How do you properly care for a horse rug?
Since horse rugs in particular offer an ideal climate for bacteria and germs through moisture and warmth, they should be washed regularly and always adequately ventilated and stored in a dry place. Similar to functional textiles for people, horse rugs require professional care both for the above-mentioned hygienic reasons and in order to maintain the utility value and service life of the rugs.
Before cleaning the horse rug:
Before cleaning a horse rug in the washing machine, coarse soiling should be removed with a soft brush and horse hair should be removed. This works best with the SHOWMASTER Wonder Brush. In order to maintain the lifespan of the Velcro fasteners as long as possible, you should also clean them with a special brush, e.g. a Velcro fastener brush. Before the wash cycle, all hook-and-loop fasteners should also be closed so that no fibres or threads are pulled out of the rug material. This pretreatment helps with the washing process and is gentle on the washing machine.
Take care of your washing machine!
Classic household washing machines usually have too little capacity to ensure that the horse rug can move freely in the drum during washing. However, this is essential for a proper wash cycle. Otherwise, please contact a professional horse rug cleaning service.
The horse rug cleaning:
Basically, you should always follow the washing instructions on the label. As a rule, horse rugs are washed at a maximum of 30 ° C with a special horse rug detergent and absolutely without fabric softener.
After cleaning the horse rug:
After washing, the rug is hung to dry in a dry and shady place. Please do not put the horse rugs in the household dryer! The high temperatures destroy the functional properties of the rug. Please also make sure that the rug is really dry before you fold it up: this can counteract the formation of mold.
If you have not used an impregnation rinse during the wash, a waterproof horse rug must be re-impregnated after washing. Impregnate the rug with a suitable impregnation spray and let it dry well.
Please note that waterproof rugs also need to be impregnated between washes in order to appreciate the functional coating! To do this, brush off coarse dirt from the horse rug and use a suitable impregnation spray.
Keep your horse rugs in a dry and clean place. Rug racks or rug bags are ideal for this.