Winterizing Your Horse Barn

As important as spring cleaning, good winters
cleaning is essential in keeping your horse barn
in top shape plus provides a good environment for
your horse. You and your horse will spend more
wintertime in the horse barn than any other
season of the year. Why not make it a pleasant
place to be.

Some chores are obvious like periodic cleaning
of the horse stalls. A good sweeping or pressure
washing of the floors and walls will cut down on
the dust and grim accumulated during the summer
and fall when the doors and windows of the barn
are open. Keeping the stall floors clean and
fresh not only provides the horse with a cleaner
and more sanitary environment, but it preserves
and protects the horse barn floor which will
prevent costly repair or replacement in the
future.

You will need to perform a periodic inspection
of areas damaged due to horse cribbing. An
application of an anti-cribbing paint will help
deter the habit and prevent further damage to
the horse barn and possible health problems for
your horse. There are many anti-cribbing
products on the market. Make sure it is chemical
free, weather resistant, and safe for animals and
humans.

You will want to do an overall inspection of
winter equipment for repair or replacement.
Horse blankets, grooming supplies, heaters,
water containers, and while you are at it, check
the water pipes for proper insulation. A frozen
or broken water pipe in the cold of winter can
be a major problem for the barn and the horse.

A good stockpile of hay and grain in the barn is
like having a full pantry in your home. Prepare a
safe space in the horse barn for your grain.
Pesky rodents like to come in from the cold and
can bring disease and eat your horse out of
house and home.

Having access to an ample supply of water in
your horse barn is a "no brainer", but a great
tip is to soak your hay in warm water. This will
give your horse more hydration plus cut down on
dust that tends to linger in the barn during
winter months. Putting warm clean water in the
buckets will also encourage more hydration. A
horse will use less energy keeping warm if he
has warm water available and is more likely to
drink fluids preventing intestinal problems.

Winter check list:

1. Do general barn clean up in stalls. Sweep or
pressure wash floors and walls

2. Check your winter items for repair or
replacement like horse blankets, heaters, water

containers, and especially pipes for proper
insulation

3. Disinfect water buckets and check for any
damage to stalls due to cribbing

4. Stock up on food supplies and supplements

5. Check for any drafts in your horse barn. You
want good ventilation but not a constant

draft through a cracked door or window

6. Treat yourself and your friend to a regular
exercise program

You and your horse will appreciate the work and
effort done for your annual winter maintenance

program in your horse bar

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Carolina Storage Solutions was founded in 2008
and has sold and delivered HUNDREDS of products
to satisfied customers in the local area and to
ranchers and home owners as far away as the
Midwest. We opened our doors on this motto:
"Treat others the way we want to be treated".
http://deliveredbarnsandsheds.com

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