So in my lovely herd, they love to play. My horses have Horseware Ireland blankets. Some hoods connect to the clips under the blanket and others to the velcro on top. But when playing they manage to undo the velcro and pull the hoods off.
Short of getting and all in one blanket which I won’t do, does anyone have any tricks to keep these suckers on?
I gave up and had our blanket repair person swap out the velcro for dee rings and trigger snaps anywhere there’s Velcro. We had tried no-chew spray, Irish Spring soap, you name it. We had a couple of horses who thought it was great fun to pull the velcro apart and once they learned, we couldn’t stop it.
It was worth the expense of paying to have the hood modified instead of having to replace a destroyed one every other week. I have a thin-skinned TB and it was his first winter in upstate NY, so going without wasn’t an option.
i am experimenting with blankets for the first time ever. Have one mare with a hood on her Rhino and i had trouble resetting that velcro. The stuff is pretty gnarly. But i can see where a determined pasturemate could get a good bite and just pull. Amazing that the fabric doesn’t rip…or does it?
regarding the all-in-one blankets, why would you never use one? (i ordered one of these but it’s not here yet)
Luckily the blanket never rips. The hood is completely intact just separated from the blanket. Its now buried out in the snow somewhere 
As for the all in one, I do not want one as they only come in heavy weights and I use the liner system so I can wash my blankets at home and I really dont want to add another blanket to his already large wardrobe.
Oh man, talk about my life!! My boys love to undo their Amigo hoods and then flip them over their back. I would say about 50% of the time, this happens. I’m so surprised they haven’t ruined the lining on the inside of the hoods since its exposed and flipped over their backs, but shhhhh!! Maybe the other boys haven’t quite figured that out!
The only hoods that I have found that the boys can’t open are ones that I bought from Big D’s tack made by Country Pride as they have the “normal” velcro that you fasten, and then there is a flap that goes over the velcro straps and holds it closed so the buggers can’t get their teeth on the straps. They havent been able to figure this one out thank goodness! Before I found these ones, I just used a high neck blanket since hoods really werent working most of the time. But the bad news is, I can’t seem to find these blankets anymore!! But I do see Weethabeeta has something similar and I will be picking some up soonish:
ahhh Thanks 
i can’t imagine putting these blankets in my washer. Have you ever washed them by hand on your patio?
I usually “power wash” them to get all the mud off first then put them in my washer. I only have one or two waterproof sheets then the liners which are super easy to wash in my washer. Works well and have had no issues with ours, but ours are fairly large and front load! I also finish but washing the washer through a cycle before adding our clothes
So I think I may have found a solution that I can probably do myself. I am going to install surcingle clips on either side of the velcro and have them attached to those as well as the velcro, maybe that will work… I am amazing Horseware hasnt had any complaints about the issue, not that its a complaint on their product but a struggle horse owners deal with… silly playful horses
I hang mine on my fence before a heavy rain. I use those spring loaded clamps to hold them there. After they dry in the sun a bit, they head into the washer.
Could the horses be telling you something about wearing rugs?
I would imagine his naked self would be quite unhappy in a 20 degree day with sleet and snow without his blanket haha
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
