Practical Tips To Keep Your Metal Horse Barn Clean

Horses are magnificent pets, but if you are breeding them, then you know that their care demands dedication. While they are loyal and joyful to ride, horses require meticulous grooming, proper nutrition, and a clean, spacious environment to thrive. Now that you have invested in the perfect and spacious horse barn to house your precious equines, it is equally important to manage it, keep it clean, retain its structural integrity, and sustain a safe and comfortable environment for your horses.

With regular upkeep, you can also expand your barn’s lifecycle and keep it in pristine condition, making it a worthwhile investment for decades to come.

Top Cleaning Tips for Your Metal Barn Building to Keep Your Horses Safe

A clean environment is not just for the aesthetics but also to prevent foul odors and the risk of infections to your horses, as well as pest infestations. These practical tips will help you in keeping your barns functional while ensuring they remain spotless:

Declutter and Manage

Not just your barn but its contents should also be cleaned out. One of the most critical steps of cleaning is to declutter. It is imperative that you manage the things you keep within your steel barn before beginning the cleaning process. Let’s start:

• Remove everything out of your metal horse barns.
• Group different things together as per use or category.
• Throw malfunctioned or broken items or recycle them.
• Clear out all the clutter that is of no use.

In case there are any items in your barn that do not belong or are simply taking up the space, now is the perfect time to get rid of them. Either keep them where they belong or donate them in order to create space!

Establish a Regular Cleaning Schedule

Consistency is the key to keeping your barn tidy. Regularly carrying out certain tasks can maintain the hygiene and cleanliness within the structure. Here are a few things to live by for long-term upkeep:

• Daily cleaning: The more often you keep horses within the stables, the more often they should be tidied up. Stables regularly housing horses should be cleaned daily. Other than that, manure should be removed daily, soiled bedding should be replaced on a daily basis, and spills and leaks should also be checked regularly.
• Weekly cleaning: Floors should be swept up at least once a week. Moreover, you should also ensure that feeding and watering equipment are cleaned every week. While metal barns can resist general wear and tear that might be caused by horse maneuvering, it would also be ideal to inspect them for any damages.
• Monthly cleaning: Deep cleaning of the stalls and scrubbing the walls should be done at least once a month. As per resources and requirements, you can also create a more frequent cleaning schedule. It would also be best to power wash the exterior of the barn monthly or once every two months.

Use the Right Cleaning Tools

The tools you use can make a big difference in your cleaning process. Here is a basic manual:

• Manure Forks: Use pitchforks or shavings forks to quickly and efficiently remove wastage.
• Wheelbarrows: These are utilized to transport manure and bedding out of the metal barn building.
• Power Washer: Use it to thoroughly clean the floors and walls.
• Scrub Brushes and Buckets: Use for deep cleaning feeders, waterers, and other surfaces.
• Broad Shovel: It is ideal for removing manure in large quantities, saving time and effort.
• Stable Broom: These are indispensable in keeping your barn tidy and sweeping hay and dust.

Cleaning a Horse Stall

Cleaning horse stalls is not just about keeping things pleasant for your horses. It is highly important because unclean stalls are likely to attract insects or cause infections such as thrush to your equine’s hooves. A dirty stall will also be unpleasant and smelly for you to work in.

Cleaning the stalls is a daily task, and if you do it daily, then quick cleaning takes under 20 minutes. Due to the non-porous nature of steel, these structures are highly easy to clean and maintain.

Moreover, it is also important that you dress for the job, so wear thick gloves and rubber boots, and get cleaning!

• Take your horse out of the stall before cleaning. It is ideal to carry out the cleaning process when your equestrian creatures are grazing. You can also keep your horses in empty stalls.
• Remove feed tubs, toys, water buckets, and any other items before beginning to clean.
• Take the manure and soiled bedding and remove it.
• Scrape the unsoiled bedding and store it for future use.
• Now, put in the fresh bedding and replace whatever you have dumped.
• Use a broom and sweep up any spilled manure or bedding from the alleys and doorways, along with knocking down any spider webs.
• Keep the feeding tubs, buckets, and the toys you removed from the stalls.

