Educate Me on Blankets! (Wghts, Denier, Layers)

[Eventaholic]

I'm really excited because Equine Affaire is coming up this weekend, and for the first time I have a new horse who genuinely NEEDS things! We have a few second hand and hand-me-down blankets at the moment, but I'm looking to at least begin her permanent wardrobe of quality blankets.

I think I have narrowed the search down to mostly Schneiders, Rambos, and Rhinos for durability, quality, and price; now I just need to pick the actual blankets!

Scenario: TB mare who will be in/out about 50/50 in New England, and at least partially clipped (low/mid hunter, possibly more).

So what is everyone's horse's closets? What do you consider the must-haves for layering? The most basic items to make up a wardrobe (that can be added to later).

[Mallard]

My trace-clipped guys have rain sheets for temps that hover around freezing.
When temps start staying just below freezing - minus 5 celcius - I put on sheets with 100 gm of fill.
When stays colder - minus 10 celcius - I bump them up to the 200 gm.
They wear the 300 gm when it gets really cold.
Often we put hoods on as well....especially if it's cold and windy.

They live outside 24/7 with a shelter - that they hardly ever use.
Sounds like your horses are inside at night/during extreme weather ... you probably won't need hoods.

I am a not a fan of layering.
Stable sheets are not meant to be worn outside.
Fleece sags and stretches, holds onto shavings and gives rubs.

I like my guys wearing only one blanket and then change them depending on the temps. It does not mean that we go about changing blankets multiple times during the day...sometimes we'll take off a hood if the temps go way up and it's sunny during the day.

We also use Bossy's Bibs to prevent rubs.
The lycra ones do not work.

I am in Ontario and we get some pretty cold , snowy and wet weather.
I don't know how cold it gets in New England!

[joiedevie99]

I am phasing out everything else I own in favor of Amigo/Rhino/Rambo stuff.

My horses each have 1) rain sheet, 2) medium weight turnout blanket (200gm), 3) medium weight stable blanket, 4)heavy weight turnout blanket (~350gm), 5) heavy weight stable blanket, and 6) fleece sheet (ignoring show clothes/coolers/rain covers). Honestly, I could do without both stable blankets, but I like them for breathability- especially since one of my horses only goes out for 1-2 hours per day.

As far as deniers go, 400-600 is low. This may be fine if your horse is easy on his clothes, but these are the most likely to rip. I honestly don't see much difference in durability between the 1200 denier stuff and the 1680 denier stuff- but both are pretty high numbers.

As far as weights- 100 (sometimes called a California blanket) is the next step up from a no fill sheet. Above that, you will see mediums between 200 and 300, heavies between 300 and 480.

Schneider's are good for horses with narrow necks compared to their size because the neck is adjustable. The Horseware brands have no leg straps- but mine stay in place fine without.

As far as neck cut, there are 4 options. The American/Traditional/QH sits on or towards the back of the withers. The Euro cut sits in front of the withers, covering the first 4-6" of mane. The Wug or high-cut neck extends 1/3-2/3 of the way up the neck. These are my favorite, although I have plenty of Euros also. Then there are blankets with full necks, either attached or detachable.