Why do some ripstop horse rugs wear better than others?

To the majority of us, one ripstop fabric looks very much like the next. Yet some perform better on our horses with a longer life than others - so what's the difference?

While many ripstop fabrics may look the same - they can wear very differently. There are 3 major considerations with ripstop fabric - the actual fabric blend used, the type of loom the fabric has been made on, fabric weight and weave. Lets look at each factor.

Fabric Blend.

Many manufactures have switched to using a 100% Polyester fabric. (& call it Cotton). In days gone by, 100% cotton horse rugs were not uncommon, cotton was cheap and the rugs were made from a thicker weave - and if you recall they also shrunk or lost their shape easily and didn't wear so well. Over the last decade there has been huge leaps and bounds in fabric production technologies and new generation Ripstop's in polyester resemble cotton in just about every aspect. The majority of rip-stop fabrics are now either 100% polyester (but look and feel like cotton) or will be a blend of cotton and polyester. Given the huge increase in raw cotton since 2010 - many manufacturers now use 100% polyester. Unfortunately there are different grades of polyester thread and wear can vary greatly.

Cotton is naturally weak and needs a blend to give it strength and durability. Cotton does offer better breathability compared to polyester, but this gap has narrowed significantly in just the last few years. At Caribu we use an approximate a 70/30 blend in our rugs. 70% Polyester to 30% Cotton. If we use a higher cotton ratio - rugs start to lose strength and lose shape. More than 70% polyester, and the rugs start to lose breath ability.

Fabric Looms.

The performance of the fabric on your horse can also have a lot to do with the type of looms used to weave the fabric. In very simple terms there are two types of looms used for fabric construction for the ripstop fabrics. Manually tensioned and Automated tensioned looms. On the older manual tensioned looms it requires and operator to keep monitoring and tensioning the fabric as its being weaved. Fabric from these looms often will have lose threads of impurities in the weave (ie pulled threads etc). The automated looms are the newer computerized systems that create superior fabrics.

Today there is an influx of ripstop fabric being produced from India & the large majority of it it is woven on the older manually tensioned looms. The fabric may look the same, but if you look closely at the fabric, you will actually be able to slide the weave side ways under pressure on one axis. Fabric from newer automated looms will have a tight weave and be unpartable on both axis.

At Caribu we use automated looms for fabric tensioning & production - this delivers a tight weave that wont part = long life.

Fabric Weight & Weave.

The thickness or gsm (grams per square meter) weight of the fabric plays a huge part in performance. At Caribu we use a 300gsm fabric - which is strong - but still cool enough for our hot summers. With the increase in raw materials many have switched to using thinner fabrics - again they look similar and it takes a keen eye to detect the lighter fabric - but the difference will be very noticeable in wear when in use on your horse. Weave also plays an important role. A large square ripstop fabric wont be as a tight a weave as a small square ripstop. Likewise moving to a diamond weave offers superior performance again as you have a both a traditional square weave with a diagonal diamond weave ripstop on two diagonals.

A guide to fabric weights and suggested use in a cotton/polycotton paddock rug:

160gsm - 190gsm.
This is as about as light weight as you can go with a horse rug. Fabric of this weight usually used in very light summer rugs - traditionally flag. Lovely and cool - but not strong

200gsm - 270gsm.
This is the range that you will see many 'cheaper' ripstop fabrics appearing. Many big manufactures will do a 'budget' rug in this fabric. Price is right - but the life and durability of the fabric as a paddock rug will be disappointing.

280gsm - 310gsm.
This is the ideal range for a good quality long lasting Ripstop fabric that can be used in the hottest months. Strength is good and the rugs will hold there shape and stand up to the elements.

350gsm + .
At this weight you move into your stiffer canvas type fabrics.

As you can see many factors lead to delivering a quality ripstop fabric and they all come at a price.