Back on Track blanket sizing

[SarahandSam]

I have a BOT mesh sheet for my dog, and have noticed a big difference using it, so I’m thinking of getting one for my horse now. He generally wears between a 72 and a 74; most usually a 72, but some brands of blankets can be snug on him–he’s a 14.2 QH, so small, but big withers and big shoulders, so normal measurements can be wonky. In Baker sheets, he’s a 76, for some reason, but his SmartPak blanket is a 72 and fits him perfectly.

BOT has a 72 and a 75. Most people are saying they run true to size, so I’m tempted to go with the 72, because 75 just sounds huge… but when in doubt I feel like I should size up.

Any thoughts or experiences with the sizing on their sheets? Or anyone happen to have a strangely shaped little quarter pony with matching measurements who happens to have a BOT?

[GrumpyMare]

I have heard they run small, so I would get a 75. I just ordered the fleece one in a 75 for my mare who normally wears a 72. I figure I would rather it be too big than too small.

[SarahandSam]

Thanks! Yeah, if it’s a little too big it’s at least wearable still.

[Jumper_Princess1988]

I find they run true to size - my gelding is a solid 84" in his turnout blankets and the 84" BOT mesh sheet fits him perfectly

[rememberthenight]

With the closed gusset at the shoulder, I find they run small. I have needed to size up at least one size for most of my horses, and two sizes for my gelding with an enormous laid back WIDE shoulder. Otherwise I found it rubbed badly.

[bugsynskeeter]

From what I’ve read, the sizes below 78 seem to run small. The larger sizes seem to be true. Why - no clue.

[RedHorses]

My 78" horse has a 75" BoT mesh sheet. Done up on the tightest hole at the chest it is still a bit bigger on him than I’d like to see. Especially the neck hole.

My 75" horse swims in the thing.

I bought a 75" BoT summer sheet for my 75" horse and it fit very small. But it had three neck darts on each side which brought the chest up into choke range. I took two darts out of each side and while it is still a bit smaller than I’d like it is quite wearable. If I hadn’t got it for such a good price I’d have returned it.

It makes me wonder if they ever bother to test their products for sizing… :rolleyes:

[SarahandSam]

Thanks all! I went with the 75", hoping it works out!

[PDDT]

@RedHorses

My 78" horse has a 75" BoT mesh sheet. Done up on the tightest hole at the chest it is still a bit bigger on him than I’d like to see. Especially the neck hole.

My 75" horse swims in the thing.

I bought a 75" BoT summer sheet for my 75" horse and it fit very small. But it had three neck darts on each side which brought the chest up into choke range. I took two darts out of each side and while it is still a bit smaller than I’d like it is quite wearable. If I hadn’t got it for such a good price I’d have returned it.

It makes me wonder if they ever bother to test their products for sizing… :rolleyes:

I had the same experience - my 78" was more like an 80" yet tight in the shoulders so I took the darts out of the shoulders and sewed some into the neck. To be fair, my horse is very, very hard to fit.

[halt]

I’m also someone that finds the shoulder fits strange.

I have an 81 for my 81 horse. I found the drop is generous as is the tail flap and the length. In some 81s, my gelding looks like he is wearing a miniskirt, the drops are so small… but they’re great in the BOT.

Anyway, my gelding doesn’t necessarily have disproportionately big shoulders for his size… I mean, his shoulders are big but they aren’t not what you’d expect for an 81 horse… and the BOT fits his shoulders very funny. I think that the BOT makes his shoulders sore, to be honest. It puts a lot of pressure across his chest and the blanket likes to “crawl” back, even with another blanket over it.

I thought about letting loose one of the darts but it’s hard to explain how it doesn’t fit… It’s almost like the neck hole is too oblong but not wide enough. Letting loose a dart would make it more oblong. I think the blanket has a weird propensity to want to shift/pull back and settle tightly over the withers. Whenever mine has been on my guy for a while I can see that it’s putting a good amount of pressure around his shoulder and wither.

[RedHorses]

@halt - I don’t find the BoT mesh sheet crawl weird at all. The lining is a fairly high friction material that will not slide forward against the lay of the horse’s coat. Combined with the stretchy property of the material it makes crawl pretty much a given.

Like you I find that if he wears if for too long the BoT mesh sheet makes my horse sore because of that crawl. I try to limit his wear to one day at a time with a day off between. He can usually manage two, but three days is long enough to be a problem.

[cmdrcltr]

I do not own a BOT sheet (yet), but my horse wore my trainer’s sheet while he was at “boot camp” for the last two weeks. He measures a 74 but in sheets sized in 2" increments a 76 fits better. He wears a 72" in the Weatherbeeta Freestyle TO blanket but can get away with a 75 as well, especially if I’m going to throw it on top of something else. My trainer’s BOT is a 78, and it fit him well; I think a smaller size would have been too tight through the shoulders. He is a 15.1 hand American Paint Horse with fairly rugged shoulders.

[SarahandSam]

Thanks for the responses, everyone! For posterity in case anyone ever searches for the same thing, I am happy to report that the blanket arrived Monday (holy crap are they fast on the shipping from Horze) and the 75 fits perfectly.

[right_horse_at_the_right_time]

the 81 swims on my 81 horse. Such odd sizing.