A variable stretch horse blanket 13, shown in FIG. 3, of the type comprising either a single layer body of specialized, breathable and stretchable fabric 10, 11, or its alternative comprising a single layer body comprised of a plurality of permanently attached specially sized, paired, and positioned sections of specialized, breathable and stretchable fabric 76 through 106, as depicted in FIG. 8, with neck fastening means 24, 26, belly strap fastening means 54, 55, leg fastening assemblies 51, 53 and a supple reinforced portion 22. The specialized, breathable and stretchable fabric 10,11 or its alternative 76 through 106 can be manufactured to permit either a dominant two-way stretch as depicted by one of twelve representative vector arrows 25, or variable dominant stretching in a plurality of directions as depicted by one of a multiplicity of vector arrows 108 shown in FIG. 8.