How often should you wash your horse blankets?  And how do you go about it?

How often your blanket needs washing can depend on a lot of factors.  Everyone has a different system, but here's a few things to think about. 

How often your horse wears his blanket is a big consideration.  A horse that is blanketed every day will need more laundering than one that wears his blanket only on the coldest nights. 

What is your blanket made out of?  A blanket with a nylon lining, often called coat polishing lining, will help keep the oils on your horse's coat instead allowing them to soak into his blanket. 

Sweat - While it is never good for a horse to sweat under his blanket, that does create salt and residue on his blanket that will make it need washing more often. 

Coat conditioners that leave oily residues on your horse can also get trapped in the fibers of the blanket and can increase the frequency of washing.

Stall habits - If your horse tends to roll in the mud or in areas with urine or manure then the blankets will need extra care.  Mud or other material can make blankets heavy and stiff, and make your horse uncomfortable.

Wet conditions - a wet blanket is worse than no blanket.  If your horse's blanket gets wet, it's always a good idea to have a spare to rotate so that you clean and dry out one while he is wearing the other.

When you are ready to wash your blanket, here are a few tips.  The first thing to do is to knock the loose mud and hair from the surface.  You can do this with a stiff brush or a pressure washer (with no soap). 

For heavily soiled blankets, soaking can help.  I use a small amount of detergent in a rubbermaid storage tub or water trough and soak the blankets overnight.

If the blanket has removable straps, remove them and place them in a lingerie bag (often sold at tack stores as polo wrap washing bags) to keep them from becoming tangled, torn, or strecched out. 

To wash the blanket, I use high capacity machines, preferably without an agitator.  The large front load machines at laundromats are my favorite.  Toss the bag of straps in as well.

Use mild detergents - some horses can have allergies to scents and residue from detergents.  My personal preference is Dreft, made for washing clothes and blankets for newborns.  I also use half the recommended amount.

Rinsing is important!  I run the wash cylce with the regular rinse, then I run the wash cyle again with no soap to make sure that there is no leftover soap.

Drying the blankets can take a lot of time.  They need to air dry, and if the temperatures are freezing, that can be tough.  Hang them to dry so that air can reach as much as possible.  I often hand them on fences, stocks, or on the slant dividers inside the trailer to get them all spread out to dry.  I also turn them inside out or flip them over after a while to make sure they dry all the  way through.

My last secret tip - layers.  If you have a show horse that is wearing blankets all the time, use a light weight nylon sheet as your first layer.  You can easily wash a light sheet in your home washing machine, or several at a time in a high capacity machine.  This will allow you to keep a clean, non-irritating layer against your horse without washing the heavy blankets all the time.  If your horse is outside, or is a big roller, put a tough turnout sheet on as the last layer.  You can remove and wash that outer layer without leaving your horse out in the cold.

Learn more about choosing the right kind of blanket for your horse here.