What You Don't Know About Barn Hygiene Could Hurt Your Horse's Performance

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What You Don’t Know About Barn Hygiene Could Hurt Your Horse’s Performance

Horse Health Can Be Impaired By Excessive Ammonia

Horse owners love “barn smells.” Leather, shavings, liniment, hay, tack, that sweet horse smell … it is all part of barn life. Most people accept the smell of ammonia as just part of the deal. Eliminate that smell and you will come to appreciate all those “good” smells more and no longer be willing to tolerate the bad ones.

The inflammation caused by even low levels of ammonia from the breakdown of urine can impact a horse’s health and performance, even cause severe respiratory problems. Yet the danger of ammonia is under appreciated by most horse owners. It’s just that “stall smell” we’ve gotten use to.

However we aren’t in the stall or trailer for many hours every day and our noses are 5-6 feet above the surface. Ammonia is heavier than air so it’s near ground level, closer to where your horse’s nostrils are.