Turnout Sheets with Tail Cord Vs Leg Straps - Just as Safe?

[StormyDay]

One of my mares does this when she’s in heat. It’s gross but not that big of a deal. I just pull the tail in through. She’s already pooping on her tail, the little extra from the tail strap isn’t going to make a big difference

[theresak]

Well here in WI, the poop/gunk on the tail cord is usually frozen, so no worries dragging the tail over a dirty cord. If it is still wet poop, I grab a handful of hay and use that to wipe off the cord or use a sweat scraper/shedding blade to knock of big chunks. Honestly, I’ve cleaned a tail cord maybe 4 times ever in 10+ years of using them on multiple horses.

With a few horses that don’t lift their tails high to pee/poop, their tails do get dirty. But with most horses I’ve blanketed with a tail cord, that’s pretty rare and tails aren’t any dirtier than normal.

[scislandsprite]

I have the wipe clean tail cord from Horseware which are a lot easier to clean. Usually just take a hoof pick and just kind of slide it pick over the cord. It’s typically frozen so it falls off easily!

For the tail, I use a little bit of Manely Long detangler on my fingers and finger pick the tail like normal. Anything on the legs I use a little Coat Defense powder really helps, I kinda just rub it in with my hands. Even if any stuff on her legs is wet, the powder magically seems to remove it!

[Willesdon]

I think both systems are equally safe. It depends on the cut of the rug, how well it fits the horse, on the preference and behaviour if the individual horse, on weather conditions, on how many rugs you want to pile on top of your horse, how well you care for your rugs and repair any tears and broken fastenings, how many horses you have to change rugs on each day. Many variables. My bugbear is Velcro on rug straps.

[Feathered_Feet]

Re: all the folks who deal with tail cords covered with poop, urine, or other bodily secretions - it sounds like the major difference is that you’re more ok with extra cleaning than I am. I guess I’m at capacity because can’t fathom being ok with one more thing to clean and deal with, re: all the wipes, potions, etc. you use to deal with the poop issue. Unless I have a horse I know is going to get hurt with leg straps (which are well known to be extremely safe), I think I will stick to my leg straps, but thanks for all the suggestions lol. It’s two snaps. It’s just so easy (at least, for me).

(but thank you for chiming in and answering my questions!)

[Simkie]

@Feathered_Feet

It’s two snaps. It’s just so easy

Tail cords are zero snaps. Easier. I never touch it

[Feathered_Feet]

I think you missed the context above where, just because you don’t have to touch the tail cord, it doesn’t mean it’s not a problem for others or other reasons:

@Feathered_Feet

But how do you put the blanket on? How do you get the tail through it without dragging the tail over it? Doesn’t the tail get covered in gunk? And then when you unblanket and put the blanket on the ground, the tail cord gunk gets on other parts of the blanket? And when the horse is relaxed their tail is resting on the poop-covered tail cord, getting poop on the bottom side of their tail that I then have to wash off?

At our barn horses usually get different blankets for day time and night time, as determined by the weather. And I ride 4-6 times a week. So there are a lot of blanket changes

Wet poops get on the underside of their tails, it bounces off their hocks, how do you pull the tail through the tail cord when blanketing, etc. I’m happy if it works for you, but clearly it doesn’t for a lot of folk. Yes, you can clean them and the horse, but I really don’t want to add more to my workload. Especially in winter when I want to ride and go home because I’m cold.

[Texarkana]

@Feathered_Feet I feel you.

A while back I asked how people prevented pee/manure on tail cords and a lot of people had the problem with no real solutions. The best solutions were switch to baling twine or the Rambo coated strap.

I really like my tail cords except the splatter and the fact that my girls have popped the snaps off a handful of them over the years. I overall think they are easier… until I’m scrubbing crusted urine off hind legs.

[Simkie]

@Feathered_Feet

Wet poops get on the underside of their tails, it bounces off their hocks, how do you pull the tail through the tail cord when blanketing, etc

I’m kinda curious if this is a sizing problem. None of my horses have poop on the underside of their tail. Smears on the hocks are rare. The tail cord isn’t so horribly disgusting that it’s a problem to pull the tail over it.

But I have one mare who poops all over herself & pees in her tail if her blanket is too long…

It’s cool that you like leg straps. I hate them with just as much passion as you hate tail cords

[Feathered_Feet]

I mentioned it upstream - I think it’s a fit and GI issue. If your horse has normal manure, it’s probably fine. If the blanket fits perfectly around the back end, it’s probably fine. If the horse has any GI sensitivity or is prone to occasional upsets, wet poop gets on the tail cord, bounces down their legs, then when they put their tail down, it gets on the underside of their tail. I haven’t had the problems so much with urine that others say they have had, so I guess I’m lucky there, but regardless I can’t return a blanket for ill tail-cord fit after my horse has pooped on it. Nor do I want to subject the barn staff to dealing with a blanket with poop on it when leg straps are much cleaner in my situation. I’m not trying to convince anyone to switch (I honestly do not have a stake in that game ), just really surprised (as was Texarkana) that so few others have the issue. Or others that do have the issue are happy to go along and just keep doing the extra cleaning. To each their own

[scislandsprite]

I think sometimes a part of it is tail cord length, the Horseware/Rambo ones come in different sizes. However, I think at the end of the day, it just boils down to personal preference!

