I was going to suggest buying the wire muzzle (cheaper than a new blanket) & giving it to HO.
From your conversation, does it sound like HO might object to Pookie being muzzled?
If so, then give it to the BO/BM.
OR:
You might invest in a cheapo sheet to put on over your pricey blankets & see if Jaws is content shredding that.
I swear by “Chew Stop”. It works perfectly on a horse who plays with/grabs his own blankets, but it might not work on “Jaws” But I have not found anything 1/2 as good.
I asked my feed store if they could get some in and it proved to be such a success with customers that it is the only such product they carry now.
Is it just your horse and “Jaws”? Or are other horses turned out in the same field? If there are other horses, does Jaws rip their blankets, too? If so, you can act as a group to talk to management.
Do both horses live out 24/7 or do they also have stalls? If they have stalls, perhaps your horse and Jaws could be turned out at different times. (Like your horse has 7 hours and Jaws gets out for 1. 
)
You can also get a Baker or Kensington fly sheet (the thick stiff ones) and put it over your blankets. Those things are like iron.
If the muzzle option is presented and chosen, I would highly suggest that the muzzle-wearing horse be watched closely for a few days after the muzzle is added. Sometimes the horses who love to grab and play with their teeth turn to other ways of interacting if the muzzle takes away the teeth option. My old gelding was the unfortunate recipient of a broken tibia after a mouthy horse was muzzled in the field to stop the biting/halter breaking/blanket-tearing behavior and then switched to kicking out at all his pasture-mates…
get a cheapo sheet, absolutely coat it in raplast(sounds hideous wish i could get it in the uk) and put that on top of your ££££ blankets.
As a BO, I would hope that a) my boarders would come to me with concerns, and b) that a boarder would be a little more empathetic if another boarder pointed out that their blankets were being destroyed. That being said, I see it as MY responsibility to make sure my turnout groups are working. Yes, crap happens, but if it’s chronic, then something needs to change. I have one gelding who lives alone all winter, since he is hard on his pasture mate’s blankets. Is what it is. My younger geldings that play real rough? The low man in that field wears an old crappy sheet over his blanket. And my turnout groups just aren’t that big, where problems like this happen. If they did, simple, just put another bale out. Pretty simple solution.
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8398222]
You can also get a Baker or Kensington fly sheet (the thick stiff ones) and put it over your blankets. Those things are like iron.[/QUOTE]
This is what I was going to suggest. The Kensington ones are almost impossible to tear - and it would save your good blankets. That other boarder sounds like a jerk.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
I went to the BO/BM this morning explaining that I had gotten nowhere talking to the other owner myself. Her solutions were much the same as the ones here- Spray with McNasty/raplast/mace, put a heavy duty fly sheet over his blankets, etc.
Maybe because this has gone on too long and is so frustrating to me, but I don’t see why I should be paying for any of these things (bottles of spray or a fly sheet), no matter how small the cost may be. Am I just being way too picky at this point??
I’m also getting angry at this point because the BO/BM told me there’s no place to move either horse, and she “understands if I give in my 30 days notice”. Am I the only one who thinks its crazy that she would rather lose a client all-together than find another pen for one of our horses??
I run a small boarding farm, and if you do not want blankets torn I would request private turnout and pay for the extra cost. As a farm owner, we just cannot prevent horses from being horses. They play, they kick, they slip and fall, and they destroy things. I have had a difficult horse here, and he was tough on everyone ( and everything ) he went out with. I put that horse in private turnout, with no extra charge to the owner. The owner was upset that he had no playmates, and moved him to a new farm. I would never ask any of my boarders to contact another boarder for repairs. Good luck!
[QUOTE=katiegrace;8398861]
Am I the only one who thinks its crazy that she would rather lose a client all-together than find another pen for one of our horses??[/QUOTE]
If there really is no where to move the other horse, I don’t think it’s crazy. We offer large group turnout. Period. It allows us to keep our costs down to a competitive rate. We do offer short term separate turnout for a fee, but we don’t allow it long term here. You would have to move. We have a waiting list, so I’m not really that concerned about it.
Would I love to provide small group/private turnout? Absolutely! But our land/competitors don’t make it a smart business move.
[QUOTE=katiegrace;8398861]
I’m also getting angry at this point because the BO/BM told me there’s no place to move either horse, and she “understands if I give in my 30 days notice”. Am I the only one who thinks its crazy that she would rather lose a client all-together than find another pen for one of our horses??[/QUOTE]
For whatever reason, it sounds like she has decided that she no longer wishes to keep you as a boarder. But, instead of just telling you to move, she is taking the passive-aggressive route to get you to decide to move.
What are your options for moving?
[QUOTE=katiegrace;8398861]
Thanks for the replies everyone.
I went to the BO/BM this morning explaining that I had gotten nowhere talking to the other owner myself. Her solutions were much the same as the ones here- Spray with McNasty/raplast/mace, put a heavy duty fly sheet over his blankets, etc.
Maybe because this has gone on too long and is so frustrating to me, but I don’t see why I should be paying for any of these things (bottles of spray or a fly sheet), no matter how small the cost may be. Am I just being way too picky at this point??
I’m also getting angry at this point because the BO/BM told me there’s no place to move either horse, and she “understands if I give in my 30 days notice”. Am I the only one who thinks its crazy that she would rather lose a client all-together than find another pen for one of our horses??[/QUOTE]
Yes, I think you are being too picky.
I think I posted on your other thread, but if there is no where to move a horse, then what exactly do you expect the BO to do? S/he can’t just snap their fingers and have another paddock appear. Personally, I wouldn’t be willing to use one of my layup pens for such an issue unless the owner was willing to pay for it. If your BO doesn’t realistically have the ability to provide something (without incurring extra costs), I think that offering understanding about moving the horse to another place is a very reasonable response. FYI, personally I won’t handle–or force my staff to handle–blankets coated in any kind of noxious substance like raplast but other barns may be different. I think the muzzles are a good idea, but I’m guessing the owner of the other horse isn’t going to want to do it. And what if it gets forgotten one day or gets rubbed off? What then?
