Blankets for horses prone to wither rubs/soreness

[Iride]

It’s (sadly) almost that time again. Blankets :mad:

I have two horses both of whom have high withers, wide withers, and big shoulders. You can imagine the angst I go through trying to fit any sheet or blanket on either of them!

For stable blankets, I’m fairly happy with the Schneiders Adjusta-Fit Dura Nylon blanket with leg straps. Easy on, easy off, slippery enough to prevent shoulder rubs. Wither area still slightly tight, but not unreasonable.

But when it comes to turnouts (and sheets, quite frankly) I have yet to find anything that doesn’t make them sore in the withers. One always ends up with a missing patch of mane by end of winter, too.

Can’t use those stretchy form fitting thingies. They’re boarded and I don’t think management will take well to bothering with those.

Is there anything new, or is there anything you guys have used that makes the wither problem a thing of the past?

One caveat: Yes, I’m familiar with the high neck blankets but after trying them on both horses, they really don’t work or fit. The material ends up bunching and binding between the top of the neck material and the horse’s back (basically, over the withers!)

Anyone used the stretchy Turtleneck brand turnout?

Any help out there? Thanks!!

[Abbie.S]

Since you’re familiar with Schneider’s, have you tried their range of blanketing options? They have blankets that are completely cut-back, so the withers are completely free.

Turtleneck probably won’t help you: the design is meant to stay snug around the neck so as to keep rain and precipitation/wind out. That doesn’t directly translate to “more wither/shoulder relief”.

Why is a sleez-y type garment not an option? The barn shouldn’t have to fiddle with them. They pretty much stay on all time under a blanket unless you remove them to ride/the horse goes naked on a warm, sunny day.

[Simkie]

What high neck blankets have you tried? They’re my go to for this sort of horse…usually works great. Have you confirmed that the bunching you’ve seen in the blankets you’ve tried actually rubs and makes them sore?

[Iride]

Simkie, I actually never purchased a high-necked blanket, only tried them on and then returned… simply because of the bunching that was immediately apparent. Should I bite the bullet and buy one? Any recs for which brand to go to first?

Abbie S. – a sleezy won’t help with the weight and discomfort of a blanket over withers so it’s really not an option…however, perhaps I should look into one of the cut-back Schneiders. From what I understand though, because of that design feature they slip back and cause a lot of pressure on the chest and shoulders. shrug

[VFT]

I use the turtleneck blankets exclusively on my big guy, as it is the only thing that seems to fit him well. The neckline typically sits a little bit up the neck above the withers. I really like them, love the freedom of movement from the elastic in the neckline and the gussets.

[vandenbrink]

Try a mid neck. It looks like they bunch a bit, but that is how they are supposed to fit I think. I have little to no shoulder rubs, and never wither rubs with the midneck blankets…they are now my preferred blanket for all my horses.

[Simkie]

Iride, we’re talkin this sort of cut, right?

http://horsenhound.com/store/images/horse_blankets/Rambo%20Wug.jpg

I’d really try it. I’m a huge Rambo Wug fan, but I’ve not found them to fit the big, broad chested horses all that well. Not sure if you’ve got a big chested horse or just a big shouldered horse? If the latter, I think Rambo would be an awesome choice.

If you’re looking for for a little less spendy plunge, SS Tack does have a few blankets that would suit, like this one:

http://www.sstack.com/horse-blankets-and-sheets_waterproof-turnout-blankets_euro-fit/iridium-high-neck-c/

I really like the fit and durability of the SSTack stuff for the money.

[KateKat]

I used to have a Centaur midneck blanket that was great for my super high withered girl. It did bunch a little, but wasn’t horrible. I also got the Horze high neck, which because the neck is on the smaller side, didn’t bunch up much at all.

[Iride]

Simkie, he is both big-chested and high withered (stallion).
I’ll look into the links you posted, thanks.

Vandenbrink, not sure what you mean by mid-neck blankets…can you post a link or two or a blanket name that I can look up? Thx!

KateKat, I’ll look into those too. Re HorseZe, isn’t that a European company? (if so I’ll pass, can’t imagine dealing with return shipments, etc…unless it’s a US company?)

