It doesn’t have to be Springtime to get busy spring-cleaning the horse barn. In fact, winter months in many areas of the country offer horse owners a respite from busy competition schedules, heavy schooling programs and the inevitable laundry list of grass management issues that warmer months entail.
Wall rack containing mucking and cleaning utensils for barn spring cleaning,
Commonly overlooked aspects of spring-clean actions at the barn exist, and for your horses’ safety it is best to take charge of these now.
© 2017 by Perry Correll New window.
This can translate to a few extra hours a day that become available for other activities. While a deep clean stall wash down may not be on the job list due to colder temperatures, there are still plenty of other important cleaning tasks that can be done now.
Many cleaning activities around the barn translate directly to improving horse safety. Some examples: Spring cleaning the barn and freeing all areas of fire risks like cobwebs on light fixtures and checking fire extinguishers are charged and ready for action; cleaning all tack and making sure it is in good working order including checking the integrity of all stitchwork on girths and bridles and ensuring there are no cracks in leather components; ensuring that door latches and hardware is in good working order.
Commonly overlooked aspects of spring-clean actions at the barn exist, and for your horses’ safety it is best to take charge of these now. There is truly no time like the present when it comes to your horses’ safety and it is easy for time to pass and for horse owners to forget to check these important facets of horse care and management.
Emergency Supply Checklist and Update
During the course of the year some emergency supplies will have been used and in the rush and panic to find them and administer them, they may not have been restocked.
Out of date antibiotics or other medications, vaccines, potions and lotions, sprays and veterinary care products including adhesive wraps that simply won’t stick anymore, should all be checked for expiry dates and refreshed as necessary.
Get A Handle On Those Feed Supplement Buckets
Throughout the year there have likely been special feed supplements purchased for a specific purpose that may no longer be fresh and suitable for use. These may include products to address laminitis issues or special items that served as adjunct therapies for a particular equine’s illness and recovery or even regularly used feed supplements that were simply purchased in larger quantities than required and have gone out of date.
Certain vitamins, such as Vitamin E, are extremely vulnerable to diminishing in both efficacy and safety of use over time, especially lower quality formulations that do not utilize stabilized ingredients and manufacturing processes.
Spring-cleaning the feed room is also a great time to review whether all these tubs and buckets of feed supplements are all working in harmony and whether the likely myriad of supplements on offer are actually necessary or effective. Over-supplementation of horse feed supplements is commonplace. Are you guilty of not just wasting your money, but causing your horse a metabolic health concern or gut microbiome imbalance that is putting him at risk for health issues?
Evaluate Feed Storage Methods and Location
While you are going through your feed room and medical supplies, it is also a great time to evaluate whether the methods and means by which you store grain, feed supplements and forage are safe and protect the quality of the products.
What started out as the ‘feed room’ location and grain bins may have been a good solution back in the day but have storage bins worn out? Rusted? Been compromised by vermin nibbles or insect infestation? Are they out of the sun and away from heat? Does the barn roof leak and drip water on to your hay supplies? Are there gaps under the barn siding where vermin are entering the interior of the structure? Is water seeping under the wall and mats? Is the plywood floor of the feed room intact or compromised and spongy? Is there any mold on walls, windows or floors? You get the idea.
Don’t Compromise
Compromised storage of anything that your horse ingests or that is applied or injected into his body, can easily also compromise his health and wellness. Similarly, lack of understanding about the quality of those formulations can also cause health disturbances in your horse.
It is always the perfect time to evaluate, educate and embrace up to date options for the health management of your beloved equine(s). He, after all, cannot read or understand that everything put in front of him may not be the best choice for his well-being.
But the best horse safety practices are usually there, right under his nose and yours.
About Grand Meadows: Founded in 1989 by visionary Angela Slater, Grand Meadows is a leading horse health product and equine supplement manufacturer driven by the guiding principle of providing affordable, extremely high-quality science-backed horse products to help ensure horses look and feel their best.
For the past 35 years the company’s mission has been honored and developed further, by President Nick Hartog, who among other accomplishments is one of the founding members and current board member of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), an organization that has a profound impact on the safety, transparency, and legitimacy of the animal supplement industry.
Grand Meadow products are widely used and trusted across the entire horse community from Olympic medal winning competitors and successful horse racing trainers to backyard horse owners. Their equine supplements are highly regarded for their excellent quality resourced ingredients and completely accurate labelling and effective formulations. Learn more at https://www.grandmeadows.com/
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