How to Clean a Horse Stall

If your horse spends time in a stall, it's important to maintain cleanliness. Unclean stalls not only create unpleasant conditions but also attract insects and can cause hoof problems like thrush. Ammonia from urine-saturated bedding can harm your horse's sensitive lungs. Additionally, a dirty stall is unpleasant and smelly for you to work in.

Cleaning the stall should be a daily task. A quick cleaning typically takes no more than 20 minutes, but it can take longer if the task is neglected for more than a day.

Tools and Materials You Will Need:

• Wheelbarrow or cart
• Pitchfork (five-pronged fork is best.)
• Shavings fork for moving shavings or sawdust
• Broad shovel
• Stable broom
• Work gloves
• Rubber boots
• Odor-control solution (as needed)

How to Clean a Horse Stall

Follow these steps to effectively clean your horse's stall. Once in a routine, cleaning can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes as part of your daily activities.

Dress for the Job

Wear suitable clothing for this messy job. Gloves can help prevent blisters. Urine can damage the stitching on leather riding boots, so protect them by switching to work boots or rubber boots.

Prepare the Stall

Remove your horse from the stall during cleaning. Ideally, muck out when your horse is grazing or exercising in the pasture. If this isn't possible, place the horse in an empty stall. Before you start cleaning, remove all feed tubs, water buckets, and toys from the stall.

Gather your cleaning tools and position the wheelbarrow or cart near the stall door, facing the direction of the manure pile. It's easier to maneuver an empty wheelbarrow than a full one.

Dig in With Fork and Shovel

If the stall has straw bedding, use a pitchfork to remove manure and wet or soiled bedding. For shavings or sawdust bedding, use a shavings fork to remove manure and wet bedding. Place the manure and soiled bedding into the wheelbarrow or cart. Occasionally, it's easier to pick up wet bedding with a shovel.

As you fill the wheelbarrow, take it to the designated area (the manure pile) and dump out the contents. Although it's tempting to overfill the wheelbarrow, this can make it difficult to push and likely to tip over. To avoid cleaning up spilled manure, it's better to make two or three lighter trips.

As you continue cleaning, move the unsoiled bedding to one side and check for any concealed wet or manure-soiled bedding underneath.

Occasional Deep Cleaning

Occasionally, you might want to completely strip the stall. In that case, continue filling your wheelbarrow until the stall floor is bare. Use a shovel to gather any remaining bedding and a broom to sweep it clean. Consider applying an odor-control solution or stable disinfectant. Allow the floor to dry before adding new bedding.

Spread Out Clean Bedding

After removing all the manure and soiled bedding, spread the remaining clean bedding evenly over the stall floor. Check around the stall edges, as clean bedding can accumulate against the walls due to horse movement. This may leave the center, or where the horse typically stands, thinner. Distribute the bedding evenly.

Add fresh bedding to replace what you have removed. For straw, add a whole bale or portions of one and fluff with a pitchfork. If using shavings or sawdust, use a wheelbarrow to bring fresh shavings to the stall, or open a bag and fluff the compacted shavings with a fork. Some stables have piles of loose shavings, while others use bags of compacted shavings.

The thickness of your bedding depends on the type of stall flooring and the season. With thick rubber matting, bedding can be thinner. On bare concrete, add more bedding for padding and urine absorption, especially in cold weather. Sand floors are gentle on your horse's legs but may soak up urine quickly without sufficient bedding.

Clean the Alleys and Doorways

After cleaning and bedding the stall, use a broom to sweep any spilled manure, straw, or shavings from the alleys and doorways of the stable. Scoop the debris into a shovel and add it to the manure pile. If left unattended, these materials will turn into a muddy mess during wet weather.

Finishing Up

Store all tools properly to prevent tripping hazards. Return the feed tubs, buckets, and toys to prepare the stall for your horse.

Cleaning Tips

• Use inexpensive hangers to keep cleaning tools safely out of the way on the stable walls.
• Some people leave a thick layer of bedding for warmth, cleaning only the top surface during winter months.
• Regularly use the broom to remove spider webs, as spider bites can be hazardous for horses and riders.
• Inexpensive riding gloves with sticky rubber dots are convenient for handling tools and shavings bags.