[LilDunFilly]

I prefer tail cords to leg straps! I’ve never found tail cords to shift any more than leg straps.

In regards to the cleanliness of tail cords vs. leg straps, I still preferred the tail straps. Some horses are just gross in their blankets regardless; the barn I currently work at uses primarily leg straps and some of those are disgusting. Poop in tail seems to be more an issue with the horse not lifting their tail as high due to the weight of the tail flaps than due to a cord running under the tail. I use the plastic coated ones that just wipe clean for my own horse but she keeps herself relatively clean regardless.

[pony_baloney]

I’ll ask again since no one answered. Attach tail cord to existing leg strap rings, even though they are lower?

[BrookdaleBay]

My barn manager hates leg straps and she asks barn staff to remove them, and one leg strap is repurposed as a tail cord (length adjusted according to bum size).

I buy Greenhawk tail cords to replace the cotton ones on my Amigo stable blankets. The plastic coating makes cleaning super easy. https://greenhawk.com/en/blanket-accessories/36812-shedrow-tail-cord-replacement.html

The blanket cleaning service we use also sells rubber tail cords, too.

[Montanas_Girl]

I will not buy a blanket with a tail strap instead of leg straps. They shift side to side too much, are more apt to blow up over the horses’ backs in strong winds, and create an unholy mess on the horses’ hind legs and tails. I know a lot of people here apparently have had a different experience with them, but I LOATHE tail straps.

[Texarkana]

@pony_baloney

I’ll ask again since no one answered. Attach tail cord to existing leg strap rings, even though they are lower?

I’ve done it, but it really depends on how the blanket fits, the drop, and the position of the leg strap rings. If the blanket has a lot of drop and the rear leg strap rings are at the bottom seam of the blanket, it might mean the tail cord sits annoyingly low. Like barely above the hocks. But it works fine on other blankets. It really just depends.

[Postandrails]

@pony_baloney

I’ll ask again since no one answered. Attach tail cord to existing leg strap rings, even though they are lower?

It depends. Test it out by tying some baling twine as a tail cord using the existing rings. If you can still pull the blanket up over the rump and the horse’s back once it’s done up, then you will need to add new rings. If you can physically do it, then so can the wind. IMO the tail cord should be fitted tightly enough that it is not possible to do this, because it should be holding the blanket against the horse.

I’ve only ever used Rambos in the really big sizes, and the tail cord supplied with these sized blankets are always way too long, so they get swapped out.

[walktrot]

I stopped crossing the leg straps years ago. Clip both ends on the same side. You can loop them which helps keep them off the horse’s legs. When they are crisscrossed the blanket seems to shift quite a bit. I had a dress sheet years ago that needed a tail cord and I hated the mess.

A lot of people leave straps much too long, which is often why the horse gets tangled up. The belly straps should be about a fist length from the belly. Leg straps are generally made of (cheap) elastic. I always have a couple of extras so I can switch them out.

Blankets should be fastened starting at the chest and ending at the tail. Taking them off you should start at the tail and move forward. This is a safety issue. If something goes wrong you don’t want the blanket tangled up in the hind legs. Fasten the chest first when putting it on. Unfasten the chest last when taking it off. Pulling them down over the hind legs so you don’t have to touch the tail strap sounds a little too risky for my taste. They are horses so…

I have a couple of little tricks for folding. If you are using the blanket bar, fold the blanket lengthwise down the center/top line, matching up the chest and tail. Put the straps inside. Fold it a second time down the center. Then fold the front to the back. Take that last fold and pull it through the bar from the back. I find it easier to pull it up, then over the bar, then pull it down on the front.

If I am folding it to store I do the two lengthwise folds. Fold each end toward the middle. That leaves you with a neat bundle with nothing hanging out. I used to get the lightweight mesh laundry bags for storage and to carry around.

I’ve switched to CleverMade carry bags. I saw them at Walmart one day, a nice size for carrying horse blankets. They have an interesting snap gizmo at each end so they collapse all the way down. A heavy elastic keeps them folded so they don’t take much space. I couldn’t find them on Walmart’s website so I googled. They come in a variety of sizes. I picked up a small one, probably at Home Depot. Added a couple from Amazon for grocery shopping. They make it much easier to haul junk back and forth to the barn. They are very well made, not cheap, but worth it.

[stb]

Another vote for tail cords here. I buy Rhino and Rambo blankets and never have shifting problems. My gelding that wears the Rhino blankets sometimes gets a poopy tail cord, so I generally replace the fabric cord that comes with the Rhinos and put a Rambo style cord on his blankets. My other gelding never gets his tail cord messy. Different pooping styles, I guess.

[endlessclimb]

I vote leg straps. It takes less than 10 seconds to get them on/off.

I have not had this personally, as I check/doublecheck/triple check the blanket is totally clear of the horse before taking it off, but I do know of a very prominent horseman who had a tail strap get tangled in the tail during a blanket change - the horse took off and went through several fences before she was caught, and she was pretty banged up. All because the tail strap was kind of yucky, and had gotten frozen to her tail.