The blanket destroyer

[CHT]

Need ideas to help a client. Her horse is quite the blanket destroyer. The thing is, it is his OWN blankets he destroys: he grabs the front in his mouth and waves it in the other horses’ faces, enticing them to pull on it too.

Adding a tail strap to his blankets has helped them not pulled forward onto his neck, but the fronts are all frayed and the trims are being pulled off.

Today I went to bring him in, and he had his hind leg through the torn binding/trim! No idea how, but fortunately I had a good knife on me to cut him free.

I tried spraying the front with some old Raplast, but it doesn’t work for more than one day, and I can’t stand the stuff myself (makes me choke). Fly spray didn’t work. Considered a “bib” or muzzle, but we are both worried about his ability to eat/drink in the winter with one on.

He pretty much needs a new blanket every two weeks.

Do you think a blanket without a shoulder gusset would help? Any other ideas?

[ChestnutArabianMare]

Does he absolutely need a blanket (clipped, old, harder keeper, etc)? I gave up blanketing my mare after she went though a phase where she undressed herself multiple times per week and she was fine - I’m in northern Michigan in a pretty darn cold and snowy climate.

[goodhors]

I would try some liquid dish soap rubbed into the fabric at chest area. Saturate the areas he tears up with soap, let it dry, then put the blanket on him. It is just his chest, the rest of him should stay warm under blanket. This soap works on broodmare tails when foals start chewing tails. Applied often, it may rinse out in rain or trough splashing.

If the soap does not work, defiantly a bib. You can watch him, see if he can get hay, drink out of trough or bucket, wearing the bib. Modify what his food is being served in, a bigger trough, bigger bucket top or use a pan for grain shold the bib impede eat ing or drinking. Hay on the ground. I would snug up the halter to almost Western Halter fit, so it is less likely to get caught or snagged on anything. I would probably use a breakaway halter too. He may have lots of fun flipping his head around, making the bib flop as a toy!

IMPORTANT!! I would tape over the bib snaps so nothing can get snagged into the clips. If he is rubbing head on blanket chest closures, an uncovered snap could clip itself so bib, halter (head) and blanket are tight together, causing problems.

Present him with some outside toys to keep busy. Sounds like a horse who needs stuff to entertain himself with. Geldings are like that.

[Highflyer]

I worked for someone who had one like this. She would mix Vaseline and cayenne pepper and smear that on, which helped a lot but was pretty nasty. I doubt shoulder gussets would help.

[TCA_Arabians]

Second the dish soap - just pat it on full strength. If that doesn’t work - a cayenne spray but not where he can rub it into his eyes. You can also sew the front closed and put the blanket on over his head. Thus, you’re removing the enticing straps.

[PNWjumper]

I agree with TCA Arabians - a closed front blanket might be just the thing for this horse.

From a blanket perspective, I put a textilene fly sheet on top of whatever blankets a horse happens to be wearing. Stops blanket shredders from shredding blankets. But in this case, if he’s going at the front straps, I might sew together one of my textilene fly sheets and then use that as a pull-over-the-head layer on top of the blankets I already had.

[MsM]

Just taped together my horse’s blanket. He broke the bottom snap and tore the binding loose. He is blanket free right now but will wear one tomorrow night when the temperature plunges.
He chews and also snags his blanket in his stall. (Nothing to snag it on in electric fenced turnout so he has to content himself with tipping his water bucket)

I like to leave him without a blanket most of the time but BO is more comfortable with him blanketed now that he is in a very small turnout due to injury. A closed front blanket might help with snaps and straps but I will have to try the soap trick to help with the chewing!

[SuzieQNutter]

Sim was a rug destroyer. I bought a kez rug which is made from shadecloth. When he tore the front it was the thread that broke not the material itself. I doubled Dental floss and sewed it back together. I could quadruple it or in 8’s depending on the size of the needle.

Eventually he couldn’t get it off and he got used to wearing as rug and in winter I was able to put a winter rug on him.

I did see him grab the bottom of the front the other day. The rug didn’t move. He went back to grazing.

[CHT]

I did suggest to her to try getting the blanket repair person to sew the front closed of one of his blankets, but the owner seems reluctant to try that.

I will try the soap idea! Less offensive than the RapLast.

Yes, he does need a blanket: he is clipped and boarded in a heated barn. It was -36 C below this morning.

