How to Disinfect a Stall
If a sick horse leaves your barn, you
need to eff ectively clean and disinfect
his stall before allowing any other
horse to enter. Also follow these
steps before moving your horse into
a strange stall at a horse show, horse
hotel, or other off -site facility.
Step 1. Clean out the stall. Remove
from the stall all feed, bedding, and
equipment, such as water buckets
and feeders. If you plan to return this
equipment to the stall, set it aside to
disinfect separately before doing so.
Step 2. Scrub the walls. Wet the
walls from top to bott om, then thor-
oughly scrub them with a detergent,
such as Tide. This will help loosen
organic matt er and debris, and will
emulsify fats to make them easier to
rinse away.
Step 3. Allow walls to dry. This is
a critical step. Any moisture left be-
hind will dilute the disinfectant you’ll
apply next, rendering it less eff ective.
Step 4. Disinfect. Thoroughly
spray all surface areas with an
eff ective disinfectant. Lysol is a good
choice if the walls are particularly
manure-stained; it’s more eff ective
in the face of organic material than
other products. Bleach is a good alter-
native if the surfaces are very clean.
The recommended dilution ratio is
between 1:10 (1.5 cups of bleach per
gallon of water) and 1:100 (0.25 cups of
bleach per gallon of water).
Step 5. Clean buckets and feeders.
Thoroughly clean and disinfect
water buckets and feeders before
returning them to the stall. Soak in
bleach (diluted in the same ratio as
in Step 4, above) or a 70% isopropyl
alcohol solution for 5 minutes.How to Wash Your Hands
(Properly!)
Studies leave no doubt that hand-
washing is one of the most important
steps you can take to help prevent the
spread of disease. In fact, estimatessay that up to 80% of infectious
diseases are spread by touch. Follow
these steps anytime you have to han-
dle a sick horse.
Step 1. Wet your hands. Wet your
hands under running water. Any
temperature will do. Studies show
that there’s no benefi t to washing
with warm water over cold. In fact,
warm water is more likely to irritate
your skin, especially if you hand
wash frequently.Step 2. Lather your hands. Lather
all surfaces of your hands and under
your nails with soap. Studies show
that there’s no additional benefi t to
washing hands with antibacterial
soaps, so any soap will do.
Step 3. Scrub your hands. Scrub
for at least 20 seconds. The Center for
Disease Control recommends singing
the “Happy Birthday” song twice
while scrubbing.
Step 4. Rinse your hands. Rinse
your hands under clean, running
water. Don’t rinse in standing wa-
ter, or you’ll risk recontaminating
your hands.
Step 5. Dry your hands. Dry your
hands with a clean towel, or allow
them to air dry completely. Estimates
say that wet hands are 1,000 times
more likely to transmit bacteria than
dry ones.How to Set Up a Footbath
If an infectious disease strikes your
barn, one of the fi rst recommenda-
tions you’re likely to hear is to set up a
footbath outside of every sick horse’s
stall, especially for diseases involving
diarrhea or draining abscesses. Prop-
erly sett ing up and using a footbath
will reduce or eliminate spread of
disease-causing organisms on your
boots or shoes. Here’s what to do.
Step 1. Situate the tub. Place a fl at
rubber or plastic feed tub on a level
surface just outside the sick horse’s
stall. Line the inside of the tub with a
circular piece of synthetic turf. Place
a long-handled scrub brush nearby.
Step 2. Dilute the solution. A prop-
er dilution of Lysol (2.5 tablespoons of
Lysol concentrate per gallon of water)
is the best disinfectant option for a
footbath, because organic material is
an inevitable contaminant.
Step 3. Fill the tub. Fill the tub with
the disinfectant solution to a level
that will completely cover the bott om
of a pair of boots or shoes; two to three
inches deep is ideal.
Step 4. Brush off organic material.
Every time you leave the stall, brush
off as much organic material (bedding,
feed, and manure) as possible from the
soles and sides of your boots or shoes.
Step 5. Step into the footbath.
Step into the footbath, and wipe the
bott oms of your feet on the rough
synthetic turf to remove remaining
organic debris. When it comes to
disinfecting, the longer you can stand
there, the bett er. While no one is likely
to stand in a footbath for a full 10
minutes, that’s the amount of contact
time recommended for best results.
Step 6. Change the disinfectant.
Keep the disinfectant fresh and
uncontaminated to maintain the
footbath’s eff ectiveness. Change the
disinfectant at least once per day. If
you notice a lot of accumulated organ-
ic material, change the disinfectant
more frequently.Quick^ tip: Is^
handwashing^diff^ icult^ to^ manage
stallside?^Consider^ wearing^
disposable^gloves^ when^ handli
ng^ sick^horses.^ Not^ an^ opti
on?^ Apply^a hand^ sanitizer^ co
ntaining^ at^least^60 %^ alcohol,^
and^ wait^ at^least^20 seconds^ fo
r it^ to^ dry^before^ touching^ any
thing.98 / HorseandRider.com