How to Repair a Horse Rug

Horse rugs take damage in ways that most outdoor fabrics do not. Horses push through fence lines, scratch against fence posts and stable walls, and roll on hard or stony ground. The fabric at the shoulder, hindquarters, and along the back seam takes the most abrasion, and once a small rip starts in those areas, the movement of the horse while wearing the rug extends it rapidly. A 30mm rip discovered on a Monday can be a 200mm tear by Friday if the rug stays in use.

The waterproof coating on turnout rugs is the second point of failure. The PU coating on the inner face degrades with repeated hot washing and with exposure to alkaline detergents. Once the coating begins to fail, the rug passes water through in steady rain even where the outer fabric is intact, giving the appearance of a tear or hole without one being visible.

Stormsure Flexible Repair Adhesive seals both types of failure on nylon and waterproof synthetic fabrics. It bonds to the outer layer and cures flexible, so it moves with the rug during the horse's movement rather than cracking away at the repair edges as a rigid adhesive would.

What You'll Need

• Stormsure Flexible Repair Adhesive
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Clean cloths
• Masking tape
• Scissors
• Nylon patch material (for tears over 30mm, matching ripstop weave if possible)

How To Do It

1. Remove the rug and let it dry completely

A rug that has been on a horse in the field will be damp from condensation and likely contaminated with mud, sweat residue, and hair. Brush off all loose debris, then hang the rug over a stable door or fence rail in a dry, ventilated space until it is dry throughout. This typically takes two to four hours on a dry day. Do not attempt any repair on damp fabric: the adhesive will not bond reliably to a moist surface.

Timing: 2 to 4 hours drying before repair

2. Clean the repair area

Wipe the repair area with isopropyl alcohol on a clean cloth. Horse rugs accumulate oil and sweat residue at the shoulder and rug contact points that is not removed by brushing alone. The IPA removes these surface contaminants. Allow five minutes drying time after wiping before applying any adhesive.

Timing: 5 minutes drying after IPA wipe

3. For rips: close the tear and apply Stormsure from the inside

Turn the rug inside out so you can work on the coated inner surface. Press the torn edges together from the outside with your hand and hold the seam closed while you apply Stormsure to the inner face. Squeeze a thin bead along the full length of the tear plus 15mm each side, and spread it flat with a finger or matchstick. The adhesive penetrates the weave and bonds the torn fibres back to each other and to the coating beneath.

4. For large tears: bond a patch to the inside first

For tears longer than 30mm or rips where material has been lost, cut a nylon patch at least 30mm larger than the tear on all sides and round the corners. Apply Stormsure to the patch and to the repair area on the inner face of the rug. Press the patch in place immediately after applying Stormsure to both surfaces. Weight it flat for two hours before turning the rug over to close the tear on the outside face.

Timing: 2 hours weighted before turning over

5. Seal the outer surface

Turn the rug right-side out. Apply a thin layer of Stormsure along the full length of the outer tear line, spreading it slightly wider than the tear itself to bond any frayed fabric to the surrounding weave. Smooth it flat with a gloved finger and allow the edges to feather out rather than forming a ridge. This outer coat provides the weatherproof seal and prevents the tear re-opening under abrasion.

6. Cure flat for 24 hours

Lay the rug flat on a surface with the repair area uncovered. Do not fold or roll the rug while the adhesive is curing. Stormsure reaches full flexible bond strength in 24 hours at room temperature. A rug put back on a horse before full cure will experience significant flex loads at the repair site, particularly at the shoulder, and the adhesive may deform or peel before it has set.

Timing: 24 hours cure flat before use

Prevention Tip

Inspect horse rugs for small rips and abrasion spots after every week of field use. The shoulder region wears fastest and a patch of thinning fabric that is treated with Stormsure before it tears is a five-minute job. The same patch left until the fabric tears through is a longer repair and leaves a period where the horse is cold or wet while the rug is off for repair. A seasonal waterproofing treatment applied at the end of summer before the rug goes into heavy winter use extends the life of the PU coating on turnout rugs significantly.

Common Questions

Can I repair a horse rug while it is on the horse?

No. Stormsure needs to be applied to a clean, dry, flat surface and requires 24 hours undisturbed cure time. Applying it to a rug that is in use or still warm and damp from wear will result in poor adhesion. The repair also needs to be worked from both the inside and outside face of the fabric for best results, which requires the rug to be off the horse and lying flat.

Will Stormsure hold on the coated inner lining of a turnout rug?

Yes. Stormsure bonds effectively to PU-coated nylon, which is the standard inner construction of most turnout rugs. Clean the inner surface with IPA before application to remove any silicone spray or waterproofing treatment that may have been applied previously, as these can reduce adhesion. The bond on a cleaned PU inner surface is strong and flexible.

My rug is leaking through the fabric without any visible holes. What is happening?

This is PU coating delamination or degradation rather than a physical tear. The PU coating on the inner face has broken down and is no longer providing the waterproof barrier. For a rug where this is localised (one panel feels damp while others stay dry), apply Stormsure in a thin, even coat over the inner face of the affected panel and allow to cure. For a rug where the coating has failed across multiple panels, a reproofing spray on the outer face combined with Stormsure on the inner delaminated areas gives the best result.

Can I machine wash the rug after the repair has cured?

Stormsure cures to a fully washable film once it has had 24 hours to cure. Wash on a cool cycle using a technical fabric wash rather than standard detergent. Hot washing and standard detergents do degrade the PU coating on the rug body over time and will eventually work at the edges of the repaired area as well. A cool wash with technical cleaner will not affect a fully cured Stormsure repair.