Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Moisture is the main cause of odors in a stall. Search for spots of wet bedding and re-
move them. Expose the stall floor to dry by banking the remaining good bedding against
the stall walls. Use a stiff broom to sweep some of the oldest bedding back and forth over
wet areas to absorb the moisture, and then scoop up that bedding with a shovel. Use a stall
freshener product to absorb any remaining moisture and odors.
Hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) used to be the old standby for deodorizing and dry-
ing out stall floors. It lowers the acidity of the urine and causes dirt particles to clump,
thereby allowing air to get to them and dry them out. It is cheap and readily available, but
not especially safe or effective. In fact, hydrated lime is highly alkaline and can irritate your
skin or your horse's, especially when damp. Horses that eat from heavily limed floors can
suffer mouth, throat, and lung damage.
Products containing zeolites or blends of diatomaceous earth and granular clay are safer,
far more absorbent than lime, and better at reducing ammonia odors. They are nontoxic to
people and animals, non-flammable, and environmentally friendly.
After the application of a stall freshener, let the stall floor dry all day, with barn doors
and windows open if possible. In the evening rake the dry “old,” but still usable, bedding
back in the area of usual defecation and urination. Add fresh bedding, if needed, to the area
where the horse lies or stands. If you have a spare stall, move your horse there and let his
regular stall dry thoroughly. Before you return your horse to his stall, pick out his hooves
and give him a good brushing and check his blanket, if he wears one.
Every week or two, depending on how heavily the stall is used, remove all the bedding
and start fresh.
Zeolites
Zeolites are a group of naturally occurring minerals, hydrous silicates, that were
deposited as a result of volcanic activity millions of years ago. Zeolites have a
honeycomb-like structure that gives them a large surface area. This enables them to
absorb tremendous amounts of odors. Foul-smelling gases latch on to dust particles
that have a positive molecular charge. Zeolite molecules have a negative molecular
charge, so they act like magnets to attract dust particles, thus helping clear the air of
odors as well as dust. In a similar manner, zeolites trap positive ammonium ions dir-
ectly from urine, which makes them especially effective at reducing ammonia odors.
The honeycomb structure of zeolites, with millions of tiny pores, enables them to
absorb up to 60 percent of their weight in water. Also, zeolites do not become dan-
gerously slippery when wet, which is important if your stall flooring consists of wood
or solid rubber mats. There's no need to let the stall dry out completely when us-
ing zeolites. Just remove wet bedding, cover damp floor areas with
⅙
to ⅛ inch of a
