How to care for a Cooler Rug properly!

Yay! Your new sweat rug has finally arrived: it feels cosy and soft, the colours are bright and you are looking forward to putting it on your horse. To make sure that your new Sportsfreund sweat rug stays beautiful for a long time, you should follow our care tips.

Autorin: Karolina Kardel, 360 Grad Pferd

Tip 1: Do not use the cooler rug as a paddock rug

Because time is short after riding, you put your wet and sweaty horse and its sweat blanket in the paddock because someone else will take the blanket off later? You shouldn't do that. A sweat blanket is not a paddock rug. If your horse rolls around with his blanket (and most sweaty horses do after riding), the cooler rug can easily break despite the robust material. In addition, the dirt can impair the function of the fabric.

It is best to plan enough time directly after riding so that your horse can dry in peace. You can use this time, for example, to feed your horse and clean your equipment.

Tip 2: Clean the horse before putting the rug on

If you clean your horse properly before covering it, you prevent the horse's coat from getting stuck in your beautiful cooler rug. This is especially important during the change of coat, because if you put the sweat rug on your uncleaned horse, the many loose hairs will not only stick to the fleece, but also to the Velcro. And as you may know from your own experience: hair is anything but easy to remove from Velcro fasteners.

Speaking of Velcro: Always make sure that the Velcro does not drag across the floor, because then dirt can get stuck in it.

Tip 3: Let the rug dry properly after use

After each use, you should hang up your blanket and let it dry thoroughly. Our Sportsfreund sweat blankets have a loop at the height of the withers, so you can hang them up easily. This way, the fleece fabric is not weighed down and does not warp.

It is best to hang the blanket where it is not too cold and where there is enough air - for example outside on the saddle cupboard. It cannot dry properly in the saddle cupboard.

Tip 4: Wash the rug regularly

To keep your blanket looking good for as long as possible and to prevent bacteria from growing, you should wash it regularly - but at the latest after the winter.

You can simply wash your blanket at 40 degrees with a colour detergent and on a low cycle (600 to 800 cycles). You should not use fabric softener. Firstly, fabric softener sticks to the fibres of the blanket and thus reduces the sweating effect. Secondly, fabric softeners often contain ingredients that are neither good for the environment nor for the (horse's) skin. By the way: Because our Sportsfreund sweat rugs have no metal buckles, nothing will bang against the drum of your washing machine when you wash them. You should also avoid using the dryer. It's better to hang the blanket flat after washing.

Very important: The velcro fastener really must be closed before washing! Otherwise, the velcro may get tangled in the fabric or wear down the fleece.

Tip 5: Store and stow your rug in a clean and mouse-proof place.

While you will use your rug almost every day during the winter, you will certainly not need it as often during the summer. Often the blanket is stowed away in the back corner of the tack room or saddle cupboard, where it is out of the way and doesn't bother anyone. A mouse could think: "great, this is a great place for my new nest! ". And after the summer, your sweat rug is full of holes. That's why you should always store your cooler rug away from mice.

By the way, the correct care of your sweat rug has a lot to do with sustainability: With the purchase of your new Sportsfreund rug , you have consciously chosen a high-quality product and not a cheap rug that will be thrown away after a short period of use and bought again because it has broken. If you follow all our care tips, you will enjoy your high-quality Sportsfreund sweat rug for many years.