Posted: 1st February 2018 | Back to news feed
Well maintained stables are healthier for both horses and people, they are more comfortable to be in and stay in good condition for longer.
Keeping your horses stable in good repair is essential in order to ensure their health and safety as there are multiple micro-organisms that will live in a stable environment, dependent on the conditions.
Consider the following points to maintain a clean and healthy environment for your horses stable:
1, Most importantly and obviously, keep your stable clean by mucking them out every day, keeping on top of this is not only imperative for the horse’s health but also for the life of the stable structure. Wood stables are particularly prone to decay due to unclean conditions and moisture which results in the wood becoming rotten. Keep on top of mucking out to minimise the amount of moisture in the stable to maximise the structures lifespan.
2, Consider the type of bedding in the stable as it has a lot to do with how fast it can be cleaned out. For example, if your horse has straw bedding, manure can often get lost underneath the first layer resulting in having to spend more time moving all the straw about whereas shavings allow you to sift through easier and see a change in colour of any patches that need removing. However, the bedding type often depends on what is more suited to your horse often for health reasons as well as the cost so this cannot always be changed because of time efficiency.
On the topic of bedding, make sure that whatever you use you have enough stock in so that you don’t have to worry about taking too much out and not being able to replace it with clean bedding.
3, When cleaning out the stable, use the most efficient tools considering the type of bedding as the right tools make the job easier, if you bed down with straw a pitchfork is a useful tool whereas if you use shavings or wood pellet bedding, a bedding fork with prongs that are close together is an easier tool to use.
4, When cleaning out the stables open any windows and doors as long as nothing will get in them and mess up your freshly cleaned stable, to increase ventilation.
5, You may want to strip the stable occasionally removing everything until the floor is bare, use a shovel or tool to scrape the remnants of bedding up, then thoroughly sweep the stable floor clean. Let the floor completely dry before re-bedding, if this is not possible leave the surface clear right up until when you need to put your horse in, giving it as much time as possible to dry out. When completely stripping the stable it is a good time to disinfect the floor, but this should be left to dry completely before putting any bedding or horses back into the stable.
6, If stables are well ventilated, disinfected regularly and painted with anti-bacterial paints the survival rate of pathogens is greatly diminished, keeping the stables a healthy environment for your horses.
7, To minimise the spread of bacteria, use Stable Shield antibacterial paint as it protects against the growth and spread of harmful bacteria by up to 99.8%. Stable Shield is the original and only hard wearing anti-bacterial paint formulated specifically for stables and working yards. Stable Shield provides an extra barrier, hence reducing the risk of your horse getting ill. Stable Shield is committed to improving the biosecurity for your horse. Biosecurity is a simple routine of preventative measures to help protect against bacteria, infections and diseases.
8, Regularly hose down your cleaning out equipment and occasionally disinfect them, to avoid any unwanted old remnants being moved from stable to stable or the store room and to de-odourise them making them more hygienic for the people that use them and the horse’s stables.
9, If you keep doing minor maintenance regularly such as fixing any lose bolts, squeaky doors, crumbling bricks or exposed nails as well as removing any cobwebs from the walls and ceilings it will keep it much cleaner and save you time in the long run.
10, With diseases easily spread, we should be doing everything we can to minimise the risk of diseases by keeping stables a clean and healthy environment for horses and people to be in.
Stable Shield Antibacterial Paint is a water-based non-toxic paint that can be applied to stables to create a fully disinfected yard. The paint prevents the growth of bacteria by up to 99.8% on all applied surfaces. This in turn creates a clean environment which is crucial to help horses with their respiratory system and overall wellbeing.
For further information about Stable Shield products contact 01386 423999 or visit www.stableshield.co.uk.
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