# Can you ride with a rug on?



## PonyMad (Aug 26, 2010)

I was just wondering,
winters here and its really cold,
can you ride with a rug on?

I know you can bare back, 
but I dont trust my girl enough to go bare back! 
Can your ride with a saddle ontop/underneith?!!

(I ride with an english saddle btw)


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

that doesn't sound safe.I would get one of those exercise sheets.It will keep their body warm still and plus if you plan on riding they will warm up as it is.


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## ridesapaintedpony (Apr 14, 2009)

My first thought at seeing this was "why couldn't you ride with a toupee".


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## MaggiStar (Mar 19, 2010)

In the snow and only in a walk i fold my stable rug back and fasten it at the pommel with all straps securely tied up. I also put a waterproof exercise sheet over that to keep it dry. But i trust my girls completely and when i do that its only slow work


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## westerncowgurl (Jul 14, 2010)

dont they have blankets that are for riding with a saddle? a quarter sheet i think


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

Yes, they are called quarter sheets but they are mainly for warming up and cooling down. I have one, and at anything over a very short trot, it rides back and gets bound up.. I suppose it could work though, if you weren't doing anything too strenuous.


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## MaggiStar (Mar 19, 2010)

Ye in the cold i use my stable and exercise sheet as the ground is to dangerous to do any more then walk and a light trot for a small section


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

If you had a very light fleece type cooler, I don't see why you couldn't put your saddle over top. Obviously a typical winter blanket is going to be WAY too bulky to put a saddle over top and you risk sliding, but if it's a lighter sheet then it's really no different then having a saddle pad underneath.

However in that vein, I don't know how much a light cooler will keep your horse warm. I wouldn't worry - my Arab mare has one of the warmest, densest winter blankets money can buy because she doesn't grow a winter coat, and I have never had a problem riding her in winter before and we ride in fields! As long as they're moving, they will stay PLENTY warm, even on the coldest days. Your horse is not going to suffer because he doesn't have his rug on for an hour will you ride and get his blood flowing nice and warm anyway.


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## micklepickle (Oct 3, 2010)

Since my barn clips the horses/ponies we're sure to bring up fleece coolers (they're just like large blankets, not... real coolers xD) that we drape over the saddle/their booties. We just keep them on during our walking warm-up but take them off before we trot.


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## Amir (Nov 18, 2009)

I have before. But it was over the top of my saddle. I was riding a black horse in black clothes at night, so I threw my white cotton rug over the top while I had to emergency move my horse a short distance.
I've also had my unlined canvas rug on my horse while waiting on presentation at a show jumping competition. We were permitted to leave rugs/rain coats on while waiting around but they had to be removed for presentation and before we went in to warm up and the actual course.
It's not something I would be doing as a regular thing though. If you're worried about your horse getting too cold while riding in winter, get an exercise sheet. It sits around/under your saddle and goes over your horses rump. Much safer than having the whole rug on while working.


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