Horse Barn Winter Draft Protection

[incubus2432]

The upcoming winter is our first with our new barn and horses. It's a metal pole barn with sliding doors on the ends and a gravel floor. With the latches securing the doors the overall "seal" is acceptable. The issue is the bottom of the doors......even if I add some gravel to bring it tight with the door the first time the door is used there will be gaps again. My plan is to just stack some hay bales along the inside/bottom of the door. Any other suggestions?

 

[MF1652]

Without seeing the door, I'm thinking maybe get a long strip of rubber and screw it to the bottom of the door to act as a flexible wind baffle.

It depends on what type of horses you have but most northern breeds are very well suited to the cold. A minor draft isn't always a bad thing. It helps keep the air quality better in the barn. We keep 8 horses in one barn and when i go out there in the winter morning it's always much warmer than outside with several substantial vents in the roof. You don't want a horse barn air tight.

 

[incubus2432]

Oh, it won't be anywhere near air tight. There is a substantial gap at the moment (which I will minimize) but I just want to limit severe wind from blowing loads of snow into the barn or making the horses unnecessarily uncomfortable. I realize they are hearty and I'm probably a bit too concerned but I just don't want to screw anything up.

......and thanks!

 

[GPintheMitten]

You don't want to build the gravel up to the door. When the ground freezes you will have uplift and may not be able to open the door. Trust me, this happened to me before. It is not fun trying to hack away at frozen ground trying to get enough clearance to move a door.

You could set a few bales of stray down if you really want, or lay one or two loose 2x4's along the door way. But air exchanges are necessary in a horse barn.

 

[Sheddiver]

I've used old conveyor belting which I've cut into strips and attached to my barn doors. It might be harder to find than rubber strips. It seems to hold up better than rubber though.

 

[Tony_S]

You could trench in a treated board or 2 on edge under where the door tracks to act as your "floor". It would be better than dealing with gravel when you slide, and you could likely make it a decent fit for draft abatement.
:2cents:

 

[grsthegreat]

North Idaho here, we get lots of snow and lots of cold winters. I had to eliminate the idea of installing the side stall doors on my barn cause it would get too stuffy in the barn. Closed quarters with damp animals, manure and urine = ammonia smell big time.

The animals are alot healthier with a slight breeze in the barn, and not all closed in. I try to prevent snow from coming in, but a small amount does get in. It gets cozy ion the barn, but do the horses appreciate it.....nope. They go and stand out in the snow all day long.

Little spoiled brats is what they are.

 

[kthompson]

I had family with horses in Dayton Ohio and that barn was reasonable open also. However in this area they like to use the white moisture barrier that goes under vinyl siding to protect poultry in the winter. Cost if low and it blocks wind well but will let moisture vapor leave.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The upcoming winter is our first with our new barn and horses. It's a metal pole barn with sliding doors on the ends and a gravel floor. With the latches securing the doors the overall "seal" is acceptable. The issue is the bottom of the doors......even if I add some gravel to bring it tight with the door the first time the door is used there will be gaps again. My plan is to just stack some hay bales along the inside/bottom of the door. Any other suggestions?

Stack the hay bales a foot or so away from the door so you don't block the ventilation. As long as the horses are out of direct wind, they will be fine, and will be healthier for the fresh air. Any ammonia at all will cause lung problems, and if you have a horse with sick lungs you have a sick horse.

Tight barns were a myth of the last century. The best thing for livestock is a lean-to shed and a wind break. GRS was right on - horses will wander around blissfully in the middle of a blizzard, though they appreciate shelter when it's cold and raining. Once it gets below freezing, their coat stays dry and given adequate feed and shelter from direct wind, they will be fine.

 

[SandburRanch]

The upcoming winter is our first with our new barn and horses. It's a metal pole barn with sliding doors on the ends and a gravel floor. With the latches securing the doors the overall "seal" is acceptable. The issue is the bottom of the doors......even if I add some gravel to bring it tight with the door the first time the door is used there will be gaps again. My plan is to just stack some hay bales along the inside/bottom of the door. Any other suggestions?

**************************************************
To prevent wind, rain or snow from blowing under the door, the barrier needs to be placed on the outside. Pictured is a simple drawing attempting to show the arrangement. If it's too small to see let me know.

By placing a 2x4 against the door (where the X is ) or other suitable material on the outside, the wind has to make two 90° turns to enter the building. The only critical element is the barrier needs to be just a little taller than the bottom of the door. As little as a quarter inch works. Air is real stubborn about changing directions and this is a form of labyrinth seal that makes that concept work.

Horses need good fresh cold air but I don't much care for it on my feet.

 

[Rusty]

Any other suggestions?

incubus2432 - I agree with others that ventilation is important. My barn has gable and ridge vents which seem to work well. However, I do not like snow drifts inside my sliding doors (one faces north, one faces south), so I have lengths of 4x4 lumber that I set along the bottom of the closed doors when I expect wind-driven snow. They have worked well for me. Two shorter lengths to cover the width of the door are easier to move than one long piece. For really bad storms, the 4x4s can be placed along the outside of one or both of the doors, possibly with some weighting.

 

[Lloyd_E]

We bought rubber runner material. The type you put over a walk way or floor area. I cut it into 8" wide strips by 6'(6' feet was the length of the runner - we made it fit 10') and stapled it in place at the bottom of the sliding door - on the outside. I then made a horizontal batten to go over the rubber the full width of the door - 10 feet. Our door openings are 10'x10'. Around the two sides of the opening and along the top of the door span I did the same thing but used astro-turf. The costs for each opening was about $20 bucks. When it wears out( been holding for 5 years now) we will just replace it. We generally lock it up tight only if there is a big snow or rain storm coming. On the north side we also place a row of hay along the bottom - again only if a big snow is expected or really cold winds. The horses exit their stalls from inside the barn via two 10'x10' sliding doors on either end of the barn or by their stalls to a roofed over side area. I also placed eye hooks and loops on the doors at different widths so I can adjust the opening as needed. For the most part the doors are almost always open summer and winter.

 

[bucktaker]

You have gotten good advice here, The horses will be fine with being in barn as is . I currently have 3 horses and my horse barn is opensided shelter to the stalls.

Dont bring the ground up to the door or frost heave will bind up your door for sure. Place a treated board inside the doors to stop driven snow and rain from coming through.

 

[colinc]

Little spoiled brats is what they are.

Is one of your spoiled brats a Norwegian Fjord?

 

[grsthegreat]

Is one of your spoiled brats a Norwegian Fjord?

3 of them are spoiled fjords.....

 

[colinc]

3 of them are spoiled fjords.....

AHHHHHHHH! That photo is so cute!!!

I think fjords are great. I would love to have one, but we have enough horses already.

 

[MikeD74T]

Gave a friend two 10' lengths of 5" fire hose which he put on the bottom of his shop doors. Closed up a 4" gap very nicely. His concern was leaves blowing into the shop & becoming a fire hazard. He's surrounded by oaks which seem to drop leaves all winter long. MikeD74T