Winterizing your barn! Best practices for preparing your barn & horse – with a checklist

Published by Rachelle Goebel at January 5, 2021

Prepared for the first freeze?

I read an article last week from US Equestrian about 10 tips for Winterizing the Barn. I quickly clicked on the links to see if I was missing anything in my planning or could do better. Unfortunately, that article was clearly not written by someone that had to deal with true winter problems. Although the tips suggested generally good barn practices, they would not help me prevent the catastrophe that comes from impending hard freezes.

Thus, I decided to share my list with you. Although winter is here, many parts of the country still have not had a hard freeze. If you live in a climate where a freeze will come, get prepared now. Taking these steps today will save you an incredible amount of time and money later.

My checklist for winterizing my horse barn during the Southeast Texas freeze

Purge fly spray system – when the weather warms in the spring and the flies start bothering your horses, you will want your system to work on demand. Even if the system is not operating, freezing temperatures will cause line breaks and nozzle failures that you may not catch until the spring. Most systems are easily purged of liquid using an air compressor to push all liquid out of the lines. It is also a great time to clean out the tank so that as the fly system sits, it does not clog with debris. We also remove the filter in the tank, clean it and store it for reinstall in the spring. Doing all this protects the entire system, including the pump.
Move medications and liquids inside – if you have medications or idle liquids in your grooming stalls, wash stalls or feed room that may be exposed to freezing temperatures, you may want to consider moving them to a temperature-controlled space. Some fare better than others in cold temperatures.

It's all about the gas!

Gas engine equipment (Mowers, blowers, weed eaters, etc.) – run gas out or put stabilizer in your gas engines. During the winter when not using this equipment, the high ethanol content in gasoline can gum up carburetors and fuel systems, making the equipment not function when you want to use it in the spring. So, to make sure your equipment starts up in the spring, we recommend the following:

1. Use an ethanol free stabilized fuel. This allows you to leave the fuel in the equipment.
2. Run the fuel out of the equipment. However, if you have a large gas tank full of liquid, this can take some time.
3. Add fuel stabilizer to your gas tank. Purchase fuel stabilizer at any auto parts store. Follow manufacture directions for how much you need.
4. In addition to adding fuel stabilizer, many mowers have a fuel supply valve which allows you to shut off fuel to the engine. Close this valve and run the engine until it runs out of gas. We recommend this as a best protection for expensive mowing equipment

Check out this video for winterization ideas

Diesel engines – use a good lubricity enhancer all year long and in the winter, use a winter stabilizer to help preserve your fuel quality and make sure the engine will be able to start in very cold temperatures if you need to use the equipment. Again, your auto parts store can help here.

Water management...

Wrap exposed pipes – in the south, many pipes are exposed in attics, lofts, wash stalls, arena sprinklers, and at water troughs. All exposed pipe should be wrapped in pipe insulation and secured with duct tape. Also, do not forget to protect any backflow loops, such as at the water-main valve. One note, this activity is best performed when planned ahead. Usually when there is a freeze coming, hardware stores are sold out of insulation…so we recommend that you buy now and be ready. Even if you have wrapped pipes in the past, always inspect these before you get to freezing temperatures. You will want to make sure insulation has not come loose and is still covering pipes. Birds, mice, squirrels like to use this material for nests, so do not assume once in place, you can forget it.

Water faucet covers – you can buy water faucet covers at the hardware store. I prefer the Thinsulate covers, but any style should work. Just like the pipe insulation, get these before the freeze comes…otherwise it will be likely you will not find these when you need them. In a pinch, you can use towels and duct tape around faucets to give added protection. As an aside, although we have water faucet covers on every faucet, during nights of very hard freezes, we get up 1-2 times during the night and purge the lines to make sure we don’t have freezing water up the walls of our structures.

Photo of a water faucet cover

Shut off water and drain sprinklers. Even though your sprinkler system might be underground (or perhaps you have exposed heads in your arena), this system can still freeze. Shutting off water and draining the lines just leaves one item less exposed area to freezing. Alternatively, if you have arena sprinklers, you may consider running the system one or two times during the night when the freeze is occurring.

And a few more proactive tasks...

Check inventory/ purchase pipe repair materials. Even with all the precautions, freezes can take their toll if you do not properly winterize your barn. Have available pipe, pipe cutters, and pipe cement. All these items disappear quickly from the hardware store shelves immediately before and after freezes. And, if you have ever tried to call a plumber after a hard freeze…you quickly realize that you may not have water for a while.
Heater check – contact your HVAC company for an annual heater check. You should not overlook the importance of a heating check to ensure fire safety and prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Many HVAC professionals offer cost-effective seasonal, multi-point checks

Seasonal multi-point checks look for items such as:

- amp draws
- gas pressure
- flame sensors
- proper flame
- cleanliness of burners
- visual inspection of the heat exchanger to make sure no CO is entering the air stream
- all safety limits

Check / set rodent traps – During the winter, your barn may attract some uninvited guests who are looking for shelter. Mice like to chew wiring and can be a major cause of electrical fires not to mention disease to your animals. Work with your exterminator for specific problems. If you have and maintain traps, check them for mechanical function and food. If you use your own traps use pet and other wildlife safe traps to prevent unintended poisoning or entrapment.

Check off all items in Equine Simplfied

I use my task list to make sure I have everything done. My husband or I can check off the items…so we work together to knock out this list. Once done, I can quickly clear the list and keep it handy for the next freeze.

I would like to give you a gift. See how easy it is to keep everything on track and running smoothly. Get my 15 day free-trial, and start winterizing your barn.

Please Share your winter prep ideas

As I stated, this checklist covers my activities for winterizing my barn. What else do you do? I would love to hear from you. Email me at [email protected] and I will keep this list growing and sharing with everyone!

I am open to spend some 1:1 time with you, show you how easy it is to get going with all your tasks and reporting with a paperless environment. To learn more, visit the Equine Simplified website.