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Rain sheet w/ hood that doesn't rip the mane off?

Any recommendations for rain sheets w/ hood that don’t rip off half the mane? :slight_smile:

Currently my horse is in the Amigo 0g and sometimes half his mane is gone in one wear. I put him in a faceless slinky which helps lots but with heavy rain the slinky sometimes gets wet. I know other people have had issues with the Amigos ripping out hair, but I think his mane is relatively fine and prone to breaking. Thoughts/tips/tricks appreciated.

TIA!

I haven’t actually had trouble with any rain sheet ripping out mane. I use Amigo, Rambo, Rhino, and Weatherbeeta. My horses don’t wear them every day though.

If he’s losing that much mane so quickly I’d wonder if he is deliberately rubbing. Maybe he’s hot or uncomfortable under the hood? You could try braiding or plaiting his mane and see if that helps because sometimes they get itchy if the mane hair is moving around underneath. Think of how it feels when you’re wearing a hat all day.

That was my thought too. Why would you need a hood? Maybe it does more harm than good if the point is to protect the mane.

He’s out 24/7 and doesn’t use the shed, I put a rain sheet on when it rains and sometimes use the hood if the rain is really heavy. Maybe I should mention I live in Canada?

It is not him rubbing, the wear is consistently where the hood meets the blanket. Other people in my local horse community have had this issue with Amigo as well, so I was just looking for recommendations before I make my next purchase.

If he has a shed but chooses not to use it, I wouldn’t bother with a rain sheet. Unless you think that other horses might not let him in the shed and/or it’s situated in a bad spot (e.g. away from other horses, away from food.)

Horses will seek shelter if they want it. I live in NY; we have our fair share of cold rain. The only things my horses will definitely avoid is high winds. The two fatties rarely stand in out of the rain unless it’s really heavy for long periods of time - in which case I put their hay under cover too.

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No recommendations unfortunately.
My horse who also lives out 24/7 lost a 6" chunk of his mane this winter from his Canadian Horsewear winter with a hood.
His high neck (not full neck/hood) rainsheet doesn’t rub.
Since he’s in full work and needs to be at least partially clipped he needs something with a hood through the winter.

His Rambo fly sheet with a hood has never rubbed his mane.

I used to have an Amigo with a hood, it didn’t rub, but that may have been because the neck was a size too small so I had to attach it to the blanket with binder twine :rofl: otherwise he would bust the Velcro open putting his head down.

The designs which don’t have a seam in front of the withers tend to rub less. Even they’re not foolproof, but are worth trying. Like this design:

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This. The one piece blankets don’t rub mane as badly. Especially if lined with a slick material.

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Genuine question–is there harm in him getting rained on?

Thanks everyone!

He gets rain rot if I don’t blanket. It’s fine if it rains for a couple hours & he can get dry. But if it rains all day/for several days in a row the round bale is uncovered & he’s too low on the pecking order to use the shed. I board near a major urban centre so finding good outdoor options is rare.

General rule of thumb: Cold but not wet - wet but not cold - if it’s cold and wet - and the horse gets soaked to the skin - there is the possibility the horse will begin to shiver, become chilled, lose weight, and possibly become ill. At any rate - i started using neck covers (during cold rains) because without them rain trickles down their necks and soaks their shoulders beneath the sheet.
Some people think high neck sheets fixes this but - mmm - since the neck covers work so well, I’m satisfied with that.

Ah! I didn’t notice your name before but now I see. It is hard to find low-density boarding in the Haliburton area. Now I understand the need for a hood. I agree with the recommendations that a sheet without a seam between the blanket and the hood is the best option. If this is a battle you can’t win, you could also consider shaving his mane (I know, everyone is gasping at that suggestion :dizzy_face:). I have done this with my mare in the past and it looked great! You just have to be aware that he may miss his mane when it comes to swishing flies off his neck.

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