Cleaning stalls is probably not high on your list of favorite things to do on any given day, but it’s a necessary chore. And maybe you never clean stalls; you hire someone else to do it while you tend to other business.
Whatever the case, every barn manager needs to determine how often they should clean stalls. It’s an integral part of the horse business.
Clean stalls make horses happy, which in turn makes their owners happy. And the owners are the ones you need to impress. If you don’t clean stalls often enough, you’ll find that the horses in your care develop illnesses much more easily. Plus, no one wants to walk into a barn that smells heavily of manure.
Unfortunately, there is no magic number to help you determine how often you should clean stalls. It depends on the culture of your barn and the needs of your horses.
For example, some stable managers turn the horses in the care out in the pasture for eight to twelve hours a day, or even longer. If this is the case for your barn, the stalls don’t have a chance to get as dirty as they would if the horses were always in the stable.
And believe it or not, some horses produce more manure than others. This will impact how often you need to clean stalls.
I tell my clients that twice a day is a good, round number. It ensures that stalls are as clean as possible during the day, and that horses aren’t standing in their urine and feces overnight. Good system.
At some performance stables where horses are in their stalls unless they’re being ridden, three times a day might not be too excessive. And at barns where horses spend the majority of the day outside, once might suffice.
Talk to your clients to find out if they are satisfied with the frequency with which you clean stalls. If they aren’t, you know you need to increase the frequency to keep them happy.
You might also like:
- Are Your Stalls Really Clean?
- 7 Things Stable Managers
Should Never Say - Create a Statement of
Horse Boarding Standards - Whose Job Is It?
- 7 Ways to Spruce Up the Barn
About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Chief Equestrian Officer of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. She believes that any horse business can succeed provided its owner practices smart strategy.
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