[ake987]

Calling all blanket owners! If you wouldn't mind taking this 7 question survey, I would HUGELY appreciate it! Trying to do a little R&D on a potential idea. Would love to get others input!

Horse Blanket Survey

Thank you!!!

[clanter]

should have another question: Do you use your blankets?

We still have all of ours that we brought with us from up north, they are kept in the trunks as they have not been used since we moved thirty years ago.

A few are over fifty years old.

[mayfair]

We use our blankets- mostly rain sheets due to living in the land of almost constant winter rain. I have a couple of heavier blankets I've used only when we've clipped.

[Hunter Mom]

We use them all. We've got everything from mid-weights to fly sheets. And this week might need them all, but that's Kansas for you.

[NBChoice]

^^Haha. 75 degrees here today, 50 tomorrow and then it's supposed to snow here tomorrow night. Crazy Kansas weather.

[Skip's Rider]

I prefer individual storage bags for my blankets, so one bag that holds 4 blankets does not appeal to me.

[BeastieSlave]

Not me! I like to put each horse's blankets in one bag. I have wayyyyy too many to have that many blags floating around. Most of the beasties have too many to put in one bag so I'll put horse A's sheets in one bag, his blankets in another, then horse B's sheets in a bag and his blankets in another one or two and so on... Each bag gets labeled with horse's name. It's not a perfect system, but it works.

[SMF11]

I have 11 horses here, with mostly absentee owners. Each horse has at least 2 blankets/sheets but most have more. I am drowning in blankets! I would kill for something that would keep the blankets mold/fungus etc free, and I DEFINITELY would want something that stored more than one blanket (4 sounds good). Let us know if you go ahead with your project. And if it would be considered advertising, please PM me -- I really, really, really want this product!

[Chief2]

I would prefer individual bags for my blankets.

[BuddyRoo]

Done!

Good luck with your project.

[ake987]

WOW! Thank you so much for all the great information everyone! I would love to hear any comments on what other owners are looking for in terms of blanket storage, especially topics I missed in my survey. This was mainly an idea for long-term storage (such as over the summer), or say.. a long trailer ride where blankets might be exposed to undesirable conditions that could potentially compromise both the cleanliness and integrity of the blanket(s).

I know that personally, I have ..oh, at least 8 blankets that range from $100-$350, so if I average $225 per blanket, we're talking almost TWO THOUSAND dollars worth of horse clothing! He has a more expensive wardrobe than me!

[wcporter]

Since I board and have limited space, I do the old seasonal "switcheroo."

Half the year I keep my fly sheets, etc. at the barn and coolers and t/o's at home in a large plastic bin in the garage. Then around Oct I switch them out and take the blankets to the barn, where I stack them on my trunk. Which, in itself is a PIA, but I field board and don't have a stall front to hang them from.

I would love to be able to stick them in something for storage - even if its just for a week or two - that didnt take up a lot of room and kept them clean and out of the way.

[see u at x]

I couldn't note this on the survey, but the amount that I would spend on such an item would kind of depend on how it looks, is built, amount of space it takes, up, etc. If it's super nice, I'd be happy to spend more on it (in the $40-50 range) if I had extra cash lying around. Currently I board with in an older barn which is a little more susceptible to water leaking in and runoff from outside, so something like this might actually be pretty useful to me vs. the plastic tub that I currently use. Good luck and I hope that this is remotely helpful.

[bdj]

I couldn't note this on the survey, but the amount that I would spend on such an item would kind of depend on how it looks, is built, amount of space it takes, up, etc. If it's super nice, I'd be happy to spend more on it if I had extra cash lying around.

^^ This.

If it's a bag-type storage container - I'd rather it hold fewer blankets - 4 heavies is more than I'd want in one bag, because then it would start to get really heavy/bulky. That said - I only have the one horse and so there are currently only 4 blankets in the current "rotation" - a midweight, a lightweight, a sheet and a liner (just in case). All of my other blankets and sheets (and there are way too many of those) are in "long term storage", held against the day that I have another horse who can fit them...

[Arelle]

At the end of the season, all of my blankets/sheets/coolers/etc go to the blanket lady who cleans/repairs them and bags them separately for pick up, with clearly labeled bags.

These go into the closet in my home office, which is sort of used for business and mostly used for horse storage and memorabilia.

I've had multiple horses over the years, and all sorts of different sizes and weights of blankets. I can pull off whatever I need for the year from my shelves when winter hits, but the rest of the year, they're clean and stored indoors.

While a product like this might be useful for some people, I can't see using it. Mold and mildew aren't usually a concern for me either, being in a hot, dry area most of the year.

Good luck, though!

[talkofthetown]

I put that I would (probably) buy one, but honestly I wouldn't spend a ton on it, just because while it's a coold idea, I am perfectly fine with my plastic tote system.

[seabreeze]

I took the survey. I'm actually going to go with Spacebags this year (as seen on TV...lol). I know people who use them for seasonal clothes storage, and the ones for bedding are plenty big for blankets.

[horsepoor]

The only time mold and mildew has affected my blankets is if they were not cleaned and left somewhere and forgotten. That doesn't happen much! I wash and store them in bins in my garage, or some come in to the house after washing for repairs, then go in the bins. Long as they are clean and dry when stored, no problem with mold or mildew.

[Calvincrowe]

Any storage solution also needs to be rodent-proof. I am investing in Rubbermaid containers and bungee cords this year. At the end of each season, my collection gets washed and stored indoors to avoid Mouse House Syndrome. They chew threw garbage bags, and the bags that blankets are often sold in. I have very determined deer mice.

[Denzel]

I am in the process of setting up a system in which each blanket gets it's own bag (the ones they come in that are clear and zip shut work great) and then putting them in plastic bins stood up, instead of laying down so that I can pull 1 blanket out without having to take all of them out. In an ideal situation, I'd like kind of a stand with slots in it so that each bin (with a lid) can be stored stacked vertically, but the bottom bin can be slid out without having to remove all of the top bins.