Monday, May 27, 2013

Naturally Venting Horse Stables & Livestock Facilities

By Jerry Wright


Even with such a variety of disciplines and interests, those in the equine and livestock industry all agree that good air quality inside their horse stables, arenas and other facilities is very important. Across the industry, veterinarians and professional horse handlers understand the need for good ventilation systems, and ensuring that stables smell like fresh forage and clean horses - rather than manure. When it comes to maintaining the respiratory health of your horses, natural ventilation is by far the easiest and most economical solution.

Poorly Designed Ventilation Is The Most Common Mistake Made In Horse Facility Design

Natural ventilation design for horses and livestock is very different to what is needed in buildings for human occupation and horse stable and facility designers need to keep this very much in mind when coming to answer the comfort requirements of their animals.

Human occupied buildings do not have the odour demands of horse stables. Horse facilities have to deal with a lot more moisture, odour, dust and pathogens moving around in the air space. When you add heat to the mix it becomes very important to have cool breezes passing over the horses to keep them cool and natural ventilation is very important for this.

Horse facility designers need to take into consideration that horses tolerate a colder environment than humans, after all their whole bodies are covered in horse hair! Horse stables should not be kept any hotter than 5 to 10 degrees warmer than outside. This differs, of course, to human comfort levels and has to be remembered.

Ventilation For Your Horses' Health

Ventilation designs should aim to keep air moving through the space. The inclusion of low-level louvres (including louvre doors and louvre windows) to introduce air, and the use of roof ventilation systems, roof louvres and gable ventilators for exhaust is especially important.

A well-designed natural ventilation system will provide 4-8 air changes per hour, and this will reduce mould spore contamination and moisture, as well as eliminate odours. Horse facility designers are taking advantage of the Admiral and Commander Series of ridge ventilators to achieve optimal airflow through horse stables, arenas and holding yards.

Effective intake louvres and high efficiency ridge ventilator designs help get rid of moisture and heat via the top of the roof and also promote a wind path to drive air through the building. A great guide for getting to know how natural ventilation can work well in a horse/livestock facility can be found at the Pennsylvania State College for Agricultural Sciences.




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