Sweeping barn aisles: alternatives?

[Appsolute]

[QUOTE=moving to dc;8135988]
I wouldn’t be able to do anything other than sweep (or shop-vac) the aisle. I want the stuff in the aisle GONE, not blown all over everything else. [/QUOTE]

I am with ya

Maybe its because I am in dry and dusty California - I HATE leaf blowers.

So glad my current barn does not use them - in the past barns that I have been at - so much dust gets kicked up into the air - finds its way to tack rooms, waterers, my eyes :dead: They are HORRIBLE if you have people (or animals) with allergies etc. Push all sorts of irritants into the air.

And the pollution from the gas powered ones is appalling!

http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs-truck-vs-leaf-blower.html

I am SO glad many cities are BANNING leaf blowers, they cause so much air pollution, noise pollution…

[Ghazzu]

A leaf blower is a Bad Idea, unless you limit the use to times when there are no horses in the barn.
It puts way more particulate matter into the air than sweeping, and is not good for the respiratory health of your stock.

[keysfins]

Clarification: we are NOT considering a leaf blower for this chore.

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=Ghazzu;8136802]
A leaf blower is a Bad Idea, unless you limit the use to times when there are no horses in the barn.
It puts way more particulate matter into the air than sweeping, and is not good for the respiratory health of your stock.[/QUOTE]

Good point - I only use mine when the barn is empty. Never when the horses are inside for this very reason. And I use safety glasses and a mouth/nose mask (like you get at the doc if you are sick when you go in) to keep the crap out of my airway.

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=keysfins;8137133]
Clarification: we are NOT considering a leaf blower for this chore. :)[/QUOTE]

:encouragement:

I liked that Hoover sweeper/vacuum thing that someone linked earlier and it wasn’t expensive either.

[bdj]

[QUOTE=keysfins;8136616]
but we just need to sweep up the shavings trails, mud and dirt from picking hooves, general barn crud, etc. [/QUOTE]

I worked at a training barn where we had to pick hooves before the horses left their stalls. Didn’t keep the aisles and grooming areas totally dirt free, but it did help a bit.

As far as the shavings trails, I put down a large doormat in front of my pony’s stall door. Probably not a great solution for a larger barn, but for my one horse operation, it does help to capture a lot of the bedding before it gets tracked into the aisle.

I do like the looks of that Hoover sweeper, though!

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=keysfins;8137133]
Clarification: we are NOT considering a leaf blower for this chore. :)[/QUOTE]

We’ve used leaf blowers for 20 plus years without issue of any kind. When using one I wear a dust mask and goggles because of “particulate hazards.” We generally don’t “blow out” the barn with horses in stalls, but might if the wind is right. When we built our barn we oriented it so that the prevailing breeze runs down the barn aisle. That removes stuff in the air nicely when the breeze is right (which it is most of the time).

G.

[SuckerForHorses]

When we built our barn we oriented it so that the prevailing breeze runs down the barn aisle. That removes stuff in the air nicely when the breeze is right (which it is most of the time).

This is what I do too - I leave the aisle doors open on both ends, and the aisle is almost always clean I only close them when there will be rain.

[sid]

[QUOTE=dotneko;8136176]
Our aisleway is 200’ long and 12’ wide. We use a battery powered leaf blower. Always have extra batteries charging. We do it 3 times a day.
I do a much better job with it than with a broom in 1/4 of the time.
Keep it low to the ground and start in the middle and blow 100’ at a time
and there is very little dust.[/QUOTE]

Same here.

[NoDQhere]

How big of a leaf blower do you think we need to blow cobwebs and dust down in an indoor arena?

[Hinderella]

There are a lot of leaf blowers that also act as vacuums:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_424719-70-BV3600_0__?productId=4712977&cm_mmc=SCE_PLA--OutdoorPowerEquipment--SosBlowers--4712977:BLACK&DECKER&CAWELAID=1907936876&kpid=4712977&CAGPSPN=pla&cm_mmc=SCE_PLA--FY15%20Shopping:%20Outdoor%20Power%20Equipment--Sos%20Blowers--all\4712977&k_clickID=8c80ff92-ccff-47c7-9895-44853db13692&kpid=4712977
But I don’t know that they will pick up that wonderful fine silty dust that is always in a barn aisle (I’m sure it’s very fine dried manure, but I try not to dwell on that )

[keysfins]

[QUOTE=bdj;8137237]
I worked at a training barn where we had to pick hooves before the horses left their stalls. Didn’t keep the aisles and grooming areas totally dirt free, but it did help a bit.

As far as the shavings trails, I put down a large doormat in front of my pony’s stall door. Probably not a great solution for a larger barn, but for my one horse operation, it does help to capture a lot of the bedding before it gets tracked into the aisle.

I do like the looks of that Hoover sweeper, though![/QUOTE]

I like the Hoover Sweeper, too—it looks like a good idea for ergonomics, pushing instead of sweeping back and forth with a normal broom. Although the regular broom workouts can help the abs and back/stabilizing muscles! (We find a regular broom does a better job than a janitor-type push broom.)

