Spring is an Important Time to Give Your Florida Metal Horse Barn Some Attention
You’ve probably already got a spring cleaning checklist for things around your home, but if you’re a horse owner, it’s also important to make a spring cleaning checklist for their home, too. Plus, if you did anything to winterize your barn before the colder months set in, now is the time when you may possibly need to undo some of those items to ensure that your horse barn won’t get too hot for your animals during the warmer spring season. Spring also means that the threat of severe weather will increase for Florida and most of the Southeast, so you’ll also want to make sure that your barn structure is in good shape for protecting your animals in the event of a storm.
Barn Cleaning Tips for Spring
Even before winter is officially over, most horse owners are already anticipating getting ready for warmer days to arrive. That’s why inspecting, cleaning, and organizing your horse barn in the spring is a must, especially if the barn may have been left a little neglected over the course of winter. This necessarily involves not just looking at the barn itself, but also its contents, its immediate surroundings, supplies, horse trailers, etc. Here are a few key items to include on your horse barn spring cleaning checklist:
• Redefine the Purpose of Your Horse Barn
Why did you install a barn in the first place? Since you’re reading this now, we’ll assume that your primary intended usage is as a horse barn. So the next question to ask is, what else have you allowed to creep into your barn? Have you just started throwing some non horse-related items in a corner? Have you allowed your horse barn to become a catch-all storage place? If so, now’s a perfect time to make a plan of attack for how you want to prioritize your barn space going forward.
• Declutter
Spring is really the best time to do some deep cleaning of … well … everything! But you really won’t be able to achieve a thorough deep cleaning of your horse barn until you start by decluttering. The first step of decluttering: take everything out. If it isn’t nailed down or attached, then move it outside someplace nearby where you can take a thorough inventory of EVERYTHING you’ve got in your barn. Sort items into like piles, and make a separate pile for trash and things you simply can’t use or aren’t using anymore.
• Attack the Tack Room
The tack room is one of those areas where it’s easy to let stuff pile up and become disorganized. Spring is a great time to tackle the tack room beast! Sort your supplies, clean and oil your leather, and polish any hardware. Make sure all horse blankets are washed and in good repair. Go ahead and get rid of any gear that isn’t being used and is just taking up space. You can probably sell many of the items that are in good condition, and then donate the rest to a local horse rescue organization.
• What the Hay?
Most horse owners will stock up on hay before winter comes. And while it may start out neat and organized, it often doesn’t stay that way. Once spring rolls around, your hay room could be cluttered with a mixture of both good and bad hay. Sort, separate, and figure out how much good hay you have. Then get rid of the bad stuff, and make room for some new stock. Any excess hay can often be donated to a horse rescue organization. Go ahead and sweep out the space; this will reduce dust, dirt, and chaff, and make the air easier to breathe for both you and your horses.
• Clean the Stalls
After turning out the horses (if you haven’t already), now’s a good time to do more than just the usual stall mucking. Clean out the stalls, yes, but also make a point of cleaning and disinfecting your buckets, troughs, walls, stall mats … everything!
• Service Your Equipment
Owning and caring for horses often requires the use of some specialized equipment. Spring is a smart time to make sure your horse equipment – as well as any other farm and garden equipment – starts, runs, and is in proper working order. This can include everything from tractors and attachments, to bale elevators, to trucks and horse trailers, to four-wheelers, to mowing equipment, to anything else you use to keep your barn, farm, ranch, and/or surrounding property clean, well-kept, and organized.
• Groom Your Horses
Don’t forget about giving a spring cleaning to the residents of your horse barn, too! Most horses will grow a thicker coat during the winter, and then shed that excess hair once the warmer weather returns. To help remove loose hair, scrape your horses with a grooming block or shedding blade. Clippers are also useful for removing extra winter hair that has grown up around the faces and legs of your animals, as well. Once you complete the shave-and-a-haircut, then continue grooming your horses as usual.
• Clean the Barn
How to clean out the rest of your barn, both inside and out? A pressure washer isn’t always the best solution for a pole barn or wood-framed structure, since wood tends to retain moisture and can harbor mold and mildew. This is one of the clear advantages about choosing a steel horse barn. You can just take a hose or pressure washer to it and go to town – galvanized steel isn’t threatened by any moisture issues! Disinfect all surfaces, and give everything time to try.
• Air It Out
How long will it take your barn to dry out? Well, that depends on what type of barn you have (a steel barn dries much faster!), and upon the outdoor temperature and humidity conditions during your spring cleaning day. Open up all the doors and windows to allow for better airflow; you can also turn on the fans or bring in some extra fans to really get the air moving. Make sure everything is good and dry before bringing back in any animals or hay.
• Assess Your Storage & Organization System
While you’re waiting on the barn to dry, and while your neat piles of stuff are still outside, assess your current barn storage and organization system. Would it help to add a few more mounted racks, hangers, or shelves? Doing so can open up more available floor space, and can make your tools and accessories easier to find whenever you need them.
• Move It All Back In!
Now you can finally bring back all of your horse barn stuff! Just be intentional about keeping like items together, and making everything as neat, well-organized, and accessible as possible.
Make the Best Use of Your Horse Barn, by Making Sure You Have the Best Barn for the Job
So, what’s the best horse barn for the job? A metal barn or metal barn kit from Metal Barn Central, of course! A well-designed, well-made metal horse barn does more than just shelter your horses, feed, and equipment from the elements. The right metal barn will also help provide for the overall health, safety, and wellbeing of your horses. And a barn constructed with galvanized steel needs much less in terms of ongoing maintenance, service, and repairs. In addition, Metal Barn Central provides horse barns in popular sizes like 18’ x 41’, 20’ x 46’, 36’ x 36’, 42’ x 30’, 48’ x 26’, 44’ x 51’, or in any custom design or dimensions you may need.
Why Choose Metal Barn Central?
Why choose Metal Barn Central? Simply put, we’re the experts of all things metal buildings! Our sturdy steel structures are rugged, durable, adaptable, low-maintenance, and completely customizable. And our made-to-order metal barn prices are competitive, too. If you can dream it, we can have it manufactured, delivered, and installed for you! In fact, we include delivery & installation of your building at no extra charge. But if you’d be interested in getting a custom-made metal barn kit, then you can pick up and install yourself for a discount, we’re happy to provide those as well.
Oh, and did we mention? We’ve got THE BEST financing solutions in the entire metal building business. We’re all about helping you be able to afford the metal building you really need!
So why wait? You can connect with us online, or for a faster response, just give us a call at (980) 365-8481 and speak with one of our friendly building specialists today! Experience the Metal Barn Central difference for yourself!
