How does your manager keep your barn EXTRA clean?

[EquestrianRunner]

The barn I grew up riding at was possibly the cleanest barn ever. Not fancy in that it had lots of shiny/etc, but CLEAN. We joked we could eat off the barn isle floor! Barn rules were followed, and if you didn’t follow, out you went. The B/O was a former military sergeant, so he meant business!

Sweep after using cross ties and/or wash stall – had a muck bucket and shovel with a broom easily accessible for piles

NO clipping in wash stall – created too many issues with the drain. So since our drain was usually pretty good, we could always spray down wash stall after EVERY use.

Pick feet before your horse leaves his stall (hoof picks left outside each stall on a hook)

Only halters and/or grazing muzzles to be left on the halter hooks

Blankets on blanket bars-- folded into three’s, then folded into half over the bar. If they were wet we had an extra stall to hang them to dry

pick up piles in indoor/outdoor, and put poles/etc back how you found them

pick up piles left on driveway – we did a lot of hacking/trail riding and so if your horse pooped on the driveway, you picked it up

Swept isle 2-3x a day, in addition to after anyone groomed

In addition to regular barn rules, we regularly were de-cobwebbing, and washed walls twice a year I believe.

Nothing in the isle way – tack trunks in the “trunk room” and tack in the tack room.

We had a nook that had all the pitch forks, brooms, extra buckets, anything like that. We had auto-waterers so no buckets. If you do have buckets, I worked in a barn that had two faucets in the wash stall – one for wash stall use (h/c), and the other was a regular hydrant, that we used for buckets. The bucket hydrant was right next to a “hose on a wheel” that I used…I would dump, and scrub buckets, then put back in stalls and re-fill using the hose on the wheel. Very tidy, loved it!

Buckets scrubbed every day!

Tack wiped down after every ride – not a barn rule, but a good habit and kept the barn looking nice too

Even now – 10+ years later, I still do most of these things no matter what barn I am at. It really does make a big difference!

[GraceLikeRain]

The last barn I boarded at had rotating staff (AM/PM) but had a manager who lived on property. Her attention to detail was unparalleled.

• Every grooming bay had a muck bucket, pitch fork, broom, and standing dust pan. Any time you used the bay you were expected to ensure the mats were 100% clean before you left even if you were coming back 5 minutes later. Muck buckets were dumped 2-3 times a day so there were no flies and everything was hosed off daily.

• Things like trash cans, wheelbarrows, etc. were washed and scrubbed down daily

• Staff would flip laundry for you so as long as you got something into the laundry basket it would be washed and ready for your next visit

• Stall walls were disinfected and scrubbed down on a regular basis since most horses traveled frequently

• Things were replaced, greased, or repaired constantly. Small things like cross ties, snaps, door latches, etc. always looked pristine

Ultimately I think a manager can only be as effective as the owner allows. A barn owner who prioritizes good footing, gravel or no dirt paths, quality drainage, etc. will completely change the amount of dirt that ends up in the barn. Without that support a manager can work 24/7 and the barn will never look as clean if horses are dragging in clay, grass, etc.

[mst]

I grew up in one of these places we are speaking of so when I started out on my own, I kept those skills, lol! Cobwebs get removed everyday as you muck. Pinesol and water are mixed in a water can and sprinkled on the aisle before the after muck sweeping. After sweeping, everything is dusted with furniture polish. This includes wiping off any stall grills with a wet towel, trunks with furniture polish(if they are wood), and any other surfaces. Tack is never hung up dirty and is always wrapped exactly the same way. Bits must be clean. The wash stall is always clean, dirty laundry is in a hamper. Picking the horses feet, as mentioned above, before they leave the stall is key. Pick up the poop if crosstied right away before it becomes stuck to the floor and sweep up any mess before the horse leaves the crossties.

We scrubbed out our feed tubs everyday after the morning so that the flies don’t hang around. The stalls got picked all day long so it never smells. Everything has its place.

Once you get the routine started, its pretty easy to maintain.

[merrygoround]

@tabula rashah

Well I can tell you exactly how Hilltop maintains its facilities since I was there for 8 years. First, we had a great staff- dedicated and detail oriented. Then we routines and procedures for pretty much everything. Barn aisles got vacuumed twice daily and horses had hooves picked before leaving stalls and upon returning. A big plus was the way hay and straw was distributed to stalls- there were over head lofts and an opening in the loft floor to each stall. This was very helpful that straw and hay weren’t being brought through the aisles. Also there is a dedicated house keeper that keeps the offices and lounge areas clean. For each public event (clinic, breed inspection, judges’ forum, etc) all of the wood, metal and glass surfaces in the barn and indoor are cleaned.

AKA- it’s a lot of work lol

And the board was???

[red_mares]

The last barn I boarded at was a working barn, but spotless. It was clean simply because the owner/trainer/whomever cleaned up after themselves.

It was also designed for minimal effort. Auto waters in the stalls meant that a hose wasn’t lying around. The stalls were made of an easy clean fiberglass (?) panel over wood, almost like a white board. Stall doors are wide enough to accommodate a Bobcat (if needed). The barn aisle was swept/blown after every feeding.

One of the main reasons it was cleaned is that it is an Amish barn. This community has church at members farms on a rotating basis. Whenever someone has church,their place gets cleaned to the nth degree. There is no gossip like Amish gossip. :yes:

I did give the BO a hard time when he put in roses along the side of the barn and did some other cosmetic things - This is what my board is going toward? :lol: Board was pretty reasonable (<$400). The care was good and the place was clean because they cared about what they had.

[tabula_rashah]

@mydogs

Thanks! That is perfect! Those are the exact things we are trying implement in our cleaning routine.
Do you know what kind of vacuum was used?
Did you guys use a specific cleaner for the wood?
How did you go about cleaning the wood & stall bars?

I don’t remember what brand the vacuums were. I know we had a couple different ones while I was there. For the wood- we used Murphy’s Oil Soap diluted in a spray bottle and for all the metal we used Simple Green. The was no real magic solution to the actual cleaning- we would just schedule a couple hours where EVERYONE on the farm stopped what they were doing and cleaned (trainers included ) All of it was done by hand with rags, spray bottles and ladders.

[tabula_rashah]

@merrygoround

And the board was???

I don’t know what board is currently as I left about 2 years ago. All board was full training or in the mare management or raising services though, they did not offer just “board” as most people would think of it. Prices may be on the website hilltopfarminc.com