[Simkie]

Big chest? I think the SSTack option would be quite suitable then. I really prefer the chest closure on the Rambo wugs–it is SO easy and secure–but there is no adjustment. I have my big, thick mare in the SSTack and it does quite nicely with her shoulder and chest

[Right_on_Target]

I have a Rambo Wug, a Schneider’s TB style adjustable fit, and an Orican high neck. My guy is thin with huge withers.

I find that the Wug fits great, the Schneider’s bunches and gives shoulder rubs, and the Orican is ok, but I think it does Shoulder rubs too. My guy is a sissy and has that super heavy Rambo Wug that he loves.

I got some minor mane rubbing from the Orican, no problems with the Wug.

[CrowneDragon]

The Wug style blankets are great for wither relief. I also have good luck with the Weatherbeeta blankets that have the Freestyle wither padding, and randomly, the Professional’s Choice blankets fit very generously at the withers. I have one PC turnout sheet and on my gelding with big withers I can easily slide my whole hand over them with his head down.

[Iride]

CrowneDragon, can you point me to the Weatherbeeta stable blanket you mentioned above with wither padding? I did a search but the only one I could find was one that has a bellyband (looks non removable?) which I wouldn’t want in a stable blanket.

[toady123]

The guy I PB wears a sleazy that has padding at the withers and that works well for him - and he is quite prone to rubs. He has a variety of blankets and they all work with the sleazy.

[Pipkin]

You can get foam dough-nuts and sew them on the inside of the rug either side of the wither. That works!

Or buy premier-equine, they’re the only thing that fits the narrow tb. They aren’t cheap though! Fal Pro fits him beautifully too but they’ve stopped trading You might be able to find some second hand.

[CrowneDragon]

[QUOTE=Iride;7795002]
CrowneDragon, can you point me to the Weatherbeeta stable blanket you mentioned above with wither padding? I did a search but the only one I could find was one that has a bellyband (looks non removable?) which I wouldn’t want in a stable blanket.[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure if they offer the Freestyle with the wither padding in a stable blanket. I cruised around their website and didn’t see any. All of mine are turnouts. I have an older version of these: http://www.weatherbeeta.com/products/freestyle/weatherbeeta-freestyle-1200d-standard-neck-medium
They have regular surcingles.
I think some of the lower denier Freestyle blankets don’t have the wither relief padding, FYI.

[KateKat]

[QUOTE=Iride;7794605]
Simkie, he is both big-chested and high withered (stallion).
I’ll look into the links you posted, thanks.

Vandenbrink, not sure what you mean by mid-neck blankets…can you post a link or two or a blanket name that I can look up? Thx!

KateKat, I’ll look into those too. Re HorseZe, isn’t that a European company? (if so I’ll pass, can’t imagine dealing with return shipments, etc…unless it’s a US company?)[/QUOTE]

Horze has a US distributor. www.horze.com

[Iride]

CrowneDragon thx for the link. That looks great.

Pipkin, cool idea re the foam doughnuts. Now, where would I find those? Maybe I could sew them into his current stable blanket. Where or how close to the top of the wither should they be placed?

[Cat_Tap]

I don’t know about wither rubs but for shoulder rubs the Bossy Bibs have worked great for my broad shouldered horses. I do have to take them off overnight as they slide around very easily but are very easy to put on.

[Iride]

Just so y’all have an update (though I haven’t yet bought anything!), I’m leaning toward the Rambo Supreme Vari-Layer blanket. It is designed to be warm but not so heavy. It has less fill in the bottom half of the blanket and more around the back area. It has the big boxy fit of a Rambo, I’m assuming, plus leg arches. On various sites I’ve only seen raves. Anyone tried these blankets? (My only concern is whether the V front closure will be too constricting for my horse’s big chest).

https://www.smartpakequine.com/rambo-varilayer-supreme-turnout-11840p

In addition to that, I am ordering a Turtleneck to try on him but I suspect it will not fit him right…because of his combination of wide/deep neck, big chest, and high/wide withers. I’ve heard they run a bit small.

ETA: I did order a Bossy Bib…we’ll see if that helps too, with whatever blanket he ends up with…

Argh.