Off track Standardbred “McBoogie” modeling the Amigo All-In-One Insulator Stable Blanket. Photo by Erica Stevens.
Horseware is known for producing the cream of the crop when it comes to blankets. If your horse has a wardrobe full of top of the line Horseware turnouts in different weights, he’s living the life of a king. What you may not know is that they also have a large variety of luxurious stable blankets to offer, and they live up to the name.
I was fortunate enough to try out this Amigo All-In-One Insulator Stable Blanket in a medium weight. I admit that I haven’t been much of a person for stable blankets prior to this, but my experience and trial period with this blanket may have converted me.
First off, I could barely believe that this was a medium weight blanket. Holding this blanket in my hands and then lifting up my medium weight turnout, the difference in literal weight was astonishing. How can something so light be so warm? This stable blanket has 200 grams of fill, but you’d never believe it when you pick it up. My horse wore this blanket overnight for several weeks, and darned if he wasn’t super toasty underneath.
For my own clothing choices, I really enjoy wearing something that is lightweight and yet incredibly warm, so I can only imagine the same can be said for my horses. This feature is also beneficial when fitting it into your washing machine, as it isn’t terribly bulky, and also for space saving in your barn blanket stack during the times you aren’t using it.
The Amigo All-In-One Insulator has high quality latches with good overlay for comfort. Photo by Kate Samuels.
The second thing I noticed about this Amigo All-In-One Insulator is that the material is straight up luxurious. This isn’t something that can be said of a lot of horse blankets, but you can say it about this one. It is made of 210 denier ripstop polyester, so it’s durable, but it feels like silk in your hands. The inside of the blanket can only be described as butter, and I hope my horse appreciated the feel on his freshly clipped body. If you’re going to spring for a beautiful stable blanket, it better be built for comfort to the max, right?
Speaking of comfort, the all-in-one design is something that I hadn’t tried before, but I realize the benefits now. We like to give our horses neck covers, as it seems cruel to leave a naked neck and head out in the cold with just the body covered. However, with the detachable necks, a lot of horses get rubs at the intersection of blanket and neck cover. The all-in-one prevents this, because it doesn’t have any pressure points around the withers. The blanket is seamless from stem to stern, so no more missing mane right at the base of the neck.
The Amigo All-In-One Insulator Stable Blanket boasts double front closures with velcro and great overlap, so even horses with big shoulders don’t bust through them and rub their chests on the metal latches. This I know from experience can be an issue. The wings on the side of the neck section enable full mobility, but also keep the warmth in. The blanket has two cross surcingles and a fillet string at the back.
I loved the soft comfort that this stable blanket offered the horses. Photo by Erica Stevens.
Before this, I can say I was not a person who owned or used a lot of stable blankets. In an effort to minimize my blanket changing per day, my horses were living in their turnouts both in the stall and the field. However, given the comfort and luxury factor of this blanket, I felt it as more than warranted to use it for my top horse when he came in for the night.
Also, as a logistics side note, using this when he was in the stall gave me a chance to wash some of his turnouts overnight, which I think makes a big difference in their skin and coat health during the long winter months. Nobody likes a buildup of dirt and bacteria rubbing against them 24/7.
You can buy this blanket anywhere that carries Horseware products, and you can locate your nearest store through the Horseware “Where to Buy“ link on their site. The Amigo All-In-One Insulator Stable Blanket also comes in a 350 gram heavyweight, and you can also find the Amigo Hero All-In-One Turnout if you really want to complete the set.
Go Jumping!
Editor’s Note: This product review originally ran on our sister site, Eventing Nation.