Things to Try With Your New OTTB - #1

Let's discuss blanketing. I'm not talking brands, types, fill, clipping vs not, factoring in temperature/sun/wind/rain to decide whether to use the 200 gram or the 220 gram fill blanket. No no, first things first.

How To Put The Blanket On
Proper
Usually, "official" instructions for putting on a blanket tell you to have someone hold the horse while you carefully fold the blanket and gently lay it over the horse's back. Then you unfold it quietly so as not to spook the horse. Do up the buckles, blah blah blah.

My Way
1. Take a freshly O the T TB that you've known for 2 days out of his paddock and lock him in a stall. Make sure he's nervously checking for his friends in between taking bites of grain.
2. While he's eating, leave and come back with a rumpled mess of a blanket.
3. Throw the blanket around while trying to figure out which part is what.
4. When you've got it, grab either side of the neck opening, pick up the blanket, and throw it over the horse's back.
5. Be sure to do it quickly so everything untangles and makes it to the other side. Pretend you're making a king size bed all by yourself and you're trying to get the blankets to cover the whole bed without having to walk over to the other side. That's the kind of oomph you want to put into it.
6. Crawl around him making sure everything is where it belongs and everything is buckled.
7. Laugh at how crazy your OTTB is... actually, don't bother, he's too busy eating to pay attention to you.