Blog Hop: Clothes Horse

 There's not much happening here on the horse front - it's just too damn cold to ride. So I might as well join in on the latest blog hop!

My horses live out and I don't show. Their wardrobe mostly consists of outdoor clothing. I try to keep it pretty simple. But I've also had three horses in a row who have all worn the same size so I have some extras that I don't often use. 

Phantom is pretty easy on her clothing. Cisco is not. I refuse to buy any turnout blankets that are less than 1200D so I've got a few blankets that are older and out of the regular rotation but make good backups. 

Here is what they wear.

Winter

Phantom

She is currently sporting an Amigo Bravo 12 Plus (100g fill) and whatever liner is needed based on the weather. 

Currrent colour

Colour a year ago when it was new

I'm pretty sure this blanket is only on its second winter and it's faded horribly. It was originally a dark navy, now it's more of a blue-gray colour. It's held up fine though otherwise. Horseware blankets are the best fit for Phantom, and I refuse to pay the price that they want for a Rambo these days, so I guess she'll be wearing Amigo for a while. 

I still have her Rambo Duo that she wore for 6 or 7 years. It's still in good condition overall, but some of the stitching around the binding has been coming undone and I need to get it fixed. It's now her first backup blanket (or will be once I get the stitching fixed).

The Duo in its regular condition.

She has a full set of liners for these blankets - a 300g, two 200g's and a 100g. The heavier ones are all Horseware and I got them for about $50 each, the lighter one is Greenhawk and doesn't fit her as well. But it works!

Cisco

Cisco isn't such a snob about only wearing name brands so he gets the cheaper stuff.

This winter he is sporting a new Greenhawk Summit North Turnout Combo that I picked up a year ago for about $180. I saved it for this winter as it was time to retire his other blanket which was the previous version of Greenhawk's liner system blanket.

The new one

The old one

It fits a bit differently than the old one, in good and bad ways. It's longer both directions - he could probably go down a size and it would be okay. But the liners still fit the same, so I'm not sure how that would work. The hood is longer and has elastic on the end by the ears, which I thought I would hate but it just kind of folds itself back and is no issue. His mane is growing back this winter and hasn't been rubbed out so I like it because of that!

He also has a full set of liners, all Greenhawk branded.

His old winter blanket is his backup. It's in okay condition, but some of the interior lining has worn through and could use some patches. 

Cisco never gets turned out without a suit of armor over his blanket. Namely, a Kensington fly sheet. In the four winters that I have owned him, he has completely trashed one Kensington and has a bunch of decent sized holes (and patches) in another, but the armor has done its job and his winter blankets have been mostly uncompromised. I picked up a used Kensington that I have in reserve and I always keep an eye out for good prices. I've so far bought three of the Euro-fit Kensingtons for about $125 each.

This is the Kensington that he trashed after two years and I'm probably going to salvage for parts. 

This is first season damage. It got worse.

Other backups - I have a Pessoa Tundra that needs a leg strap sewn back on (only worn one winter) that I stopped using because it always twisted on Phantom. 

There's also a Bucas Power Turnout Extra that either horse can wear. Again, it twisted on Phantom (everything except Horseware seems to on her) so I took it out of our regular rotation but it lives in my blanket box at the barn for backup.

 

And, in a pinch, I have an old Bucas Smartex Extra that my old gelding wore for many years. Its in really good condition considering how old it is because no one messed with that horse. Phantom wore it the first winter I rode her and it was a bit too big and she probably stepped on it when getting up and it tore in the shoulder area, but it's patched and is good otherwise. It doesn't have anywhere to add a hood so its definitely an "in a pinch" blanket.

Over Christmas, I picked up a Bucas Select Extra 300g hood for each horse. I didn't have any heavy hoods and these were on sale for $50 each. I had to buy large ones instead of medium so I had planned to get my mom to shorten them down but I think they will be okay as is. I'll have to use Phantom's Rambo Duo blanket if she is going to wear the big hood as it doesn't have the right attachments for the Amigo.

Phantom has the two other hoods that came with her Horseware blankets and Cisco has his two Greenhawk hoods and a Bucas Smartex hood that I picked up at the consignment store. 

Coolers

I don't need to use coolers very often (my horses don't work hard enough to get very sweaty apparently) but I have a bunch of them. Since I don't use them often I don't have a designated one for each horse, and since they're the same size I only keep one or two at the barn depending on the time of year.

