a wind and mud deflector mounts by a strap arrangement to the chest and shoulder area of a race horse to render the chest area more aerodynamic and to deflect mud or debris from the chest and shoulder areas . the deflector is formed of a relatively thin flexible sheet material including a wedge or pointed forward section leading to side panels positionable on opposite sides of the horse . the panels include a neck recess and shoulder recesses for loosely receiving the neck and forward shoulder areas of the horse . the strap assembly is used to secure the deflector to the horse and hold the deflector such that the neck and shoulder recesses remain properly positioned . a pad is provided about peripheral edges of the deflector to avoid chafing .