Cob Jockey

I've been overall thrilled with my SmartPak Ultimate sheet over the five years and one month I've had it.  It's proven to be nearly indestructible, I've never had the fabric rip.  The one time I did need a new one (tail flap got torn off), the exchange process was easy.  It's such great peace of mind knowing that I paid $179 for it, and that $179 purchase will last me 10 years no matter what.

But just recently I've been less and less crazy about the way the sheet fits Connor.  It's okay, and it doesn't rub, but it gaps around the neck no matter what I do.  I know it fit better than this when I bought it, because I have the pictures to prove it, but it doesn't fit well now.



So when I saw #1) SmartPak now has the same sheet in an adjustable-neck version, and #2) It was on sale for $110 (after my USEF discount + a 20% blanket discount), I pulled the trigger.

The adjustable neck was always one of my favorite features of Schneider's blankets, which fit Connor great

Same sheet, same size (69"), but with that one change:

Much better fit!

The better fit in the chest helps it fit better everywhere else too.

Perfection

I continue to use it with the Rambo blanket liners, which work great.  I'm not sure I could ever go back to having multiple full blankets at this point, it's so much easier to deal with the liners.  Anyone else make any Black Friday blanket purchases?

"...why."

Now that I'm into my fifth winter with my somewhat unusual and very thrifty blanketing setup, it's time for a proper review.


Back in 2014, money was tight, and I needed to make a decision on blankets since I was going to take the plunge on full clipping.  I spent a long time that summer trying to figure out the most cost-effective and durable way to blanket my naked pony in the upcoming winter.

I ended up buying a SmartPak Ultimate Turnout Sheet (review here), as well as a 100g, 200g and 300g Rambo blanket liner.  Because I deal hunted, I got his entire wardrobe for under $300.

Connor modeling the 300g liner

The main thing to take away from this is that with 4+ years of experience to back me up on this one, the Rambo blanket liners work GREAT with non-Rambo and non-Horseware blankets.  The Rambo blankets have a metal ring on either side of the neck that you run a Velcro tab on the liner through, but you do NOT need to use that to keep the liner stable.

Connor's liner attaches to his SmartPak sheet only at the back rings of the sheet, and has never shifted.  The only time a liner shifted and got destroyed was when a barn worker forgot to attach the liner clips to the leg strap rings.

The only attachment point, shown here with two liners ahead of a brutal cold snap a few winters ago.

Eventually I ended up buying the SP Ultimate Medium and Heavy in later years when they were on sale, because I thought both I and my BM would prefer legit blankets to my liner setup once I had the money to do it...but I was really surprised to find that that wasn't true. 

Pros of Blankets/Liners

• The liners are very light and easy to store compared to blankets. 
• The liners don't get muddy, so there's less dirt in my blanket bag, and I can wash them myself and not risk destroying my washing machine.
• They're durable.  My set is entering it's fifth winter, minus the one I mentioned above that met an untimely and preventable death.
• You always hear layering is more effective than one really heavy blanket, and that's super easy with these.
• The SmartPak Ultimate Turnout has proven to be everything they advertise and more, so it's a great outer layer for this setup. 
• It's one of the cheapest ways I've found to acquire a whole horse wardrobe that's still good quality and durable enough to last for the long haul.

This being a training barn, Connor's had all kinds of turnout buddies over the years and this is literally the worst thing that's ever happened to the sheet (and it's happened to the heavy as well, which I think is what he's wearing here).  And SP still sent me a new one anyway, overnighting it before I returned the old one since it was his only blanket at the time.