It's like going back to school and doing a research project when you decide to learn about Rambo rugs. These turnout blankets - or stable, travel, cooler, exercise, or fly rugs - have set the standard for the industry. The history of the company is interesting and the details of design, materials, and durability are absorbing. However, you can also find customer reviews for a simpler way to validate the claim that Rambos are the best money can buy.

It'll take time to become familiar with the full line of stable and field wear offered by Horseware of Ireland. There's a lot to read and understand about the innovative cut and fit, the kind of fasteners used, the materials that make the blankets warm but not bulky, and the various accessories that come with them.

Get ready to read something like this: Snug fit, less weight and more warmth with a layer system of nylon outer over thermobonded fiberfill; polyester antibacterial and anti-static lining, patented v-front closure, tail flap and wipe-clean tail cord, high-cut neck to eliminate wither pressure, leg arches, reflective strips, (not compatible with liner system.)

These are standard features on just one rug. You can continue on to other descriptions for light, medium, or heavy field blankets. Perhaps you're looking for a stable rug, a fly sheet, a Wug, a cooler, a travel blanket, an exercise rug, or a removable hood.

Maybe you want a snug fit for a foal, in which case you'll be glad to know that the ones from Horsecare 'grow' with the baby; there's an ingenious way to adjust the many Velcro fasteners to get just the right size to keep an energetic young animal warm and untangled. Of course, there's a wide color choice, so you and your precious foal can look handsome.

You can rely on the design and durability of Rambos. After all, Tom and Carol McGuiness were the very first to achieve a truly warm, waterproof, breathing, well-fitting turnout - and thereby changed the industry forever. It used to be a real struggle to keep horses warm and dry at the same time. Waterproof coverings could become sweat baths, while warm woolens became soaked when it rained. Layers of cotton liner, wool blanket, and waterproof sheet were hard to keep in place.

Customers write about Rambos lasting eight years, even with horses that seemed determined to find every projection that could tear or every mudhole that could abrade the outer layer. Fortunately, there are ways to clean and re-waterproof turnouts, repair kits for sewing up tears, replacement hardware, and other aids to keeping a rug year after year.

You can see why this might take a while. However, maybe your time will be better spent in choosing the right size for your particular horse. The folks at Horseware really have figured out all the other details, even up to how to re-fit a rug when your horse gains a pound or fifty. You can trust these people to give you a well-fitting turnout that will last for years; they guarantee them for three, but people will tell you they last much longer.