How to Remove the Smell From a Horse Barn

A horse barn is a smelly place just by nature of its function. It houses large animals for many hours at a time. They make a mess in the stalls, and that mess has a distinct odor. While it may worsen depending on the season, it tends to be persistent at some level all year long. Although the smell in a horse barn can never be completely removed, there are several steps that will greatly reduce it as long as they are applied consistently.

Things You'll Need

  • Nonabsorbent stall flooring
  • Pitchfork
  • Shovel
  • Wood shavings, pellets or other absorbent bedding
  • Power washer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use an easy-to-clean flooring, such as rubber mats, for the stalls in your horse barn. Many barns use clay as the flooring, but this will hold moisture even when the stall has been cleaned, which increases the smell. Use an alternate like rubber mats that will not absorb moisture and are easy to clean completely.

    • 2

      Bed the stalls in your horse barn thoroughly with an absorbent material. Many barn owners use wood shavings or sawdust, and there are newer options like pelleted bedding that have even greater absorbency. By reducing moisture, this bedding reduces the smell.

    • 3

      Turn the horses out into a pasture for part of the day. Besides being necessary for their well-being, giving them some time outside reduces the time they are making a mess in the barn and gives you the change to clean the stalls thoroughly.

    • 4

      Clean the stalls in your horse barn on a daily basis. Horses are large animals that generate a great deal of waste, so stalls must be cleaned every day or they quickly become filthy. Using a pitchfork to remove solid waste and shoveling out wet spots will reduce the smell in the barn. Some barn owners will even do this twice a day if their horses spend a lot of time inside their stalls.

    • 5

      Strip the stalls in your horse barn at least once a week. Even if you remove waste products daily, you'll need to remove and replace all of the bedding every week for the best odor control. Use a shovel to strip everything out of the stall, down to the bare flooring.

    • 6

      Power wash the walls in your horse barn on a regular basis. Horses lean up against them and churn up dirt, so the walls do get dirty over time and contribute to the smell in a barn. Some barn owners do this monthly, but it should be done at least twice a year. Strip the stalls down to their flooring and use a pressure washer to clean down the stall walls.