Rambo Blankets

[twhs]

I’m in the process of washing our blankets and am surprised to find problems with our NEW Rambo’s – those purchased in the fall and that went through only one winter here in Virginia.

3 blankets, so far, have faulty tail clips. I tried soaking them, and after cleaning them thoughly spraying them with PAM. Finally, my husband got them open using a wrench.

Two blankets (medium weight) had slight tears inside.

One lightweight blanket – worn quite a bit by our pony – looks like there has been “rub-off” on the inside.

My Schneiders, purchased several years ago, are just fine. Go figure!

So, I wonder were the Rambo’s that were all part of their promotion last fall – you know, return your really old Rambo and get $75 off the new blanket – second’s, special purchases, or imperfects??? I’ve never had these problems with Rambo’s in the past. Our horses are not clipped so our blankets are not used heavily.

Anyone else experience problems with this batch of Rambo’s?

[talloaks]

I have lots and lots of Rambos, made in Ireland, some never used and some used lightly and have never had a problem with any of them. Being in VA I prefer to use the mid weight or light weight for turnouts. Each horse has quite the wardrobe so I guess I am not a good one to compare Rambos with although I have heard the ones made in the orient aren’t nearly as good as the ones from Ireland. You should watch on ebay or similar places for people selling their good Irish Rambos.

[Treasmare2]

I have heard the new ones are not made in Irland…farmed out to China and the quality has been compromised. A friend has a rambo protector that just seemed to explode into four pieces and it was all where stitching let go after a horse rolled. The tail clip on that Rambo let go first. I have two Rambo protectors that the velcro is falling off and the tail clips are letting go. A brand new Amigo bug off has totally fallen apart. Very very disappointing so I am not spending money on winter Rambos this year.

[LauraKY]

Me too. I have Rambos and Amigos from 2 to 3 years ago that are all fine. The ones I bought last year are falling apart. Snaps wont snap, clips in front are bent. Guess I have to find a new blanket manufacturer. And I was all ready to replace a bunch with the Rambo Originals this year (I really hate the V neck opening on the Supreme). Any suggestions? My guys are really rough on blankets.

[horsepoor]

I think that we had this discussion awhile back (and I’m too lazy to search right now), but IIRC, the Rambo line is still made in Ireland. The other lines (Rhino and Amigo) are made in China. I have not had any problems with my newer Rambo blankets but have noticed that some things seem to be put together a little more cheaply than in the past. Like the straps don’t have as much overlap and stitching, things like that.

Will the warranty apply if you have problems with newish blanket? I’d sure be contacting Horseware or the place you bought them to see if they can help out – part of paying the big money for the Rambo line is because it does have that warranty backing it up.

[LauraKY]

Tried the so called “warranty”. It only covers waterproofing. I had a Rambo Supreme. The snaps on the front broke off in 1 month. Rambo said, too bad, only cover waterproofing.

[Riley0522]

I bought a Rambo Original w/LA and Amigo sheet this year…my horse can be rougher on blankets and they both look great. I stay away from the V cut blankets because they are so tight in the chest on my horse…length wise they fit, but the T lock fronts are a much better fit in the chest/shoulder for my guy.

[msj]

The last Rambo that I bought was in '07, a mid weight with the leg arches and 3 surcingles. Although I don’t like the style as you are literally under the horse to buckle the surcingles it’s not been a problem wear-wise. The one before that was '04 and it was a heavy weight Original. Most of the rest of my Rambo’s are anywhere from 10-15 yrs old and this is the first yr I’ve taken a few of those in for some very, very, very, minor restitching where the surcingles or buckles meet the blanket. Literally 'a stitch in time saves nine".

I’ve got 4 light weights, 2 mid weight and 2 heavy weights and all get pretty rough treatment by the horses but I do try to rotate the light weights as they probably get the hardest use.

I’ve seen previous threads say SOME of the newer Rambo’s aren’t holding up and, if that is the case, I sure hope mine hold out as long as my horses do. :sigh:

I know I bought a Schneider’s turnout about 2 yrs ago and I’ve never seen anything as poorly made and a company that wouldn’t honor their warranties so when a Schneider’s catalog comes, it goes directly in the garbage. :mad:

[horsepoor]

This has been a very long time ago, but when I had the front snaps break on a Rambo blanket, the tack store where I bought it (Dover in fact) replaced it. I think they finally changed the design so you can’t snap the front with the snaps facing out (which is when they break). Otherwise, I’ve never had to deal with warranty issues, so didn’t realize it is just on waterproofing.

As for liner tears, I haven’t had that problem with the Rambo stuff, but every single Amigo I’ve ever had has had that issue.

[kgro632]

Fragile liners

I have had 2 Rambos that the liners ripped significantly within the first season of use. One I bought from Smartpak and they exchanged it no questions asked. The last one I couldn’t remember who I bought it from so I contacted Horseware and they said to send it in and they would exchange it. Well… I sent it and they sent it back last week saying it wasn’t a manufacturer defect and to bad for me basically… To me when you are spending over $300 on a turnout blanket it should last more than one season. Being this is the second one that the lining has ripped… Unfortunately with the lining ripped the fill is also ripped.

Does anyone know where I could get it relined? It would have been nice for horseware to contact me so I could ask instead of just sending me an unusable blanket back.