This probably seems like a silly or even dumb question… But do most people close the stall windows in cold freezing weather in the barn?? Obviously ventilation is good for them… But man the cold air and frigid wind is just whipping through the stalls in the barn… It’s brutal today here in Pennsylvania.
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well not in the frozen north but all of our stall windows are sealed once we start getting temps dropping into the 30sF
our primary issue is the winds blowing out of the north these are often in the 30 to 40 mph range which makes a 35 degree evening not pleasant at all
We rarely blanket the horses but have one yearling that gets a sheet each night in his stall.
Currently only two horses are being placed in their stalls, the yearling and his pasture mate who is on a controlled diet. The remaining are out unless its raining or strong wind from the north
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I shut my barn windows once it gets to about 20F primarily to reduce the need to plug in my heated buckets. Or when it’s super windy to prevent bedding from blowing around or rain/snow blowing in. I’m in NJ so know what wind you’re referring to - my windows are shut overnight tonight.
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Mine aren’t inside at night very often, and most of the bad weather situations don’t need the barn “locked up”. But occasionally we get gawdawful winds along with the blowing snow or sleet or freezing rain, so I definitely close the main doors for that, as the aisle is situated NW-SE, so the Winter winds blow right through it. 3 stalls face S, 1 faced N but has a 50-60’ treeline right outside it which blocks a lot of wind. This means most of the time the stalls don’t even need to be closed up.
So, it just depends on the need. If it’s straight up cold, I don’t
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Are horses in the barn? If so, you do want air exchanges. Cannot remember the number but you want so many an hour. Someone else might come in with that factoid.
I find getting the urine spots up everyday eliminate the smell of urine but I’ve been in some barns that were terrible and horses were in stalls. Bad for respiratory.
I do close the doors on my barn but the dutch door stalls are left open so there’s that. My horses come and go from inside their stalls.
I hate a cold wind.
P.S. There are no dumb questions. 
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I keep my barn open unless it’s well below zero with driving winds. The horses do fine with cold temps.
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I closed the barn doors on both ends …left just a small space for the kitties to get in & out …I closed all but one horses Dutch windows for overnight-that guy is happier being able to look out …the wind was just bone chilling …they all seem happy and content
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Ventilation is good. Cold wind blowing through the barn is not. Leave something open on the leeward side and close openings on the windward side.
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This time of year, I keep my horses in their stalls with attached paddocks from around 5pm to 6am. I tend to prioritize having my dutch doors open to their attached paddocks over blocking the wind. Yes, that means it can get pretty windy in my barn (as in, shavings in aisle next morning - hazards of living on a hill not that far from the ocean). But I figure that their blankets block the wind really well and they spend a lot of time outside in their attached paddocks, rather than trying to escape the wind in their stalls, so I figure it must not bother them. I do shut the doors on my aisles to reduce wind coming from all directions.
When it’s ridiculously windy and/or cold, I will close them, but even then I may only close the doors on the side the wind is blowing from.
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My setup is pretty much like @PaddockWood described.
I oriented my barn so main big doors - 12X16 sliders - face N/S, stalls are E/W with Dutch doors at back facing East.
Prevailing winds here rarely come from the East.
Dutch doors are always open, horses stalled only when they decide to come in.
Big slider at the front is generally left open about 1/4 for airflow. Closed if strong wind is coming from South or West.
Even with the single-digit windchills we had the last 2 days, stalls were open to weather in back & barn was still bearable to puny, human me.
Horses were out in the big field with no windbreak or shelter, by their choice.
All tested warm & have fluffed up their plushy Winter coats. Mini is a yak.
ETA:
Re: @Janet 's post.
“horses figured out how to open that window from the outside”
Of course they did! 
I have 2 residential type storm windows on the West Wall of the barn.
Builder used windows w/screens.
Screens promptly destroyed by horses, leaving a broken pane of glass as well 
I had hardware cloth screwed in place over each window, on the outside, to prevent further damage.
I can still open the windows from inside the barn, but seldom bother.
One is completely blocked by stacked hay.
The other allows light & has a curtain I lower to keep out heat from Summer sun.
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Like some of the others, my dutch doors (on the East side of the barn) are almost never closed. If we are having a serious winter storm that is blowing too much snow into the barn thru those doors (which are protected by a 10’ overhang), then I might close them. That happens at most, once per year.
I also have about half of the translucent panels removed from the barn, also under that over hang. So even with the doors closed there is still plenty of fresh hair.
In the winter the horses are out all day with all the hay they want, and a run-in for shelter (that almost never gets used).
At night they have private paddocks and access to their stalls thru those dutch doors, still all the hay they want.
Inside the barn is typically the same temperature as outside minus the wind.
Edit to add -
@Janet (below) makes a good point. I do not have any actual windows in my barn. Translucent panels towards the top of the wall on East and West side. Dutch doors to the outside in all stalls. A man door, and two large slider doors on either end of the aisle.
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My barn WINDOWS are always closed. But the top doors of the dutch doors on the stalls that are used for horses (2 are used for storage and those top doors stay closed) are always open, and the bottom doors are only closed if the horse needs to be kept in for medical reasons. When there is a cold wind, the sliding barn door on that end is closed.
I’ve lived here for 20 years, and there were only 2 nights (MANY years ago) that I shut the horses their stalls with the top doors closed.
ETA
@trubandloki
I actually have 5 windows, all of which originally were capable of opening and closing, but I still never opened them.
One of them was on a stall I stored hay in, and the horses figured out how to open that window from the outside, so I had to block it anyway.
3 of them needed to be replaced, and I replaced them with plexiglass (or similar) sheets. But I still don’t open the ones that can be opened
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This is my barn …the windows on the side with the overhang/awning get the most wind from that side …the other side has windows as well but the wind is mainly blocked by my indoor
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Then try closing the windows on the one side and leaving them open on the other side and see how that works for you.
BTW, your barn is gorgeous.
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Our barn windows are screened with bars and louvered windows on the outside. They always stay open
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Thank you …I think I might give that a try …I have to remind myself just because I feel cold doesn’t mean they do
Agreed. I do my best to always block the wind (it’s more of a run-in/barn, with the ability to close either side, open both sides etc.) but something is always open.
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dream barn!
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My guy and his pasture friend live in a small pasture with a two-stall barn that has dutch doors that open into the pasture (and there is a nice overhang on that side too). The back side of the barn faces North and the stalls have dutch doors there too. The doors opening to the pasture stay open pretty much 24/7 unless I want them closed out of the stalls or one of them closed up temporarily for some reason. The top of the back dutch doors stays open pretty much 24/7 unless there’s a driving rain (we get hurricanes), or if it’s below 40 and very windy (with or without precipitation). If it’s just cold (like last night it was 22) with no wind or driving precipitation, the doors stay open. In all honesty, the horses don’t go in there much anyway. They get fed hay, etc. outside as long as it’s not raining. They wear turnout sheets or blankets once temps drop below 40 too.
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That sounds a lot like my set up, except mine loovve their little barn. They go IN the barn to pee 
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