Are you building a pole barn to use as a horse barn? Then plan for good horse barn ventilation, and design the barn to keep your horses comfortable and healthy. Also, think about whether to heat the barn and how to insulate it.
Should a Horse Barn Be Heated?
Most horses are healthier in a barn with no heat. However, very young or sick horses are the exception. If it gets very cold, you can put blankets on your horses and let fresh air move through the barn. This is healthier for them than a heater.
Then, if a horse is sick or injured and needs extra warmth, you can use a radiant heater or heat lamp.
You might want to heat the tack room if you store medicine there. In addition, heat in the utility room can keep the water heater and other appliances from freezing. Any heated area needs insulation and a vapor barrier on all sides, because that prevents condensation.
How to Reduce Condensation
Condensation can damage your pole barn and its contents. It can also add to breathing problems, bacterial and fungal problems, and stiffness in horses. Condensation tends to be worse where temperatures stay below 35 degrees for long periods. So keep the humidity low, ventilate the barn and install insulation.
Horses add a lot of humidity to the air just by breathing. So try to keep the humidity in the barn between 50 and 75 percent. The best level is 60 percent.
Of course, air that is too dry is better than air that is too humid. You can also lower humidity by removing wet bedding from stalls.
Poor ventilation can keep stalls from drying out. As a result, it can lead to mold and unhealthy air. For example, ammonia fumes from urine and manure, dust from hay and bedding, and mold and fungal spores can all cause allergies and breathing problems in horses, especially foals.
Horse Barn Ventilation Options
First, open windows and doors to let air flow through your horse barn. Air flows best when windows and doors sit on opposite sides of the barn with few walls between them. Also, stall windows that open inward and upward let air in without drafts.
Next, consider vents or high windows on the outer walls of stalls, just under the roof. You can place vents lower to bring in fresh air. However, low vents can also let in drafts.
Dutch doors open on top and closed on the bottom let air in. They also let a horse put its head outside for fresh air.
Builders can add grillwork to the tops of stall walls that stop short of the ceiling. Then stall guards, such as chains or straps, allow even more airflow.
Builders can also add large doors at the ends of the barn. In that case, screens keep birds and insects out.
Finally, air can escape through the roof. One option is a pot vent, which is a metal dome over a hole in the roof. Another is a cupola, which has louvers that let air move. Besides these, continuous ridge vents also help with horse barn ventilation.
Choosing the Right Pole Barn Builder
CHA Pole Barns can build a horse barn on your farm. We will install the right type of ventilation, so your horses stay healthy and comfortable. Contact us today to learn how we can design and build the right pole barn for your farm.
