder than Rhino…