So yesterday i think autumn officially arrived.  It is now cold, wet and dark when i get up in the morning.  I need the lights on to mix the horses breakfast and there is another 5 or 6 months of this.... oh joy.  The waterproof coat has come out and now Basil has got a proper rug on.  I guess soon i'll need to clip him.  They have all been losing their summer coats and starting to grow the thick furry ones they have in the winter.  Fidget gets more hair than i have ever seen on a pony and he is still absolutely useless if he gets wet.  He must be like a donkey and have none of the oils most horses and ponies have in their coats.

I've had to buy Basil a new rug for this winter as his one last year was absolutely destroyed by the end of the last.  He and Chesney have big play fights and Chesney always gets Basil with his teeth, either ripping huge holes in his rug or his skin (don't worry Basil gets his own back).  I managed to get the same make as the last one which means the neck cover will fit on this one and saved me a few pennies.  I always find rugs really difficult to buy, i suppose they are like clothes for us.  Chesney has a a wide neck and alot of makes of rugs don't do up around his chest and often the leg straps are too short.  I did find a brilliant outdoor rug for him a few years ago which was a Masta but that got wrecked 2 winters ago and now the one they make doesn't fit nearly as well.  Basil's new one is a Horseware Amigo and seems to fit him really well, so they seem to be great for thoroughbreds, but do not fit Chesney! 

If any rug companies read this please take note-  one size does not fit all!  You need to make different shapes too not just different lengths.