How do you store your rugs?

Snowy Celandine

Snowy Celandine

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I'm new to all this and with my horses having about 500 rugs each I'm struggling to know how to store them. I have a big shed where they could be stored but I'm worried about rodent infestation. There are no mice in there that I know of but I'm sure they'd love to nest in a heap of cosy rugs given half a chance so I need to put the rugs inside something I think. So what does everyone else use or do you all have lovely warm, dry and rodent proof tack rooms?
 
I buy those plastic garden storage boxes and stack them in there I do also have a very large garage which is free of vermin so some of them are stacked on the shelf in there.
 
Thanks Pinkvboots :) I was going to use my garage but then decided to store my hay in there so it's kind of full now :o

AFB, that's the kind of thing I was thinking of :D I need to find the largest and cheapest ones I can get so I don't bankrupt myself!!
 
Second the plastic garden storage chests. Share horse's owner and I have two between us and we manage to fit rugs for 2 big horses and a pony in them. I'm quite frugal with rugs but she has a rug fetish so it's no mean feat. As you're at home and so have easy access to a vacuum cleaner the vacuum bags are good for reducing the space they take up - you can normally get them pretty cheaply in places like Wilko's.
 
annagain said:
Second the plastic garden storage chests. Share horse's owner and I have two between us and we manage to fit rugs for 2 big horses and a pony in them. I'm quite frugal with rugs but she has a rug fetish so it's no mean feat. As you're at home and so have easy access to a vacuum cleaner the vacuum bags are good for reducing the space they take up - you can normally get them pretty cheaply in places like Wilko's.
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Thanks annagain, I have some of those vacuum bags for bedding but I'd not thought about using them for rugs. Brilliant suggestion!
 
Snowy Celandine said:
Thanks Pinkvboots :) I was going to use my garage but then decided to store my hay in there so it's kind of full now :o

AFB, that's the kind of thing I was thinking of :D I need to find the largest and cheapest ones I can get so I don't bankrupt myself!!
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I used my garage for hay a few years back as I had a livery in my spare stable, bit of advice you will get vermin in there once you start putting hay or straw in there I know this as the furniture I has stored in there got chewed and lived in and they basically destroyed everything that wasn't in a sealed container.:( my oh uses it as his gym as well and it just made such a mess and he hated it so I don't rent my other stable anymore for that very reason.
 
Hmm, that's not good Pinkvboots :( I've only got two stables (and two horses to put in them) so I don't have anywhere else to store the hay, unfortunately. There's nothing else in the garage that could really get damaged though, just the mower and some logs. Hopefully, it will be ok. I'll keep my fingers crossed!!
 
For those in use from time to time I have some of those wall mounted saddle racks. Rugs hang off them with the breast straps done up. And a brace of good cats to deal with any rodents ;)
And a plastic garden store for the ones cleaned and ready for the next season
 
Snowy Celandine said:
Thanks annagain, I have some of those vacuum bags for bedding but I'd not thought about using them for rugs. Brilliant suggestion!
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Should have added Lidl usually have the garden storage chests in the middle aisle once or twice a year. Keep an eye on their website as they often do it towards the end of summer when people are thinking of storing their garden furniture etc.
 
I use a spare stable with free standing shelving units.
The rugs are in labelled, plastic storage boxes.
The pony rugs fit in those under the bed storage boxes, the horse rugs are in larger boxes.
It's quite expensive, but I have been building it up over time. I tried using metal filing cabinets but they went a bit rusty and weren't air tight.
I have a small garden shed inside a barn but that is full of tack.
Rugs used regularly, hang on poles on jump stands in the barn. The barn is old and leaks in places so I have to be careful where I put the stands.
 
Snowy Celandine said:
AFB, that's the kind of thing I was thinking of :D I need to find the largest and cheapest ones I can get so I don't bankrupt myself!!
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If you have any older relatives, B&Q used to give them 10% off on a certain day of the week (I remember taking my grandparents along for the trip ;)) so something to look in to!
 
