Blanket recommendations for a highish-withered horse living in Maine, USA? *Update within!*

[hemitheconyxcaudicinctus]

I just put down the deposit on my first horse and her prepurchase exam is on Tuesday! If she passes she comes home Saturday, and it’s pretty cold here (albeit a very unusually warm winter - so a lot of temperature fluctuation). She’s allegedly a grade QH but I suspect her to have at least some TB based on how she’s put together and the fact that she has a very thin coat and thin skin. Most importantly she has a prominent shoulder, and I don’t want to unintentionally choose a blanket that’s going to make her uncomfortable.

Here is a picture of my beautiful girl! So excited, she was absolutely saintly and seems to really have a heart of gold.

The weather here has been fluctuating between about 50 to the high teens. She has no winter coat at all right now.

What types of blankets would you recommend for her “wardrobe”? And are there brands that tend to give more room in the withers?

Thank you so much for any advice you guys can give!

**Editing to add: ** here’s what I mean about her being a narrow girl, lol

[ZuzusPetals]

WeatherBeeta makes a high-neck line designed to take pressure off prominent withers. The Rambo Wug turnout, too. Congrats on your new girl. Have fun dressing her!

[hemitheconyxcaudicinctus]

I should have included a front pic - she’s actually pretty narrow/slightly more narrow than the average horse. She’s also 16hh–she’s just THAT long that it makes her look smaller, lol.

Would the Weatherbeeta/Dover Northwind/Sp Ultimate still work for a tall and narrow horse, or should I avoid them?

[Amy3996]

I love the Schneider’s VTek blankets for my tall/narrow/shark fin TB. They adjust up to 2” at the neck line to relieve pressure on the withers.

[hemitheconyxcaudicinctus]

Does Weatherbeeta specify which ones are intended for drafty horses?

And yeah, the handler is probably about 5’9, I’m 5’10 and she was a little shorter than me. This horse is built like a tank in person!

[Texarkana]

Gosh, I don’t love Weatherbeeta on that type of build at all. I have such bad luck with them.

I would second the Wug recommendation, or any Horsewear Ireland blanket for that matter. I got a really good deal on some Amigo Bravo Wugs this year on clearance through both Adams and the Horsewear Ireland site (caution: the latter always tags on surprise fees after the fact). All of the Horsewear Ireland blankets tend to fit the 16h high withered sort of narrow type pretty well.

[hemitheconyxcaudicinctus]

Does that include the Rambo line?

[MissusS]

My 16 hand appendix QH mare got a new wardrobe when she came home with me this fall. Her previous owner had a bunch of 84" blankets because that seemed to fit most of her QH herd. I “negotiated” to include a winter blanket when I bought her since I didn’t know whether winter would arrive quickly and I’d be caught without an appropriate blanket.

I had a 75" rambo tech duo set from my previous horse that was a bit too snug. I bought (and returned) an 81" amigo bundle because it was OK in the length but gaped in the front. I then bought a 78" rambo duo force bundle that fits beautifully.

When winter first hit I had her just in the 100g sheet. Then as it got a bit colder I added the 100g liner. Now that it is full on winter I have her in the 100g outer sheet and 300g liner at all times. She is not too hot, not too cold - even when the temperatures swing from -40c to -10c. I was worried she was going to be boiling hot when the cold snap broke (resulting in 3 feet of snow and the roads being closed over Christmas so I couldn’t get out to see her) but even though she was layered up with the heavier liner she was still the right amount of warm.

These new blankets breathe really well and seem very well suited to a large range of temperatures!

[Texarkana]

@hemitheconyxcaudicinctus

Does that include the Rambo line?

Yes! Amigo, Rhino, Rambo.

[NaturallyHappy]

We’ve successfully used Rambo turnout sheets w different weights of liners along w neck covers. I like the shape of the neck/front closure.

[scislandsprite]

I have a narrower horse with a high wither and the Horseware Rhino line fits perfectly for the narrower horses! I love the Rhino Wugs and I also have an Amigo Wug fits nicely too

[SMF11]

If you are boarding her, check that the barn allows liners. I do not allow them because they are a PAIN when you have multiple horses with multiple blanket changes.

The absolute minimum I would recommend is a no fill rain sheet and a heavy. If you want to add another, I’d add a medium. I also like the wugs, or blankets with hoods.

[JB]

Schneider’s Nordlund is a high neck (not a full neck) that does very well with my TB mare with stereotypically shark-finned withers, and she’s not terribly wide, at 16.2 (but really more like 16.1 if it weren’t for the withers) and a 78" blanket but some of that is back length.

[hemitheconyxcaudicinctus]

This kind of breakdown is exactly what I was hoping for, thank you!!

[hemitheconyxcaudicinctus]

I never knew that was a thing - going to contact my BO and double check before I go out looking.

[Larbear]

Another vote for the Rhino Wug

[Pico_Banana]

Another vote for the Wug cut from any of the Horseware lines.

I have found that the key for getting these to fit is to make sure you have the right size, which oftentimes is different (smaller) from other brands. If you get one that is too big, it will pull back in general, making it tight on the shoulders.

In general, even if you don’t get the Wug cut, any of the Horseware blankets that have the two clips that attach to one ring at the chest, as opposed to the two straight across T clips, have the best fit.

My mare is just shy of 16.3, narrow in the chest, has well-sprung ribs, and is short-coupled. Everyone is surprised when I tell them she wears a 75. Which bizarrely enough is the same size my 14.3 senior QH wears.

[emeraldcity]

Another vote for Wugs, or honestly anything Horseware with the V-front. But the Wugs will definitely put less pressure on withers. I have all Amigo blankets and I love them. (I’m also in Maine.)

[lenapesadie]

I’m going to be the voice of dissent. I find the wug / high neck styles to put more pressure over the withers. And to be absolutely ridiculous if the horse is head down in a grazing position; makes a dang wind tunnel right over their spines. And a full detachable hood offers more flexibility and coverage. I do like the Horseware blankets with the V snap closure; the disc closure is lame imo. The Weatherbeeta blankets have also performed well for me, especially the ones with the more adjustable front closures.

My horses are both big shouldered and neither is narrow. One is TB the other is Friesian / QH. I’ve had a WB high neck and a Rhino Wug. I sold the WB already and the Rhino will be next.

I like liners myself but I have two horses at home. Can definitely see how liners might be an unwanted hassle in a board barn.

[Jealoushe]

Horseware for sure, especially on high withers. Don’t get the ones with the attached neck that doesn’t come off for high withered horses.

I found the wugs work best as mentioned above, or the Amigo Bravo Plus for 250gm. I have a few big withered gals.