Horse Rug Storage Ideas

6 Horse Rug Storage Ideas

Take a day to organise your horse rug wardrobe and you will be amazed!

There will be horse rugs you forgot you had! Horse rugs that are the incorrect size for your current horses. Stable rugs that need repairs and woollen show rugs that should be stored better!

Here are our top tips for organising your tack room and increasing the life of your horse rugs:

1. Pull everything out!

And we mean EVERYTHING!

Sort out what needs washing, the horse rugs that need repairing and the rugs that can be put away neatly.

Go full Marie Kondo and if your horse gear doesn't fit one of your current horses, re-home it! See if your local RDA centre or horse charity is in need of horse rugs that are still good, and if so give them away! You'll feel better that they are going to someone who needs them and your tack room will thank you for it!

2. Decide on your horse rug storage system

Some people like to fold and stack on shelving, some like to store all horse rugs in plastic tubs.

Personally, we prefer to use vacuum storage bags and then put them into proper bags. They are waterproof, sealed and take up way less space. Plus they are durable so you can store them on the floor if you want to (not that we recommend that).

We recommend putting them in another bag for further protection. We offer 3 different style bags for just the occasion:

PEI Premier Equine Storage Bag Navy

PEI Premier Equine Storage Bag Large Navy

3. Organise your horse rugs by style, and then by size

Group all your waterproof winter horse rugs together, aka Turnouts or Covers for our international horse friends!

Then group your stable horse rugs, fleece rugs and woollen rugs. These are your go-to rugs in winter for when it gets cold and you need to add another layer for a little while.

Grouping your show rugs, or 'going-out' rugs together will make them easy to find when you're going to a show or competition.

Get in the habit of washing and putting these rugs away straight after returning from a horse show. If you do they're always ready to go the next time you need them!

Finally work through your summer horse rugs and lighter weight layers like flag rugs, mesh rugs and combination/airflow type rugs. These are used year round as under-rugs and should be the most convenient to access.

4. Consider labelling each horse rug with its size on the outside

A sharpie or other permanent marker is great for writing the size of the rug somewhere visible on the outside. 

As the tag fades on cotton rugs after numerous washes. It's always good to know that the 'Thoroughbred wears a 6'0 size' and the 'Pinto wears a 5'9' so you don't have to waste time using trial and error!

5. Fold each horse rug neatly and put it away 

Practice makes perfect here! 

A neatly folded horse rug is easy to store, stacks well and can be identified quickly the next time you are looking for that rug!

 6. Sit back and enjoy the results!

 Well done! You are a rug storage champion!

And if any of your horse rugs get damaged in the process or you find yourself with a bunch of horse rugs that just don't fit your current horse you can have faith purchasing one of Active Equines online horse rugs as we provide a simple easy to follow Horse Rug Size Chart with BONUS fitting tips