Caring for your horse’s rug: washing, drying, repairs, storage

A quality rug is expensive and lives outdoors, in rain, in mud and on a horse that rolls. It lasts years if treated like a piece of tack, and two seasons if treated like laundry. The rule fits in one sentence: brush often, wash rarely, dry well, store clean.

Day to day: the brush before the machine

Dried mud and hair come off with a stiff brush, rug spread over a fence. Done weekly, this avoids most washes, and washing is what wears a rug out: it tires the waterproofing, the seams and the straps. Local stains are treated with a sponge and clean water, with a mild soap if needed.

Check the fastenings, leg straps and chest straps at the same time: a snap that catches or a bent buckle is replaced in minutes by a saddler, before it tears the fabric.

Washing: rarely, and cold

A turnout rug is washed once or twice a season, at the end of winter at the very least. By hand in a bath or trough, or in a machine if its capacity allows (a wet winter rug exceeds most domestic machines; laundrettes and specialist services exist). In all cases:

• cold or lukewarm water, never hot: heat destroys the waterproof coating and shrinks the fill;
• a mild detergent, no softener and no bleach, which clog the membrane’s pores;
• straps and snaps fastened or slipped into a wash bag, to protect the drum and the fabric;
• rinse thoroughly: detergent residue irritates the horse’s skin.

On a waterproof rug, renew the waterproofing after washing, with a product designed for coated fabrics, as a spray or a wash-in.

Drying: flat or hung, never tumble-dried

Spread over a fence or hung by the chest straps, lining outwards, the rug dries in one to two days depending on the season. The tumble dryer is out, like any direct heat: the coating melts and heat-sealed seams give way. Store it only once perfectly dry, or you will find mould in autumn.

Repair before replacing

A clean tear, a torn-off strap, an unstitched tail loop or a broken snap can all be repaired. Saddlery workshops that work with fabric and leather take on these jobs, often for a fraction of the price of a new rug. Some repair materials are also in our care section.

Store clean

In the warm season, the clean, dry rug is stored folded in a bag or closed box, away from rodents and damp, in a ventilated place. A breathable rug bag beats a plastic one. Before putting it back on in autumn, check the straps and the fit, especially if the horse’s condition has changed: our guide choosing a rug and checking the fit lists the points to look at.