While at work yesterday, one of the boarders asked me if I thought anyone might be interested in a used waterproof turnout blanket in need of two straps: one belly strap and one leg strap.
Not knowing what shape it was in--aside from the two missing straps, and not knowing what size it was, and not wanting to appear too weird, I shrugged. "Maybe someone who sews?" I suggested, adding that in the past I had repaired a horse blanket or two of my own.
(Horse people are a funny lot, some think every horse has to have it's own personal brand new stuff; others think a bargain is a bargain, hand-me-downs are cool and that horses aren't very choosy. I don't yet know this boarder well enough to guess which group she falls into.)
The boarder seemed hesitant to believe anyone would want to tackle sewing on new straps.(Hmm, maybe the first group.) She too shrugged. "Maybe. But I don't know anyone with a heavy duty sewing machine. I'm not going to bother with it; I'd rather throw it out."
"I've repaired blankets before by hand, with some really sturdy needles," I told her, and added "But then again, I hate to throw out anything that could be useful."
"Oh, me too," she assured me.
I went back to cleaning stalls. Five minutes later, the boarder approached me again. "I think I'm just going to set this blanket on the trash bin. If you can think of anyone who wants to fix it, go ahead and take it."
Well, at first I didn't think I wanted to deal with it. I mean, it's not like I've got such an abundance of free time anymore that I don't know what to do with myself. I could see that blanket sitting in the sewing room for months, taking up space, and DH asking why I even brought it home if I was never going to do anything with it.
But it was a pretty good quality blanket, and other than a slight tear over the tail, and those two missing straps, it was in good condition. Most likely it had a few more winters left in it, were I to replace the straps and patch that small tear. But no, I didn't have time to even be thinking about stuff like blanket repairs on a blanket I had no idea would fit any of my three horses. I surely didn't need to tackle a repair project that I would then have to find a buyer for (to recoup my price in materials, if not my time, for the repairs).
I tried to keep my mind on the work that still needed to be done: finish cleaning stalls, bed stalls, fill water buckets, bring horses in before I left since the wind chills were in the negative teens. But that darn blanket kept nudging its way back into my thoughts. A good blanket, just in need of a couple straps. I had repaired blankets in the past;, I know where to get a hold of parts. . .
I ended up taking it off the trash bin and putting it into my truck to bring home with me. Once home, I gave it a good washing (shhhhh, don't tell DH, he has this weird thing about horse laundry going in the same washing machine his underwear does. Crazy. I mean, laundry is laundry, right? It's not like I'd wash his underwear with a horse blanket. I mean, those obviously go in separate loads. *insert eye roll here* Besides, the washer makes it clean, so what's the difference between a horse blanket and a blanket off our bed?). I also inspected it for any other parts it might be lacking.
Nope. One surcingle and an elastic leg strap, one snap, a buckle and a slide adjuster was all that baby needed to be useful. The tear would be easy peasy to patch. And, it even still has the tags that tell what size it is, what brand it is, how heavyweight it is, and how to care for it.
Score!! One Kodiak 1200d heavy turnout blanket in exactly the size the Old Man wears! Awesome.
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