5 Ways To Make Cleaning Horse Stalls Easier

Stall cleaning can be one of the most time-consuming chores involved in horse ownership. Want to make cleaning your horse's stall easier and less time-consuming? Then be sure to check out these five tips.

Bring In Stall Mats

Lining your horse's stall with stall mats can instantly make cleaning his stall easier and faster. Stall mats provide a smooth base to the stall so you won't have to worry about digging bedding out of holes, or about bedding being mixed in with the dirt base. It's also far easier to bank and pick at bedding when you have an even stall mat base. Plus, when you use stall mats, you can generally use less bedding than you'll need if you're trying to bed over a hard surface.

Carefully Choose Your Bedding

Different bedding types are easier to clean than others. Bedding types like straw and coarse shavings are more difficult to dig through, and can increase the amount of time it takes you to clean a stall. Finer bedding types, like small shavings and wood pellet products, are easier to clean so your horse's stall takes you less time. Of course, be sure to consider your budget when choosing the type of bedding that you'll be using, too.

Looking for more horse stall tips? Check out our popular article Horse Housing - Stall vs. Pasture.

Pick Out Stalls Frequently

Taking a few minutes to pick out your horse's stall before you leave each night can make your stall cleaning task the next morning much easier. This is particularly effective if your horse moves around at night and tends to grind his manure down into his bedding. Keep a muck bucket near your horse's stall so that you can pick it out easily and quickly.

Maximize Turnout Time

One easy way to minimize your stall cleaning tasks is to maximize the amount of time that your horse spends turned out. Being outside is good for your horse's health, and it also means that you will have less stall cleaning to do.

Use Hay Nets or Feeders

If your horse likes to walk around and night and churns his hay into his bedding, then cleaning his stall will be difficult and can take you quite a while. Try feeding your horse his hay in a hay net or other hay feeder to help keep it up off of the floor and to prevent it from being mixed down into his bedding. You'd be surprised at how effective this simple step can be.

If you're looking for ways to keep your horse busy in their stall, take a look at our popular article 6 DIY Ways To Prevent Stall Boredom For Horses.