How clean are your barn clothes?

I’m retired and my horses are at home. I wash my winter outerwear before I put them away for the year. I try to wear clean breeches to lessons. I wash my socks and underwear after one use. In summer I wash stuff when it looks and smells too dirty to put back on. I have low standards and wear dark clothes.

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Horses are at home, so Barn Clothes to me means What I Wear to Feed & Muck.
They all live in the mudroom, coats hung on hooks, bottoms (mostly sweats) & tops in those plastic 3-drawer things - 1 for Winter stuff, 1 for Summer.
Exception is what I’m currently wearing, that stuff (sweats, t-neck or t-shirt, socks) sits on a chair where I stumble into them in the morning after cats are fed.
They get washed when I can smell them (& my aging sense of smell means :smirk:) or when they get too muddy to rewear.
I sweep up a lot of hay from the kitchen floor that comes in with me.:expressionless:
Boots are kids snowboots from TSC. They last 2-3yrs, cost $20 & last until they leak. I have 3 pairs of varying ages as “just in case” spares.
For warm weather, rubber knee-high rainboots, same.

I just scored an Eddie Bauer coat from Goodwill that might be down & is actually too warm for our current 30-40F.
My other barncoat is also a Goodwill find - microfiber water-resistant with a button-in liner.
I cannot recall if I ever washed it in the 2 or 3 years, because… Barncoat.
My favorite barncoat is a microfiber, thinsulate-lined coat that was DH’s.
Purchased from Spiegel’s, it’s at least 25yo & may be beyond repair. Which is sad, because it was hands down the warmest, lightweight barncoat ever.

Riding clothes get about the same attention, but if they smell they go in the laundry, maybe after 3 wears for breeches.

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Has anyone used the horse blanket wash products for washable coats? Especially coats with a waterproof shell outer layer?

I tried this for a ‘washable’ coat thinking it might be better than just mild/diluted laundry soap. The coat came out … smelling like a horse blanket after washing in the same product.

It smelled ok for the barn, but it was definite and noticeable. Not sure hay and horse snot smell isn’t a bit more palatable. Maybe it just needed to air out for a day or so?

I re-washed in very diluted laundry soap just to ease the blanket-wash smell.

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You could wear a potato sack and I would still hang out with you! Your correct usage of your and you’re make me so happy!

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So I am slightly lazy, when I nikwax wash and re-proof my turnout sheets in spring to put away for the year, I wash my snow bibs and winter barn coat(s) at the same time. You could always give your horse blankets a wash or rinse cycle first with a cup of white vinegar to take out the smell and then wash them with your jackets in a second cycle depending on if you waterproof them or not in the washer. Usually my bibs and jacket smell just like the blankets though, so I just wash and proof them all together.

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I am on the “less is more” bandwagon when it comes to washing. Underwear gets one wear before washing, sports bras 1-2, but usually 1, I do sweat a good amount. Breeches are washed once every week or so, those are expensive items and washing takes life from them. I never put them in the dryer, always line dry. Socks usually one wear, but in winter sometimes it’s 2 if the “good” winter socks are necessary more than once a week. My favorite barn vest is fleece, so may gets washed once a month, but in past vests (not fleece) get washed 1-2 times a season. Coats are once a season unless there is an incident lol.

I will happily run errands in my barn clothes, and I have been known to grab a drink at the bar with a friend or even dinner at an informal restaurant in my barn clothes. I live in a pretty horsey area, it’s generally not a big deal.

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I like Nikwax Tech Wash for the waterproof gear. I took a quick look at prices and it actually might be slightly more cost effective to use people gear waterproof wash on the blankets than the other way around.

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That’s worth knowing, thanks.

We seem to have a mild January with only a few days here & there with very cold weather. (Very cold for us. In the north it’s swimming weather.) But Feb. can be a harsh month.

Every morning, I go to the barn, take care of my 5 horses and then head to work at a tree nursery. I usually wear the same jeans Monday through Friday. If I go back to the barn to ride after work, I change into breeches which get washed every third or fourth ride (more in the summer if I’m sweaty). I pretty much live in hoodies which get washed every few wears. All under-clothes/ socks are one use only. Running clothes are one use too. I don’t know that I’ve ever washed my vests or jackets, they’d probably fall apart if I did lol.
I don’t worry about what I’m wearing if I need to stop by the grocery or whatever, although I do keep a non muddy pair of boots in my vehicle. I live in a fairly rural community, people in farm clothes are pretty usual.

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Many of you are more fastidious than I am! Socks and panties are one use only. Sports bra gets hand washed daily in the summer but only every few rides when I am not sweating. Shirts get washed each use when I am sweating, but sweatshirts in the cold weather only get washed every few rides unless they get slimed. Breeches are washed after 4-7 rides, depending (except in the summer when I have to peel the soggy things off!)

Winter coat and vest get wiped down when obviously dirty but not generally washed until Spring. I stop in the grocery store etc. I my way home from the stable. I usually have another coat in the car but sometimes I don’t bother to change. I really should remember to look in the mirror to see what the helmet did to my hair though! :open_mouth:

Not very (clean). I save all the stained or bleached items for the barn. My horse doesn’t care.

I will dress up a bit for lessons or clinics (the clothes start out clean).

Susan