I’m trying really hard to accomplish the following this summer:
- not have my horse rub his mane and tail out
- protect him from flies, which he hates and makes him bronc around the turnout, and
- not have him get too hot
At first, he had a Weatherbeeta Airflow fly sheet. This worked well enough at the previous barn. It lost its shape pretty easily, though. It’s way too stretched out in front and even on the tightest hole in the front straps, it slides back on his withers uncomfortably. The tiny piece of velcro in front does nothing to keep flies off his chest. He’s also about to outgrow it at the back end.
The one I have doesn’t have a neck, so at current barn where part of the fencing is pipe fencing and not hot (because no neighbors on those sides), he sticks his head through the fence to try to eat the grass outside the paddock. Not much to eat in his paddock, and he can’t move paddocks with more grass because the hot tape fence that is there isn’t hot enough and he plays over the fence with neighbors. He has very little mane to start with, and it quickly gets rubbed out in large sections on the fence.
Last year, I switched him to a Rambo Protector. By this season, it’s also getting a bit stretched out in front, although the closure is superior to the WB. It also has a nylon lined hood. The hood does not seem to be doing much to protect his mane. I am not sure why, but I take it off and there’s more broken hairs as if he wasn’t wearing it at all. The tail flap is also not lined (WB one is), so it further rubs the top of his tail out which already gets itchy in summer and he rubs it in his stall at night. Like his mane, there’s not a lot of tail to begin with.
It takes most of the winter to grow the hair back out.
Both of the above seem to do fine as far as warmth, though the WB did make him sweat a little more.
I’m thinking of getting him the Rambo summer series turnout for all but the brutally hot days. It’s a fly sheet with a hood and a softshell topline to protect from summer storms (of which we have many in early summer, but horse would often be inside by the time those roll in anyway). The description of the topline makes it sound like it would have a lining that is more similar to his other turnouts, which do not damage his mane and tail. The topline is also said to be a reflective fabric, which sounds like a good idea for reflecting the brutally hot sun (the main source of heat, as humidity is low) that we have and maybe even keeping him cooler. But I’m not sure? I could use the Protector for the super hot days, but it does damage when used every day.
Anyone have one and have any comments on how hot it is?
