Considering horses often spend the majority of their day in a rug, it makes sense to ensure that rug is as comfortable and safe as it can be. Leader Equine’s new self-developed, horse-centric rug range does just that.
“There’s so much to be said these days regarding how we care for our horses; there’s a lot of examination, as there should be, about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” says Sarah Jane Colhoun.
Sarah Jane is the general manager at Leader Equine, a Victorian-based, family-owned retail business that distributes several of the world’s leading equestrian brands. They have just recently launched their highly anticipated, self-developed Leader Equine Boxter rug range – and the focus from the outset was to consider the horse’s comfort first.
“Our team has many years of experience across the board, both in the equine industry and in design. The Boxter rug range has two design-protected features that focus on the horse’s comfort first and foremost, and then of course safety as well,” explains Sarah.
One these two key features is the LE Boxter Dart. “It’s the reverse of what we see in a typical rug. We undertook research into how horses move, how the scapula moves… the horse’s scapula actually rotates. When the top part of the scapula rotates back and down, the lower part rotates forward and up, so to accommodate this we used a box dart that sits directly over the front leg, creating a pleat that opens and closes as the scapula rotates.”
The second design-protected feature is the LE Field Safe Front Closure. “It is a three-step, fail-safe front closure. There’s a bib on the inside so that everything against the horse’s chest is protected. It’s very lightweight and smooth; there’s no pressure on the chest. The next step is the double straight front closure surcingle clips for security, and then over the top is an overlocking double velcro. The outside of the rug is extremely smooth, minimising the chance of it catching on hay nets or fencing. And there’s much less for the horse to get hold of themselves!”
“It is a three-step,
fail-safe front closure.”
The combination of the LE Field Safe Front Closure with the LE Boxter Dart gives the horse a lot of freedom of movement, especially when they put their head down to graze. “When you go into the paddock and your horse is grazing, and you put your hand into the neck of the rug and run it down to the chest… we didn’t want to feel that tight pressure. We always felt like there was something that could be done better there to prevent that feeling, and this design achieves that.”
Sarah Jane firmly believes these design features are the key to facilitating freedom of movement for any shape of horse – in particular the “chunkier” ones that traditionally may have been harder to fit correctly.
A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE
The Boxter rug range has been two years in the making, however the knowledge behind its innovation has far deeper roots. Leader began as an agricultural company developing products in the 1950s and was founded by Geoffrey Dumbrell who designed the very first animal identification travel tags in the world. A stalwart of the Australian agricultural industry, the company grew hugely over the decades to come. Geoffrey’s daughter, Anne Boyce, worked for the business for several years before pursuing her own interests and starting a family.
In the mid-2000s, Anne returned to the fold and subsequently came across Horseware Ireland, who were looking for a partner to distribute their range of quality products throughout Australia and New Zealand. Horseware Australia was born in Anne’s garage and grew from there.
Sarah Jane was working for Horseware Ireland at the time and handled distributor accounts. As Anne’s distributorship grew, Sarah Jane travelled to Australia to visit her in 2014. “We worked really well together, and Anne asked me to come out and work with her. I made the move in 2015,” she explains.
The business grew rapidly over the following few years. “We wanted to expand and bring on other brands. We needed our own company name, and – with a nod to Anne’s roots – Leader Equine entered the public eye at Equitana in 2018. We now have an all-female team across every aspect of Leader Equine, from management, design, and customer service, to our warehouse.
“This year, we’re going through quite an evolution,” explains Sarah Jane in relation to Leader Equine’s first exclusive, self-developed rug collection. “The Boxter rug range continues the family legacy of real innovation and design for purpose.”
THE BOXTER COLLECTION
The Leader Equine Boxter rug range consists of a 1200 denier ripstop outer, 50-gram fill turnout rug, as well as a 1200 denier ripstop outer, 200-gram fill turnout rug – both of which include the innovative, design-patented LE Boxter Dart and LE Field Safe Front Closure.
