When you first enter the barn to feed in the morning, the sights and smells are familiar-from the scent of fresh hay to the sunlight filtering through the window. However, if you're able to smell a dirty stall or see floating dust shimmering in a ray of sunlight, this is a sure sign that your barn lacks two crucial elements: proper ventilation and adequate circulation.
Health Risks
"The average barn is not adequately ventilated," says David Heinze, DVM, of Fox Valley Equine Practice in Elburn, Illinois. According to Dr. Heinze, a barn with poor air quality has a significant effect on respiratory diseases, as well as varying health effects depending on your horse's age. There are a variety of harmful components floating through the air in your barn. Bacteria, fungal spores, viruses, and ammonia fumes are promoted by hay, bedding, feces, and urine.
These elements can translate to serious health risks for your horse. One condition that can result from poor barn ventilation and circulation is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, also known as "heaves." Much like asthma in humans, COPD restricts the airways of a horse's lungs and can lead to excessive wheezing and coughing, weight loss, and a lower tolerance for exercise. A horse may develop this condition if he's chronically exposed to poor air quality.
Air Movement
Ventilation and circulation are all about moving air around the barn, including pulling clean air in from outside and venting stale inside air back to the outside. Most barns aren't designed to provide horses with this type of natural ventilation. To improve the airflow in your barn, consider using barn fans.
If used properly, fans can contribute significantly to your horse's good health. But there are certain components of horse care that artificial ventilation and circulation can't take the place of. Maintaining your horse's stall and living environment with consistent cleaning can't be replaced with any mechanical add-on. Thus, if you're aiming to improve the air circulation in your barn, keep in mind that fans must be used as an enhancement, rather than a replacement.
Many small barns are designed to be aesthetically pleasing, but chances are they don't provide the best air movement. "Many horse owners like to build boutique barns, but they're not necessarily going to provide airflow," says Nancy W. Ambrosiano, co-author of Complete Plans for Building Horse Barns Big and Small. The good news is that fans can bring stuffy barns up to speed in providing a healthy indoor environment for your horse.
Fan Purposes
The most important reason for giving your horse optimal ventilation indoors is to prevent health complications. The air must be clear of harmful components like mold and ammonia. If your barn design doesn't allow for sufficient natural ventilation, fans can be utilized to pull fresh air in, circulate, and also push stale air out.
Fans can also play an important role in preventing moisture buildup. According to Pennsylvania State University's publication, "Horse Stable Ventilation," written by Eileen F. Wheeler, PhD, moisture control is vital in efforts to prevent increased odor, ammonia buildup, and an ideal environment for bacteria.
Another reason to add extra barn ventilation is for cooling purposes. If there's limited air coming through your horse's stall, it will be difficult for him to maintain a cool body temperature in hot weather. Through the process of convection (see related article on page 22), any breeze that blows across your horse's body will help to cool him. Keep in mind, if the fan is mounted onto the stall, it may not be feeding fresh air, so it's important that the interior of your barn is clean and receiving consistent air flow.
