It’s time to do some Spring cleaning on your horse and barn. As horse owners, we know it’s finally Spring because daylight savings time has begun and we’re getting covered in horse hair. Depending on where you live, you may already feel the warmer weather, or you might have a few more months of cooler temps and wet/muddy weather to survive before it’s actually here. Regardless of where you live, the time of year is upon us. Get ready for shedding horses, warmer temps and longer nights at the barn.
Follow this list of 9 things you should do in the Spring to prepare for the rest of the year.
Clean up the barn (or your area of the barn if you board).
Spring is the perfect time to clean your barn and stalls. You’ll be spending more time at the barn now that the weather is warming up and the days are longer. This is also a great time to clean and dust to keep you barn in good working order.
- Remove cobwebs. You can use a broom or duster to knock down cobwebs or you can wash down the inside of the barn if that is possible within your barn. Removing cobwebs not only improves the cleanliness of your barn but it also can reduce risk of fire.
- Strip Stalls. Take out any old bedding and replace it with new. Put down Sweet PDZ on urine spots to reduce odors and allow the urine spots to dry. This will freshen and make your whole barn feel cleaner.
- Clean and organize your tools. Wash your brooms, pitchforks, shovels, etc and make sure they are organized. What does that mean? If you keep your tools in a trash can, clean it out and put them back in. If you have spare space on a wall, I suggest using utility hooks to hang everything. Using hooks makes everything easy to see and easy to access and put away.
- Wash any water buckets, feed buckets and/or water troughs. Wash and scrub out buckets and troughs so they are clean and ready for your horse to spend more time outside.
Clean and sort through all your tack.
Take some of the extra daylight to go through all the tack you have. Clean everything (this could take a little while) and decide if you actually need all the tack you own. You can make extra money by selling unused tack, blankets, riding apparel, and other equipment, so think of this as a money making task as well as Spring cleaning. If you haven’t used something in 2-3 years, it is probably time to let it go!
- Clean up your tack trunk. Now is the time to pull everything out and clean it – including your brushes and other grooming supplies.
- Check the expiration dates on your feed and drugs. Throw out and replace anything that is expired.
Schedule your Spring Vet Visit.
Spring is a very common and logical time of year to have a vet visit. Get your vaccinations, coggins and anything else you may need for the summer, scheduled with your vet. Make sure you know the requirements of any events or shows you plan to attend so you can take care of everything at once.
Repair and replace any fencing that needs attention and check pastures for required maintenance.
Make sure your fence lines are ready for horses to be outside more often. Replace any broken sections and repair any un-safe areas. Check your pastures for holes or areas that may need dirt or gravel to fill in low spots or help with muddy/slippery areas.
Clean and Prepare your Hay storage area.
It’s warmer and soon you will be getting more hay (if you tend to buy once a year after hay is cut). Time to clean and sweep your hay barn/area for cleaning up the barn as well as safety. Feed any loose hay that is clean and maintained (watch out for strings too!). Otherwise sweep and throw away any loose hay that is not suitable for feeding. This will make delivery of your new hay easier and faster.
Clean you and your horse’s winter “gear”.
Time to get winter blankets washed, repaired and re-waterproofed. You can do minor repairs yourself or find a store that repairs rips and tears. Always try to repair a blanket instead of throwing it away – you’ll save money and repaired blankets still work well.
- Once your weather is warming up, be sure to wash any coats, clothes, breeches, and boots that you only need in the winter. It’s so nice to use clean things when winter unexpectedly rolls in too early later in the year. Clean your winter boots and put them in a box for storage until winter.
- Make sure your summer fly gear is ready for your horse to wear. Fly sheets, fly masks, wraps, etc should all be cleaned and prepared for normal wear soon.
- Bonus: Start getting fly prevention ready now. Order fly predators and fly traps so you can set them out as soon as it is warm enough (fly predators will be automatically shipped when it is suitable in your area given your temperatures).
Clean up your horse.
Spring is the time of year for shedding horses and mud! Make sure you have shedding tools on hand to help you with removing all that winter hair. Once the weather is warm enough, give your horse their first Spring bath!
Related Post: Is the Strip Hair Gentle Groomer the best shedding tool for your horse?
Perform maintenance on the vehicles in your barn.
Tractors, lawn mowers, weed whackers, bobcats, golf carts, and ATVs all require regular maintenance. If you’ve kept up through the winter, great! If not, now is the time to clean your vehicles, perform oil changes, change filters, replace any parts that are broken or necessary, check tire air pressure, etc. Manure spreaders and harrows may require maintenance as well to keep them operating at their fullest. Consult your owner’s manual to determine what maintenance should be performed.
Clean and organize your horse trailer.
Soon you will be going to horse shows or going on trail rides so now is the time to prepare your trailer. Pull everything out of your trailer, clean everything and re-organize/pack the trailer with what you know you’ll need. Clean and fill water tanks in your trailer, replace bedding in the back (if you use it), and put organization in your trailer if it is necessary.
- Bring your horse trailer in for regular maintenance. A shop that sells trailers or installs hitches should be able to perform trailer maintenance for you. (If you don’t know where to take your trailer, look up places near you or ask your horse friends where they go). I prefer to have a shop inspect your trailer as opposed to self maintenance because they know what to look for. A trailer inspection/maintenance should include checking the tires, tire pressure, packing, hitch, wiring, floor condition, and any other necessary maintenance. *This is also a good time to check that your truck is properly maintained so it is ready to tow your horse trailer!
Great article. Lots to do!