Nikki Alvin-Smith - 05/27/2025 General

Is Your Horse Really Chilling In Your Barn?

Horse looking out of closed dark stall on a sunny day. Stacey Bates

Newsdate: May 27, 2025 - 8:30 am
Location: ATGLEN, Pennsylvania

The heat of summer will soon be upon us, and the warm weather usually results in horse owners opting to bring their horses inside the barn during the daytime to protect them from the hot sun and pesky flying bugs.

A colorful Horizon Structures shedrow barn with large overhang sited near tall shade trees.

The interior of the barn will maintain its cooler temperature from nighttime if the air is allowed in through open doors and windows and the light or heat of day if the roof and walls are insulated.
© 2020 by Horizon Structures New window.

While horse owners assume the interior of their horse barn is the best location for their equine charges during hot and humid weather it is not always true that the horses are really chilling under the barn roof.

In order to stay cool and comfortable, horses benefit from fresh air and barns need to be well-ventilated even if the weather outside is wet and rainy, cold and snowy or hot and sunny and during hot weather the air needs to be moving throughout the structure.

Air Changes Per Hour Count

Large animals like horses produce a lot of body heat. This means that the air change rate per hour or ACH generally needs to be between 4 to 8 complete changes of air per hour to provide an adequate supply of fresh air for the horses’ health. When you add to this equation the increased heat produced by ambient temperatures, evaporation and cooling of the animals then ensuring your barn is properly ventilated becomes essential to keep the equines ‘chilling’ inside.

If you are sourcing a fan to aid in ventilation this translates into buying a unit that puts out 200 cfm in hot weather. CFM indicates the amount of cubic feet of air the fan will move per minute, which of course depends on its size and the velocity with which it will move the air. See notes below on fan types and cooling.

Moving Hot Air

Hot air rises and the addition of a cupola or two on the roof, with air travel aided by mechanical means such as an electric exhaust fan, can significantly increase the flow of air from open doorways and windows at ground level out through the roofline.

While passive means of moving air such as ventilated soffits, roof ridge and gable vents, airy rafter spaces without lofts above, lots of opened screened windows placed opposite each other across the barn and wide-open doorways are all definite must haves in barn design, the horse that is stabled with four solid walls surrounding him will still have trouble keeping cool in very hot and humid weather.

A commercial grade fan with a motor sealed from dust and detritus is often installed on the front wall of a grilled stall, the fan placement is often an after-thought and sometimes not in the optimal location. A standing fan model placed in the center of an aisleway is also commonly used to move air through a barn.

Fans move dust as well as air, so their placement matters not just for providing air movement in a location that will benefit the stabled horses, but also in how their placement moves dust particles around the interior of the barn. If fans are placed at eye level for the horse, then while they will help move air over the horse’s body if used to push air into the stall, they also run the risk of moving dust into the face (eyes) and nose of the stabled critter.

There are many types of fans and misters available. Highly portable units like box fans, larger circulation fans, exhaust fans, cooling fans, ceiling fans, and misting units. Be aware that simply moving air around the barn with a fan may help cool the horse via evaporation with airflow over its body if properly located but won’t actually make any difference to the ambient temperature of the air within and without the stall.

To keep your horse cool, calm and collected when stabled you should consider ventilation, circulation of air and the need for cooling. Bear in mind that once the air temperature rises above 75 degrees F, then moving air won’t be that effective at helping cool the horse and your horse will start to sweat in an effort to cool down using evaporation.

In these hot conditions a portable evaporative cooling fan can address the air temperature issue. These units not only cool the air but also clean it and can be deftly managed via your smart phone.

Misting fans are another option and can reduce ambient temperature by a significant amount, but care should be taken using them inside a building as the moisture can cause issues with mold or other fungi on barn surfaces in humid conditions and even cause wood to decay.

For these reasons, the placement of the misting fans is critical when used in the interior of a structure. The water droplets need sufficient air flow to move them in the air so don’t point water nozzles at the ground.

Misting systems require an independent encased electrical service and a pump system with an auto shut-off valve to facilitate sufficient water pressure to work effectively. Choose your pump carefully to avoid issues with dust, vermin, and corrosion.

Fans can also help deter biting insects and pesky flies. Placement of fans in the eaves or corners of a stall can make a big difference to how happy your horse is when chilling in the barn and obviously adding a misting nozzle design is a good option for aiding in cooling the air as well as deterring flies.

Site Your Barn Right

If you are building a new horse barn then you have the opportunity to site your barn to take advantage of prevailing summer breezes, and the option to avoid winter wind tunnels and optimize the daily travel of the sun across the sky to arc across the building rather than consistently just heat one side.

Shades over windows to protect the stabling from direct sunlight and/or the addition of a barn overhang can help defray heat issues caused by direct sunlight.

Utilize Smart Barn Building Design and Material Components

Insulating the roof and barn walls is an obvious means to keep the barn free of condensation and maintain warmth during cold winter months, but insulation works for both heating and cooling. Roof and wall insulation can also mitigate the level of radiant heat from metal roofs and/or siding.

The interior of the structure will be aided to maintain its cooler temperature from nighttime during summer if the air is allowed in the building at night through open doors and windows and the light or heat of sun’s rays shut out during daytime hours if the roof and walls are insulated.

Remember what you side and roof your horse barn with matters when it comes to managing temperature within the structure. There are different reflective properties of certain materials in particular colors. A light-colored metal building will reflect heat while a dark colored metal building will absorb the heat. Consider your options of wood or metal components, as well as other mixed composites for siding materials. And don’t forget to spin that color wheel. Smart choices in color factors highly in how hot or cool a building will be inside during summer months.

About Horizon Structures

One horse or twenty, there’s one thing all horse owners have in common…the need to provide safe and secure shelter for their equine partners. At Horizon Structures, we combine expert craftsmanship, top-of-the-line materials and smart “horse-friendly” design to create a full line of sheds and barns that any horse owner can feel confident is the right choice for their horses’ stabling needs.

All wood. Amish Made. Most of our buildings are shipped 100% pre-built and ready for same-day use. Larger barns are a modular construction and can be ready for your horses in less than a week. All our barn packages include everything you need –

Horizon Structures also sells chicken coops, equine hay feeders, greenhouses, dog kennels, 1 and 2 car garages, storage sheds and outdoor living structures and playsets.

Headquartered in South-Central Pennsylvania, Horizon Structures, LLC was founded by Dave Zook. Dave was raised in the Amish tradition and grew up working in the family-owned shed business. He started Horizon Structures in 2001 in response to an ever-increasing customer demand for high quality, affordable horse barns.

For additional information about the company or their product line, please visit their website at https://www.horizonstructures.com

About Nikki Alvin-Smith

Please visit https://www.horseinakiltmedia.com/to learn more about her affordable services.