In all my cases, it’s hock arthritis.
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Ok, so I mean… with lameness in such horses then, blankets and sheets will always shift? It’s a reality with no solution???
Sometimes it’s the blanket, sometimes it seems to be the horse–either the build or lameness. I have a horse with pretty bad arthritis in his hocks, and all his current blankets (Weatherbeeta, Jeffers, Smartpak, Saxon) all stay straight on him whether using leg straps or a tail cord. I’ve had blankets NOT stay straight on him and really shift, and as I posted before, have donated them to rescues. I have mini donks that wear Saxons–one was shifting on my jenny, the other was not on my little johnny. I switched the blankets out between them. Now no shifting on either…who knows…it’s one of life’s little equine mysteries if you ask me.
@Iride to answer your post #7:
None of mine seem the least bit bothered even when the blanket has shifted waaaaay off to one side. Which makes me squirm :ambivalence:
All 3 have different preferred rolling procedures.
Horse goes down, then from side to side.
Pony goes down, does one side, sits up, goes back down & does the other side.
Mini rolls around like a Weeble < shape he resembles when down.
All object most to me grabbing the fleece at the neck and/or the back seam to straighten.
I get that - probably pulls on the haircoat (like brushing a kid’s hair).
I do connect legstraps “correctly” as described.
And none of the 3 have any soundness or conformation issues.
Put me down for a nice Pinot Gris 
You meant to say “one of life’s ENDLESS little equine mysteries…” Which, I guess, is a small part of our love of horses, in a way.
2Dogs - Pinot for you, tequila for JB, bourbon for me, Champagne for no one. :sadsmile:
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This is bizarre. I hadn’t thought about my horse’s blankets not shifting last winter and this fall. The year before that she injured herself, ended up on stall rest, and due to that I stupidly foundered her. Now when I look back, I realize her blanket shifted with her lameness. I put it down to her lying down more frequently and harder (she’s generally a cute, neat little curler upper) but I remember thinking wtf with the stupid thing shifting the other way all of a sudden.
There was a bit of advice endlessly repeated by people, sales clerks and article authors when I started buying. blankets. It followed the here’s how to measure to find out what blanket size your horse needs and went along the lines of a little extra length is a nice thing for your horse.
Leaving aside the fact that the extra length ends up with horse poop coating the inside back of the blanket and freezing the leg strap clips closed (it’s physics - when the horse lifts their tail the back edges of the blanket pull towards each other and excess length covers the poop chute) those extra long blankets were far more likely to shift sideways than ones that fit. Neither situation being “nice” for the horse.
I refuse to be a slave to the number and check the length by standing behind the horse, grasping the back edges of the blanket at the point of the haunches and pulling them together - I want them to touch the sides of the tail, not each other, and any degree of overlap means probably going down two or more sizes.
My experiences suggest that crossing the leg straps (snapping to the opposite side of the blanket which is not incorrect, just an alternative method) helps stop the shift sideways. Snugger surcingles (crossed design) help keep the blanket straight and limit shifting. Snug defined as touching the belly while being loose enough to slip a flat hand in and turn it perpendicular to the horse’s belly.
I have added a tail strap on a Weatherbeeta, kept the leg straps as well and almost completely stopped the shift. Try making one out of baler twine to see if it helps (plus you can cut it off and make a new one when it gets nasty 
).
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i’ma definitely going to try that. Question, did you secure the ends of the makeshift tail strap to the leg strap rings? They weren’t too low or anything? (I’m not at the barn so it’s hard to estimate the position from here!)
Does the rug pull back when it shifts, or is it still in the right place (front to back) but just sitting off to one side? If it is pulling back then it is a fit problem, and there is probably a way to fix this.
I can’t remember if anyone else mentioned this, but have you undone all the straps to make sure that belly straps and leg straps are the same length?
Blankets shifting is likely because the blanket is too big. A lot of people seem to this their horses need a huge blanket that covers their entire bum. The blanket should not surpass the top of the tail - yes these mean that part of their haunches may be exposed to the elements depending on the blanket. Blankets should fit snug or else they will shift around causing rubs, shifting and ripping. I have two horses and neither have issues with blanket shifting.
H/J, thought of an elastic surcingle but she’s out almost 24-7 and I can’t imagine it’d be a good idea (or comfortable really). Tempting thought tho.
Postandrails, it doesn’t really pull back and yes I’ve compared the surcingles and straps more times than I can count - thinking this time will be different! lol
Farys, I guess that’s a possibility. I can’t buy her much smaller anything without it being super tight on her shoulders though. Will look at this potentiality again though.
Can you try sewing a piece of fleece about 2 ft long x 1 ft wide inside the blanket (dont pierce exterior shell),so it goes over her flank, just in front of her hips? It would keep it from shifting.
Yes, I used the leg strap rings.
:o
Thanks - could you help out a dork like me and explain in more detail how you do this? (I can’t sew if my life depended on it either so, I’d have a pro do it especially since I’d be concerned about stitching into a waterproof turnout)
Also, what kind of fleece, thin or thick etc.
Trying to understand the concept!
I haven’t looked through other posts so apologize if this has been touched on already.
My geldings weatherbeeta also shifted and it got much better after he had an adjustment/massage. He was a little crooked which I think it was caused the blanket to go crooked. It still shifts but not as bad as it used to.
On my other gelding, I’ve taken the leg straps off his and made it into the tail cord like on a Rambo and that was fine with his. Didn’t try that with the above crooked gelding because he’s a houdini for getting out of blankets anyway.
Most blankets are slick underneath. It will make it shift more easily. Blankets usually have an outer lining (waterproof ) then insulation, then and inner lining. If you go to a fabric store and buy a piece of fleece (any thickness…the point is to have a material that isnt slick. You could even use flannel). Cut a section about 1 ft wide by 2-3 ft long. Stitch it to inside of blanket so it extends over back, down flanks just in front of hips. The material is rough enough that it wont slide easily.
if you have an old blanket that you could try it on, it will tell you if it will work. It wont work for a blanket that was stitched on the bias so it is inherently uneven, but should prevent slipping for most blankets.
