Re: Winter sweat management

["Susan Swope-Attardi" <NAGZARUS@prodigy.net>]

Teddy's post reminds me of the finest horse blanket I have ever purchased.
It is a Bugbee; made in Ireland, I believe.  Not only is this blanket the
toughest thing I've ever purchased; being on it's third year of turnout
activity without so much as a tear (unheard of in my personal experience!),
it works on the same concept as the double cooler routine.  It's designed so
that it can be placed on a wet horse to keep it warm, yet wick away
moisture.  The horse is dry in about 1 hour.  Only drawback, there is no
coverage for the neck as there would be with the coolers; however, you can
get a hood to go with it.  I like using the blanket after rides when the
horse is ready to be turned out but still damp due to a winter coat.  The
blanket isn't cheap... I may have paid as much as $200 for it.  But, no
repairs and it still looks practically new and this was with two years spent
on a partially clipped horse who wore it 24/7 for the entire winter.  Also,
the blanket is not bulky and fits quite nicely in a home washing machine.

DISCLAIMER:  I don't work for Teddy and to my knowledge she does not sell
Bugbee blankets.....  She might sell coolers though (shame on you for
mentioning them Teddy)   ;)

Susan Swope
AERC SE Region
Kentucky

A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves -
strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us
escape from our mundane existence.
                                                     Pamela Brown, b. 1928




-----Original Message-----
From: Teddy Lancaster <Teddy@runningbear.com>
To: Cynthia Eyler <eyler@mindspring.com>
Cc: ridecamp@endurance.net <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 1998 7:50 AM
Subject: Re: Winter sweat management


>Old racetrack trick that is VERY effectual:  If needed, BATHE the horse
(hot
>water of course-I have done this 100's of times-even at sub-freezing
>temperatures), scrape off excess water. Use TWO wool coolers, one over the
>other. Tie the horse in stall with haybag..come back in and hour and the
horse
>is dry..the top woll blancket will be wet, the bottom one dry.
>
>
>Teddy
>
>Cynthia Eyler wrote:
>
>> Geography:  My gelding is boarded, and we ride forest trails, just south
of
>> the MD/PA line in central Maryland.
>>
>> The first winter after I bought him, in the fall of '96, he had to be
>> blanketed because he had very little winter coat (prior owner had used
him
>> for show/ring competition).  Last winter, he was noticably fuzzier and he
>> promises to be even more so this coming winter.
>>
>> And now we're logging a lot more miles.  My plan is to cool him out with
an
>> Irish anti-sweat sheet under a polarfleece cooler.  What do other people
do?
>>
>> Cindy Eyler
>> Baltimore
>