Champion show jumper Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum wants the horse world to know that she and Markus use Miele industrial-strength washing machines. But do international show jumpers even get a chance to get as dirty as a backyard horse? (Miele photo)
When I drive by my local laundromat, the sign “NO HORSE BLANKETS” is written in such huge letters that I can read it without slowing down. Before you even get inside, you have been warned that you will be prosecuted if you put horse-related items in any washer or dryer.
Shrunken heads or scalps of offending grooms and stablehands may as well hang from the ceiling. “Horse” is a four-letter word in America’s laundromats.
Of course, that doesn’t stop a lot of people, especially for small items like leg wraps and saddlecloths…Not to mention their own clothes, which usually have more horse hair on them than the horses’ clothes do. And they usually sneak in at midnight, when no one’s around.
So when I received two press announcements almost simultaneously about horse-product laundering, I was sure that the Horse-Hating Laundromat Owners of America were really cracking down. But it turned out that these are two product announcements that prove my theory about how challenged rank-and-file horse owners are with keeping all those horse clothes clean.
Manufacturer’s claim: saddle pads and horse blankets will no longer get wet or dirty. (Nanotechnology photo)
Nanotechnology is a dog-products manufacturer ready to break into the horse market. They will soon be offering dirt-proof turnout and stable blankets, sheets, and saddle pads. I’d love to be the public relations firm for these blankets and challenge horses to get them dirty. Testing these products would be fun and I am sure that my local laundromat owner is really hoping that they catch on!
Learn more at www.doggonesmartbed.com. Maybe I should have my house and car (and self) upholstered in their fabric!
Horseowner’s Ancient Wisdom: Buy a horse a new turnout blanket and rolling becomes compulsory, regardless of the weather…or how much you paid for the blanket
The second news had some star-quality intrigue. Miele, makers of industrial-strength and oh-so-Euro-designed washing machines, offered a behind-the-scenes photo tour of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum‘s lovely home in Germany. This promo is testament to the celebrity status of riders in Europe compared to America. The tour ends in the stable, where we see that she and Markus have two industrial-strength washers ready to launder the endless supply of coolers they keep winning.
Click here for a mini slide-show tour of Meredith’s farm in Germany; click here to download the Miele horse laundry brochure.
Hats off to Meredith for endorsing a company that makes a product we’d all like to own (and no doubt, some lucky readers already do). I hope Miele keeps a presence in the horse world and helps us all clean up our act!