Ceiling fans should be installed in three areas inside your barn: over the horse stalls, over the stall partitions, and down the center aisle. Hayward explains that positioning the fan blades to pull air up from horse stalls is an effective way to remove hot, stale air from the barn.
Ceiling fans are a great idea, but they won't do any good if the warm moist air doesn't have an exit. "You need vented cupolas," Hayward explains.
Vented cupolas are basically air vents in the roof. They are a great way to foster ventilation, and they're relatively inexpensive and easy to install. Even without ceiling fans, the warm, moist air that naturally rises off your horse will have an exit through a vented cupola.
Ventilated cupolas are equipped with an electric fan that pulls air out of the barn. "Ventilated cupolas cost more money (as opposed to just a vented cupola), but in the long run, it's a critical feature," she says. "You don't have to do anything fancy to have a ventilated cupola and good airflow."
No matter what the season or where you're located, you can easily maintain healthy airflow with a thermostatically controlled cupola or an air exchanger. The thermostatically controlled cupola works like the ventilated cupola, with the addition of a thermostat like the one in your home. When your barn reaches a certain temperature, the cupola fan turns on.
Air exchangers replace stale, polluted air inside a structure with clean, outside air that is filtered to remove pollens. The filter also removes moisture from the air, which can carry pollutants and cause mold and mildew. It truly exchanges the air. Hayward notes, "It's a big expense, but it's worth it."
There are a few other design elements that are straightforward and fairly inexpensive when building or renovating a barn with ventilation in mind. If possible, leave open spaces in the pitch of the roof, especially over the stall areas. Hayward explains, "You want a volume of air above the horse. Don't put ceilings over the horses. Instead, put a ceiling over the wash rack or tack stall and have vaulted ceilings over the horses."
Remember, hot air rises. So a ceiling over the stalls means the warm, moist air remains closer to the horses.
Interior stall vents at the bottom of the stall front increase ventilation and air flow at the floor level and within the stalls, where air is typically still.
"There's actually a vent you can install low on the stall front that you can open and close, which is a nice feature, but it can be expensive," she says. "Doors that I recommend on the interior either have grill or mesh on the bottom half of the stall, with a bedding guard on the bottom. It helps ventilation and airflow-opening up the lower area helps promote cross-ventilation."
Since the grill or mesh stall fronts can be pricey and unattractive, Hayward notes, "Some stall companies advocate the full mesh or grill stall-this is where I balance cost and aesthetics. Plus, it can feel like the horses are in a zoo or something."
More Than Just Curb Appeal
Landscaping and porches-they may seem like extras for the horse owner with deep pockets. But Hayward utilizes landscaping and porches around barns for more than aesthetic purposes.
"They help shade and cool the air before it comes into the barn. Have you ever walked off the blacktop and onto the grass on a hot summer day? You probably noticed a huge change in temperature," she explains.
Surrounding your horse barn with shade trees, shrubs and grasses, as opposed to blacktop or gravel, will greatly reduce air temperatures around the barn, hence, the airflow into the barn will be cooler. "An 8-, 10- or 12-foot porch can easily be added to your barn," she says. This element alone can cool your barn several degrees by providing shade areas which naturally cool the air.
The picturesque Dutch door is more than just pretty. It allows outside airflow in. If direct turnouts aren't an option because of limited acreage, boarding arrangements or other situations, Hayward recommends Dutch doors that open to the outside, noting, "If at all possible, have stalls with outside airflow."
If your horse does have a turnout door, a full-sized, durable screen door with a bedding guard on the bottom is also a great way to foster fresh air circulation when inclement weather keeps your horse inside.
You are now armed with the knowledge to prevent that winter cough and keep fresh, cool air flowing during the sizzling summer. Swear off the fall and winter build-up of ammonia gases and the subsequent cough syrup in the spring. Properly ventilate your barn-old or new-and you and your horse will reap the benefits.
