Trying to decide on a light weight turnout for my broodmare who has become a hunt mare. Now that I’m clipping three I’m one short. I need something that can withstand horse abuse as the TB and yearling are incorrigible. I’ve been trying to decide between Smart Pak’s thinsulate, Dover’s Rider and a Schneider brand. Trying to keep price around $130.
Oh, the Baker sheet looks nice too but is it durable, any insulation?
I need to hurry and make an order. I just re-clipped the TB so have two with fresh clips and a third with a clip only 4 weeks ago. Only two blankets. Our warmish nights won’t hold for long!
I am buying nothing but Schneider’s these days. I buy the 1200 denier turnouts. They are dirt cheap. Its way too soon to tell how well they will hold up long term but it has to be better than the crap I bought before. I was lucky to get a couple months out of them.
I would suggest NOT buying a Schneider’s blanket. They are dirt cheap for a reason. The fabric holds up well but IME the water-proofing does not last. I have 2 sheets by them, both on their first season, and the horses get soaked every time we get a good rain. Their midweights have stayed waterproof and they’re both a few years old, but they were more expensive than the current midweights Schneiders has.
I would go with Smartpak, they have lovely products that fit GREAT. They stand behind their products too, so if you do have problems with waterproofing they will probably help you out.
Unlike Schneiders who first insisted I washed the sheets incorrecty (never washed either sheet) and then wanted me to pay like $100 between shipping and “cleaning” to get the sheets fixed.
Get a high denier for sturdiness (1200 is a minimum).
I have a Dover International North Wind medium weight turnout for my Tb, it’s about 6 years old and still in very good condition (under all the dirt and mud). Wind proof and waterproof.
Bad luck with Schneinders
I had a very bad experience with the schneider’s blankets, too. Not only were they not waterproof, the thread in the seams immediately broke. on. multiple. blankets.
Schneiders not only gave me the harange that it was my fault. They refused to take the blankets back or give me a refund. They said for me to find a seamstress and get some waterproofing and do it myself.
I’m still angry.
I have had excellent luck with my rambo wugs and horseware. A batch of 6 turn-out sheets weren’t waterproof. They immediately took them back and apologized. They said that they were glad I had contacted them, as they were using a new factory to make them. Now the whole shipment was going to be pulled and further inspected for defects.
They sent the replacement rugs immediately.
I’ve had all of the brands you mention and had no problems with any of them. However, of the three I would buy the Smart Pak Ultra high neck again. Nice drape, well placed rump darts keep it anchored on the rump and the medium weight blanket keeps my horse warm but the blanket isn’t sooo heavy to deal with getting on and off.
Try a Rambo California - shop around, and you should be able to find one with in your budget.
I think I’m going to put my other two blankets on the paints and get a new one for the TB. He’s 16.1, narrow with very high withers. His Riders has too small of a neck opening so that it binds in the chest. My older Pessoa fits well but he doesn’t like it because its too heavy. Any recommendations for this body shape?
It seems like everything fits the paints. Luckily, all three wear a 78 so I cam mix/match to figure out what’s the best for each horse.
Not terribly worried about waterproof in AZ. Nice to have but if their too stupid to get in their sheds,well… But, we will hopefully move in two years to somewhere wetter and cooler. Hopefully, the turnout will still be good.
I really like my Smartpak thinsulate turnout. It weighs about as much as a rainsheet (so nice when I’ve had to put heavyweight blankets on most of the other horses in the barn) but is nice and toasty. I have a TB with a big shoulder and this is probably the best fitting blanket he has. I have to admit that my gelding isn’t that hard on his blankets, though, so I’m not sure how it would hold up to really hard play.
A few horses in the barn have the Northwind turnouts from Dover and those are a good value for horses that play hard.
i suggest a horseware amigo xl. smartpak had the best price and i got the rug and neck cover for around $150.
I’m leaning towards that Smartpak thinsulate. Probably won’t put my gelding in the pink one, though, he’d be embarrassed. Though I do have the pink dog blanket from them for my Doberman and it’s very nice.
Speaking of which, I have the small pink blanket that I bought for my papillon or chihuahua and it’s too deep in the shoulder for either one. I’ve had it too long to return it. Does anyone on here have an IG or some other similar shaped dog that would be interested? Maybe a minature poodle or something. I think it’s a 12 inch back but the shoulders are deeper so that my two little dogs can’t walk around with it on. Cute as stink though!
Bit of Britain has their own line of blankets, and they’re 1680 denier. They’re reasonably priced, too. I just bought one, and haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t speak from my own experience, but another rider at our barn has one (high neck) for her big bodied TB mare, and she’s very happy with it.
