My husband’s horses are definitely short and wide. Lol!
Thanks for the tip.
1 Like
Greenhawk (Canada) carries blankets that have snap and buckles on them.
They have been a life saver for growing babies as the neck opening is always an issue for them even when they wearing 78’s (still have that narrow baby chest!). The quality of their stuff isn’t too horrible either!
1 Like
Okay! I decided on the Rhino Wug, with 100gm of fill, to start. If that fits well, I’ll buy something heavier in the same style. Or maybe I’ll try a heavier Avalanche . . . I dunno.
But seriously: how come I never feel the slightest compunction about buying heaps of fancy stuff for the horses, and then cheerfully buy half my own clothes at the thrift store? There’s definitely something a bit off about horse people.
4 Likes
I just bought the same wug! The Rhino Plus midweight is super nice too & I got the wug so I can layer it over the midweight when it really drops down
1 Like
You, @scislandsprite, are an ENABLER! 
But yeah - I find 100g blankets super useful in Maine, both alone and in layers. I prefer stable blankets underneath to “liners,” so I bought one of those too . . .
If I didn’t have horses I could go on a nice vacation and drink Mimosas somewhere. Wouldn’t that be nice?
1 Like
Haha, I was 110% enabled on my own blanket thread less than a week ago! COTH is basically where I come when I’m curious to buy anything and I always end up buying what I was asking about, oops.
I also already had the Rhino midweight so only had to buy the wug this year as well.
And yes, we’d all be so much less stressed!
1 Like
Rhino Wug!
3 Likes
Anything by Schneiders that has the “adjust-a-fit” shoulder feature is a good choice for a narrow horse. (Sidebar: A narrow Arabian? I’ve been working with the breed for over 20 years and have never met such a creature. Is yours a baby?)
I think you’re probably going to be disappointed with the Rhino. All the Horsewear style blankets (Rambo/Rhino/Amigo/Weatherbeeta/etc.) have a fundamental flaw when it comes to fitting short (vertically) horses - the drop is not scaled to fit the size of the blanket, in addition to the fact that these blankets run much larger than the horses’ actual measurements. So the blanket may fit perfectly as far as body length goes, but it hangs down below the poor animal’s knees/hocks! The Schneiders blankets, on the other hand, are made with drop lengths appropriate to the blanket size.
Maybe “delicate” would be a better word? Or “refined,” if you wanna get fancy? I’m not an Arab Person, so I’m probably using the wrong words. Anyhow, she wears a size 68/69 blanket and a saddle with a medium tree, and has a slim neck/shoulder, so yeah - the problems are gaping at the neck and excess length.
I do hope you’re wrong about the Rhino! If it doesn’t work, though, I may try the Shneider’s styles for Arabians. Have you tried these? I’d be interested to hear an Arab Person’s opinion.
I haven’t used the Armor Flex style specifically, but I’ve been a huge Schneiders fan for more than 20 years now.
For a visual of the drop issues I’ve mentioned, here’s my Half Arab filly when she was a ~13.1 yearling. She measured exactly 66" at the time…this is a 66" Amigo Bravo PONY turnout:
Versus a 66" Schneider’s Stormshield Blizzard Pony blanket:
1 Like
Wow. I see your point!
My size 72 QH has a Stormshield with a detachable neck, so maybe I’ll try that on tonight just to get a general feeling for proportion.
1 Like
I have to respectfully disagree. My narrow GRP wears a Rhino from Just For Ponies and it is the only blanket I have that has the correct drop for her. I had a Weatherbeeta in her size (66) and it dropped well below her knees. I am intrigued by the Armor Flex, thanks for the link.
3 Likes
I have to disagree with this. Rhino turnouts have a shorter drop than either Rambo or Amigo. This is part of why they work so well for my 14.3 QH. I did try a Schneider’s adjust a fit turnout on this same horse and it didn’t work for him. The drop was ok but the neck wasn’t. You just have to try different blankets and see what works for your particular horse.
2 Likes
Well, I tried the QH’s 72 on the little girl, and it’s a HARD pass: only slightly too big length wise, but waaaaay long. The neck opening is simply ridiculous - much too huge for the Adjusta-Fit system to fix.
I figured this would be the case, since this blanket fits the absolutely tank-like,1300 pound Foundation QH perfectly, but it’s always good to try stuff. Each horse is different, for sure, and you never know what will work - kinda like human blue jeans, I guess
2 Likes
Well - I have used the Schneider adjustafit blankets, and if you get the ones made of ballistic nylon,
they are as durable as anything else on the market made of ballistic nylon.
I’ve had quite good luck with them, as as mentioned before, the adjustable neck is handy for narrower horses.
Timely thread. I’ve got an armor flex vtek arriving this week to try on my husband’s hunt horse, a 17.2 DHH cross who is long and tall but very narrow on the chest. Everything else I’ve tried - including the rhino wug, does not fit.
I will report back!
3 Likes
Okay! The Rhino Wug finally arrived! (Are others noticing an especially huge delay in orders from equestrian shops?)
The fit is great! It’s perfect around the neck and shoulder, which was our big problem area; the drop is pretty perfect too. In fact, there’s NO room to spare in this baby! Layering would actually make it too tight, I think, which is slightly amazing after all the ginormous blankets I’ve tried. That’s okay with me, since I get a lot of use out of 100 gram blankets anyway, but I really was surprised!
So yeah - thanks for all the input. The Rhino is definitely the way to go for those horses who are less than tank-like.
3 Likes
Just thought I’d drop a recommendation for Adam’s Horse and Pet Supplies! Hopefully you won’t have to buy another blanket anytime soon but I got my blanket from them in less than 48 hours with standard shipping. Possibly because they’re based in Maine & I’m in MA, but same state as Smartpak and they take forever for me lol. Glad you like the blanket!
2 Likes
I just ordered a Rambo Duo from Adam’s (I think it was Friday or Saturday of last week). I just got a notice that it will be delivered tomorrow. It was a great deal too.
Also, I live a SC, so not at all close to Maine. I am very impressed with the service.
2 Likes
Adam’s is awesome! And I’m in Maine, so it’s extra fast for me too. They’re also super nice if you go to the shop.
Big Dee’s also seems weirdly fast for some reason. I always get stuff in two or three days.
1 Like
