I have a horse with PSSM-1 who lives outside in North Dakota. One of the manifestations of his PSSM is cold intolerance. So he his absolutely bundled up for half the year. He is very prone to rubs on his shoulders and at the base of his neck, and the pressure of blankets sitting on his withers rubbed off some of his mane and made him tender. I spent probably $1,200 on blankets last year trying to find something that would be comfortable and durable. I have been shopping but I haven’t found anything that has an ergonomic design that will relieve the pressure on his withers, shoulders, and base of neck. He does not have high withers and his neck is set pretty low (he is a qh).
Have you tried these: https://www.equestriancollections.com/horse-blankets-sheets-coolers/horse-sheets/turnout-sheets/super-hug-2520d-waterproof-turnout-sheet
The Hug design is much different than other sheets/blankets in the shoulder area. They make everything from fly sheet to heavy blanket. the page above includes a short video.
I have never had rubs from weatherbeetas, but mine are probably 15 years old. The straps finally wore out. I may need to sew new straps on them. I bought new blankets but they are too hot (bunch of synthetic fleece inside) and the straps are flimsy nylon and definitely won’t last like the old ones.
My blankets do not cover the neck but sit on the base of the neck which leaves the withers free.
Schneider’s blankets might work? But I can’t say they are going to hold up well. Maybe Rambo?
You may want to look at Rambo Optimo. I’ve never used one but I am tempted to try one for my big and deep shouldered guy. They are expensive - even by Rambo standards - which is one reason I haven’t taken the plunge yet. Sill thinking about it…
Oooh now that Rambo optimo looks promising!!!
Please report back if you decide to take the plunge and buy one.
My big shoulder QH built like a cutting horse does fine in a sized up Weatherbeeta, but the Kensington turnouts fit him like they were made for him.
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The Premier Equine blankets are excellent quality, and the Buster version fits my Irish Draught mare well.
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I really like the Schneider’s Nordlund and Blizzard high neck blankets. They have generous wither gussets and the high neck prevents a pressure point at the withers. My big shouldered WB wears them all winter. The Nordlund is the heavier duty blanket, the Blizzard is lower denier, but comes in a lighter insulation weight, so we have both.
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I will not own anything but a premiere equine blanket again. Their different models fit all of my horses of varying types and they are the only blanket I’ve found that doesn’t rub my very thin-skinned fellow (having tried Schneiders, Kensington, Smartpak, Weatherbeeta, Bucas, Amigo, and Rhino). Hold up super well and IMO are of equal or superior quality to the Rhinos I’ve had. I’ve never owned a Rambo as I could simply never justify the cost.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who has to do that. My 75" QH mare wears a 78" Weatherbeeta well.
Absolutely the Schneider VTek/ V Free blankets. They have excellent wither relief and giant shoulders.
Schneider’s also makes a “Senior horse” blanket. I believe it’s got foam padding at the hip and withers and some other features. I considered it last year as my tb seems to get sore from the blankets (fly sheet in the summer then a little time off in fall then the sheets and blankets in winter), but had just gotten blankets on sale recently so did go for it. I believe they’re on sale now.
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I like the Rambo Supreme. My old mare used to live in hers 24/7 for 5-6 months out of the year and never had any issues with them. Silly old mare insisted that she was happier living outside in similar type winters to yours vs being in a stall. I also have a Weatherbeeta rain sheet for her, which had held up well enough but not as well as the Rambos. The Rambos have detachable neck covers and the Weatherbeeta has an integrated neck cover…both help the blankets not hit the withers too much.
I would NOT recommend Scheneiders VTek. The fit is a lot closer than the Rambo, the ones I have didn’t hold up well in terms of durability and they all leaked badly. Also had similar lack of durability issues with other Schneiders blankets. If your horse only has turnout for a few hours and then is stalled, maybe they’d be ok. I wouldn’t use them at all if your horse is out more than that. It’s just not worth taking the risk, especially if cold exacerbates his symptoms.
Schneider’s (SSTack) make some that go further up the neck which takes pressure off the wither area.