“Fifty grams is just such a great weight of rug to have and then the 200-gram medium weight is ideal for the middle of winter in Australia,” explains Sarah Jane. In addition to the two design-protected features, both rugs come with a detachable neck cover, triple cross-over surcingles, an extra-large tail flap, reflective strips, ‘wipe clean’ tail cord, and elasticated attachments that connect the neck cover to the rug, reducing friction on the mane.
As Sarah explains, these rugs utilise a high-quality outer fabric. While many rugs are classified as 1200 denier, the outer can vary immensely: “There are different qualities of polyester in terms of feel, as well as the ability to waterproof it while retaining breathability.
“It’s a case of looking for fabric that is more breathable or produced in such a way that it is more breathable, and using waterproof coatings that don’t have to be applied really thickly, as this can take away from your breathability.”
In addition, both rugs feature liner compatibility – and there are two different liners to choose from for greater flexibility. “We’ve designed two liners specifically for these rugs. They also include the LE Boxter Dart so that you continue that freedom of movement; you’re not putting a rug underneath the turnout and suddenly restricting that.”
The liners have their own single front closure to keep them secure, and then clip into the turnout rug at the neck via two tabs as well as two clips at the back that attach to the D-rings – meaning it’s secured via five points, so it can’t shift.
The liners come in a 100-gram fill option, which is great for adding that little bit of weight for horses that are clipped or feel the cold. The second, dubbed the 3D Air Liner, is a 3D mesh designed for when you have to turn your horse out before they’ve fully dried off; the fabric is designed to improve the airflow around the hair and continue the drying process while wicking moisture away.
RUG FOR THE INDIVIDUAL
Having flexible rugging options was an important factor when designing the Boxter rug range, because when it comes to rugging horses, Sarah Janes says they are all individuals.
“It’s really down to the individual and knowing your horse. You go out to the paddock and check five or six horses… each one could be slightly different in terms of responding to the day’s weather. It comes down to knowing your horse and being conscious of rugging for the conditions they’re going to have for the majority of the time between you being able to check on them and change rugs. That’s the key.”
Before her move from the Yarra Valley to the Kinglake Ranges six months ago, Sarah Jane would have said we typically over-rug our horses in Australia. “Now I’m on the top of the mountain, I rug completely differently. Ultimately, I’ve always said it is very much an individual thing and that’s proving to be the case.
ENVIRONMENTAL HOOFPRINT
In the retail industry there is certainly a shift towards more sustainable packaging, especially now in the era of online shopping where everything is wrapped prior to shipping out to the customer.
Sustainability was an important consideration for Leader Equine in the development of the Boxter rug range. “We wanted to remove the plastic packaging that’s quite common with horse rugs. Our rugs come in a hemp drawstring bag, which is perfect for storing the rugs in between use or for carrying other items,” says Sarah Jane.
“We wanted to remove the plastic…”
During shipping, compostable wrapping is used for protection. “Hemp is obviously extremely breathable and not waterproof, so to prevent any possible risk of damage during transit the rugs are placed inside a compostable satchel. When that arrives in our warehouse, it means that if someone has just ordered a rug off the shelf, we simply stick a shipping label on it and send it out; it doesn’t require any additional packaging. If a customer orders a rug and a couple of additional small items, we can slip those inside the compostable satchel. Recycling traditional plastic packaging initially is great, but it’s actually getting it to go back to the ground eventually that is the important part.”
FOR THE HORSE
“The whole way through the process of developing the Boxter rug range, the directive has been ‘What suits the horse better?’ Everything was driven by the horse’s comfort first… we then worried about the cost, convenience, and whatever else after that fact.”
Given that our horses are likely to be spending the majority of their day-to-day life in a rug, Sarah Jane encourages horse owners to view them as an investment piece and to take the time and consider what’s really best for your horse.
“We’ve got to come back to the horses: what they are comfortable in and what suits them. It’s the horse’s comfort first and then what we can do after that is a bonus. Here at Leader Equine, while we will always be looking to innovate further we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved for our horses, and we’ve met the objectives we wanted to meet with this range. We really, really hope that potential customers out there love what we’ve done as well.”
The Boxter rug range is available via Leader Equine.
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