Stable Cleaning

At some stage in your life as a horse owner, you may find it necessary to stable your horse. It may only be for a couple of nights, a week or a more permanent situation. No matter your reason or the length of your horses stay, it is important that you clean the stable at least once a day. So you arrive at your horse's stable with a cheery “Good Morning!”. You organize their breakfast, change there pajamas (rugs), maybe go for an early morning ride (nice and chilly on those crisp winter mornings). But no matter what else you do, there is one thing every owner of a stabled horse must do. And that is to clean up the mess, from the night before. What a mess!! It really amazes me the mess one horse can make within 8-10 hours! I have been greeted with a wide variety of “Good Morning” situations from my horses over the years. From finding poo in the feed dish (which is still hanging on the door!), to finding poo right in front of the door in the walk way! No matter the mess, it still needs to be cleaned up. Not only can a dirty or poorly cleaned stable cause diseases to fester but it will smell bad too. Here are some simply steps to help you in cleaning out your stable! You will need a good stable fork/rake and a wheelbarrow or bucket. It is always helpful if you can remove your horse from the stable. This way you aren’t worried about him/her escaping. If you can't make sure they are tied up securely. Remove any other objects which may get in your way, such as water buckets and horse toys. Using your stable fork/rake remove all large visible piles of poo. Remove any obvious wet patches. Starting on either your left or right in a circular pattern around the stable, toss a fork full of stable bedding towards the side of the stable, remove any poo or wet that this process uncovers. Remember to dig down to the floor so that all the bedding gets exposed, and continue till you are back to where you started. Your stable bedding should now be all piled up around the sides of the stable and the floor exposed. If the floor seems wet (will be in most cases) it is great if you can leave it exposed for a few hours to dry out. Starting at either the right or left, pull the bedding down from the edge with your stable rake, so that the bedding comes back to its original level and covers the previously exposed floor. Continue around till you are back at the start. You may find that you need to smooth out the bedding so that it is level and covers the floor evenly. I have always found it a good idea to leave an area in front of the door free from bedding, this will help reduce the bedding that gets ‘walked’ or ‘kicked’ out by your horse. You may find that when cleaning, some bedding drifts into the water. It is always a good idea to clean out your horses’ water after finishing the stable. It may be necessary to add some new bedding to you stable, this is usually done once a week, but depends on your horse. It will also be necessary to remove all bedding from your stable on a regular base. This will depend on numerous factors and is up to your discretion. If it is getting smelly - then its time for a full clean out! Now that you’re done, you can enjoy some quality time with your beloved horse! Happy Horsing Tina Williamson Gifts-for-the-Horse-Lover.com For that special Horse Gift.