Exercise sheets: how to choose the size and check the fit

An exercise sheet protects the horse’s loins and hindquarters during warm-up, loosening and cool-down, when the back muscles are still cold or already cooling. Too short, it leaves the loins uncovered and serves no purpose. Too long, it floats over the quarters, slides sideways at trot and ends up under the saddle. The right size is read from two measurements, then checked once the horse is tacked up.

The two measurements that matter

Back length, from the back of the saddle’s cantle to the root of the tail. This is the main measurement: the sheet must cover that span and stop above the tail, without covering it. Measure with the horse saddled, with the saddle you use most often, because a dressage cantle does not sit where a jumping saddle’s does.

Width of the quarters, from one flank to the other across the widest point of the hip. It determines how far the sheet drops on each side: it should come down enough to cover the flanks without going past the point of the buttock.

Makers most often give a size in centimetres matching the back length, sometimes alongside a rug size. When hesitating between two sizes, take the shorter one: a sheet that stops five centimetres before the tail still protects; one that covers the tail bothers the horse and gets dirty.

Check the fit on the saddled horse

• the front edge passes under the cantle or attaches to the girth straps, depending on the model, without creasing under the saddle;
• the tail passes freely through the tail loop, without the fabric pulling on the quarters;
• at walk the sides stay in place; at trot the sheet does not ride up on one side;
• the fastenings, fillet string or under-saddle straps, do not rub the skin.

An exercise sheet made by a workshop is often cut to the horse’s measurements, with the tail loop at the right height and the shape adapted to its quarters. That is the case of the tricolour quarter sheet in our exercise sheets section.

Wool, fleece or waterproof

The material does not change the size, but it changes the use. Wool keeps warm and breathes, the material for winter warm-ups. Fleece dries fast and machine-washes, practical day to day. Lined waterproof protects from rain on a hack or a warm-up in an outdoor arena. For a stable or turnout rug, chosen differently, our guide horse rugs: choosing by use and checking the fit gives the reference points.