Winter is coming, and so is Christmas. We need to replace Harmony's mid-weight blanket, and I prefer not to purchase from Schneider's again. Altho they are recommended locally, I had a bad experience with their customer service & "warranty" - simply put it's B.S.
If you haven't gone down that road with them, let me tell you the "warranty" options I was given: Option A: Pay to clean and ship them the broken blanket, and long after you don't need it anymore, they would fix it and you can pay to get it back. Option B: Find a repair person, they will send repair materials, and reimburse you for the repair. Needless to say, I took option B.
After being sent the wrong repair material and being charged shipping for it, and then being asked to pay to send it back, they sent me new repair material and charged me shipping for their error, a second time.
The repair person thought what Schneider's sent was substandard, she was being nice. I thought it was a joke, being serious now - it was pathetic. She asked if I would prefer to use her repair material which looked much sturdier, of course I did. I wanted Harmony to be able to use the blanket again.
In the end I ate the cost of fixing a StormShield blanket that clearly came apart due to poor stitching early in the first season of use, drove several times to another town to get the repair done, spent aggravating time with less then helpful customer service girls, and in the end never got reimbursed.
Consequently, I am looking for a blanket recommendation - who do you recommend buying a blanket from??
It's okay if it's Schneider's, everyone I know locally buys from them - and if I ever do go down that path again, I won't bother wasting my time or money on their "warranty". I would buy a less expensive blanket, hope it makes it through one season, and know it needs to be replaced every year. I am hoping to find a reliable vendor instead...altho my husband won't blanket a horse. I side with my daughter where blankets are concerned. Harmony needs one if she is going to be ridden inside, and boarded outside, this winter. I love buying horsey stuff, let the shopping begin!!
Back At Home
2 days ago
4 comments:
I've had good luck with the Rider's store brand from Dover - the turnouts have good length as well as deep shoulder gussets, and come in a number of different weights. Rhino/Rambo are the best made and sturdiest - I have a number of them, but the only negative is that they can tend to be tight in the shoulders. I'm not a fan of Schneiders, and like Weatherbeeta a lot less than I used to - I don't like the outside material they're using now - I still have several and they do fit well.
Thanks Kate!! I've seen the Rambo advertised, and will look into your suggestions. It's always good to hear from people who have used a product.
I have a medium rambo wug going on its 7th year of use. It has only needed one repair and that was my fault. I accidentally tore the lining. My horse is a pig and she doesn't like to come into her stall. She stays in her paddock unless its meal times. So her blanket has seen a lot of use. I do have other blankets, but keep coming back to rambo. They are pricey to start but when I think of all the other blankets I would have needed over the years to cover what one rambo has done I think it's a fair price.
Funny, I was going to comment and say the Horseware rugs are great but then I thought maybe I was just being patriotic! They are more expensive for sure, but they are really good quality and last for years. I'v never seen them rubbing shoulders, in fact I thing the Wug closure system would make rubbing less likely.
Good luck with whatever you go for anyway.
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