We tried the fly sheet. It is now in tatters. I think they become more brittle in the cold perhaps? It was the plastic kind.

He has an outdoor waterer in his turn out (too cold to put unheated water out), and not sure how that would work with a bib. Has anyone used a bib with a standard outdoor waterer? He gets his concentrates inside, but gets two of three hay servings outside. He is out for 19 hours, in for 5.

[TCA_Arabians]

We put blankets on over their heads with the front closed. It’s not sewn shut - we don’t undo the straps. It comes off the same way. Word of caution: There was the day that one of them went up on me just as I was putting the blankie over his head. He moved sideways - I rolled in the dirt. He stood there for a minute with the blanket over his head. I reposed in the dirt for a minute. Then, he dumped it off and stood there looking at me as if to say “Next?” With the stallion it’s a game of peekaboo. We peek at him through the blanket… he sticks his head in and it’s on.

[goodhors]

We practice horses putting heads into openings when harnessing them. Collars are closed, breastcollars are not unbuckled, so horse head needs to poke thru, get a treat, while harness or collar is slid down neck into place. Horse gets a treat putting it on and taking it off, so they “help” because they love a treat! They stick heads thru for you putting things on, lower heads for removal, get their treat.

Have to say it sure makes life much easier as a nose hunts the opening!! Works for harnessing and putting closed blankets, they stand like rocks. Momentary blindness is not a concern. Horses here mostly only get treats while being harnessed, so it is special and worth them getting excited about it.

[CHT]

Follow up question: If I use copious amounts of soap to “flavour” the front, what will happen when it gets washed?

[fanfayre]

Maybe he’s just too hot? Could she try a lighter blanket, even though I know your temps are inhumane at the moment.

I would think, the worst that would happen with all the soap is you’ll have to run quite a few rinse cycles!

[Xanthoria]

My guy rips at the fronts of blankets unless he’s wearing a Bossy’s Bib underneath. He really hates feeling them binding his shoulders!

[IFG]

Is he young? My daughter’s horse did this the year he was 4. Fortunately, he outgrew the habit. I just had the Rambo Duo that he took all the trim off repaired for my young horse, who seems to reserve his destructive habits for my ring (he digs–ugh).

[TCA_Arabians]

OP - You don’t need “copious” amounts of detergent. This likely requires a definition of copious. Pour a little into your hand… pat it on… repeat until you have the areas he’s attacking covered. When washing the blanket… throw it over a rail and rinse until the suds are gone. Let it dry and wash. We wash blankets over the rail and not in a machine. It’s easier to scrub them.

[akdraft77]

Curious what your blankets are made of. Mine went through the 600D blankets like crazy. I upgraded to the 1800D and they are no longer destroying (ripping) blankets.

I also like the dish soap idea, would love to hear how well that works. As for washing it, I’d rinse with a hose and brush in the yard first, then pop it in the washer.

[goodhors]

I am with akdraft77, rinse the soaped parts well, to remove detergent, then wash the blanket. Carwash, blanket on the side of truck bed, just wash the soaped parts so you can lift blanket back into the truck! Then on to the laundromat to get it washed completely. Using car wash, plain water setting on the blanket should be able to remove most of the dish soap. Over the fence or gate rinse with hose at home works too. I just do not want water puddles freezing, to slip on now.

I would hang to dry, might take a couple days. But things do dry well even in freezing weather.

Pre-rinse will prevent over-sudsing in the washer. Lots of bubbles in the dish pan is nice, not so good in a washing machine!! You do NOT want machine leaking bubbles all over during a cycle.

I can not get those heavy blankets in my home machine, so I might have to do two washer cycles at the laundromat, second one soapless, to get blanket rinsed clean. Yes, I very carefully cover all buckles with rubber banded socks to prevent banging or scratching their machine. I never use the dryers there.

[BravAddict]

I guess I’m in the minority, but I find closed-front blankets so much more convenient. And the part of blanketing that the horses really hate is the buckling anyway.

In your client’s shoes, I’d just go for a closed-front blanket so there’s less to play with.

[CHT]

the blankets are 1200D, the horse is 6ish, the owner has a service wash her blankets but we could rinse here.

He wasn’t as bad last year about his blankets.

I don’t think he is too hot or being rubbed as he does it in all weather, and with a vast assortment of blankets, and he is partially clipped.

I am going to try soap on his new blanket.