The Great Stable Blanket Debate

Back when I got Walker, I went on a huge shopping spree at Greenhawk. I needed pretty much everything, and most importantly, there were lots of things on sale - in particular, winter wear (i.e. turnout blankets). I decided to take the opportunity to buy my winter blankets then - at a time when I knew virtually nothing about horses and horse stuff. I also bought a rain sheet only to discover that my barn owner never puts the horses out in the rain. Needless to say, I also threw out my receipt for all these purchases.

Since then, I've had to buy or replace a lot of stuff. Of course, at the time I was legitimately looking for cheap stuff (since I had none) and so it wasn't a big concern later when I discovered that my bridles were cheap, my grooming supplies were inadequate, etc.

In particular, I took the winter turnout and threw it in the back of my closet. We were, after all, coming into summer at the time. Now five to six months later, the winter catalogs are coming out and, you guessed it, they're advertising winter blankets. And now that I know more about horses, let alone my horse, I'm starting to get concerned that I didn't buy the right thing. If you're keeping count at this point, you'll have noticed that would be two useless blankets I've acquired, and for those of you who don't know me, I just can't imagine myself trying to sell them (I may get over that later in life but I'm one of those "you never know when you might need/want it" people).

What I thought I bought Walker was a turnout. What I think I ACTUALLY bought Walker was a shell. And what I think I want now is both a turnout AND a stable blanket (with no need for the shell).

So now I'm in a pickle. Financially, I just don't have $200+ to throw down on another blanket. However my barn owner is pretty old school. She rarely blankets any of her horses (unless they're turned out a lot or are old or sick) so I know if I ask her she will probably just say that Walker can do without. BUT if you're reading this blog anyways closely, I'm sure by now you can tell how much I love my horse and how much money I'm willing to drop on the darling if it should increase his comfort even by a little.

So I guess I'm in the market for a new blanket...