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  Discussion on Best blanket
Author Message
Member:
kaarina

Posted on Thursday, Feb 5, 2009 - 7:41 pm:

Hello,

My mare developed sweet itch after moving from California (no bugs) to Quebec (all bugs, all the time). I would prefer not to douse her in insect repellent constantly and there is no location for her that does not have gnats from May to September. I decided to look into blankets that she could live in 24/7 during this period and found several, all made in europe:

Boett
deMeulenkamp
Snuggy Hoods
Reitsport Hämmerle

I am wondering if there is any information on which blanket people prefer? They are quite pricey but if effective it would be nice for my mare to have a mane and tail in october this year. She has enough to deal with...!

Thanks very much,
Tamara
Member:
shirl

Posted on Thursday, Feb 5, 2009 - 10:45 pm:

Hi Tamara,
I have some good information from Bucas Company, also in Europe, so you might try their web site: www.bucas.com and see what you think.
I got the info several years ago so don't know if the company is still open or not.
I used the Hug Fly Sheet on my mare that was horribly allergic to everything. You can check them out at Blanketnet.com.
Good luck,

Shirl
Member:
frances

Posted on Friday, Feb 6, 2009 - 6:47 am:

Hi Tamara

Several people at our barn use Boett sweet itch sheets in the summer. They seem effective in keeping the bugs off, but very hot. If the summer temps in Quebec stay reasonably cool, the Boett might be a good choice.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Friday, Feb 6, 2009 - 9:14 am:

If you turn your horse out where the sheet can get torn, Rambo makes one that is pretty much indestructable. I have the Hug sheet,rainsheet and blanket for a horse that gets rub marks easily and am vey happy with them, although I haven't tried the fly sheet. Dover has them as well as the Rambo ones.
Member:
chrism

Posted on Friday, Feb 6, 2009 - 11:23 am:

I've gone through this with my older horse.

I found keeping her in except for full daylight helped when she lived in an area that was midgey.

However, she now lives at a farm with much better drainage, away from a pond and is doing much better - she doesn't need a bug sheet at all because of biting midges.

We tried the Boett, two different ones from Horsewares and one from weatherbeeta, I think ... the main thing is to choose something that provides coverage on the neck, tail and belly without being HOT. In NC, they were all pretty hot. Some were more fragile than others.

I thought the Boett needed to fit very well. It could be stitched easily, was a pain to get on/off, was easy to wash and pretty pricey. I found mine used, so it was a bit big, which may have contributed to my dissatisfaction.

Horsewares Dustbuster had a neck zipper that failed and it seemed to get lots of pulls, but wasn't as hot as most. The new ones seem to have dumped the neck zipper. Here is a link:
https://www.horseware.com/usa/flyprotection/rambo/dustbusterplus.asp

It also had "ear holes" at the time that were in the way. I thought the neck fit too snug for my horse, hence the zipper failure. It was easy to wash up.

Horsewares is so very good re guarantees, that they sent me a different style when I called about the zipper. It looks like this:

https://www.horseware.com/usa/flyprotection/rambo/protector.asp

I'm not sure if it exactly the same as the one they sent me had ear holes, which I removed and restitched the binding. It is sturdy and nicely adjustable. It is a bit hot, but light weight and easy to wash. And Rambos run a bit big, so I think she really could have used one size down ...

The last one may be a weatherbeeta - it is a thin, but sturdy, nylon and was much less expensive. It washes easily also. It has tail coverage, a neck sleeve and belly wrap. I did a quick scan for it on line, but didn't see it. I think it is hotter than the others to wear.

I still have the last two. I think I used one last summer for biting flies (not midges) for a couple of days at the request of the person leasing my mare. As soon as the lease was over, we let the mare be au natural, which she prefers.

I liked having two functional ones as they seemed to need washing fairly often and I had to switch. Having two different ones also helped avoid rubs since they have to be on all the time. I think the Boett may have been the least likely to make rubs.

Now, during the day she has a pasture turn out on a slope with shade and sun that has access to her stall with a fan, so she can adjust as she sees fit.

During the night, she has a stall with a small attached paddock.

Her current situation is ideal.

HTH.
Member:
kaarina

Posted on Friday, Feb 6, 2009 - 6:04 pm:

Great information, thank you very much everyone!
Member:
warthog

Posted on Friday, Feb 6, 2009 - 10:45 pm:

we've tried all sorts of fly sheets and the only two that have been half way worth the money were Bucas and horseware Ireland dustbuster. Our horses destroyed all the other brands including weatherbeeta in a matter of weeks. I like the white dustbuster for my black horse just to keep the sun off.

One thing I would suggest though is a double dose of ivermectin because there is a parasitic worm that goes in the skin that can be spread by culacoides gnats that can cause sweet itch and these gnats can also spread warts and infections. I think it's ivermax??? that has a double dose and some other wormer that is supposed to help this problem also. If you google tapeworms and horses you'll find it.

You can also make a solution that will keep them off for several weeks at a time but it isn't pleasant smelling. You use mineral oil or baby oil in a 20 to 1 mix with lime sulfur fruit tree spray you can get at most garden centers. the mix came from my vet by the way. I put a cup of this in a bucket of water with about six DrOps of ivory dish detergent and sponged it onto a couple of horses. I had forgotten I had put the lime sulfur in the mineral oil but figure it out when I got a whiff of the stuff and used it anyway and it was the absolute best fly repellant I've ever tried.

the other thing that works well is to use a quart of mineral oil with 50ml of 10% permethrin, put a cup of this in a bucket of water with a few DrOps of ivory dish detergent and again sponge it on. You can rinse them without losing the repellent. Be sure to wear gloves with both of these as they not only don't smell too good but they're probably not great to get on bare skin. the oil keep the chemical on the hair and the water evaporates. It's similar to the system used with the "one spot" fly control stuff that is sold in horse stores.

I like fly sheets but our guys are very rough on them and they are expensive and one we tried rubbed the three foot long mane half off my favorite mare which didn't make me really happy so don't use the really stiff ones.
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