I am also looking at backpack type vacuums, but then we have an electrical cord, and noise. And even with the more heavy duty models, I’m not sure if they would be right for the job. That Hoover sweeper is looking better and better, and I think I will order it to try it.

Yes, BDJ, we do pick out feet before bringing a horse out of the stall, but most clients do not. (Which can be maddening when the main aisle is already cleaned. :rolleyes: I will scurry to sweep the little trail of shavings back in to the stall.)

And of course we are in mud season, so bringing horses in from turnout for schooling and riding brings debris in, too. But usually, we get all that picked out in the tack stalls, and sweep it up and into a manure bucket, so it stays pretty contained.

I’ll keep following this thread, and appreciate all the great ideas. I will report back on the Hoover Sweeper. This area that we try to keep clean is the first thing a person walking into the barn sees, so we really do want to keep things as tidy as possible. And anything that saves labor also saves time; making it easier for barn staff will be welcomed.

[Manahmanah]

Re: Dust hazards: If you sprinkle down the aisle with a little water before you use the blower the level of particulate made airborne is quite low. It’s not rocket science.

[goodhors]

[QUOTE=Ghazzu;8136802]
A leaf blower is a Bad Idea, unless you limit the use to times when there are no horses in the barn.
It puts way more particulate matter into the air than sweeping, and is not good for the respiratory health of your stock.[/QUOTE]

That is certainly the truth!! Using a leaf blower with animals in the barn is the same as stalling them, with doors open and facing the arena! They are breathing all that dirt, and it does accumulate, causing heaves. Can’t tell you how many heavy (heaves) horses, breathing problems I know of, that came out of places with indoor arenas with stalls down the side, before better barn design cam along. The dust in the air isn’t really good for the humans either!!

Reading all these replies about only using leaf blower when it won’t blow DIRECTLY onto a horse or person is pretty scary! And for those using the leaf blower? Are you using ANYTHING to protect your OWN breathing? Face mask, even a handkerchief, outlaw style, is better than nothing!! Blowing your nose after will show you just a little of what dirt you were breathing, more went on into your airways unnoticed. That stuff doesn’t clean itself out, it stays inside your lungs, causes problems when you get enough of it breathed in.

[ReSomething]

At college they had one of the monstrous gas powered vacuums with a bag for the livestock barn. This thing was so old it had a choke. Worked great.

Sprinkling, brooming and blowing works pretty well, along with the picking the feet in the stall. My ASB trainer uses the aisle as a workway so it’s got a sort of tanbark type footing. Moot point, the most she ever does is rake and remove manure.

[SmartAlex]

[QUOTE=ReSomething;8138158]
My ASB trainer uses the aisle as a workway so it’s got a sort of tanbark type footing. Moot point, the most she ever does is rake and remove manure.[/QUOTE]

Our bulk sawdust is spread deeply in the barn aisle. All we do is rake up spilled hay, and debris is picked up with a manure fork :yes:
A wide clean aisle of rubber pavers is a beautiful thing, but ASB peeps figured out the aisle maintenance time saver long ago.

[Ambitious_Kate]

[QUOTE=moving to dc;8135988]
I wouldn’t be able to do anything other than sweep (or shop-vac) the aisle. I want the stuff in the aisle GONE, not blown all over everything else.

I sweep it, shovel it up, and dump it on the manure pile (or in the nearest wheelbarrow).[/QUOTE]

Honestly, this is me, too. I have no interest in spending time blowing the stuff around. It takes me just a few minutes to sweep up around my horse before I ride. Put it in a bucket, dump at the end of the day in the manure pile.

Every barn I am at everyone is OBLIGATED, from the age of about 8, to sweep up after themselves.

Honestly, there’s no excuse for walking away from leavings on the floor. Sweep before you ride, sweep after you put your horse away. Easy peasy, everyone’s done. Sweeping up after hay, after anything, including your horse’s hoof leavings after the farrier is your obligation and takes all of 2 to 3 minutes.

I wouldn’t blow that crap around, not if Icould find a broom.

Every time I go to a new barn, I come with two brooms, of a style I like, one for me to use, another as a gift for the barn, so they have a really nice, useable, great broom.

[redhorse5]

Billy Goat vacuum. Very expensive, worth every penny. The problem with the leaf blower is that it just throws everything in the air. The Billy Goat picks it up in a bag which can be taken out and emptied.

It saved many many hours of hand labor.

[horsepoor]

That Hoover sweeper is also sold on Amazon and Home Depot, so if you check those sites, there are more reviews. Some talk about it needing to be a pretty smooth surface so not sure how it will work with pavers (since they have the grooves between) and lots of comments on how loud it is.

[keysfins]

Ambitious Kate, I get it! :lol:

We have two brooms stashed out of sight so they don’t wander, and they only appear when we are doing the big clean up/sweep at the end of the day. And we have one prominently marked so it does not leave the walkway at the short end of the arena (the gallery).

We have other (lesser…) brooms hanging above each muck bucket, next to its paired shovel, in the tack stalls. Those brooms are sometimes left IN the muck buckets, with the muck and manure. The horrors! Those brooms have a shorter life expectancy.

I’ve found my people here.

ETA: We make a point to thank the clients who DO clean up after using the tack stalls, and let them know how much we appreciate that they do.