Boett rugs

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FairyLights

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I have a horse who suffers from SI. I use Rambo hoodies in spring summer and autumn but am thinking of getting a boett. I notice there are now several boett look-a-likes which are cheaper. Has anyone tried these? Do you have a boett and an "imitation" are they just as good? I dont want to waste my money
Thanks in advance.
 
I've got a pagony and it worked perfectly. Hood was ludicrously big tho, but mine is a mini Shetland and its hard to get things to fit him. The actual rug was a reasonable fit for him, and certainly worked.
 
I've had a pagony midget shredded it, same with a boett, going to buy 4 normal fly rugs this year for the price of 1 boett and see how we go. Bucass fly rug lasted double the length of time the boett did last summer
 
cornerstonebrowbands on ebay do Boett type rugs made to measure for a good price. Not quite as good quality materials as Boett but they do the job well enough.
 
I'd go for a Masta Bug Rug, has worked really well for quite a few horses I've known that have really struggled with sweet itch and not too expensive either!
 
I bought a Pagony for mine. Dreadful thing, awful quality/badly made and the stitching was just awful, single strand thread and it came apart at the seams in no time. Totally useless.

I found it really hard to fit on mine as well; tho' appreciate all horses are a different shape.

In the end I gave up on it: my boy somehow managed to catch himself up in one of the elastic bits and got himself in a dreadful state. So that was enough IMO.

I'd never buy another of this type of rug, have never tried the Boett proper though, to be fair.

This type of rug has a huge disadvantage in that they have to be pulled on over the head; my boy hated it and it was a real struggle at the best of times. So not exactly a successful rug :(

Switched to a Rambo Sweet Itch Hoody: and it was just so EASY. Goes on like a normal rug, does the job, horse is happy & so am I! We've got a Premier Equine SI hoody as well.
 
Tried a Boett, my horse really disliked it being put on over his face regardless of how much desensitising I did. In addition I was forever having to mend it as my horse ripped it a lot.

He's much happier in a rambo and I don't have to do as much sewing
 
I have had Boetts- they seem a huge fag to put on at first but I/horse soon got used to them- and normal fly rugs. I don't really think one was better than the other. The Boetts got very torn with rubbing but are easy to mend if you have a sewing machine and the company that sells them is very generous with offcuts for patching
 
A boett lasted my horse about 4 days, I nearly cried as he trashed it but his Rambo hoody has lasted 4 yrs now and iv just picked up a new one in a sale at 50% off ( well happy)
The boett wasn't easy to put on either and wouldn't buy another one
 
Having used almost every sweet itch rug under the sun I would stick with the Rambo. Is it the sweet itch hoody you use? I would highly recommend those...that or e Premier equine swet itch hoody. They are tough (100 denier) and well fitting....but whatever rug you use, you need to protect it and your hrse with electric fencing.
I have use the cornerstone one which is similar to the Boett, but found the fitting's cheap. All elastic stretched and came unstitched. Same with the Boett.
 
I had a boett a good few years ago now. I thought it was expensive but good quality. It could be washed in a domestic washing machine, mended on my sewing machine and lasted two and a half years before the elastic finally went.
Putting it on over the pony's head was never a problem and it fitted under turnout and stable rugs. We had two boetts - one after the other. Very helpful company.
Unfortunately I didn't have another brand to compare.
 
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Gallop rugs make really good quality & durable rugs. Two of ours have them. One is my Father's mare, who has severe sweet itch, and wears the Gallop all in one fly rug, and it lasted much longer than the Horsewear fly rug we tried (and many others), which lasted less than 3 weeks. She normally destroys her fly rugs instantly when rubbing, but the Gallop lasted about 2 months, which is actually VERY long for her!

Would really recommend them.
 
Remember that a sweet itch rug has to be used well before the insect season , any rug will damage if put on too late . Any area exposed is liable to itch.
Also electric fencing is a must.
 
I've used a Boett and a Rambo on my 16.3 IDxTB. The Boett worked well, she was fine about having it over her head, yes it got torn occasionally (mostly by overenthusiastic field mates) but patching was simple - I don't sew, I stick patches on using Copydex, UhU or similar made for fabric adhesives, which works a treat. Found the fixtures and elastics lasted very well.

