Has anyone had experience with the fit of a wug and an original cut blanket on the same horse? Does the high neck seem to make the blanket tighter across the chest/shoulders? My horse currently has an Amigo regular neck sheet, which is wearing out, and a mid-weight Rambo original with the v-front closure. While the Amigo fits nicely, the Rambo fits better. The v-front seems to be a big contributor and I think the high neck would be very functional, but I’m concerned the neck modification may cause the blanket to bind across her chest (which she especially dislikes). Any experience or advice is greatly appreciated!
Yes. In my experience, the Wug cut fits the narrow, thin-necked ones the best. Only blankets that ever fit my OTTB right. None of my current horses (2 WBs and 1 PRE) can wear a WUG. To be fair, the PRE was gelded at 7 and one of the WBs is still a stallion. They both have crests that make the blanket sit up too high, and therefore be too tight in the shoulder. The other guy is quite broad in the shoulders, and can’t wear the WUG either.
Totally agree. My chunky one is a little squeezed in her wug, and I really wish I’d gone regular neck for that blanket. It doesn’t quite rub, but she looks a bit like a husky kid shopping in the slim section :lol:
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I agree with @joiedevie99 as well… I have 2 TB’s with totally different builds. My old man has a big long neck that is set a bit low and he is wide, the wug gets really tight across the shoulders, but my younger guy is not as wide, has a shorter, higher set neck and the wug fits him really well. I have gone through many brands and styles of blankets and the one I found that finally fits my old man well is the Noble Equestrian Guardsman.
https://www.nobleequestrian.com/prod…4-in-1-blanket
It’s super padded at the withers, it keeps the blanket “up” and it never gets tight through his shoulders. I love the price and so far the durability is there too. I’m glad I gave it a shot.
Are you all talking about Amigo Wugs or Rambo Wugs? I have both and the Amigo are definitely cut narrower through the shoulders and neck. The Rambo Wug is cut very generously and fits my giant horse with a wedge shaped neck, big shoulders, and huge withers very well. His neck does tie in pretty low, which may help keep the blanket further forward. I tried a Rambo Wug on my very tall but still pretty narrow young horse and he was totally swamped by the cut of the neck/shoulders in the Rambo, but the Amigo Wugs are fitting him pretty well right now.
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@theresak the Rambo Wug was going to be my next try if the Guardsman didn’t fit my old man. The price point is what holds me back on those :disillusionment:
I was talking Amigo 
One of my horses can’t wear the original (surcingle buckle type) closures - regardless of whether it’s Amigo/Rambo/Rhino. He will get big giant rubs from them. The V-Front closures make all the difference and I’ve successfully had him in in Amigo (regular neck) and Rhino (wug) so long as it has the v-front. I have a Rambo wug on the way for him (hello, excellent used deal :lol:) and I’m looking forward to trying it out.
He’s pretty ginormous - 17.3hh, big wither, big shoulder, neck ties on quite high - but he’s not terribly wide. Not a total fence-rail type, but falls on the narrower end of things.
Thanks for all the replies. Not what I was hoping to hear, but I’d much rather know before shelling out money for a blanket that doesn’t fit. I too was talking Amigo as they now have the v-front and third surcingle. I love my Rambo mid weight, but it just guts me to spend an equal amount on a sheet if there’s a cheaper but comparable option.
Said mare in question will actually grab the front of her blanket and jerk it forward off of her shoulders if it gets too snug. She’s ripped a hole in a previous Dover brand blanket doing this.
The Guardsman looks interesting! It’s definitely on my short list now. The price point seems great too. Has anyone tried the Shires StormCheeta line on a wide chested horse?
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I had an Amigo Wug for my pony and it was way too tight in the shoulders. Same size in a Rhino regular cut fits perfectly. My pony has a thin neck and shoulders.
I’ve never had a Rambo WUG. If I’m spending Rambo money, I want the flexibility of the detachable neck. I’ve had both Amigo and Rhino WUGs.
My horse can’t wear the Wug style. It nearly choked her. Tried it last year. She’s built fairly uphill and blankets seem to slide back on her and get tight around the withers. Thought I’d try the Wug to alleviate that. Holy cow. Slid back and was bound up under the neck like crazy. Definitely didn’t work for her.
I agree with everyone here about the wugs. I bought one for my (then) two year old and it worked great but then she grew massive shoulders half way through winter and it didn’t fit.
I’m talking Rambo, not Amigo or Rhino. :yes:
And the Shire’s stuff is quite nice! But rubbed pretty badly, I think because of the front closure style. The v fronts in the Horseware stuff really does a lot to prevent that?
Well, at least the consensus is unanimous! Thanks for all the replies. I too think the v-front makes a massive difference. I’ve never found that shoulder gussets do much for actually freeing the shoulder, they seem to just stay “unopened” and collect dirt.
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I think neck set conformation has a bigger impact than width of shoulder. My QH was wide but tended to carry his poll just above wither height - his Rambo Wug looked like it should have been tight on his shoulders but never restricted his movement nor rubbed his shoulders.
My moderate width older horse has his neck set on lower as well and has demonstrably indicated that the Wugs are the most comfortable for him (Rhino 78", and Rambo 75").
My younger horse is narrower in his shoulders and has his neck set on quite high and he carries his head up. The Wug style doesn’t really work for him as someone noted above the high neck slides down and sort of piles up above the withers and pulls the front of the blanket up. An original cut Rhino with neck attached with rings has the flexibility to keep him covered comfortably even with his head right up.
I have a QH gelding with a thick neck, wide chest, and low head and neck set. He naturally carries his head pretty much at the height of his withers. A regular cut Rambo slides back on him and pulls on his shoulders. A Rhino Wug fits great and doesn’t bind on him at all.
I have an appendix gelding who while not wide, does have a big shoulder. Most of his blankets are Amigo Bravos which fit him great. I wanted to splurge and get him a wug cut, so opted for a Rhino Wug after talking with Horseware about his build and the way their blankets run. They did not recommend the Amigo Wugs for much of the same reasons others have mentioned - they run narrow and if he fit in the regular Amigo cuts, the wugs would be too narrow for him. I didn’t want to spend Rambo money on a blanket so the Rhino seemed like a good option. I’ve been pretty happy with it overall. It fits great through the neck/shoulder, but is a little on the long side. I probably could have gone down to a 76 from his usual 78 and been okay, but generally it fits him really well.
I made a post last winter titled something like “My horse tried all of Horseware’s blankets so yours didn’t have to,” and I touched on this. Mine had worn out his wardrobe of Rambo and Rhino Wugs which had served him well for years. He is a 15.2" big-bodied Irish horse with a big shoulder and a high-set neck and measures 77" chest to tail; he takes a 75" in Rambo and Rhino and 78" in Amigo, and he had been happy in Wugs for years. However, the “Original with V fit” was not good for his shape. In both the Rhino and the Amigo cut, the neck of the blanket came up a little higher on his neck compared to the Original, in order to accommodate the angled closure. This produced gapping in the neck- he would have needed a scarf! In the Rhino V-fit, that higher neck cut also produced a blanket that was too short from chest to tail in the horse’s measured size. I don’t think it’s a great design for the combination of good slope to shoulder + high neck, but for a horse with a more moderate angle to both it may be a good design.
