An attached horse neck cover provides extra winter protection to horses that need additional shelter from colder environments and helps combat mane chafing. It may also assist in keeping chafing at bay.
Cleansing helps keep coats clean and shows-ready while also keeping their bodies warm and dry during the cold weather. Grooming may also provide relief to elderly or sick animals.
Protection from insects and flies
A horse neck cover provides your horse with protection from insects and UV rays while out in the field, such as biting insects. Schneider’s offers various blankets and sheets with integrated neck covers as an optional purchase or separately; each is custom-crafted using matching materials, colors and lining to match its attachment point and can fit horses of various sizes.
Neck covers provide both bug protection and moisture barrier functions to shield your horse’s neck. Body clipped horses or those with thin coats or older age may be particularly susceptible to the cold and wet climate of winter; horse neck covers provide insulation against this weather as they graze in pasture or stable settings while helping avoid contact between manure, dust or contaminants and their neck or shoulders.
Neck covers are made of the same breathable mesh fabric found in fly sheets, providing protection from both flies and mosquitoes while still allowing your horse to breathe freely. Their durable fabric resists fading, fire, mildew and soiling for maximum wear protection even under harsh weather conditions, while being lightweight enough to stay cool while shielding them from UV radiation from the sun’s harmful rays.
Many turnout blankets and sheets are designed to be waterproof, yet some corners may get wet as rain or snow seeps through. A neck cover can help ensure your horse stays dry by blocking this moisture from seeping in through its attachment d-rings to the blanket.
Schneider’s offers an assortment of full-body horse covers to protect your horse from head to tail from insects and UV radiation, such as pull-on, full zipper and three-quarter zipper styles depending on your needs. They all feature easy attachment to blankets in various weight options.
Prevention of eczema
A horse neck cover protects not only from wind and cold, but also insects such as insects, flies and pests such as mosquitos. A good addition to blankets or sheets in summer, it’s especially valuable protection for clipped horses as it prevents their mane and tail from rubbing together – this also works in winter when combined with fleece blankets to keep your horse warm and comfy!
Your horse neck cover can also help prevent mane and tail eczema by providing extra protection in sensitive areas around its withers and head. Made of breathable fabric that ensures mosquitoes cannot sting your horse directly, thicker fabric ensures optimal comfort and protection from mosquitoes stinging your horse directly.
Equestrian Collections offers an assortment of horse neck covers in their online shop, which you can find easily attached directly or added as add-ons to certain blanket styles or sheets. In our selection, there are also eczema neck covers in various sizes for all breeds of horses and ponies, and even turnout blankets featuring permanent neck cover attachments to ensure protection in any weather situation.
Warmth in the winter
Winter brings cold temperatures for horses, so neck covers provide extra warmth in addition to being attached to blankets, sheets or fly sheets. Our selection of horse neck covers and hoods include options that work with turnout blankets, stable blankets, fly sheets and body clips; many come in various colors and fill weights that correspond with common blanket sizes.
Horses kept clipped for showing or heavy work, older horses with thin coats, and those who require special medical treatment often need an additional layer of warmth in winter to stay dry and more comfortable. D-ring covers attach easily to top corners of blankets to provide warmth around neck, ears, and withers while providing adequate insulation against cold drafts.
Blanketing your horse helps them retain the heat they produce when eating and digesting food, rather than having to expend energy on keeping warm. However, blanketing them before winter temperatures have reached their lowest points can make maintaining an adequate body temperature difficult for your equine friend.
Baker offers the ideal blanket to ensure that your horse stays warm this winter: waterproof and breathable fabric reinforced with Teflon for added durability, smooth nylon lining for comfort against your horse’s skin, a high neck design that offers extra protection, high neck design that offers extra weatherproofing against cold and wet weather, plus fleece wither padding that lifts it off their wither to reduce rubbing or discomfort for additional warmth and coziness.
This Highlander neck cover pairs beautifully with blankets in matching fabric and color to provide additional winter warmth for your horses. Made of 1,200 denier waterproof/breathable outer fabric with 200 grams of poly fill insulation hidden underneath, it can easily fit snugly without being tight, thanks to velcro fastenings for tightness control.
Protection from manure
If your horse loves relaxing in the barn or pasture, a horse neck cover can help keep them healthier by protecting against manure. Manure may provide natural fertilizer but can also contain bacteria and harmful substances which could irritate skin conditions like itching, flaking and irritation. With an animal hood placed over their head they’ll keep manure off faces, eyes and ears while also preventing ingestion of it!
Horse hoods provide additional protection from manure as well as wind and rain, making grooming simpler and faster. Simply wear it under blanket or on its own – using one also makes grooming less time consuming and messy!
Many horses suffer from insect hypersensitivity caused by bites from biting flies and gnats, leading to symptoms including hives, itching, skin thickening, ulcers and aural plaques. Some horses also experience Onchocerciasis caused by Culicoides species that transmit immature forms of the Onchocerca cervicalis nematode parasite onto nuchal ligaments of their necks as microfilariae. This disease results in skin thickening.
Addition of detachable neck covers can give horses head-to-tail protection during summer and fall months, especially those living in warm climates. When selecting one to match the blanket and its fill weight. Blanket neck covers come in both heavyweight and medium weight options.
A horse blanket neck cover should have its front closure at the point of shoulder to avoid buckles from jamming into their throat when eating or moving their head. When choosing one with insulation such as hollofil, hollow fiberfill or polyfill insulation it would be wiser.
Detachable hood or blanket neck covers offer your horse additional coverage on windy days and in winter, without restricting his movement too much. They’re easier to put on than full-body blankets and allow him to move freely without getting caught on bars of his stall door or objects nearby.