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Bucas Power Turnout - recent experiences, quality 2021?

So I’ve been blanketing my little herd with Amigo Bravo rainsheets and the Horseware liner system for the last couple of years, and, suffice it to say, I’m fed up.

The oldest shells are only 2 years old, and they look like they’ve been through a war zone. They’ve faded from deep navy to rhinoceros grey-purple. The binding is coming off in many places. The tails are coming off and have been stitched back on multiple times. They have so many patches they look like blanket appaloosas not blankets. And this is with horses who are not hard on blankets!!

The liners aren’t holding up much better; all of them have at least one back snap that’s broken, and the stuffing is starting to poke through along the stitching, not to mention the fact that the fabric seems to be wearing through in places.

We’re heading in to spring, and, as you may imagine, the blankets are about as waterproof as cheesecloth, so I’m looking for other blanketing options. There’s no way I’m shelling out more money to line Horsewear’s pockets!!

A couple of barn mates had horses with Bucas blankets. They look fabulous and basically brand new, and I was shocked to learn that they were all a couple of years old!! A little patch on the rump, or a little pulling on a second-hand fly sheet were the only indications they had been used. I know quality has gone down for many blanket companies - are the new Bucas (say 2018/2019/2020/2021ish) holding up as well as these blankets seem to be?? Specifically the silver power turnout line.

I was told by one barnmate that the power turnout is good over a huge range of temperatures: -5 to +16 degrees celsius according to their website; -25 to +13 for the power turnout Extra. Does this hold up in people’s experience? They’re pretty expensive so I’m leery of going out and buying 6 new blankets plus 6 new necks to test this out and find out I need to constantly supplement with liners etc. I was thinking of getting the power turnout as a rain/fall/spring blanket and the power turnout extra as a winter blanket (supplemented with a liner or two when it gets below -25). Having a blanket that versatile over such a large range of temps sounds too good to be true TBH. With the liners I find there’s a lot of switching between fill/no fill necks and liner weights as temperatures fluctuate.

I’ve read the Bucas have a tendency to shift to one side - have they improved or are they still like that? The horsewears seem to be pretty good at sliding 2-6 inches off centre so I’d be a little.

How are they for rubbing? I have one delicate flower (who gets sheepskin everything) who usually has some sad rubs on each shoulder from his blankets, but the other two are showing little rubs this year as well - even the tank of a pony has a little, barely noticeable one just below his windpipe (probably from eating all the time, but still). The blankets seem to also rub out a section of mane, the mare’s lost about 1/2 of hers, the gelding about 6 inches, and the pony about 4. It’s not completely gone, just won’t grow over an inch or two, and what grows is thinner than the rest of the mane. I know a lot of blankets will do this, but are the Bucas perhaps a bit better? I’ve noticed my mare and the delicate gelding are both becoming a little averse to blanketing this year, so I’d love to switch them to something they’re happier in. Fit-wise the pony and mare are tanks (beefy shoulders all the way) and the gelding has fairly narrow shoulders but widens towards the rear (think broodmare that ain’t).

So TL; DR: What are people’s experience with Bucas blankets in the last couple of years? How’s the durability? Does the Power Turnout line really cover such large temperature range? Do they rub? Do they shift badly?

Thank you!

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I have an older Bucas power extra that I got from a friend who moved to a warmer climate. I ended up buying a lightweight version this winter. The size is the same but the surcingle straps were significantly longer on the new one- not a huge deal (they’re replaceable anyway) but I swap them with the heavy blanket surcingle straps when in use.
They do shift slightly, but the tough exterior and lining are features make up for the slightly less than perfect occurrence of a slip.
Once shedding season started I used my Bucas power sheet as well as an amigo- depending on the weather & temps. Some shoulder rubs, but I can’t say which brand may have been the bigger contributor to that issue, or if it was bound to happen no matter what I sheeted my trace clipped pony during shedding season with (pony has been naked each winter in the past.)

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@CLB15 Thank you! That’s good to know about the surcingles (although my rotund ponies might not complain about larger straps :joy:).

How cold do your winters generally get? Is the Amigo better for warmer spring temps than the Bucas sheet?

Thank you again!

I’m in southeastern MA so bipolar winter weather! Unclipped in past winters I only put weighted blankets on when it was in the single digits, or teens with wet/windy winter weather.
This winter with my pony trace clipper I used the Bucas sheet most of the season since it was relatively mild, added a neck cover when it got below freezing, switched to the heavy when it dropped lower than mid 20s.
By mid-March I switched to using the amigo sheet just because it has nylon lining. It was making me crazy to think of cleaning shedding season hair out of the fleecy stay-dry lining! :smile:

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I have never been on the Horseware Crazy Train. They are hugely expensive and they may have been
“the thing to get” back in the day but the horse blanket industry had to catch up to compete - and now there are a number of brands out there that last just as long and have features the Rambos/Rhinos/Amigos don’t - such as leg straps (I can’t tell you how much I hate tail cords) and shoulder gussets.

I bought a Bucas Atlantic two years ago for my Arab/WB cross mare - she has in the past gotten the chest clips of her blanket clipped to the fence and this blanket has a unique chest closure with a velcro tap over that which eliminated the problem.
I love this blanket. It’s two years old - she rolls and rolls and it’s washed up looking like new. The leg straps are heavier elastic so they don’t wear out like the thinner ones do. It does come with a tail cord as weil. . . (did I say how much I hate them?) so I removed it.
I have not had any issues with shifting. . . . this is a 200 gram and it seems plenty warm down to the teens, and then I usually put a liner on underneath - (the Princess doesn’t grow a lot of coat)
The jury is still out as it’s only two years old but thus far I am really liking it. It does not have shoulder gussets - it has shoulder darts and they seem to work - no rubs at all.

