Is Horse Stable Cleaning Important?
Horse stable cleaning is vital to ensure lasting health and maintain a clean environment for your horses. Neglecting to perform regular horse stable maintenance can lead to an infestation of insects and breed bacteria which can cause long-term medical issues.
In this blog, we will discuss the importance of horse-stable cleaning and how to clean a horse stable thoroughly.
The effects of a dirty stable
Dirty stables breed harmful bacteria and insect colonies that can negatively impact your horses throughout the stable. Not just those in the infected zone. This bacteria can come from the stable itself, the paddock, the tack room, and the remaining areas of the yard.
Fortunately, thorough horse-stable cleaning can help to contain the pathogens that make your horses sick.
Some illnesses your horses can develop in dirty stables include Equine Influenza, Equine Herpesvirus, Equine Infectious Anemia Virus, Streptococcus equi, and Tetanus. These are all avoidable illnesses that are preventable with regular horse-stable maintenance.
How to clean a horse stable
The first step to horse-stable cleaning is completely clearing the area of bedding, feed and water buckets, hay nets, and rubber matting. Doing so will allow you to access every corner of the stable and remove obstructions that may prevent you from cleaning thoroughly. Once your stable is clear, the real work begins.
- Sweep the floors
Sweeping the floors to remove as much organic matter as possible will prevent creating a sludgy and slippery floor once you bring the hose out.
2. Wet all surfaces
If you’ve ever left dishes to ‘soak’ in the washing-up bowl, you know the purpose of this. Applying water to the surfaces of your stable will encourage any remaining organic matter to loosen and fall away, minimising exertion on your part.
3. Rinse
Start rinsing the walls from the top to prevent spreading matter to the lower parts of the wall that you’ve already cleaned. Also, begin as far away from the door as possible, and be vigilant of the corners you may have missed.
4. Dry
To avoid mould when replacing hay, leave your stables to air-dry for as long as possible.
5. Apply disinfectant
One of the most vital aspects of horse-stable cleaning is to apply diluted disinfectant to the walls and the floor. It is best to wear protective clothing to avoid exposing your skin to the chemicals in the diluted mixture.
Once you have applied the disinfectant, let it air dry rather than rinsing it away to prevent disrupting the disinfection process.
The same rules apply to the fittings in your stable, including feed and water buckets. Disinfecting these will ensure that your stable is as sterile as possible.
6. Reinstall fittings
Once everything is clean, disinfected and dry, you can reinstall the fittings and place new dry hay in the stable.
New stables with Kit Buildings
If you know how to clean a horse stable, but your efforts aren’t making a difference, it might be time to get a new stable. Fortunately, we offer a bespoke stable-building service at Kit Buildings to design, manufacture and construct your perfect stable.
Our stable buildings include internal cladding options to suit your needs, insulation, lighting, and ventilation to keep your horses comfortable in their new building.
Contact us today to find out more about our horse stables!
