When it comes to winterizing your barn, awareness and execution of safety is imperative. Just as frigid winter weather can be dangerous for both humans and equines, improperly heated barns may be just as dangerous to a horse’s health.
HUMIDITY AND VENTILATION
A barn can be as big and elaborate as space and budget permit, but without proper ventilation, health problems may occur. “A closed barn may maintain heat, but it may also lead to increased respiratory diseases in horses because of high ammonia content and bacterial growth in stalls,” explained Mark Russell, extension equine specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Humidity increases in closed barns, and high humidity along with warm temperatures can cause enough nitrogen smell or bacterial growth to irritate the horse’s respiratory system and lead to chronic respiratory illnesses, Mark said.
“Ammonia build-up is an aggravating and predisposing factor for any form of respiratory inflammation. Ammonia inhibits normal muco-ciliary clearance and promotes risk for infection,” said Dr. Philip J. Johnson, professor and instructional leader of Equine Medicine and Surgery with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at the University of Missouri.
CONTROLLED TEMPERATURES
When stalling a horse during winter months, an accepted temperature range for most horses is 45-65 degrees F. The temperature chosen depends on the horse, as well as the natural climate it’s used to, hair coat thickness and moisture in the air, to name a few.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Several things can affect a horse negatively when stalled in an improperly heated environment, including decrease in hair growth.
Philip explained that hair coat is important for thermoregulation and that horses with insufficient hair coat might be cold stressed if subjected to very cold ambient temperatures without first being acclimatized.
He explained that daylength is the main influence for hair length and temperature is a secondary influence.
“Usually people who go to the expense of heating barns also have horses under extended daylength (i.e. 16 total hours made from natural daylength and adding on stall lights at the end of the day to extend the natural daylength). So, those horses need blankets or need kept up from wet, windy cold environments,” Philip said.
Use of heated barns may also lead to increased risk of barn fires. Philip said in his experience, most heated barns are kept too warm from the perspective of horse health and are to provide for human comfort.
POSITIVE GUIDELINES
Owners and managers should always be vigilant to “keep things clean and exercise stalled horses, consider the temperature differences throughout a typical day and don’t leave blankets on a horse to keep it warm when temps are moderate in the day, cold at night,” Mark said.
Obviously, horses are much better equipped to deal with cold than humans, but failure to practice the basics of equine health care may lead to problems and money lost to horse owners.
