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Personally, I think it's best if horses can keep their winter coat and do not need to be clipped. Unfortunately, this cannot always be avoided with the modern horse and clipping ensures that the horse sweats less and is comfortable while working. Currently Amy is not clipped, so getting her coat dry after riding is always a challenge. As long as the riding unit is free, I always see that there are many pauses to rest however, sometimes the stronger sweating cannot be avoided. It is certainly not possible for everyone to put their horse under a heat lamp after drying and personally, this method is not for me. If the time frame allows, I put my horse with a cooler on in the box and ask a friend to change Amy’s rug later on. But as we currently also drive in the evening for training, this possibility does not exist. My horse should be as dry as possible before I leave the stable. In our case, we still have a trailer ride home after training so I took a look around for a new cooler. So far, we have always had only normal fleece blankets, but after hearing that there are blankets of other materials that dry faster, I became curious.
In addition to better sweat drying my new blanket should also have a neck cover, because Amy gets very sweaty on her neck. So excited about the quality and fit of my Premier Equine winter blanket, I looked there for a new cooler. In addition to normal fleece blankets, there is also a cooler which is supposed to wick away moisture due to the material. The decision was made quickly, we wanted to test the Premier Equine Combo Dry-Tech Horse Cooler.
This cooler is a model with neck cover, but it is also available without a neck cover. The blanket is not made of classic fleece, but of a special construction of layers. The outer has a fine quilting, the pattern resembles a waffle. From the outside, the outer rug is kept in a plain navy, the inside, however, is bright red. The special thing about the layering system is that it ensures that the moisture is better drawn away from the horse's coat to the outside, speeding up drying times. The fit is anatomically cut and fits closely to the horse’s body so that it can perform well. Amy also looks very slim in the blanket, which of course does not matter. The neck part is also suitable for horses with a very long neck. Amy's neck is very short. However, this is not a problem at all, the slightly too long piece can simply be turned over and folded back. For horses with a longer neck, the neck part will fit perfectly.
The blanket has two sturdy metal closures on the chest, which works well. Many cooler rugs have a bad closure at the front. The "Combo Dry-Tech" has a very strong Velcro on the chest and neck. Again, I am totally convinced of the stability and quality of workmanship with this blanket by Premier Equine. Due to the chest straps, cross surcingles and the tail strap, you can travel your horse in the rug or leave them in stable, because the rug cannot slip. I lovingly made the joke that Amy now has a new pyjamas.
The blanket was used for the first time after a strenuous workout. Amy was very wet and still had to travel home on the trailer. While I had hauled a horse in a wet blanket the week before, Amy was actually almost dry this week. The blanket itself was not completely wet and she was drier than with a regular blanket.
Even after the next training session, my first impression has been confirmed and the horse actually dries better. Of course, the blanket is not a magic cloak where the horse is completely dry after 10 minutes, but in a shorter time she is drier.
In addition, the blanket itself dries better than a fleece blanket. Due to the wet weather in the last few weeks, I often had problems in the barn, that my cooler rugs are no longer properly dried. With the new blanket, this was better. The blanket goes very well with our Premier Equine travel boots.
