Save for a Thermatex or other cooler alternatives?

Tiddlypom said:
If you look carefully you can see my navy bound red original thermatex rug poking out underneath my sec D's thin old canvas NZ rug, in c 1985. H&H magazine later used this pic in a feature on the evolution of rug design.

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I love this!! Back then we all used thermatex type rugs under NZ rugs...none of this 100g, 200g, 300g turnout nonsense ?
 
splashgirl45 said:
My thermatex is still going strong after over 40 years and being used on 5 horses and I sold it to my YO with my other rugs when I gave up .. it washed up really well and I think I paid about £85 for it, well worth the money
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Brilliant, I wish I'd kept mine, I think I only paid about £80 for it back then x
 
I have two pony thermatex rugs going spare if anyone wants them. A 5’6” light weight navy with red binding and a 5’9” quilted burgundy with gold binding. Both are about 25 years old and in really good nick. I guess I kept them because they are thermatex but I’ll never need them again.
 
Quigleyandme said:
I have two pony thermatex rugs going spare if anyone wants them. A 5’6” light weight navy with red binding and a 5’9” quilted burgundy with gold binding. Both are about 25 years old and in really good nick. I guess I kept them because they are thermatex but I’ll never need them again.
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Drop me a PM ref the 5ft 9 if you dont mind? ?
 
Quigleyandme said:
I have two pony thermatex rugs going spare if anyone wants them. A 5’6” light weight navy with red binding and a 5’9” quilted burgundy with gold binding. Both are about 25 years old and in really good nick. I guess I kept them because they are thermatex but I’ll never need them again.
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Sadly too big for us I think...they grow don't they with use? I think both would be too big for our 12.2 x
 
I love my thermatex. Three horses and ten years on and it’s still a versatile multi-use rug. I use it for drying, travelling, day rug, warming before riding, warming up after getting cold. I’m very much a one horse amateur- but I love that I can leave the rug on the horse and it dries him, then keeps him warm, so I don’t have to arrange changing it. Used to have a fleece. It gave me static shocks. It stayed damp after drying the horse. It looked tatty after a year. I also like to buy well and keep for a long time, far better for the environment. And thermatex is British Made, so good to support.
 
I bought a second hand Thermatex 20 years ago. Even though mice had a little nibble, I cannot bear to throw it out. It's just the best wicking rug on the market. You can see the moisture coming through the layers, but underneath, the rug remains dry. Perfect for putting on a wet horse and not giving to go back and change to another dry rug.
 
Quigleyandme said:
I have two pony thermatex rugs going spare if anyone wants them. A 5’6” light weight navy with red binding and a 5’9” quilted burgundy with gold binding. Both are about 25 years old and in really good nick. I guess I kept them because they are thermatex but I’ll never need them again.
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Is the 5'6 navy a summer weight Thermatex or an original? I may well be interested :) X
 
Goldenstar said:
I am still trying to get my brain around why amateurs horses don’t deserve to dry as quickly as professionals horses .
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I suppose because they are often not worked so hard, mine get up a good sweat when worked, but that is not the case for many on my yard. Also because if you have just a few horses it is easy to change fleeces to let them dry, but if you are riding many then perhaps this is not so easy. I am not suggesting lower standards of care for recreational horses, simply wondering whether such big investments are always necessary for all.
 
I suppose the other way to look at it, if you are not a professional, you may not be in an environment where there are staff to change fleeces as they get damp. You are time poor and have other commitments and responsibilities so good quality technical kit makes your life easier.

Also it's not just really hard work that means a wet horse, nothing like hacking in the rain for getting really wet.
 
An amateur here but wouldn’t be without a thermatex when washing horses and exercising hard in the winter (drag hunting). They are such time savers as dry the horse quickly and can be used under other breathable rugs.

I have tried other much cheaper brands and haven’t found them as good. I have a few as double up in the winter and have clean/dirty ones, and I have found some good bargains on Facebook, eBay and the thinner ones in the seconds sale. I actually have a brand new one for sale, it’s the thinner type.
 
I’ve had thermatex in past, not found them amazing. Mine stretched and pulled back on shoulders.

I currently have a rambo airmax, a decathlon combo drying rug (like a chamois leather) and a Le Mieux airtex cooler.
 
There's also nothing better than a Thermatex to chuck on a cold, wet, muddy and cross horse that you pull in from the field after previously making the wrong call as to whether to rug up or not.

Fleeces get cold and clammy, thermatexes don't.

By all means tilt at what could be perceived as frivolous amateur purchases such as matchy matchy, but not at a well designed technical piece of kit which benefits horse welfare ?‍♀️. Especially when said piece of kit will last for many years and comes up like new each time after going through the washing machine.
 
Tiddlypom said:
There's also nothing better than a Thermatex to chuck on a cold, wet, muddy and cross horse that you pull in from the field after previously making the wrong call as to whether to rug up or not.

Fleeces get cold and clammy, thermatexes don't.

By all means tilt at what could be perceived as frivolous amateur purchases such as matchy matchy, but not at a well designed technical piece of kit which benefits horse welfare ?‍♀️. Especially when said piece of kit will last for many years and comes up like new each time after going through the washing machine.
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Glad to hear they are still the best! Will be ordering one as soon as I can find one preloved or will bite the bullet and order direct x
 
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I was given a Thermatex by a good friend, and I bought one from another friend at the yard.

The one given to me is up the loft waiting for an opportunity when I might use it (fingers crossed) and the other one which I bought was too small for the previous horse really, so it going rotten under some old hay nets in the barn, at least the rats are warm. :p
 
Birker2020 said:
I was given a Thermatex by a good friend, and I bought one from another friend at the yard.

The one given to me is up the loft waiting for an opportunity when I might use it (fingers crossed) and the other one which I bought was too small for the previous horse really, so it going rotten under some old hay nets in the barn, at least the rats are warm. :p
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Nooooo!!! Lucky rats! ?
 
Tiddlypom said:
By all means tilt at what could be perceived as frivolous amateur purchases such as matchy matchy, but not at a well designed technical piece of kit which benefits horse welfare ?‍♀️. Especially when said piece of kit will last for many years and comes up like new each time after going through the washing machine.
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Completely agree with this is a great piece of kit worth investing in. This alongside good quality tack and good well lasting/fitting rugs can be purchased second hand (if you know the correct sizes needed). I have some nice items - Thermatex rugs, fairfax girths, rhino rugs, ice vibe boots. That would of cost £££ new, however good condition second hand has saved me hundreds. And my horse still gets the benefit of these premium products at the price of a new, cheaper alternative.
 
SOS said:
Completely agree with this is a great piece of kit worth investing in. This alongside good quality tack and good well lasting/fitting rugs can be purchased second hand (if you know the correct sizes needed). I have some nice items - Thermatex rugs, fairfax girths, rhino rugs, ice vibe boots. That would of cost £££ new, however good condition second hand has saved me hundreds. And my horse still gets the benefit of these premium products at the price of a new, cheaper alternative.
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Quite. I can still hear my mother, ‘if you buy cheap, you buy twice’. And my mother was frugal. Ok, tight ?
 
The Lansdown Thermelite is made from material almost identical to Thermatex, it was developed by the same person, and they used to be cheaper, no idea now. Wonderful rugs, as are their lightweight stable rugs, if they're still Cordura and 100% Thinsulate linings (the thicker rugs are now only part Thinsulate). I used to use one or both for travelling or standing on the trailer, the stable rug is a bit more windproof and less prone to ripping, but both wick well.
 
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