At one time I had a ridiculous number of coolers - something like 8. But I've managed to get rid of a couple and I think I'm down to about 5.

My Bucas Shamrock Power Cooler lives all year round at the barn. And I usually keep a cheaper polar fleece cooler there as well for days when a horse comes in covered in mud after it's rained. 

The fleece one (good thing it's stretchy)

The Bucas cooler

I also have a couple of trophy coolers (1 wool, 1 fleece) that I had won and a wool square cooler that don't tend to see a horse very much these days but I don't want to get rid of them. Oh - and a jersey Bockmann cooler that came with my horse trailer. Forgot about that one!

Fly Sheets

Phantom has a Rambo Protector. It's a few years old and I had my mom replace the shoulder lining last year, but again, is in pretty good shape. I keep my eyes out for a good price on a replacement one but so far I haven't found it for the price I want to pay.

Cisco trashed his Weatherbeeta Duramesh fly sheet within a few weeks. I try to keep him naked in summer as much as possible but when the bugs get bad I have a Kensington that I keep for summer. There is a Kensington hood for it, which now stays on since I had to restitch the straps back on and thought it maybe needed longer straps. 

Phantom needs to wear a fly mask all summer to prevent her eyes from getting sunburn. I keep trying new (cheaper) ones but I always come back to long-nosed Cashel Crusaders, ideally without ears. I have no idea how many I have of these because I keep buying them whenever I find them on sale for sub-$30. She goes through one a year for sure, sometimes I have to start a new one in the fall before the season ends as she has poked the eyes out too much. They're the only ones that she keeps on; everything else she gets off within 24 hours. Arabian is the best size but horse will do if that's what is on sale. 

The Bucas Buzz-Off fly sheet is the only blanket that Phantom destroyed - it didn't even last two weeks. No more soft mesh for me!

Rainsheets

Both horses get dressed in their matching Weatherbeeta rain sheets when they don't need insulation. The blankets are some version in the Comfitec line. Cisco had one first - I had ordered a 75 but was shipped a 72, which I didn't notice until he had worn it. It fits him okay though. The Weatherbeeta shape suits Cisco better than Phantom but they usually wear them short term so it's not a huge issue. I got them on sale for around $80 and have one more in reserve. One of them needs a quick repair (which I should get onto).

If they need a bit of insulation and I don't want to use the shell from their winter blankets I have a Bucas Smartex 100g and a Bucas Atlantic 50g (new). They are backups as I usually just use the shells, but sometimes they need a chance to dry out overnight so the Bucas's come into use. 

Phantom is sporting the Bucas Smartex and a pissy face

Cisco is modeling the Bucas Atlantic. I was hoping the liners I have would work with it - they won't attach without some modifications.

Buried at the bottom of my barn blanket box is a Century 1680D rainsheet. It's a 76 and would fit better if it was a 78, but again, in a pinch, it would work. And I think I still have a navy Greenhawk rainsheet that I keep forgetting I own. 

Stock photo, I have the black one.

Other Blankets

Since my horses live outside all year round, I don't really have a use for stable sheets or stable blankets.  When I had Farly he lived in and we showed and I still have his wardrobe (not that it was all that extensive). 

Baker sheet - Phantom wore it once at the only show we overnighted at. 

Baker style blanket (Can-pro brand?)

I keep trying to sell the Baker style blanket but no luck so far.

A blue nylon stable sheet - can't remember the brand

BMB winter stable blankets (a 78" and a 80") - again, in really good condition (the 80 was barely worn) and I keep them around in case of needing to layer with a blanket that can't use the liners

The 78" BMB

When I got back into riding again with Phantom I intended to show so I bought a Rambo Newmarket striped sheet and an Eskadron rainsheet. They both live in the trailer and have only been pulled out a couple of times for pictures. Of course, I can't find those pictures now so here are stock photos.

My Eskadron is similar but there is a different logo on it. I think. It's been a while since I've seen it!

That's all I can think of without digging through containers in the garage - and it's far too cold to do that without a good reason. It doesn't seem like enough and I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple.... 

Like this Amigo Fly Rider sheet I totally forgot about until I went looking through pictures for this post!

(Blogger was not co-operating when it came to formatting so my apologies if things look wonky!)