A Week of Stable Management Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder

Work smarter not harder .......

Stable management, chores and improvements can be time consuming but are essential to ensure that you are providing a healthy environment for your horse to live. Each day we will be posting a daily tip on stable and yard chores that will not only make your life easier but will improve your horses health and well being.

Follow our week of chores below to get 2020 off to a good start!

1. Removing stable hazards and increasing efficiency

Wednesday's chores will be looking at your stable hazards and how to improve daily efficiency.

2. Clean and disinfect - the dangers of ammonia Thursday discusses Ammonia and what you can do to prevent it.
3. Maximize ventilation

Friday's chore looks at the invisible dangers in the stable environment.

4. Improve horse's comfort

Saturday's tip looks at how we can increase our horse's comfort and in particular joint health.

Tip 1. Removing stable hazards and increasing efficiency

• Remove the horse when mucking out your stalls - keeping a horse in a stall while mucking is not only a nuisance but there are large amounts of dust in the air when bedding is moved.

• Consider dust-extracted bedding materials, that also don’t break down into airborne dust before you have a chance to remove it.

• Consider improving your stable flooring. Did you know installing ComfortStall can save considerable bedding costs and also makes mucking out a quick and easy daily chore. Click HERE for more benefits

• Minimize stored equipment - the more equipment the greater the risk of a hidden hazard by attracting vermin and gathering dust

• Clean water and feed buckets daily - standing water can harbor disease-spreading mosquitoes, and decaying food a breeding ground for flies

Want to understand more about the stable environment? Check out the articles below :

Prevention is Better than Cure by Equine Behavior Consultant Sharon Smith

Checklist for Stables in Winter by Equine Behavior Consultant Sharon Smith

Sleep on This - a ComfortStall Testimonial Anne Howard by Kim F Miller

Tip 2 - Clean and disinfect to remove ammonia

Did you know ammonia poses a serious health risk for you and your horse?

A horse's urine can seep under stall mats and lead to a build up of harmful ammonia gas within just 24 hours.

We all know that strong smell of urine when you walk onto a barn - this smell is not only unpleasant it is harmful and in serious cases can lead to Bronchiolar and Alveolar Edema resulting in respiratory distress or failure.

So how often do you thoroughly clean your stalls and how often do clean under your rubber stall mats?

Things to consider to take control over the ammonia in the stable -

1. What type of bedding are you using? Some types of bedding are more absorbent than others.

2. What type of stall floor do you have? Traditional stall mats are not sealed and allow urine to seep into the gaps.

3. How many times a day does your horse urinate (how many wet spots are there in the stall)? And are you making sure all the wet spots are cleaned up everyday?

4. If you have rubber stall mats, how often are you cleaning and disinfecting under the stall mats?

For more information on ammonia please read our fantastic article below:

The Ammonia smell in the stable: Is it a health threat? Or an innocent, if unpleasant, part of life with horses?

Tip 3 - Maximize Ventilation

We all know that keeping a horse in a stall for long periods of time is not natural and can have an effect on their health, in particular respiratory health.

But did you know that the health impact of a stall environment is greatly influenced by forage type, bedding material and management regime?

You might not be able to see the dangers but they are there!

Maximizing ventilation is not only about making sure you open doors and windows it is about providing an environment with the best quality air and clean forage:

1. Chose a dust free bedding such as dust extracted shavings or wood pellets
2. Feed dust free hay - Haygain Hay Steamers are proven to kill mold, fungi, yeast and bacteria in hay and reduce up to 98% of respirable dust particles. CLICK HERE for more information
3. Remove the horse when mucking stalls
4. Ensure movement of air within the stable or yard and keep sweeping or using a blower to a minimum
5. Ensure hay is not stored within the same environment as your stalls
6. Chose a sealed flooring system to prevent ammonia build up - CLICK HERE for a the informative article on Ammonia

For more information on the invisible dangers in the air go to :

Measuring what you cant see by Becky James

Tip 4 - Improve Horse's Comfort

Your horse's comfort doesn’t sound like it should be a chore but in reality we should be proactive about making sure the stall environment is as comfortable as possible, especially when it comes to joint health.

Whether you have competition horses or happy hackers, joint health and management at rest should be a top priority – it’s easier to put in place preventative measures than deal with, what could be, the long and expensive road through treatment and recovery.

However, we at Haygain like to cover all eventualities and our products are designed to help horse owners both prevent and treat issues that come with the domestication of horses.

ComfortStall was designed to provide unparalleled comfort and joint support for the horse. Here are the top benefits for joint health:

1. Anti-fatigue Orthopedic foam system that completely mitigates the fatigue factor many horses experience when standing on concrete or traditional rubber stall mats (which are only a little bit less hard than concrete!).

2. Improves movement, flexibility and hoof quality through enhanced support to joints, tendons and ligaments.

3. Reduces the need for stable bandages due to the stimulation of blood circulation.
4. Relieves horses suffering from laminitis and sore feet.
5. Absorbs vibration and shock and improves quality of rest – allowing horses to get the all important REM sleep.
6. Insulates against the cold and heat helping to keep optimum temperature in the stable.

Here is what one horse owner say about ComfortStall -

ComfortStall flooring and Haygain steamed hay, the perfect combination for happy horses.

Thank you so much for following our week of practical chore tips! Hopefully you have picked up some useful information along the way. We are a science led company who truly believe our products can make a difference to both you and your horse's life, whether you are looking to treat or simply prevent a problem or illness. We have lots of testimonials from professional riders, owners and vets. Please click the links below to find out more.

More ComfortStall Testimonials More on ComfortStall