Arizona
Ventilation In Barns And Your Horse’s Health
By Don Keas
Apr 24, 2008, 11:26

Animals’ needs are much different from humans and the differences should be considered when designing a barn or equine facility. According to Eileen Fabian Wheeler, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Penn State, failure to provide adequate ventilation is the most common mistake made in construction and management of modern horse facilities. As ambient temperatures go, a horse’s comfort zone is between 45 degrees and 75 degrees. Our own comfort zones hover closer to 75. Sometimes in an effort to provide comfort for the humans who work with horses, contractors and designers overlook the ventilation problems these measures can create for horses.

Wheeler says that fewer builders are specializing in agricultural construction and that builders being unaware of a horse’s unique environmental needs are creating problems that take a toll on the animals. Without a lot of adequate ventilation, a horse can fall prey to mild respiratory conditions that worsen over time.

Stable air has a high content of odor, dust, mold and moisture including ammonia from horse urine. Air movement and fresh air has to be distributed throughout the structure. Often horse-owners place horses in completely enclosed buildings but there are solutions that make this work. Provide enough openings in the barn through the high side of the sidewall or a ridge opening. Ridge opening no less than one square foot per horse stall will allow the heat and moist air that accumulate to escape. Doors and windows with openings allow breezes to enter the stall. Locating buildings in areas that naturally receive a lot of wind flow will push fresh air into the building.

Wheeler recommends grillwork at the top of the front and side stall partitions for air ventilation and the social benefits when they can see other horses near them. Keep the area open to the peak and if that is not possible, ceilings should be a minimum of 12’ high. She also said that overhead hay-bedding storage interferes with air circulation and provides a constant source of dust, chaff, and molds which rain down on the horses’ heads.

In areas that experience hot, windless summers, sometimes horses can overheat inside a structure. Heat stress can cause weight loss, high body temperatures, low performance and dramatic water intake. Some horses develop an inability to sweat, despite an elevated body temperature. This is called anhidrosis and can be life threatening.

Most people put in small high velocity fans. These fans are inexpensive to purchase; however they are very noisy and use a lot of electricity. Keeping the stall fronts and divider walls grilled as much as possible allows more air to enter the stalls. We recommend having at least the stall door fully grilled. Fully grilled doors have another benefit allowing easier viewing of the horses.

Fans are rated on their capacity to move air, registered in cubic feet per minute (cfm) and can supply an even exchange rate. Minimum recommendations for each 1,000 pound horse is 100 cfm constant air flow for heat removal during mild weather; or 200-350 cfm during hot weather; and 25 cfm for moisture control in cold weather. A well designed barn with open stable wall designs and roof vents is ideal. Large, very quiet industrial grade fans that use little electricity are now available and although many barns, arenas and other buildings can have these fans installed, it is best to design the building with the large fans in mind. These fans are mounted to trusses similar to a ceiling fan and slowly move large volumes of air which brings in fresh air and distributes it within the facility. Benefits of the larger fans are they drastically reduce the number of birds and flies, keep the barn air fresher, the barn dryer and do not make any noise.

Don Keas

Author is a licensed contractor/owner of AZ Barn and Fence Pros, LLC. Don has experience as an Industrial Engineer as well as a Plant Engineer for major corporations. He has designed home developments and assisted individuals planning their home and building sites. You may contact him at AZ Barn and Fence Pros, LLC at 480-488-5705 or visit www.barnauthority.com


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