Rhe Rambo is a lot easier to put on and off but the over the ears bit rubs my girl - she's a bit sensitive - so I got our local rug mender to remove the ear holes, pad the remaining edge and I use it with a normal full fly mask with ears.

I just use a mixture of whatever I can get hold of these days, but learned that buying cheap doesn't work for me due to field companions. You will need a spare to use when washing/mending. I have three rugs that I rotate.
 
Boetts are good but really faffy to put on and I made the huge error of spending about 300 quid on one and the livery yard I was at had barbed wire and it was just trashed! It's now shredded in a binbag in the garage for 'when I repair it' and my mare has a rambo SI hoody now which is a lot easier to put on and I can control her itching in this.
 
lannerch said:
Remember that a sweet itch rug has to be used well before the insect season , any rug will damage if put on too late . Any area exposed is liable to itch.
Also electric fencing is a must.
Click to expand...

This

The idea is stop the reaction before it starts and to not have an itchy horse that destroys its rug.
Normal fly rugs are not as durable either
 
Equitheme do a boett copy which I found very good for my SI forester - his itching was truly dreadful, he'd roll for hours if there was nothing to scratch on but it was well under control with the equitheme rug. Cost about £65 IIRC
 
I have a box full of Boett and Boett style scraps and rug parts in my shed. My cob was fine with putting it on over his head...they dont generally seem to mind...I just found them too delicate for him and they never fit very well...too much bunching and movement and leg straps and stuff and the belly nev stayed in place.
This is my cob wearing his Boett type Cornerstones rug....
050520105473.jpg
 
_HP_ said:
I have a box full of Boett and Boett style scraps and rug parts in my shed. My cob was fine with putting it on over his head...they dont generally seem to mind...I just found them too delicate for him and they never fit very well...too much bunching and movement and leg straps and stuff and the belly nev stayed in place.
This is my cob wearing his Boett type Cornerstones rug....
050520105473.jpg
Click to expand...

HA HA HA HA, he obviously does not share your concerns about life
 
thatsmygirl said:
A boett lasted my horse about 4 days, I nearly cried as he trashed it but his Rambo hoody has lasted 4 yrs now and iv just picked up a new one in a sale at 50% off ( well happy)
The boett wasn't easy to put on either and wouldn't buy another one
Click to expand...

Where did you get a half price hoody?
 
I've dealt with Boett, De Meulenkamp, Pagony and Rambo SI Hoody rugs. Other people's horses, but I've done plenty day-to-day handling and repair. I couldn't see much difference between the quality of the De Meulenkamp and Boett. The Pagony has fabric that seems to be of lesser quality. That said, it does the job. One thing I don't like about the over-the-head models is that they can get statically charged and zap you and the horse. IMO, the Pagony is worst in this respect. On the plus side, washing is easy (no metal bits to clunk around in the machine), the material is light (cooler horse) and easy to repair. Most of the rugs "died" eventually due to repeated ripping/tearing (from play/bad fencing or hedges). Also, the elastic loses elasticity after some time (a few years). I couldn't notice a difference between brands there. Most of my friends have changed over to the Rambo SI Hoody eventually, mostly for ease of handling. They are durable, but without some extra modifications (such as adding wide velcro strips to belly of rug to keep the two sides overlapping and protect midline) don't have quite as good coverage as the over-the-head models. Also, for horses who are prone to kicking at their belly (to get midges off), the chance of getting their hind legs caught in the Rambo's belly straps is higher than for the elasticated bellys on the other models. Apart from holes torn due to owner error (turnout without appropriate fencing), this is the number one repair reason I've had for the Rambos.
 
_HP_ said:
I have a box full of Boett and Boett style scraps and rug parts in my shed. My cob was fine with putting it on over his head...they dont generally seem to mind...I just found them too delicate for him and they never fit very well...too much bunching and movement and leg straps and stuff and the belly nev stayed in place.
This is my cob wearing his Boett type Cornerstones rug....
050520105473.jpg
Click to expand...

Thats a very comprehensive head and neck cover (with built in front foot mat) do they do a body cover to go with it? :D
 
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