How to Measure a Horse for a Hood & Blanket

Horses wearing inappropriately sized horse blankets can suffer from blanket rubs, blanket shift or being insufficiently covered. Blankets that are too large are just as likely to cause rubs and to shift around as those that are too small. Hoods that are too small can cause pain by rubbing or inhibiting circulation, while hoods that are too big can fall into your horse's eyes. To avoid these issues, you should properly measure your horse so that you can get a blanket that fits, a process that is very simple and takes only a few minutes to complete.

Things You'll Need

  • Cloth measuring tape
  • Helper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Stand your horse on a level surface. Have your helper hold the horse and the end of the tape measure.

    • 2

      Holding the other end of the tape measure in your hand, walk around your horse, keeping the tape measure level with the widest parts of the horse's shoulders, barrel and hindquarters. Make sure you keep the tape parallel to the ground as you measure.

    • 3

      Continue to the point of your horse's buttock (the widest part of its hindquarters) and note where the tape hits the edge of your horse's tail.

    • 4

      Write down the measurement, in inches. What you do with this number depends on the blanket you are considering. Some manufacturers produce blankets in only odd or even sizes, so you may have to adjust your measurement accordingly. For example, if your horse measures out to an odd number but the blanket you are interested in comes in even sizes, you should add one inch to your measurement to make it even. Some blankets increase in size by three-inch increments; if you are considering one of these blankets, round your horse's measurement up to determine the size you should go with.

    • 5

      Choose a hood based on the manufacturer's recommendations. Hoods usually come in general sizes, like small, medium, large and extra-large, that correspond to a range of blanket sizes (for example, Schneider's Saddlery recommends pairing a medium-sized hood with blankets between the sizes of 70 and 74) or type of horse (for example, the manufacturer may recommend large hoods for thoroughbreds ).