As far as durability and holding their waterproofing I like the Horseware Rambo line of blankets the best, hands down with no competition. The other Horseware lines of Rhino and Amigo are also really good as well as long as the blankets are the ones made of 1200 denier nylon. In group living I find that anything less than 1200D is not going to hold up very well. Following closely behind the Horseware lines in no particular order I also like the Pessoa blankets, the Dover Rider's line (especially the Northwinds) and certain styles of Weatherbeetas (there are also some Weatherbeetas that I don't care for).
A couple of horses have Gatsby blankets and they seem to hold up and stay waterproof although I only have a sample size of two. There are also a few residents that have Saxon sheets and blankets which I believe are also made by Weatherbeeta and I have been happy with them as well. I have heard great things about Bucas blankets but don't have any experience with them. I definitely have certain brands that I don't like at all, but we all know what opinions are worth!
On to some pictures of the retirees and I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Apollo
Slinky and Teddy
Asterik grazed while B-Rad attended to an itchy spot
Ogie
Harmony
Apollo asking Ivan to share breakfast with him. Ivan said no. Apollo always finished ahead of Ivan because he gets fed less and he stands there and licks the outside of Ivan's feedbag while Ivan finishes.
O'Reilly and Lucky enjoying a grooming session
B-Rad and Trillion
L-R Cuffie, Lily, MyLight and Buffy
O'Reilly, Slinky and Clay
I could not resist this picture of Sky and Sparky
L-R Norman, Cinnamon, Bonnie, Sparky, Sky
B-Rad and Trillion
L-R Cuffie, Lily, MyLight and Buffy
O'Reilly, Slinky and Clay
I could not resist this picture of Sky and Sparky
L-R Norman, Cinnamon, Bonnie, Sparky, Sky
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9 comments:
Wow lots of blanket talk today. So far these blankets have beat weatherbeeta, rambo, shedrow, pessoa etc in a durability and quality for your $$$ http://www.sstack.com/jump.jsp?level=3&itemID=692&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=91&iSubCat=692 especially since they come in 1680 and 1800 denier and a 2 year warranty who can beat that. I have seen some horses 24/7 turnout that have had them 5 years or more and they literally look brand new.
oh goodie, paradigm's blanket review!
i'd always relied on the brands i love, but then i moved to a foreign country and was out of luck. however, they do have one brand here i recognize, only one, rambo. my man bought me the amigo version and it is amazingly wonderful, i think i'm sticking with it. like you said, getting a 1200 is important. they run so large i think i have a pony size on baasha. (and in germany they measure from the withers to the tail, so it's very confusing!)
i am curious how many seasons this thing will last. but it fits beautifully, despite having no adjustment in the front at all.
i am so glad that it is possible to get really good blankets and not spend a fortune. i spent only 114Euros and am not even tempted to splurge for one of those 200 or more models.
nylon lining is important to me too, and these don't cause rubs. i have sleezies just sitting in the drawer, haha: )
thanks for the review, i think you've helped a lot of people because of the vast number of blankets that move about on your farm. and i mean movement and not indoors!
~lytha
Sydney that is interesting. I only deal with a couple of Schneiders blankets and they make my bad list, neither has done well. I do know there are different types of Schneiders though so maybe there are other types that I haven't used that are good. I can assure you the two I deal with were not worth $5 brand new. :)
Lytha, my beloved mare Bridget had a Rambo original (green with red trim) that she had worn for 11 seasons so far - and it was still rip free and waterproof!! I will say that she was not one to be hard on blankets but 11 years is a lot of use, even in a mild winter like Tennessee.
I agree with you on the nylon lining as well. It is better for their coats and doesn't produce the major static like the blankets with fuzzy lining. I dread it when I see a blanket with fuzzy lining, it will be filthy in no time and the horse and I will be in for a lot of static shocks!
Love the blanket review! I'm trying to find a heavy duty winter blanket for my TB who is built more like a WB & has withers that resemble a mountain range...any ideas? Right now he has a TuffRider blanket that was a gift, but his Sleazy is being rubbed badly by that thing because it doesn't fit right in the front end. The picture of Sky & Sparky is adorable!
Jen, you have to deal with the mountain range withers! I've had a horse like that as well, it also made saddle fitting a real treat! I used a Rambo blanket and a Weatherbeeta sheet on him. Do you think the TuffRider blanket is the right size for him, maybe it is a bit small for him anyway?
Another thought is one of the TB's here, Elfin, has a blanket and sheet that have the Hug closure. I know his owner said she had a lot of trouble with blankets rubs and these have worked well on him as far as no rubbing.
Yeah, he's a real treat to fit for everything...NOT! I think our next blanket is going to be one of the Hug ones, since I've heard so many good things about them. Seems like his TuffRider fits him pretty well everywhere else, but it could very well be a little small. I'll have to take another look when I throw it on him this year. I think it might be their biggest size...darn horse that forgot to stop growing!!
Hi Melissa- I really love that picture of Apollo that you printed. Could you be so kind and please email that one to me at your convenience? About the blankets- Apollo has a Schneiders blanket. How has that been holding up? You know he is very hard to fit and most of the blankets on the market do not come in the 86"-87" size which is what he wears. I was hoping I had done well with the Schneiders one as it fit him better than his original sheet which pulled across the chest. Thanks for all the good information.
I definitely think your opinion is worth a lot! It would take me several life times to gain experience with as many horses (and their related gear) as you have! I am taking notes for future reference!
Hi Vivian - picture sent!
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