PSU Horse Barns Web Project
Dr. Nancy Diehl, Instructor

Horse Stall Ventilation – Penn State University New Horse Barns

Alicia L. Kleppinger

Many people do not realize that a horse needs more ventilation than the average person is comfortable with. For this reason, it is imperative when constructing a stall to keep this in mind. The objective of ventilation is to get fresh air to the horse. Getting fresh air into the stable is the first important step for good ventilation; next is distributing this air to the occupants of the stall. Air distribution within the stall is improved by an open and airy interior. Air movement is greatly improved by providing openings for air to flow in and out of the stall. As illustrated in the pictures below, open grillwork with bars spaced 3 inches apart on the top portion of the front and sides of the stall gives much better airflow than solid stall partitions.

Figure 1: Stall Door Figure 2: Side of stall with 3" partitions

Open partitions also provide benefits beyond the obvious improvement in ventilation. This stall design allows horses to see each other for companionship, which is important for this social animal. They also allow the caretaker to see the horse from almost anywhere in the stable. It should be noted that at Penn State some of the stalls have solid partitions – these stalls used primarily for mares with foals help prevent the fighting which can sometimes occur when mares are being protective of their young.

When the interior of the stall has no ceiling and is open to the roof peak, more air exchange and distribution can occur. The stall design in the New Horse Barns is ideal for this as each stall is open to the roof of the barn and does not incorporate overhead hay and bedding storage in the stable. In addition the aisle ways are clear of any equipment or clutter to allow the air to circulate throughout the barn from both the east and west entrance.

Figure 3: View of top of the stall

Measuring a building ventilation rate is very simple, though the tools needed for this may not be readily available to the average horse owner. Instruments are available for purchase, which will measure air movement throughout your barn for you, but they can be very expensive. It may be helpful to contact your local county extension agent, who may be able to provide you with the resources and services to measure your barn ventilation rate.

A rough estimate of ventilation rate may be made by measuring the velocity of air entering (or leaving) the stable or stall through ventilation openings. An instrument called an anemometer can measure air velocity. Using a Hot Wire anemometer, measurements were taken at various locations in the Penn State New Horse barns, including inside the stall, as you can see in the following table:

Table 1: Wind Velocity Measurements

Location Instrument	Outside	Aisle (1door open)	Aisle (both doors open)	Aisle (doors closed)	Stall 1 (walls with side grillwork)	Stall 2 (solid side walls)
Hot Wire Anemometer velocity (mph)	Avg: 1.02	0.1 0.2 Avg: 0.15	0.2 0.3 0.1 Avg: 0.2	0.0 0.1 Avg: 0.05	0.0 0.1 Avg: 0.05	0.0 0.1 Avg: 0.05

*Measurements taken at 10:10am on 2/24/04 at PSU New Horse Barns.

From the data, we can see that the wind movement in different parts of the barn is minimal, even though the barn itself as well as the stall appear very well ventilated. As you can see from the data presented in Table 1 the wind velocity is greater in the aisle ways (and with both end doors open) than inside each individual stall, but we are still achieving air movement within the stall which is the most direct measure of what the horses are seeing. Interestingly, the stalls with the solid walls measured the same velocity as those with the open partitions – we suspect this is in part due to the small spaces left open between each plank of the partition and to the very high roof in the barn.

If one wanted to further analyze ventilation, using an anemometer, air velocity measurements can be obtained in feet per minute, and multiplied by the opening area, in square feet to get the ventilation rate in cubic feet per minute. From this you can calculate the air changes per hour by dividing the ventilation rate by the building air volume. You can also measure the incoming ventilation air speed at several openings and at several locations, then average the velocities and multiply by the by the open area air flow.

Eq 1: Air velocity (ft/min) x opening area (ft²) = Vent. rate (ft³/min)

Eq 2: Vent. rate (ft³/min) / building air volume = Air changes per hour

Eq 3: Avg. of incoming vent. air speed x open area air flow

Reference:

“Horse Stable Ventilation” Fact Sheet, Eileen Fabian Wheelerl, Penn State University

The content of this web page was produced by students in our Advanced Horse Production and Management (AnSc 407, 2004) course at Penn State. This page is not a product of the Equine Science Team. As such, it is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. For recommendations specific to your farm or horse you should consult your equine veterinarian, local horse professional or County Extension Agent.

Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is implied. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of Congress May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Legislature. T. R. Alter, Director of Cooperative Extension, The Pennsylvania State University.

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