How do they fit a Thoroughbred build? Is the Power Turnout really all that??
I have the lined sheet and love the thing! I have an ISH mare but she has been rubbed by blankets before and used to sweat at times. So far with that sheet used for two seasons no rubs and no sweating on those days where the temp fluctuates.
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I have a 16hh TB mare. I love the Bucas blankets on her. In fact most of her blankets are Bucas. They fit better than most brands. I especially like the gathering in the neck area. I find it helps from getting rubs. I dont have the Power Turnout. She wears the Irish Extra. I have known people who have used the Power Turnout and loved it though.
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I think I finally have my blanket strategy in place using Bucas. My TB fits them well - the gathered neck leaves enough room for his shoulders and they don’t rub. I bought the Power Cooler that will fit under both 150gm. Irish turnouts (with neck attachment) as well as my 300 gm. winter Bucas with the fleece lining (which is looking like it could use a water proofer). One of the 150gm has the fleece lining and the other is the silky lining. As he will stand out in the rain, I need options for when they get really soaked or temp. changes. I also have a BOT cooler which I can use under any of the Bucas.
The other reason I like the Power Cooler is that there doesn’t seem to be any static charge )or on any of the Bucas blankets). Being shocked with a regular fleece cooler is one of his pet peeves.
Oops I just realized you said Power Turnout. His buddy has one, and with the silvery high tech finish - I think they are a good product, just a bit pricy. Like the fleece lining.
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I absolutely adore my Bucas blankets. They’ve fit all of my horses really well and i have a few TB types that would be like your horse. I am not familiar with the power turnout (i have mainly the Celtic stable sheet and the Smartex rain and medium) but i can say my favorite three things about Bucas are:
- the fit
- the stay dry lining which means if they sweat a bit, it wicks it away, but also keeps them a touch warmer than a regular lined sheet. I was at my coach’s barn and had forgotten a cooler- i threw the horse’s Bucas smartex rain on him and it was perfect.
- indestructibility- i have a horse who has destroyed Rambos. After nine years with his Bucas the only thing he has damaged on it was the belly strap. I bought the Bucas originally because i was so fed up with replacing blankets. Best investment ever.
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Not as good a fit as the Rambo blankets for TB mares.
I put Bucas right at the bottom of my list. I would only buy a Bucas if every other blanket was out of stock and my horse needed one ASAP (which likely would never happen).
Reasons:
-Inside lining on winter blankets is heavy, clingy and pulls at the hair. Often see the blankets twisted around.
-Front closure is ONE clip with some velcro over it (no dispersal of pressure).
-Very restrictive on the chest for almost every breed (even my TB can’t wear it comfortably).
-Weak waterproofing and durability. My horse ripped the winter turnout I got him within days. I have Amigo turnouts that are 7+ years old (maybe even older) with no rips.
Do not recommend!
I much prefer Amigo. They are superior in waterproofing to any other blanket I’ve tried (waterproofing is a VERY big deal for me). And the lining is slippery polyester which is far more comfortable for the horse. Rambo and Rhino are OK (both made by Horseware as well). Rambo are a bit pricey IMO for what you get.
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In what way?
Is it the stay dry lining that’s clingy?
Yea, it’s a red fleecy-type material. It also encourages a lot of static that the horses tend to fear.
How do you find the sizing to run? My guy is a 78" in Rhino and Weatherbeeta.
The Bucas shifts on every horse I have. Not so the rambo. Also the Bucas rugs fit so tight in the shoulders and chest that my horses look like little children who are stiff in their winter jackets and coats. Not as much freedom of movement as in the rambo.
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My horses wear 75" in the Rambo Wug and 75" in the Bucas.
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Bucas fits perfect on my TB but he is quite narrow-shouldered. So do not buy if your horse has a wider chest.
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My horses wear the same size in bucas as they wear in rambo. But the fit in bucas is tight across the shoulders and chest. I do use the bucas sun shower sheets in rainy weather in winter but they are too hot for summer use here.
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I have the bucas buzz-off. I like the fit fine for my TB mare, but I hate the belly cover. It didn’t fit at all. The straps have flimsy plastic hooks. I wish they were metal.
