# how do you stop your horse from ripping its blanket?!



## Amblin Cowgirl (Apr 27, 2010)

I have a goofy, coming 7 year old, Appendix QH gelding. He is forever ripping his blankets ... it seems like he does it just to be spiteful! I bought a brand new rain sheet last fall, he wore it a few times .. and now it looks like an attack dog got to it! I haven't found anything yet to make him stop!


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

Amblin Cowgirl said:


> I have a goofy, coming 7 year old, Appendix QH gelding. He is forever ripping his blankets ... it seems like he does it just to be spiteful! I bought a brand new rain sheet last fall, he wore it a few times .. and now it looks like an attack dog got to it! I haven't found anything yet to make him stop!


they make bitter apple for dogs, i wonder if you can spray that on his blanket, it's basically rubbing alcohol, they may make something like that specifically for horses i'm not sure, i don't have that problem luckily


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## fuadteagan (Jun 10, 2010)

Find out why he is doing this. He is probably bored. Maybe you can put him in a different pasture with other pasturemates to keep him entertained; Hope this helps.


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

If he's pastured with or near other horses they are likely the ones causing the trouble. Horses tend to bite each other a lot, even just playful nips. There's stuff that you can get for when your horses legs have to be wrapped (I can't remember the name right now) but you have to be very careful not to get it in your mouth or eyes.

I've also heard that hot sauce can work with some horses. I tried it once but they just stood there licking it off.


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## Amblin Cowgirl (Apr 27, 2010)

fuadteagan said:


> Find out why he is doing this. He is probably bored. Maybe you can put him in a different pasture with other pasturemates to keep him entertained; Hope this helps.


 
He is out with 3 mares and 2 other geldings. I had thought about him being bored, so got some jolly balls .. and he just stands there looking at them, and walks away!


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## Amblin Cowgirl (Apr 27, 2010)

Arksly said:


> If he's pastured with or near other horses they are likely the ones causing the trouble. Horses tend to bite each other a lot, even just playful nips. There's stuff that you can get for when your horses legs have to be wrapped (I can't remember the name right now) but you have to be very careful not to get it in your mouth or eyes.
> 
> I've also heard that hot sauce can work with some horses. I tried it once but they just stood there licking it off.


 

It used to be him and another young gelding would rip each other blankets apart, but that gelding is gone, and none of the others will go near him ( hes a bit of a cranky pants ). I know its him ripping it, because i stood on the deck and watched him rip it once i had it on him. I tried hot sauce too, and he still did it!


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## Amblin Cowgirl (Apr 27, 2010)

This is just some of his handiwork .. * rolls eyes *


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

Wow, that's really bad. Would it be possible to take it in and get it patched? That's all what I can do when Jesse rips his.


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## Amblin Cowgirl (Apr 27, 2010)

I probably will end up getting it fixed, but it seems pointless if he will just do it again!


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

What's the denier (strength) of the fabric his blankets are made out of? If it's less than 1200D, that could be your issue... 
I had a 600D blanket on my 25 year old mare last winter and even she managed to rip that thing like nobodies business, and she's not very playful at all!

Ripped blankets are very frustrating!


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## mumiinek (Aug 4, 2010)

I'd also suggest buying a 1200D blanket, I'm not sure it's _absolutely_ unrippable but I haven't heard of a horse having ripped that one yet. They also make 1800D but that is I think unnecessary and may be hard to get.


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## RATHER BE RIDING (Dec 7, 2010)

Amblin Cowgirl said:


> I have a goofy, coming 7 year old, Appendix QH gelding. He is forever ripping his blankets ... it seems like he does it just to be spiteful! I bought a brand new rain sheet last fall, he wore it a few times .. and now it looks like an attack dog got to it! I haven't found anything yet to make him stop!



What denier is your blanket? The denier makes a big difference in how long your blanket will last. If it is only 600 denier, which a lot of rain sheets are, that is easy for a horse to tear up. My horse would pull at his blanket until he ripped it or one of the other horses would do it for him. I got tired of buying new blankets so I purchased a 1680 denier waterproof turnout from Schneiders Saddlery (sstack.com) for a reasonable price and he is now in his second year of wearing it without any tears or holes.


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## RebeccaMI (Oct 30, 2010)

I will echo what others have said. I had a problem with rips in my boy's blanket (albeit from being bitten by one of the horses he's pastured with) and he went through three 600D blankets in three years. Before the start of this winter I decided to invest in a 1680D ballistic nylon winter blanket for him and knock on wood the other horse hasn't been able to bite a hole in it yet.

I considered the Schneider's blankets someone else mentioned, but in the end the warranty on the Riders International Northwind won out. The warranty on the Riders International blanket cover bites from your horse or other horses (I was told this by one of the Dover reps), and the warranty on the Schneider's blankets does not.


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## RATHER BE RIDING (Dec 7, 2010)

I can vouch for Dover's return policy. Not only do they have a warranty on the blankets, but they also have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, that states that you can return anything at anytime if you are unhappy with it. I purchased a Pessoa blanket from them for my mare and after one and a half years the stitching on the hem around the blanket began to unravel. When I called to see if the blanket was still under warranty, they said that it did not matter because of their own store policy on returns. I took it back and they refunded my full purchase price. I really thought that they would give me a hard time and try to get me to exchange it or take a store credit, but they were very nice about it. I did try Rider's International blankets on my horses and, unfortunately for me, they just ran too long down the sides on all of them, but they are nice blankets.


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## RebeccaMI (Oct 30, 2010)

That's awesome to know, though hopefully I never have to make use of the warranty.

I feel that I should clarify something, because what I said before isn't exactly true. The Schneider's warranty policy is that they will repair major damage like bites or tears _at their discretion_ for $30 plus you have to ship the blanket to them. So they may repair the damage, or they may not.

However, the Dover rep told me that if anything happens to the Riders International blanket within the warranty period (2 years) I just have to send it back to them and they will send me a replacement.


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## Sahara (Jul 23, 2010)

I turned out my mare with a sleazy hood (to cover an injury during the healing process) and her two pasture pals ripped it off of her. I guess they didn't like what she looked like in it. It was a scene out of Cinerella when the step-sisters ripped of her dress made of leftoves. LOL


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## RebeccaMI (Oct 30, 2010)

That's wretched! Horses, just like children, can be so rotten to each other sometimes!


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Good to know about Rider's International warranty. I just ordered one for my 4yr old and considering he spent a good portion of yesterday trying to rip my QH's Rambo (only succeeded in getting chased off by ME, no damage thankfully) I can only imagine what he's going to do to his. It's horrendously cold and he needs a blanket but blanket shreds don't keep you warm!


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## RebeccaMI (Oct 30, 2010)

Which Riders International blanket did you get for him? I've got the Northwind heavyweight 1680D for my boy.

Um, OP, sorry for kinda stealing your thread here.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I bought the Rider's International Supreme Heavyweight Turnout Blanket since it was only $89 and actually came in a 66" size. None of the other Rider's International varieties come in a 66.

66" turnouts aren't as easy to find as those in the 70's.


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