Snowy Celandine said:
Hmm, that's not good Pinkvboots :( I've only got two stables (and two horses to put in them) so I don't have anywhere else to store the hay, unfortunately. There's nothing else in the garage that could really get damaged though, just the mower and some logs. Hopefully, it will be ok. I'll keep my fingers crossed!!
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I know we were stupid and left everything in there not thinking as you only have hay in there it will be fine, I am enough to have 3 stables and only 2 horses so I use that now for hay, I let a friend livery here for a while hence why it had to go in that garage, I would get some boxes and put them in the shed am sure that will work.
 
I use:

Current one will hang on baler twine attached across back of stable.
Cleaned unused ones are folded away and in big (rodent proof) travel trunks - still easily picked up for reasonable cost at local flea-pit auctions and the like.
The next one up and down (eg, LW & HW) will be on the rug rack in the hay barn.
Anything else such as thermatex etc in clear plastic boxes.

HTH :)
 
Snowy Celandine said:
I'm new to all this and with my horses having about 500 rugs each I'm struggling to know how to store them. I have a big shed where they could be stored but I'm worried about rodent infestation. There are no mice in there that I know of but I'm sure they'd love to nest in a heap of cosy rugs given half a chance so I need to put the rugs inside something I think. So what does everyone else use or do you all have lovely warm, dry and rodent proof tack rooms?
Click to expand...

In an old chest freezer vermin proof/waterproof/ theft proof (if you put a lock on) and you can get loads in there more or less my horses complete wardrobe. I use the plastic boxes / trunks for small er items.

But for all 7 turn outs and fly and summer rugs etc they all fit in the chest freezer.
 
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Snowy Celandine said:
Hmm, that's not good Pinkvboots :( I've only got two stables (and two horses to put in them) so I don't have anywhere else to store the hay, unfortunately. There's nothing else in the garage that could really get damaged though, just the mower and some logs. Hopefully, it will be ok. I'll keep my fingers crossed!!
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you're almost bound to get mice if you have hay ime. again, a good farm cat or two ;)
 
Thank you so much everyone - I knew I could rely on you lot for good ideas :D I've just been poking about in the shed and found a big metal lockable cabinet so am wondering if that might be of use too.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
you're almost bound to get mice if you have hay ime. again, a good farm cat or two ;)
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Thanks MoC but I just had to have my lovely rescue cat, Lola, PTS and I'm afraid I'm not ready to have another cat yet :( I know that sounds silly but I am still missing her a lot. In time I think I will get a couple of kittens but not just yet.
 
annagain said:
Should have added Lidl usually have the garden storage chests in the middle aisle once or twice a year. Keep an eye on their website as they often do it towards the end of summer when people are thinking of storing their garden furniture etc.
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I got mine from Groupon :)
 
Once washed and dried, stored in IKEA Quilt bags, big double zipped with handles, so you can hang them up if you wish.
 
Ones that are used frequently live on a string in the stable.
Ones used infrequently live in the spare bedroom, usually all over the bed frame (no mattress on it atm!) :o.
 
You could put them in trunks to keep the rodents away.
You could also store them in a few large filing cabinets and fit a couple in each drawer, writing which horse they belong to on the drawers.
Something very useful is to wrap the blankets in brown paper rather than plastic, it keeps the airflow.
 
Thanks everyone :) That's interesting Nici, about the brown paper. I have a massive roll of it that I used to use for wrapping gifts when I had my shop so I will try that as I was wondering if the rugs might go mouldy.
 
ILuvCowparsely said:
In an old chest freezer vermin proof/waterproof/ theft proof (if you put a lock on) and you can get loads in there more or less my horses complete wardrobe. I use the plastic boxes / trunks for small er items.

But for all 7 turn outs and fly and summer rugs etc they all fit in the chest freezer.
Click to expand...

Don't for get to check the drain hole is rodent proof too!
 
I have an old chest freezer for my my rugs and saddle pads in storage in my tack room. You can pick up broken ones for free on places like Gumtree or Preloved.

The rug that are currently in use daily are hooked up in the 'rug room' aka stable lean-to for ease and those that are used semi-regularly are in old dustbins also in the rug room.

TBH I hate hanging them up as I find big hairy spiders always use them as nice cosy homes :( I much prefer them to be in rodent/spider proof containers.
 
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