Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Ventilation, the movement of air through the barn, can be used to regulate the temperat-
ure and humidity. The goal is to make the air in the stalls and the aisles fresh. Check your
design to ensure that ammonia fumes from manure and bedding decomposition can move
up and out of the stalls. Also plan your structure to prevent condensation, which occurs
when the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature is too great. Condensation
does not occur as readily in moving air as it does in stagnant air.
Ventilation can be provided by natural and/or mechanical means. One of the easiest
methods is to open windows, barn doors, and the tops of stall doors. Another is to install
a ceiling fan over every stall to move the stagnant air trapped between the stall walls. Of
course, you must beware of drafts, as horses are very susceptible to chill. Stall windows
should be outfitted with a metal grill with spaces no more than 3 inches apart to protect
the glass from horses. Metal window frames are better than wood, as they are fireproof and
less susceptible to chewing damage. If a window is set high in the stall, it can have hinges
on the bottom and open inward.
Doors should be a minimum of 8 feet high and 4 feet wide. If a door is to be left open, it
should have a latch or hook to keep it there. Sliding doors should be outfitted with proper
tracks and with bumpers to prevent them from rolling off the tracks.
Various vents can be placed in the barn to allow foul air to escape. All sorts of variations
of louver boards can be implemented in the roof ridge or under the eaves in the soffitt. A
spinning cupola ventilator can be added on the roof as a supplement to ridge vents. Other
nonmechanical means of ventilation include adjustable vents 6 feet from the stall floor (to
let in cool air) and vents at the top of the back wall where it joins the roof (to let out warm,
moist air).
Mechanical ventilation forces air in or out of the barn, usually with electrical fans or
blowers. When figuring either for a pressure or an exhaust system, figure 1 square foot of
vent or inlet space for every 750 cubic feet per minute fan capacity. More than this will
create a draft, and less simply will not ventilate adequately.