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@Shagyas_Rock That’s very good to hear! Unfortunately around where I live it’s hard to get non-horseware blankets. Every tack store carries them, and the other options generally either don’t have necks or have even worse durability (like the Summit fly sheet that ripped in half!! in less than a week). I will admit the Bucas’ initial price tag makes me balk a little, but it’s sounding like it might be a worthwhile investment.

Damn, I really disagree. Rambos are expensive, but so are these Bucas blankets. I’ll never use anything with leg straps again, and Rambos are the only thing that doesn’t cause shoulder rubs in any of my four horses–the lack of shoulder gusset seems helpful rather than harmful. They hold up great and never shift. :woman_shrugging:

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100% agree with @Simkie on the Rambos for the exact same reasons.

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Well. I usually agree with Simkie 100%, but not this time. I have a couple of Bucas Atlantics, and they are wonderful. We are switching all of ours to the Atlantics over time - we’d do it immediately but many of my 10 year old original Bucas rainsheets and all-in-ones are still wearable, waterproof, and pretty solid. I have one Rambo, which has 9 (yes, nine) closures, including hind leg straps, and I find it just impossible to work with in cold weather.

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I should add that my horses live in small herds in 5 acre pastures, with brush and trees, and they are out all day every day, in all weather.

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That is the kind of thing I want to hear about durability and quality! Have you ever had issues with manes being rubbed out by your Bucas blankets?

The Amigos do have a ton of redundant hardware - although it seems to come in handy when things (often) break and I can’t fix them right away.

While I would say that mane growth can be distorted where blankets cross the mane I have seen that happen with a variety of brands. It has not caused me a problem. I don’t use hoods, ever, in spite of our sometimes extreme winter weather. Our horses are stabled at night, with lights on a timer, so they don’t grow dense winter coats. I haven’t needed hoods, even at temperatures of -30C. I have one gelding who runs “cold”, and he wintered this year in a 300gm Atlantic with a 400 gm liner. Both fit perfectly, and stayed centered throughout the winter.

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Are you talking about Rambo? Or Amigo?

I’ve never once had any piece of Rambo hardware break, and I’ve had horses in Rambo blankets for 20+ years. Four years ago, I decided I was DONE with other brands and outfitted four horses in a full wardrobe of Rambo, which is worn all winter, with no hardware failure, rubs, shifting or other problems.

Comparing an entry level line to a premium line will pretty much always have the premium line coming out ahead. Amigo to a $400 Bucas blanket isn’t much of an apples to apples comparison :wink:

@Dbliron I’m terribly flattered to gain enough notice that you might even consider agreeing with me 100%! Curious about your rambo rug–it has leg straps? They’ve only ever come with a tail cord! How curious! Extra rings must have been added? I can’t stand leg straps, personally, loooooove the tail cord, so much easier. :grin:

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Hi, Simkie!

I am indeed speaking of a Rambo. It also has rings for a tail cord, which I removed, due to the gelding’s unfortunate habit of manuring on the tail cord. It cost just over $600 Canadian two years ago. It’s wearing well, but it is truly a hassle to put on and remove. I have Raynaud’s, and I have to take my gloves off to deal with all of its finicky closures.

I find your opinions and JB’s to be sensible, well-researched, and devoid of inflammatory responses. You are both highlights for me, and I’m glad to have the chance to let you know that.

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My apologies, I wrote that reply when I was tired. I meant to say Amigo. I’ve edited to fix it.

I love my Bucas blankets. I have two in use. A silver power turnout, at least 10 years old- may be even older. Used on a mare. It remains in excellent shape. Last year bought the blue smartex extra turnout for gelding. I wash and re-waterproof yearly. The “delicate” 17.2 gelding has not had even one rub but he can lose neck mane. Every day his blanket needs to be straightened but it keeps him dry and warm. One of the best things about these blankets is it can be worn between such a temperature range. As an older horse person I recommend the Bucas blankets as in the long run I am saving money - they last forever.

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I was thinking of you when I was doing up blankets yesterday! (I’m an SO TIRED of this cold, where is spring?!) The old Rambos had one velcro flap at the chest and two belly straps. I bet you could ignore allll the velcro at the chest, just do up the clips, and remove the middle belly strap entirely–they velcro on the off side. You can keep it as a spare. The front corner on the chest will probably fold in…it always used to on the old blankets!..but it doesn’t change the function of the blanket really. Ignore the tail strap, leave it done up, never touch it. Just pull the tail over. That’s the beauty of a tail strap!

Would that help? :grin::grin:

You are so kind, thank you! I am all verklempt :blush::blush:

To be clear, I’m not saying the Bucas is a bad blanket, or that you won’t be happy with them. I’m sure they’re great!

But comparing them to Amigo isn’t really apt considering the huge price difference. All the $400 blankets are probably pretty similar in how they hold up and quality of build, and it just comes down to user preference. I shudder to think of using anything but the v front closure and a tail cord, but others hate those things just as much as I love them! :rofl::rofl:

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I leave my blankets done up at the front and teach my horses to put their heads through. I also do not undo the tail cord on the Horseware blankets - just pull them over the rump and then under the tail. This way the belly straps are the only things I regularly have to deal with.

I do find the tail cord to be much easier to deal with than regular leg straps.

The manuring and pissing on the tail cord is why I like leg straps. No matter how often I replace the cord (made with baling twine, of course), there’s still the thought that some poopy string has been in contact with my horse’s rump for hours.

My gelding holds out longer than the mare before the rump strap gets soiled heavily - for obvious reasons.

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