How often do you clean your stable rugs and is it fair to expect

I would always expect stable rugs to be reasonable enough to be handled by someone else

Mine go through the home washing machine reasonably often (but if Mr Welshd is reading this they magically clean themselves with absolutely no violation of the Hotpoint involved) and if i was on a yard i would be even more aware of making sure they were clean

Turnout rugs obviously arent that easy but with a stable rug where there is no reproofing involved its not like it would cost a fortune to get them washed every couple of months or have a second one if the horse is a grotty one
 
I wash stable rugs when the horse has lain in urine. I rotate stable rugs so there is always a clean one ready. The Insulator's are great because they wash easily and dry quickly.

It seems very unfair to put a rug smelling of urine on a horse when their sense of smell is so important. Horses belonging to a herd have a smell that identifies them as a member. So logic, for me, says that making a horse stink of stale urine is puts it at a disadvantage. A sick horse would not be able to take care of itself and would be lower status in a herd. I'd rather my lot weren't put in that position.

Muddy turnout rugs are different, I hose the straps off if needed and send them off for washing every couple of months.
 
I really can't stand changing other people's rugs and having to touch piss soaked surcingles and tails covered in poo. On the rare occasion I have to do it I always think it's a good thing our other staff are more tolerant than me.

I was my horse's liner rugs every week and stable rug every fortnight.
 
I no longer use stable rugs, I leave them in their turnouts but if I did its not a big deal to wash them. I can get all but the heaviest turnouts in my normal washing machine, so a stable rug would be washed and dry in a day. I am old enough to remember when we only had jute rugs, the jute was so thick that you were really unlucky if the wet went all the way through and I used to use wool blankets as an under rug which was rotated and washed regularly.
I would quote the H&S at Work Act, and say she either has to provide personal protective clothing i.e gloves or do a risk assessment and have a cleaning schedule. In the era of easy care fabrics and washing machines there is no need for stinking rugs.
 
I get them washed every three months in the winter - I have double of everything, so can change to clean rugs half way through the winter. Fleeces/waffles get washed about once a month and the yard does those as they fit into the washing machine. Turnout rugs get washed/mended once a year.

I do like the smell of fresh rugs!
 
weekly!!!

Friday is clean PJ's day!!

I wash mine at home in the washing machine and my friend luckily has a larger machine to put in the big h/w's when they are used in the cold months

I refuse to rug my horses in disgusting rugs and I wouldn't handle them either so would not expect my grooms to handle dirty rugs either!!! A bit OCD I guess but I don't want my horses smelling gross and disgusting.

It is HEALTH AND SAFETY at the end of the day, so you can put it in liverys contracts to launder their horses rugs as and when you stipulate!

Another good incentive is to have the yard washing machine! ON ebay there are often large washing machines for around 500 odd.
 
Every spring I send mine to be washed and proofed it turnout and washed if stable, I do it bit by bit as I have quite a few rugs lol , although with the tail I'd be wondering why the horse had such loose droppings for it to cover the tail :confused:
 
I wash fleeces and show sheets whenever they get dirty, but since y lad isn't stabled, his stable rug gets used about twice a year so it doesn't really get minging. Turnouts get changed regularly ( I have 9, so a few at each weight to switch round) so often even at the end of the winter they aren't too scurfy, so just get hosed down before storing. I don't like washing turnouts unless I have to as I don't think they're ever quite as good after reproofing.

Re jesstickle, with most animals you run risk of zoonotic infectious diseases, and whilst horses less so than dogs/cats/cattle, you could still pick up a zoonotic bacterial infection from their waste materials, particularly if horse itself isn't well.

Eta an article on zoonotic diseases vets pick up from horses - most aren't likely to be picked up by owners/handlers, but the section on diarrhoea is interesting.

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=645763
 
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My horses rugs get washed at the end of each season but I'd love to wash them sooner as his stable rug smells of wee!
Never mouldy! Never wet...but the smell rubs onto me!!! If I allowed myself to wash mid season I'd get obsessed & be doing it monthly. Which I can't afford to do!!
But on commercial terms I do think its acceptable to ask filthy ones to be washed, they probably don't realise how dirty they are if they're not handling them everyday.
http://geegeeandme.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1
 
I think a risk assessment for handling dirty rugs would come out pretty low. The risk assessment for me handling all kinds of pathogens at work aren't terribly high, a think a dirty rug is fairly safe. I think it is more appropriate to ask they are washed as a matter of courtesy than as a matter of elf and safety. That's just MO though and I recognise I have a higher tolerance to the idea of 'bugs' than most because of what I do for a living!
 
Depends really how dirty the horse is to how often l'd get their rugs washed - if it was mouldy & disgusting from horse laying in its own muck etc l'd regularly get them cleared its like us going to bed with a stinky wet duvet!!! Thankfully mine are relatively clean so only need washing at the end of the winter & repaired if need be before being put away. Its not fair for a yo to be responsible for a clients rug but at yards l've been at if a livery has had rugs damaged or in abit of a state for some time the yo or head lass has approached the client & it never caused a problem they either got the rug cleaned or put a spare rug for when the other got bad.
 
Whilst I agree that rugs should be washed regularly and that a livery yard is within its rights to ask an owner to get a rug laundered, I do have my reservations about actually refusing to change rugs if they have dung or urine on them. Even a regularly washed rug can get soiled overnight if the horse is not fussy about where it lies, as others have pointed out, plus leg straps and fillet strings often get wet and dirty just due to their positioning. And surely it is the freshest and newest accumulations which are the most offensive and most likely to transfer to hands and clothing! I'm afraid if you work in a livery yard you are bound to come into contact with urine and dung on a regular basis and either have to take precautions (waterproof gloves etc), suck it up or find a more suitable profession!
 
I clean mine after the winter and put then away until the summer. So far this year my mare has kept her stable rug fairly clean, last winter it was covered in poo and wee stains.

I find that rugs with fillet strings rather than leg straps get the dirtiest around the bum.
 
Jesstickle said:
I think a risk assessment for handling dirty rugs would come out pretty low. The risk assessment for me handling all kinds of pathogens at work aren't terribly high, a think a dirty rug is fairly safe. I think it is more appropriate to ask they are washed as a matter of courtesy than as a matter of elf and safety. That's just MO though and I recognise I have a higher tolerance to the idea of 'bugs' than most because of what I do for a living!
Click to expand...

I'm with you on that one. (while considering the fact that I don't think I washed my hands after mucking out this morning :p)

I am the owner of an exceptionally clean pony, if he wasn't he'd have a turnout on.

(goes off to attempt not to infect cell cultures with my cold :p ;) )
 
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