These horse vs. horse issues are often difficult to sort out. It seems easy enough–one horse is the blanket ripper, the kicker, etc. In reality it’s often a bit difficult to decide which owner is the one that needs to pay to move their horse to private turnout, and sometimes there simply isn’t enough private turnout available.
[QUOTE=BeeHoney;8398943]
Yes, I think you are being too picky. [/QUOTE]
I’m curious about this.
It seems to me that you are saying that the OP either accepts the current situation and budget extra for blanket damage or moves someplace else where the BM can accommodate her desire that her horse not be turned out with a horse who rips up her horse’s blankets.
I get that a BM may conclude that these are the only alternatives she’s willing to deal with, but it just seems kind of…callous. Kind of like telling a mother who complains about her kid being bullied at school that she just needs to accept it or move to another school where maybe her kid won’t be bullied.
NSP, that’s not what I’m saying. The OP was complaining about paying for bottles of spray or a sheet to cover her blanket with–both reasonable possible partial solutions, and yes, I think it is too picky to expect not to have to occasionally spend money on stuff like this. I get it that it is a frustrating problem, but the OP can’t be expecting other people to pay for this “special needs” situation. At the end of the day, it’s the OP’s horse and she can’t throw up her hands and expect the BO to suck it up, or even necessarily expect the other HO to fix the problem either. FWIW, if I took my horse to a barn where this was happening, I would grit my teeth and pay for private turnout or move to another barn.
As far as a BO suggesting that someone move, it’s not callous to admit that you don’t have the facilities or capacity to offer a specialized situation to someone. Boarding is a business, and a BOs have to be practical about what they reasonably can or can’t do.
Why I have 26 individual turnouts. No horses together unless owned by the same person. I didn’t want to deal with the who ripped who’s halter or blanket, bite marks. Sorry, OP you either have to buy the heavy overblanket or send him out naked. Putting a muzzle on the hard keeper is not the solution.
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8398211]
Is it just your horse and “Jaws”? Or are other horses turned out in the same field? If there are other horses, does Jaws rip their blankets, too? If so, you can act as a group to talk to management.[/QUOTE]
This is my question also. Is the “naughty” horse only destroying your horse’s blanket, or others’ as well?
If this is a chronic problem with many people complaining, I would think the BO would be more inclined to ask the offending horse to move rather than lose multiple clients. However, it doesn’t sound like that’s the case. From your posts, even though this other horse has a history with this behavior, it appears you’re the only one having issues. And unfortunately, to that I would say, “it takes two to tango.” Your horse may be the other half of this trouble-making equation, even if he seems innocent. That’s horses for you.
[QUOTE=katiegrace;8394713]
I would totally expect to pay for someone’s repairs if my horse was a serial blanket killer (every horse rips things once or twice, but a friend who had her horse in with this one went through FIVE blankets in a month and a half last spring). Is it fair of me to ask the owner? I would feel awful if things were switched and offer whatever I could…[/QUOTE]
It sounds like the OP is not the only one who has had problems with this horse…
I don’t really think the other boarder is fully to blame because it’s not like she can manage the boarding arrangements. If I was the other boarder, I’d be pretty peeved that my horse kept being put out with other horses with blankets to shred, and that the owners kept expecting me to pay for, if it was known he had this problem. I mean, there’s nothing she can really do about it except possibly muzzle the horse and I don’t care to turn horses out in halters when there are other reasonable solutions. It’s a safety risk. It’s the barn manager’s responsibility to arrange the pastures so this doesn’t happen repeatedly. And I say that as a barn owner and manager.
But if you BO/M isn’t on the ball I would not hesitate to buy the fly sheet and yes, you are being short sighted to dig in over it. Plus, then you can use it as a fly sheet. I never buy anything that isn’t 1680 denier and I have SEVERAL Baker sheets for this reason! And when I have a destroyer, I have resorted to putting them in individual turnout before. I definitely make turnout arrangements based on who is terrible with their clothes, along with who is hard on themselves and who can eat grass. Turnout arrangement is a delicate business on any property.
You will either have to accept this and deal with spending on sprays and/or repairs or move the horse.
Sorry to be blunt but owner is doing nothing and BM can’t or won’t plus told you you could move if you didn’t like it. Neither of these people are going to change. So it’s your choice.
Personally, I’d move. Prefer a more cooperative environment with safety higher on the list then it appears to be here. This can’t possibly be the only place within a reasonable driving distance.
Even a low cost boarding facility can be well run…and ask the owners of horses that consistently bully and/or create problems ( and bills) for others to take steps to stop it or move them. Not ask the victims to suck it up or leave. OP does not seem to be the first or only one whose blankets have been repeatedly shredded by this horse while being worn by their horse.
I have some concerns that a rip proof blanket might create more problems-what if the bully won’t let go and keeps trying to tear it? Sooner or later, somebody’s horse is going to get hurt either accidentally or on purpose if this continues.
The Baker and Kensington sheets are not dangerous. The hardware is not particularly sturdy or anything, just the material is very tough and doesn’t rip easily. If the horse won’t let go, the other horse can trot away and the material will slip out of the other horse’s teeth and you’ll be left with an intact Baker that looks like nothing ever happened. The difference is that her other blanket will likely tear a big hole in the same scenario.
The straps and leg straps and everything break if the horse gets caught in them, just like any other blanket. I don’t think that a horse could pin down another horse wearing a Baker with his teeth and then maul it or anything.
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