21 times horses decided they knew better when it came to fashion

“This is Ziggy, my 16.1hh Belgium Warmblood. He does not like fly rugs. This is not normal behaviour for him, he is actually the first horse I have had who respects rugs but fly rugs… Nope, not for him. How was this achievement even possible?!” — Harriet Butler

“This is Loughnatousa Pete (Pete) a nine-year-old Irish sports horse gelding. We live in Guernsey, Channel Islands and Pete loves to adjust his rugs especially in the summer when he thinks he should be basking in the sun!” — Sarah Jackson

“Dakota Boy or Hooky to his friends, is an ex-racehorse and well known rug trasher. He decided to make his own modifications to his rug with a little help from his field mates. Full neck to neckless in 60 seconds! One of six unrecoverable ‘modifications’ so far this year… Doesn’t he look proud of his work?” — Laura Johnson

“Rocky is an ex-racehorse, and serial rug wrecker, who has previously broken 14 headcollars and counting. He’s also been known to get stuck in his friends’ rugs too. If there is anything to break or get stuck in, it will be this horse!” — Sian Morse

“This is my pony Cobby. He’s a bit of a monkey but last winter my yard owner found him wondering round the field with his rug like this. Most of the other horses were scared by this funny looking thing in their field but Cobby was completely unfazed by the situation he’d got into. He only stopped when he was rescued by the yard owner” — Imogen Norton

“This is my Fell pony New Times Silver Ghost (Ghosty). Being a hardy native type he does not appreciate the wearing of any clothing whatsoever. I always end up finding his clothing intact but over his eyes, round his neck or trailing behind him in the field.” — Julia Prentice

“This is Bunny, a 23-year-old Connemara cross thoroughbred, who, now retired, spends his time escaping from his stable, breaking his field-mate’s rug, getting stuck in the fence and pulling his rug off!” — Freya Lawes

“This is Guinness. It is very normal for him to wear his rugs wonky or just ripping them!” — Kirsty Wilson

“This is Billy, my yard manager’s horse. I’d gone to get Coady out of the field when I saw Billy with his sweet itch rug covering his whole face. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong at first especially as his ears seemed to be poking out of the hole in the right place and wondered whether it was a new style of grass muzzle but after looking closely I could see the ear pieces hanging down where his eyes are — he’d just managed to get his ear through a little hole which should have been halfway down his neck!” — Zoe Walker

“This is my pony Eric who decided he’d rather enjoy being Superman for the day. Unfortunately he’s a classic rug-wrecker who loves nothing better than to produce yet another ruined rug!” — Laura Symons

“This is mine and my mum’s boy Dennis wearing his rug as a scarf. The leg straps broke and somehow it ended up sliding all the way up his neck! We like to describe him as a ‘character’ – code for ‘bit of a git!'” — Sian Wakley

“This is my horse Ginger, a silly 16-year-old thoroughbred. She likes to try and remove things from her face!” — Angela Bird

“This is my Norwegian fjord gelding, Loki. This behaviour is not out of the ordinary; he is an expert rug trasher. Also known in the past to jump fences and jump his stable door (or take it off the hinges, whichever comes first). He is a total hooligan — I often wonder why he thinks what he is doing is sensible? I suppose that’s just him… I’ve learnt to love him anyway!” — Melissa Thomson

“This is my 20-year-old TBxDutch warmblood Firedancer aka JJ, who decided one day last year that she didn’t fancy being warm and dry.” — Victoria Heaviside

“My pony Jack is fairly insistent that he will wear his rugs however he likes. This is how he was found one morning this summer. As long as he can get to his food he’s not bothered.” — Katie Scholefield

“This is Morlyn Braveheart, practicing his Houdini tricks. It is not uncommon for me to find him in the field without his rug on perfectly intact with all straps done up. Here he was found mid-strip, but it didn’t put him off his eating at all. He also like to escape his field and has been seen to jump in and out of his field as the mood strikes.” — Fiona MacGregor

“Here is my 20-year-old ISH The Irish Alchemist aka “Billy” a couple of summers ago when he decided to remove his fly sheet. I don’t know how he managed it as he has never ruined a rug before so it’s unusual behaviour. Luckily he hasn’t done it since to his new wardrobe. I’ve had him 11 years and he is an absolute gentleman.” — Sarah Cobbold

“This is my 14-year-old quarter horse mare, Odessa, who does not like to wear fly gear. Her mask is on the ground, out of view. I don’t know how she manages to consistently get her legs out of the leg loops, but this is a frequent sight in summer. She does, however, love her winter rug and gets grumpy if it is not on her when she thinks it ought to be.”— Cindy Pieropan

“My horse Levi (Leverage) has a knack for doing this without anything coming undone. He then has to shuffle over to me to get put back to normal — it doesn’t stop him for grazing though!” — Helen Jackson

“This is my 10-year-old 18.3hh heavyweight show hunter Hotspurs Last Rolo. He loves nothing more than making his own fashion statements — I just never know what I am going to find when I get to the yard. He has developed a taste for bandages and over reach boots too which are regularly found shredded!” — Katie Hudson

“Molly is a 10-year-old cob x Arab who loves jumping, going fast and playing peek a boo.” — Robbyn McClements

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now