Me too. That and the price point were definitely motivating factors! I’ll report back on how it holds up.Truthfully, they wear midweights so infrequently, I don’t expect it to get much use. It usually only goes on if we have sustained (3+) hours of snowstorm.
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How do you reinforce the straps? Apologies if you’ve already mentioned it.
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Yeah, I’d say the regular sizing is probably a no go for a “thick” horse, but they do have plus sizing for bigger guys. That might work!
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Oh missed that when I took a look on their site! Thank you for mentioning that.
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I use an old sewing machine and reinforce the existing stitching with heavy duty polyester thread - the kind used for sail repair. Only caveat is if you sew anything onto the actual waterproof layer, it obviously would impact waterpoofing.
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Yep! Here’s the verbiage around the plus sizing:
If you try it, I hope you report back! Super curious how that would fit!
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Raining and getting cold here. I hope the SmartPak blanket’s waterproofing holds for my mom’s draft. I do have extra blankets for him, but I’m not able to check on him frequently like I can with mine at home. It will be mid morning until I can get over there. That blanket is advertised as eco friendly as it uses some recycled water bottles.
My horse is wearing his leaky Amigo XL sheet freshly laundered and waterproofed with Nikwax so it’s getting tested too though I’ll change that horse into his PE medium at night check. Guess I’m testing the waterproofing on 3 blankets tonight.
@beowulf All three horses I’m blanketing currently seem to do better in the hood a size smaller than the standard for their blanket size. 
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I have an amigo too similar from a couple years ago. And the neck piece is also huge… but the blanket is still waterproof after a couple seasons of use!
Does anyone know if the Amigo uses a waterproof membrane like the Rhinos do?
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I don’t think so. I know many on here have had leaky Amigo issues but I have had about a dozen or more of them in the past 10 years and have not had a leaky one yet.
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Alrighty, one more data point on the Busse: wet snow and sleet today. Horse stayed dry, no moisture through the blanket, and it beaded water.
I was maybe a liiiiiiittle dubious about a brand that I’ve never heard of and isn’t sold in the US, at sub 1000 denier…but it’s been solid so far.
This article on their site about denier was kinda interesting:
Google will translate from German for you.
I was curious how this compared to what Horseware is offering…like, what’s the equivalent blanket, and how much does it cost? But it’s tough to make a straight line comparison, because the Busse is nylon and Amigo & Rhino are polyester. Rambos are nylon, but higher denier.
If nylon is sturdier than poly, that would place the Busse between Rhino & Rambo, which makes it one hell of a deal.
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Totally agree.
My mare was wearing a circa 2011 Amigo Bravo medium weight in a snowstorm yesterday. Dry as a bone underneath, and that blanket has been used and abused and even repaired after she ripped the tail flap off. My only “complaint” is that the fill has lost its fluff over the years and it doesn’t seem to be as warm.
I have 4 other Amigo Bravos of various ages and weights and an Amigo Pony Plus. None of them leak.
Zero complaints.
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Thank you for sharing!
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No additional pictures as it’s too cold for that lol.
But. I really like this PE blanket. Triple Velcro everywhere: chest closure, attachment of hood to blanket and hood closure. And warm warm warm. My horse is super cozy despite being out in the wind with no wind break and no hair of his own. It hasn’t shifted at all even though I don’t have the top chest closure done up. If the hardware at the chest closure was set 1-2” lower it would be perfect. We had rain, freezing rain and snow flurries today. The water beaded off the blanket and horse stayed dry and WARM.
My mom’s draft’s SmartPak blanket is doing good too and the old dear is staying warm and dry.
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My weanling is in the amigo pony plus, only 680D so I wasn’t expecting much but it had really impressed me. It has also withstood the 17.2 Irish Draught’s rather rough play with my wee guy. I’m just about to order the same rug in the next size up!
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Ugh, yall are so confusing! I am looking to get a new arsenal of blankets for both horses seeing as how they’ll be living outside, and the mixed reviews and different brands have me reeling haha
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Haha same. Though it seems the NEW Horseware’s are leaking, but some older(ish) ones and new ones that remain untested by weather have been good so far.
I want more Rhinos. I’m not spending $300 to risk it, when my $75 Chick’s has been okay so far while I wait to see what brand holds up 
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Yep! It’s stressing me 
I just went with blankets that I like the fit, durability, and weight of (Rambo and Amigo). If I have to reproof them myself, then I’ll do so. I shouldn’t have to, but it’s better than getting something waterproof that doesn’t quite fit right or rubs. I can’t fix that, but I should be able to fix waterproofing issues, I think. Or maybe I just won’t have any issues 
I like that I am hearing that the PE is beading up and repelling water and not being a sponge like they usually are. The horse stays dry, but man, those blankets get HEAVY when wet. So maybe they’ve come up with a better system?
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Highly recommend spending the money on the Kensington (or other hard plastic type) fly sheets. I’ve been using Rhinos for years and to save them, I put the fly sheet on top. My fly sheets have lasted for years with a few repairs to them along the way. The Kensington sheets have rings so I can attach neck covers to my high neck sheets and blankets. In the pics you can see where teeth have grabbed at it but my Rhino sheet underneath is ok. I attach the leg straps to the seet with some twine.
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Hmmm…the turnout sheet that needed a wash in Nikwax was a Chalkenger… but the Warrior and the two Stormshields I have… and three Teknofleece turnouts have all been perfectly waterproof…tested recently with the wet, heavy snow we had last week.so I wonder if Schneiders had some inconsistencies with their manufacturers?
My 5 and 3 year old Stormsheids, and the 3 year old Warrior all look like new…
