If you want to organize your home or office, there are multitudes of books, magazines and reality TV shows to tell you how to do it. Home organization is a growing industry in the United States as Americans attempt to simplify their lives. Is it possible to translate that mentality to the barn?
We've all seen immaculate tack rooms and grain rooms in big show barns and commercial boarding stables. Matching tack trunks line the walls. Bridles hang straight and orderly across from saddles tucked away safely in their covers. Of course, those barns have teams of grooms and assistants to keep things in order. Step into the average backyard barn or busy lesson stable, and chances are you'll find saddles put away backwards, brushes tucked away in random spots, piles of spilled grain and half an inch of dust on forgotten headstalls in the corner of the tack room.
Let's face it, most horse owners simply don't have the time to keep a magazine-ready stable. Keeping the stalls and water buckets clean, the fences and shelters in good repair and the horses fed and cared for is a full-time job on its own. But an organized barn is more than just aesthetically pleasing. Keeping tack and brushes organized and separated can help prevent the spread of skin problems between horses. Cleaning up grain spills and removing piles of rags or old grain bags makes your barn less inviting to bugs and rodents. Sweeping away cobwebs and collected hay and straw reduces the risk of a fast-spreading barn fire.
Whether your goal is a safe and healthy barn, an efficient setup for completing daily chores, or making your stable fit for the pages of Good Horsekeeping, chances are you've picked up some tricks along the way. Click "Submit a Comment" below to share your hints for an organized farm and barn with other readers. Some of the responses will be published in a future issue of Horse Illustrated.
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