I bought a Power Light last fall (at the time, State Line would allow their discount codes to be used on them - so I scored it for either 25% or 30% off, but now Bucas is excluded from all sales). I REALLY want to like it…but I’m on the fence. A local tack shop owner (who owns a boarding barn) swears by them, which is why I bought one. Says this is the ONE piece of clothes their personal horse wears for turnout, and encourages their boarders to use it. It does simply things. I board at a friend’s farm, and candidly, I’m her only boarder and she’s not a big fan of doing blanket changes. So I was hoping this would alleviate my horse needing a blanket change during the day. I’m in NC, so really, the “light” version covers most of our weather needs. So, background: I bought it for a horse I owned last year, but sold said horse over the summer and bought another. Original horse was a QH - he’s wasn’t super stout, but a pretty avg 15.3h QH - certainly wider than TBs. I found that the Bucas rubbed both of his shoulders. I tried a ‘big neck’ version of him and it was just way too big and hung off his shoulders. So, I ordered a silky “bossy bib” for him to wear under it and it helped prevent rubs and the hair grew back quickly. New horse is also a QH, but more TB’y…16.3h and more narrow (but still a little wider than average TBs). He’s also a coming 4 yr old now, so he’s been growing and filling out. He’s wearing this same Bucas (size 78) even though his other clothes are 81’s-84’s. I probably really need to get him a bigger size. He has a rub on one shoulder, and as some of others have mentioned, the sheet does shift some. It doesn’t shift as much on new horse as it did on old horse. And I noticed his hair is a little thin on his chest at the top of the sheet - I’m not so sure when he bends down to graze if he has enough room in the neck. I am trying to decide if I’m going to suck up $300 and order a larger size, or switch brands. I recently learned Bucas does make a chest extender, for horses that need more room in the chest, or are in between sizes, BUT, I can’t find a US retailer that carries one for the Power turnout. I’ve emailed Tolkat (their US distributor) to ask who might carry them, after asking Bucas directly.
HOWEVER, what I do love is that yeah, if I ride and he’s a little sweaty under the saddle pad, I can throw the sheet on him and carry on - without breaking out a cooler and waiting for a while for him to dry completely. Plus, he really does seem pretty cozy on a 35 degree day as he does on a 55 degree day. My guy does seem to start getting sweaty in it when it starts getting above 60 on a sunny day.
Quality wise, I like it. Now, new horse (b/c he’s a youngster that is teething & mouthy) has chewed the bottom of the chest piece. There are some reflective strips on it, and I noticed one of them have started to come unstitched. Re: waterproofing - I’ve washed it several times (always with proper blanket wash - it washes great, and it dries SUPER quick b/c of the fleece), but honestly, usually my BO puts the horses in when it’s pouring rain - so mine blanket hasn’t been out much in the pouring down rain. I haven’t experienced any issue with static from the liner, or it being rough on hair.
Good luck. Hope this is helpful. I tried to read reviews and research before I bought it last fall and it was hard to find much info. Seems like either people love Bucas, or hate it.
This is all very helpful. I’m also in NC, Tryon area, so I was really drawn to the ability to leave the Power Turnout on in varying temps and to use the Select Quilt as a liner. I’m not home during the day to change out blankets, etc. My two TBs are currently in Horsewear Wugs. They don’t rub and fit fine, but I do feel like they’re very tight under the neck when they are grazing. I am concerned about the short 3yr warranty with Bucas and waterproofing is very important for me.
I haven’t owned any Bucas blankets personally for my horse but a boarder bought a brand-new Smartex Extra (I believe, its the big heavy blue one) and bought the neck attachment. I find the Bucas blankets super tight in the chest–this boarder is a very average sized horse and I was disheartened as to how small the fit was (the blanket was purchased in the horse’s normal size).
The neck attachment was absolutely ridiculous. It was sold as a size large, and my boarder was assured that for the size of the blanket (81) it would fit. It is the worst design I have ever seen. It fits the length of his neck fine, but is so tight when done up that it restricts the horse’s ability to put his head down. One of the straps does up right under the throat and both straps are so tight they pull against the hair. I was disgusted and immediately took it off. The horse has a completely average sized neck and I put it on other horses in the barn to prove that it didn’t fit anyone. I ended up using my trusty Weatherbeeta hood, which luckily attaches the same way as the Bucas one, on the boarder’s horse.
I love Weatherbeetas, they are my favourite for rainsheets and turnouts. My stable blankets are Rambos because they have a better fit for my particular mare than Weatherbeeta stable blankets, but Weatherbeeta turnouts can’t be beat in my opinion. And best of all, when you buy a blanket with a neck attachment setup, it comes with the hood included–none of this ridiculous purchasing separately crap.
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Since you’re in Tryon…Paradise Tack is the tack shop I was referencing. They had a mobile unit at Tryon’s facility, I think. I’ll be candid, the owner really sold me on the sheet (they love it!!), but I tried the big neck version since I had a QH - which ironically, I think big neck are for drafty types, but the regular size must be for super narrow horses - it’s as if there is little room in the middle. I had buyers remorse and they didn’t have another regular neck in my size, so I returned it, then after I had issues with blanket changes, ordered from State Line with a discount. I’m near Winston-Salem, so for the most part, it is great for our weather…but it does have a few shortcomings. I’ve come to determine that horse clothes shopping is a completely and total pain in the a$$, or maybe I just haven’t found the right combination of brand/blanket weight/etc. I’m a bit surprised though that some other manufacturer doesn’t make one similar, which could be telling in itself.
