Taka rugs? Anyone got one?

[HairyCob]

Yesterday I saw an ad on the side of the road saying our local tack shop had a sale on, some items half price..... so I went along expecting to find the usual out of date sunscreen wipes half price and everything else with 2% off...... so cynical!

Anyway, to my surprise and delight they had Weatherbeeta Taka M/W rugs on at half price- down from £150 to £75!

So I took the plunge and bought one ready for next winter (now that's organised!!;) )

I have tried it on him and it fits well, but was wondering if anyone here has used one of these rugs and has anything (good or bad) to say about them.... I still have the option of returning it and getting my money back for a few days so am especially interested if anyone has any bad experiences with them!!

Thanks folks!
Hairycob's (skint) mum!

[Murphs]

Hello HC

Yes i have one - silver (cos i thought it would look nice on a black horse) m/w bought last year for Kaz. Used it last year and it was great - not used it this year as she's not clipped, weather hasn't been too basd and they've had plenty of space to move around and find shelter.

I generally only buy weatherbeeta - just seem to get on with them better than horseware which is ebony's other rug.

You got a good buy there - well done for being soo organised :D

[maverick927]

I have a taka rug which I got for Xmas and absolutely love it and it is so warm. Mine is a H/W full neck and it is a really good fit, plus the free cooler was a bonus when I got it all on sale for £135 instead of £180.
Obviously due to my circumstances with fields at the moment it hasn't really had much wear, but with the wear it has hard I am certainly pleased and Maverick loves it.

[HairyCob]

Thanks for your replies guys! Looks like I may have bagged myself a bargain then! Almost looking forward to next winter so I can see how it holds up to the mud monster.... almost but not quite! Roll on the summer!!:D ;)

[KarinUS]

Looks like I may have bagged myself a bargain then!

You did! I have one for my horse DJ and have made it through 2 winters already. It's a very good quality product.

[Anja & clyde]

watch them wb rugs if your horse is turned out 24/7 because we have had 2 wbs and they have leaked ( dont leave them out in the sun coz if they fade and if they fade they leak worse )

[HairyCob]

Thanks for the warning Anja- I'll keep an eye on it!

Was it the Taka's you had a problem with- at the price they are, if it leaks it is going back to them with a strongly worded letter of complaint!:D

Had to put his new rug on him yesterday- much to my disgust he had managed to rip his rhino- I was hoping that was going to last this winter (2nd year) and his Taka could be kept for next year, but I think he had other ideas!

Probably better to try it this end of this winter any way, no doubt if I had a problem and tried to send it back next year they wouldn't accept that it hadn't been used!:rolleyes:

[Murphs]

HC - he probably just wanted to show off his new rug to his field mates!!! Hope he looks good:cool:

[HairyCob]

My thoughts exactly Murphs! I suspect he wasn't best pleased at being dragged out of the field to try on rugs- twice- and then being put back in with the old one on..... especially as one of his field mates had a new Taka that she got to wear straight away!:D ;) :D

I have to say, he does look rather smart in it, and hasn't got it muddy...... yet!:rolleyes:

[kelsey]

I bought my Taka two winters ago - there was a lot of blanket ripping at the old barn I was at and I needed something tougher.

The only problem I have had is that both front buckles broke - apparently this happened to almost all the first batch that came out. Weatherbeeta replaced them for free and I understand the problem has now been rectified.

I have had no rips or tears. Mind you, I have moved to a barn where the horses get along better!

By the way, Weatherbeeta Arion blankets are good too - I just bought two via Ebay for my new horse at $99 US each. They are $400 Canadian at my local (very overpriced) tack store.

I believe that they have similar rip-proof qualities.

[Anja & clyde]

I have 2 aspens but my friend has a taka . me and her call weatherbettas "very expensive underrugs":D coz thats what we use them for now the anoying part is weatherbetta would do anything about the leaking they just said scotch-gard it and that did do anything they still leak:rolleyes: :mad: if you have anymore ? pm me

[HairyCob]

Should have taken your advice Anja..........:mad:

H.C. has some how managed to rip the whole of the bottom panel from chest to leg dart clean off his new Taka.

