Does my Canvas Need to be Reproofed, is it Still Waterproof?
If you think your rug is leaking, you need to check for a few things.
Firstly the purpose of a rug is to keep the horse warm and dry, so that is what you need to check, is the horse warm and dry over its back. You need to ignore moisture that is sometimes around the neck and down the shoulder or around the rump (tail flap) area as this is often seepage from water running inside the rugs, not leakage.
Place your hand up under your rugs and feel your horses back where the saddle would sits and over the top of its rump. If the horse is dry, then the rug is doing its job. You need to ignore what the rug is doing, ie any moisture sitting between the outer and inner layers as this is often condensation from your horse’s sweat. The amount of moisture retained there will be affected by such things as how warm your horse is and the outside temperature and moisture level. This is breathability and should be left alone to evaporate out.
Skye Park uses the best quality canvas available in Australia and your rug should give you many years of service without needing reproofing provided you treat it well when not actually on your horse by storing in a clean dry place. No canvas should ever be washed until you are ready to reproof it as this will remove the waterproofing and decrease the life of the canvas.
If you think your rug is no longer waterproof, we recommend you do a quick ‘cone test’ on the rug to check before you go the hassle and expense of reproofing.
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Get a normal household bucket, but any bucket will do |
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Place the DRY canvas over the bucket avoiding any seams or stitching and pulling any lining out of the way, the rump area is best as it takes the most friction and exposure. Make a shallow ‘well’ into the bucket without creasing the canvas. |
| Fill the well with cold water, approximately 1 cup will do. Leave undisturbed for about an hour. Carefully place your hand under the canvas and feel if any moisture is present. If so, then yes your canvas is not waterproof. If no, then leave for another hour and check again. Usually when this test is done the water will not permeate the canvas, even overnight |
If you have found your canvas to not be waterproof, provided the canvas is still in good condition, you can reproof using our own Dynaproof or any good quality canvas reproof designed for horse rugs. Please do not use a non-specific product as this will effect breathability.
To reproof, make sure your canvas is as clean as possible and apply one to two coats inside and out, concentrating on seams, back line and top of rug.
2 litres or Dynaproof should do 2-3 rugs depending on size and application rate.