Cooler & 1/4 Sheet: Materials?

I'm pretty crafty and find that paying $40 for essentlly a blanket found at a home store is silly.

My Question is what materials are okay to use for Coolers and 1/4 Sheet?

Example: Fleece vs Wool (maybe even yarn?)
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Would a knit blanket do the same thing?
One More
How heavy are they? -Are they like kids fleece blankets heavy or decent quilt heavy?


Oh and are there any safety concerns with using a blankety look alike?

Alright then I'll take no responds as a It doesn't really matter and Im correct =P

I have a wool cooler that weighs about 8-10 pounds. So I'd say a good quilt heavy. It's good to line it in something really strong and double stitch it.

I think yarn would break too easily.. my horse's ear bonnet is already ripped from less than 8 uses. Wool tends to be heavier than fleece, fleece is softer and I'm not sure if it socks up sweat better but I know hair sticks to it really well. :P

Hope that helped.

Wool and fleece will both work - stay away from knits and yarn - they snag on EVERYTHING and stretch like crazy. Also, not easy to toss in the washer. Most I've seen are fairly heavy, but you can adjust the thickness based on the temperatures you'll be riding in.

This helped alot! Thank You All!

I think in general you want a fabric that will wick away moisture while keeping the horse warm. Wool felt, does this, as does some of the fleeces. I would be careful with the polar fleeces though, they aren't all made the same so you might want to do a test. Last year I made a couple of coolers for Cinny, one was no pill fleece the other was just polar fleece. For the life of me I can't remember which one was which but I DO know that one wicks away the moisture and helps him dry and the other one holds it in like a plastic bag :(