Managing the Bedding

Whether you use straw, shavings, or sawdust, properly managing the bedding is also critical for the good health of your horses. Urine-saturated bedding is likely to release ammonia, which can be harmful to your equine’s lungs.

It is ideal to change the soiled bedding on a regular basis. As you remove the bedding, you should also be sure to replace it. The thickness of your bedding will depend on the type of flooring your horse barn has. If you use rubber mats, then thin bedding should do fine. However, in the case of concrete flooring, opt for thicker bedding.

Power wash metal surfaces

To avoid the accumulation of dirt, grime, debris, or other weather elements, you should use a power washer to clean the walls and roofs. You should also clean the roof regularly to maintain the efficiency of rainwater and snow runoff.

Prioritize Manure Management

Managing manure is also a critical part of cleaning your barn properly. Regular manure removal is essential to maintaining a safe space. Otherwise, manure buildup can lead to unpleasant odors and harm your horse’s health.

• Use a manure spreader to dispose of the waste efficiently.
• Consider setting up a composting system to sustainably manage manure.
• Keep manure storage areas far away to avoid foul odors or flies from entering the barn.

Cleaning Feeding and Watering Stations

To avoid bacteria from harboring, it is essential to keep the feeding and watering stations in your metal barns clean:

• The feed buckets and troughs should be washed daily using non-toxic disinfectants.
• The waterers should be scrubbed weekly to avoid algae growth.
• Spilled feed should promptly be cleaned to avoid attracting pests and rodents.

Organize Tack Room

While your tack room features all the essential storage hacks, including hooks and racks, do you ensure you use them daily when keeping things, or do you just leave them on the floor?

• Hang the bridles and ropes on hooks and racks.
• Store the saddles on saddle stands to prevent dirt buildup.
• The grooming supplies should be stored in storage bins for easy accessibility.

Keep Entry Points Clear

Your doorways and entry points are likely to collect dust, and keeping them debris-free is essential to avoid respiratory diseases.

• Sweep the entryways daily to prevent mud from piling up.
• Reduce mess further by adding mud grids or gravel paths outside.
• Doormats or rubber mats can also help in trapping dust before you enter the barn.

Increase Ventilation

With proper ventilation, you can prevent mold, mildew, or rust buildup due to high moisture content.

Optimize louvered windows, ridge vents, and cupolas for natural ventilation. Moreover, fans should be used for proper air circulation during high humidity. You should also clean the ventilation systems regularly to ensure high efficiency.

Keeping Pests Out

Steel barns do not facilitate the breeding of insects as they are inorganic. However, some pests, rodents, wasps, and termites can seep in through open areas. To avoid the same, seal all cracks and crevices and store the feed in airtight containers.

Seasonal Deep Cleaning

For stalls, every once in a while, you should carry out a deep cleaning process that involves completely stripping the stall, using a shovel to scrape remnants and a broom to swipe the stalls clean. Use a stable disinfectant and let the stall dry before re-bedding.

Remove all items from the barn and clean every corner thoroughly. Then, you should disinfect the stalls, walls, and floors. Moreover, also check for seasonal damages and address them, especially after heavy rainfall and storms.

Cleaner Barn, Happier Horses

Organizing your horse barn is also an important aspect of keeping it clean. Once you have completed all the cleaning tasks, you should ensure that the space is dried up effectively. Then, move on to keeping everything neatly where it is required. Now that your barn is clean and shining, bring in the horses and let them be comfortable and warm!

At Viking Steel Structures, we deliver high-quality galvanized steel horse barns that are easy to maintain and allow hassle-free cleaning.

Call us at 877-801-3263 to build the perfect barn that can effectively be tailored for your horses. Out metal barn buildings can be perfectly designed to fit any needs and budget.