I just adopted an ottb that is 17.3 hands and has the biggest sharkfin withers I have ever seen. Now I’m trying to stock up on blankets for him because he’s quite underweight and it fall is already here. I normally buy cheap Horze or Tough-1 blankets, which have worked well and lasted years, but mine don’t have enough wither relief for my new guy. I don’t really wanna spend $200 on one blanket, but if I have to I will.
Try high neck models–will go over those withers
1 Like
My high-withered and larger (not as big as your horse) gelding fits well in the Smartpak Deluxe blankets. They are not super fancy but aren’t super cheap either. They fit him really well and don’t rub.
Amigo blankets rub his shoulders but not withers. Amigos are trash quality, I’ve had nothing but trouble with them, so I’d stay far away. The waterproofing is bad, stitching is bad, etc.
His Rhino Plus fits his withers/shoulder very well too.
Weatherbeeta Originals fit him well but the Freestyle fit rubs his withers and shoulders.
All of these are decently priced, the most expensive is the Rhino.
I agree with @skipollo Amigo blankets are crap :disgust:
I had a WB same height as your TB & also had Mt. Withers.
I got a Kodiak brand midweight for him from Horseloverz.
Priced well under $200 & nice quality.
I can’t really speak to longevity, as I blanket rarely.
But it did hold up to annual machine washing & drying 4 years. Amigo trim melted first time I dried it.
I have a shark fin horse. Combo neck, high neck work best for him. I have a few turnout sheets that are the Schneiders Vtek wither relief. I think I can get away with them since they don’t weigh much.
I have a few standard neck ones but I only use them for layering and always put them over the combo neck. The extra padding from the combo neck keeps the pressure off the top of the withers. I also only need to layer for a few days at a time. I try to not use any standard neck for any length of time.
Take my advice… shell out the money for the better made blankets. The cheap ones break and you end up spending the same amount or more over time replacing them. I’ve stopped buying the cheap blankets, including Amigo or Mio. I like them but they tend to not hold up well, especially in group/herd settings. The only blankets that have lasted more than two seasons with my herd have been Rambos and Northwinds.
All of our OTTBs fit in either Northwind (Dover) or Rambo blankets. The Rambo is better for the bustier, high withered horses… Yes, totally expensive… but generally is a one time purchase – unless you have really rough horses. One of my Rambos is in its teens and still going.
3 Likes
Ditto the high-neck blankets. I’ve switched out all my blankets for high-necks to avoid pressure over the withers where the regular neck blankets tend to rest.
If your horse has big shoulders, I like the Schneider’s high neck because it has really generous shoulder gussets.
I have a couple Shires and SmartPak brand that are good as well. I did buy two of the Horze Dakota high neck sheets because they were super cheap, but don’t care for them.
Agree on the smartpak blankets as good value for the money and fit big horses well…
I had a horse like this and any normally cut blanket caused sores. I got a high necked Rambo and there was no problem.
Schneiders, either the Vtek variety (several different models have that), or their Nordlund high neck I think is even better
