Fall Prep Starts With a Tape Measure

The first cold snap never gives much notice. One week you're still pulling fly sheets off in the morning, and the next there's frost on the water trough and you're out in the tack room at 6am trying to remember where last year's medium weight ended up — and whether it still has both leg straps.

We'd rather you weren't doing that in November. So here's the one job worth doing now, while the weather's still being reasonable about it: get a tape measure on your horse.

Your horse isn't the shape he was in March

It's easy to treat blanket size as a fixed number — something you worked out once and now just know, like his shoe size. But horses change more than we give them credit for over a year.

• Young horses are still filling out, and a three-year-old can move up a size in a single season.
• A summer on good grass puts weight and width on almost everyone.
• Horses coming back into work after time off change shape through the shoulder and barrel.
• Older horses lose topline gradually enough that you often don't notice until something stops fitting.

If the last time you actually measured was two or three winters ago, that number isn't a measurement anymore — it's a memory. Five minutes with a tape will tell you whether it's still true.

How to measure your horse

You need a soft measuring tape. If you don't have one, a length of baling twine laid against a rigid tape afterwards works perfectly well — plenty of our customers do it that way.

Stand your horse square on level ground. This matters more than people expect: a horse resting a hind leg or standing downhill will measure short, and you'll end up with a blanket that pulls across the chest.

1. Put the end of the tape at A — the center point of his chest.
2. Run it along his side, across the widest point of the shoulder.
3. Finish at B — the center point of his rear, under the tail.

Keep the tape level and taut the whole way, and let it follow the shape of his body rather than cutting across at an angle. It's genuinely much easier with a second person — one to hold the chest end, one to read the number.

That number, in inches, is your horse's True Size. Write it somewhere you'll find it again. On your phone, in the tack locker, on the blanket bag — anywhere but a scrap of paper in the barn.

Five things that throw the number off

• Measuring over a rug. Whatever he's wearing, take it off first. Even a light sheet adds inches.
• Letting the tape drift down. It's natural to follow the line of the body down toward the stifle. Keep it level with where the blanket actually sits.
• A horse who isn't standing square. Get him set up properly, even if it takes a minute and a handful of feed.
• Pulling tight across the shoulder. Snug, not strangling — you're measuring the shoulder, not compressing it.
• Guessing from height. A 16hh horse could genuinely need anywhere from a 72" to an 81". Height tells you very little about length.

What to do with your number

Take it to our size chart and find your size. A few things worth knowing before you order:

If you're between two sizes, go up. A blanket that's slightly long still sits correctly. One that's slightly short rubs the shoulder and slips backward all winter.

66" and 6'6" are not the same size. They're nine inches apart, and it catches people out every single year. Most of our English brands label in feet, and most American brands label in inches. Check which one a listing is using before you click buy.

Check the Fit Recommendation on the product page. Some styles run large and others run small, so we put our own note on each listing telling you how that particular blanket fits. Where it says true to size, your measurement is all you need.

One more thing while you're at it: your True Size carries straight over to fly sheets, but not to fly masks. Masks are sized from head measurements, which is a completely separate set of numbers.

While you've got the tape out

This is the part everyone skips, and it's the part that saves the November panic. Pull last year's blankets out of storage now and go through them properly:

• Straps and hardware. Surcingles, leg straps, chest clips. Missing or broken ones are usually replaceable, and it's a lot easier to source a strap in September than in a cold snap.
• Tears and worn spots. Small holes get big fast once a horse is living in it.
• Waterproofing. Run water over the outer shell. If it soaks in rather than beading up, that blanket needs reproofing before it's any use in a wet turnout.
• Fit, now that you have a real number. Hold it up against the measurement you just took.

Washing and reproofing takes time, and every blanket launderer in the country is buried by mid-October. Doing it now costs you the same and gets it back before you need it. Our care guide walks through what can be done at home and what's worth sending out.

Then you can stop thinking about it

Once you know the number and you know what's missing from the closet, the rest is easy. Have a look at the turnouts and stable blankets, and if you're not sure what weight you need for your climate and your horse's coat, our blanket weight guide breaks it down.

Worth ordering sooner rather than later — the middle sizes go first every fall, and a 75" in the color you wanted is a lot easier to find in September than in the week of the first hard freeze.

And if you measure your horse and the number looks strange, or he's built in a way that makes you hesitate — high withered, big shouldered, deep through the barrel — just send us the measurement and a photo of him standing square. We'd far rather help you get it right the first time than process a return. Call or text us at 970-306-6594, or email service@performancehorseblankets.com.

Happy measuring. Here's to a warm, dry, well-fitted winter.

— The Performance Horse Blankets Team