Bucas is not as accommodating as Rambo for big shouldered wide chested horses.
If the Rambo optimo won’t fit him, then try a rug for a draft horse. An optimo should fit him though.
Check eBay for sales.
Thanks everyone for your input. It is really appreciated. I’m going to try the extender but my hunch is that because his chest is fine and it’s purely a shoulder situation, it may not be ideal. Soooo… In the meantime I ordered one of each of these (both reasonably priced!), and I will return whichever doesn’t work as well. Check out this first one, it really looks cool in so many ways! (I don’t use hoods so that’ll be left off):
https://www.equestriancollections.co…fit-0g-turnout
The Weatherbeeta looks promising too, we will see:
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/w…55%2081%20PPL/
(WildandWicked, I actually have 2 Optimos for this horse! Both are stable blankets though. Super expensive but they were worth it. I don’t want to spend $$$ on a lite turnout though and I couldn’t find his size while I was looking… But I agree the Optimos are great blankets.)
Please don’t overlook the Big Fella line. My horse also has a very large shoulder area, and most blankets would pull across the withers. The Big Fella Line from Schneiders is cut fuller through the withers and shoulder area so it doesn’t pull across the withers, and it’s adjustable. I have an entire wardrobe of beautiful 82"to 84" blankets from a bunch of brands that I tried before I found the Big Fella line. I’ve now bought their fly sheet, rain sheet and heavy turnout because they fit so well.
Haven’t tried the optimo stable blankets so I don’t know if the fit is the same, OP. If you were close to me, I’d loan you an optimo turnout to see if it fit your horse and did not rub. Mine are unlined, then I buy the liners in different weights for cold weather.
Try something for a draft or half draft as others have recommended. . What do the RIDs wear? The Irish draughts are bigger in the shoulders than are warmbloods. Half drafts are bigger than warmbloods also.
The regular weatherbeeta turnouts I bought for my warmbloods fit tighter than the rambo. I gave the weatherbeetas away to other Cothers.
What size optimo shell/turnout would you need?
I’d also try a Wug - those work great on my horse with really high withers and big shoulders.
The Weatherbeeta I had a few years ago would shift to one side, and the wither pads would end up with one on top of the withers and one down his shoulder.
Try the Rambo WUG 
Thanks all. Wugs do not work. Tried them and lots of others. (He’s between an 81 and 84, depending). He does have one Schneider’s wither relief heavy t/o. It’s great BUT ironically it too bears down on his withers more than I’d like.
I’m anxiously waiting for the two sheets (which I posted links to above) to arrive so I’ll see if one works. I’m also searching for my old Rambo extender but in the past I wasn’t crazy about it for another horse.
The Big Fellas are too huge. It was a while ago so I’d be willing to try one again. First want to see how the two above work.
Honestly this horse is a great candidate for going nakey. He is a half TB half WB with a TB coat (ie, doesn’t grow much of one in winter) though. He does run fairly warm …which is good… but he’s boarded where allllll the horsies get bundled up and I’m not one to shake things up as a boarder. And their hay is “meh” so right now I want him blanketed just in case.
He’s all good with his medium and his heavy. It’s just the lites that are impossible for some strange reason.
(Note re Weatherbeetas: I know there are people out there who haven’t had good experiences with their durability but every Weatherbeeta I’ve owned has fit great and lasted fine for the horses who had them.)
Lots of warmbloods have a lot of TB and/or Arab blood and are able to wear Rambos and other brands. Your boy must be built like a football player!
I hope your horse can wear one of your blankets. Our weatherbeetas were fine for durability, we had the ones with the stomach coverings, but they were too hot. One horse did get rubs on the withers.
How bout this? Buy a bossy bib. The bossy bib, which I’ve never had to use, has been used on horses at barns where I have boarded to keep the withers and shoulders from being rubbed. Seemed to work on smaller horses. Never saw a big horse wearing one. Find and buy a bossy bib.
I have a Bossy Bib. We used it for one of the stallions. It always slid back under the blanket. I wasn’t impressed.
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I’ve used them for years on lots of horses and never had that issue. If you’ve already got one the right size no harm in trying it!
Consider a mid or high/extended neck blanket. That was the solution for my high-withered and big-shouldered boy. I was afraid to try it at first, sure it would rub his withers, but I found that it actually hung much better on him. The ones that I bought him (weatherbeeta and Schneider’s) both had extended front gussets that gave much more shoulder freedom.
https://www.sstack.com/Horse-Blankets-And-Sheets_Waterproof-Turnout-Blankets_Euro-Fit_Extra-Coverage/StormShield-1200D-High-Neck-Turnout-Blanket/
Whenever I went out to do night checks, I was always tugging on the standard neck blankets, and sometimes could barely get my hand underneath at the withers until I pulled the blanket forward. With the high necks, I never had issues with the blanket slipping back or pulling across the withers or shoulders. My big-shouldered gelding passed away, so I used his blanket on my paint gelding, and even though he doesn’t have the massive withers, it hangs better on him too. From now on, I’ll be ordering the high necks for everyone.
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Well you have tried just about everything. I cannot remember the brand of blanket my friends had for their drafts and half drafts before they moved away. Good luck. I hope you find something that fits your horse.
I had a similar problem horse, and had a tailor cut out a V in the blanket at the wither area and sew in a big, roomy gusset made out of denier lined with fleece. Worked really well.
IrishDeclan, I forgot about Turtleneck. I have one of their fly sheets - may be different than a turnout fit wise but I’ll try it on him!
Danacat, great idea - with turnouts I’d be concerned about tailoring effecting the waterproof nature of the original sheet. Was yours a stable or a t/o?
i should have the 2 sheets on order here in a day or two, keep you all posted 
Turn-out. The Denier was waterproof – sewn over the top side of V so as to prevent seepage and the sheepskin was well underneath, just as a wither cushion – never got wet. .
I had an appendix mare that had BIG shoulders and pretty decent withers. Weatherbeta was made for her.
I have two stocky paints that fit in Schneiders. I love schneiders but don’t think they would help you. I remember my appendix’s schneiders blanket gave her shoulder rubs.
I had a horse that would get shoulder rubs in everything except the Rambo Optimo or Hug blankets & sheets. The Optimo is much more expensive than Hug, but it is indestructible.
Another vote for the Rambo Optimo. My horse is a 17.3H draft cross - Belgian/Dutch Harness Horse cross who is built extremely uphill with a massive shoulder (bred to be a cart horse).
He cannot wear a high neck sheet/rug because his neck is so high set and withers are so high, the rug pulls up in the front. His shoulder is so deep that many sheets/rug are just don’t have a deep enough “drop”.
Lo and behold, the Rambo Optimo is MAJIKAL!
Now, this horse measures around 88" from center of chest to center of tail (he grew this year- lucky me) but somehow his 81" Optimo still fits him okay. It’s really that roomy and ideally fitted to him.
However, I tried the new Rambo Summer Series Turnout and the 87" barely fits him.
You don’t happen to need an 87 Optimo shell (just the turnout) as a backup? Cheap! It’s too big for my horse and I’ve been trying to get rid of it for over a year. Still waterproof, small tear in the lining.
I would LOVE to get him an Optimo sheet. But the zero-fill lite turnout sheet = $400. Unfortunately it’s a no-go.