Having had it on for 3 days that works out at £25 per day for a turnout rug....... not a happy mummy!

I'm going to try taking it back to the shop, as it looks to me like the stitching may be rotten, but I don't hold out much hope.

Won't be buying another Taka..... will have to buy something else tho:mad: :mad: as weather due to get colder over next few days. Think he may get a cheap one to last him the rest of this winter!

[Miss MoneyPenny]

Naughty H.C.!:mad:

I know you need one for the weather - have you looked at the Masta's? I am a fan, and they have held up very well for Penny and her stable pal Minstrel (Who previously ruined ALL rugs she ever wore!) Although her current turnoutmasta has been okay all winter - still in perfect condition!

I know equestrian clearance are selling some of the heavier weight ones cheap if that is any help?

www.equestrianclearance.com

Good Luck!

[HairyCob]

Thanks Miss MoneyPenny- i'm off to have a look right now!:D

[MelanieD]

Equestrian Clearance have Ballisticmasta rugs half price at the moment (£55 instead of over £100), and I really recommend them for being warm and difficult to destroy. My little monster got her new lilac one about a month ago, and despite her new field mate trying to bite chunks out of it, her repeatedly dragging it along barbed wire and pointy twigs and leaning on the barbed wire fence hard enough to break it, it is still totally undamaged.

Now what's the bet that now I've said that I'm going to find a purple pile of fluff that used to be a rug in the corner of the field tomorrow morning :)

[Miss MoneyPenny]

HC - The Ballisticmasta one that Melanie mentioned is the one that I got from there too - very stury and 'should' hold out even to the most destructive!

[HairyCob]

I had a look on that site, and the prices were very good, but as I needed a rug yesterday, I decided to go to the big tack shop in Bristol and buy a real cheapy to tide us over for the last of this winter......... ended up spending £125 :eek:

HC ended up with a weatherbeeta landa which was cheap-ish to start with, and had and extra 15% off- wasn't overly happy about buying another weatherbeeta, but the people at this shop are very knowledgeable and assured me it would last longer than the Taka- apparantley the Landa is one of the better 'cheap' rugs. Time will tell!:D

HC also got three new haynets, in the most vile aqua green colour, which will hopefully stop others at the barn stealing mine from now on!

And I got a new pair of Mountain Horse boots, and a new pair of chaps.... well there was 10% off everything.........:D ;)

[Gemma16]

God I can't beleive so many people have had problems with weatherbeetas. I love em. Taff has had hison nearly all winter and its been the driest and best fitting rug he's had. The only other rug he's had is a masta flexi neck and thats been a lot worse than his weatherbeeta. Leaking ripping etc.

I supose it all depends on what type of fencing you have and also what you horse is like in the field:D

Horses who said the buying bit was the most expensive part:D ;) :rolleyes:

[Miss MoneyPenny]

HC - Glad you got sorted! And I am also pleased that you spent some of the £125 on yourself, not just HC!!!!!!

Fingers crossed he doesn't destroy this one as quickly!

[HairyCob]

Quick update on the Taka saga!

I took it back to the shop today, and they agreed with me that it looked like it was faulty- badly stitched or rotten stitching- however couldn't give me a refund as apparantley only weatherbeeta can make that decision.

They rang Weatherbeeta there and then and told them what had happened, emphasising that there was no evidence of trauma to rug or horse, that it seemed to have just fallen apart. Weatherbeeta are going to collect it from the tack shop tomorrow, inspect it and decide wether to repair, replace or refund..... any will be fine with me, although refund sounds best!

I'll keep you posted!;)

[Miss MoneyPenny]

So they should! No rug should fall apart after a few days! I hope they do look at it and realise that you should be due a refund!

Fingers crossed for you!

[Jamey]

Oh dear, I've just bought a Taka Combo for Sasha! :( :(

[HairyCob]

Don't despair Jamey! It seems that lots of people have nothing but good to say about them, I guess I was just unlucky!

My friend bought one for her rug-wrecker at the same time as I bought HC's- but put it on her straight away, so it's been on about a fortnight and that one is still intact!! She hasn't even managed to move it around to make it into a fashionable scarf, which she does with most rugs!!:D ;)