I wash my rugs in Nikwax two or three times a season, but while this does what you’d expect for the mud, I can’t say it has any particular effect on Eau de Cheval. Any products you’ve found that cut through the aroma? I don’t mind re-waterproofing afterwards.
I’ve read a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle but have not tried it myself.
Best I’ve found is borax with your detergent, vinegar in the rinse and hang it out in the sun for a couple of days. Then suck it up because eau de cheval is pretty much a fact of life when it comes to blankets that aren’t washed weekly.
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Some Natures Miracle can help with the pee smell.
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I deal mostly with mud and ground in dirt on my sheets/blankets - less with poop/pee. I pre-treat all stains/mud with Shout and let it sit for over an hour. Then I wash in Woolite and double/triple rinse. I dry on air until its no longer soaking wet and then turn inside out outside (if weather permits), otherwise, hang up in house to finish drying.
I will say that since I no longer have my Maytag over sized, top-loading washing machine, that front loaders do NOT get blankets as clean. I do not try washing blankets at home in my small front loader. I take them to the wishy washy and use the largest washing machine they have. These work better at cleaning, but still can’t touch my old top-loading Maytag.
Yes, washing them in an industrial machine really does make a difference. I can do sheets up to the midweight at home in my front loader- the sheets and 100gm well, the midweight adequately- but the annual end of season pilgrimage to the laundromat is worth the trip! I’ll try the vinegar in the rinse water there; that’s where I re-waterproof. My mom used to try Simple Green in her rinse water and I can confirm that that does nothing.
I have the midweight out on my back fence to sit in the sun for a few hours and hopefully that helps- but my sunroom, where it was drying last night, is definitely pungent!
Pro blanket washer here.
Using a spray bottle pre-treat pee saturated areas with white vinegar by spraying on liberally 'till soaked through.
Dry brush off manure spots & spray with hydrogen peroxide, as above.
Don’t deliberately mix them. Let sit for 10 - 15 minutes.
I wash with Rambo Blanket wash, and you may have to run it through 2 wash cycles. You’ll know as soon as you open the washer. I’ll also double rinse. Only hang to dry.
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I used to do them for others and always used OdoBan. Works great.
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I add Downey Unstoppables to my wash cycle, when I store them I put a few dryer sheets in the bag they are stored in.
Simple Green - cuts through all grease and urine, etc and smells great. It does, as does most laundering, remove the waterproofing, so you wnat to put that back in. But I love simple Green. (My daughters and I call it Soylent Green, lol)
Febreze odor remover is the only thing I have ever found that works on hardcore horse piss smell .
I can tell a difference when I double rinse mine.
Rambo Wash
Another Round - I remember that movie " Soylent Green " - ewwww !!
Atsko Sport-Wash Residue-Free Laundry Detergent does the trick.
I don’t know if it’s bad for blankets, but I’ve used OxiClean for really stinky blankets and it works great.
If you plan to re-waterproof Arm & Hammer Laundry detergent. Cheap stuff in the yellow bottle. used it once for some reason not related to cleanliness or smell, and it got the sheets cleaner and fresher smelling than ‘better’ detergent.
I’m updating this because I realized that I was doing something wrong, and doing it better made a difference. 
I have used Nikwax Tech Wash and TX Direct for my rugs for years- not least because I can get it off the shelf from the REI that’s two minutes from both my house and the laundromat. The products had kept my rugs clean and waterproof for many years, albeit with a whiff of eau de cheval, so as far as I was concerned it was working.
I finally e-mailed Nikwax to ask them about the difference between Tech Wash and Rug Wash, and TX Direct and Rug Proof. I had figured that they would be basically the same product. They are not. Rug Wash is specifically formulated for organic stains whereas Tech Wash is a milder soap. Since Rug Wash does not have any waterproofing polymers in it, it should be followed up with Rug Proof, while Tech Wash does have waterproofing. So this year I washed everything with Rug Wash and followed up with Rug Proof.
There is significantly less aroma using Rug Wash than I had with Tech Wash, and it removed stains more effectively than Tech Wash (with which I’d sometimes wash twice at end of season.) In fact, I’d done my midweight with Tech Wash in January or so, and noticed that some discoloration was left at that time; the Rug Wash took that old set stain out as well. I can’t say that they totally removed the smell of unwashed horse, but the rugs are cleaner both to the eye and to the nose. In addition, the Rug Proof has a fragrance to it that further masks any leftover equine smell.
In conclusion, don’t be like me. Use the product that’s formulated for the job you’re trying to do!
I’ve been using “Sportwash” by Sno-Seal/Atsko for about 8-10 years–made for washing technical fabrics like ski clothes, hunting clothes, mountain climbing apparel. I hand wash mine in a giant Tuff Stuff garbage can type thing, and have never used more than 3/4 of a cap even on my mare’s really disgusting blankets. I’ve never had to re-waterproof any blanket; stench is totally gone (stuff is unscented) and miraculously it takes care of static as well. I buy 64 oz bottles on Amazon for about $20. It’s truly an amazing product.
