Which Neck Style Is Right For My Horse?

With each horse’s needs being so varied, here at WeatherBeeta we offer a multitude of rug styles to suit each individual horse.

The neck of a rug is the piece of material that covers from the withers up to behind the ears.

At WeatherBeeta, we offer four different neck styles, allowing you to choose the right rug for your horse. You can choose from Standard Neck, Combo Neck, Detach-A-Neck, or High Neck. But which is right for your horse?

In this blog we’ll take you through the four styles and the benefits of each to help you make an informed decision.

The classic Standard Neck style is a firm favourite for many equestrians. This rug essentially has no neck; the rug finishes at the withers and secures across the chest. This option is popular with horse owners on milder, dry days.

Available in lightweight 0g rain sheets through to medium weight 220g turnouts, with the option of attaching the WeatherBeeta ComFiTec Standard Neck Liners in the Ultra II, Premier Free II and Plus Dynamic II rugs. Each Standard Neck rug features a 100% boa fleece wither for additional comfort and to reduce rubbing.

If you ever want to make your Standard Neck rug more versatile, you can buy a separate neck rug to attach to your original rug. This will function the same as a Detach-A-Neck style which we will get into later.

Likewise, WeatherBeeta also offers Standard Neck Stable Rugs in a variation of styles and weights, as well as a vast range of Coolers for wicking, layering and warmth. 

Next up, we have the Combo Neck style. This neck design offers full neck coverage around the clock. On a turnout rug, the combo neck is perfect for wet and muddy conditions, providing your horse protection from the elements. Available in lightweight rain sheets through to heavy 360g turnouts. Additionally, the cosy Combo Neck style is offered in our range of Stable Rugs, from 110g polyfill through to extra warm 400g Channel Quilts.

The benefit of using a Combo Neck is these rugs offer full protection from the wet and cold. For this reason, they are more popular in heavier weights such as medium and heavyweight. The addition of the neck also prevents rain from getting into the rug when the horse is grazing. The disadvantage of a Combo Neck is the neck cannot be removed on milder, dry days.

Next, we have the Detach-A-Neck style. These rugs feature a full neck which can be removed to make this rug either a Combo or a Standard neck horse rug depending on the weather conditions. This full coverage design allows for protection against the rain, wind, and mud. Featuring handy touch tape tabs which makes the detachable neck easy to put on and take off. The adaptability of this style makes each Detach-A-Neck rug incredibly versatile, so you can choose the neck coverage depending on the weather and time of the day.

The Ultra, Green-Tec, Premier, Plus Dynamic and Essential turnout ranges all offer a detachable neck style and are available in an abundance of weights from a lightweight 0g through to a heabyweight 360g. In addition to turnout rugs, WeatherBeeta also offers four Stable Rugs in a Detach-A-Neck design, allowing you to add and remove warmth during stabling, as well as protecting the horse’s neck from stable stains.

Finally, we have the High Neck style, a great option for those looking for slightly more coverage than a standard neck horse rug, without the length of a full neck.

High Neck rugs are particularly beneficial for horses with high withers, finishing higher up the withers than a Standard Neck rug. Combined with the memory foam wither relief pad, which contours to the horse's shape and lifts the rug off the wither to reduce rubbing and provide added comfort, this a great option for a variety of horses.