Poll: Stall fans-my horses hate them

[msj]

Ok, today was the first day that we are in the upper 80's and possibly hitting 90 degrees. I decide it's time to put the stall fans on the stalls because the horses are standing in the stalls instead of out eating.

Now, the only time I shut the horses in their stalls, except for morning feed, is really bad weather. Otherwise the stall doors are open and the horses can come and go at will.

Every single time I put the fans on, my horses leave the stalls UNLESS I happen to have the doors shut. :sigh: So, since there is a good breeze outside I left the fans off and will continue to do so all summer. No sense wasting electricity.

So do your horses like fans of not?

Yes, No or sometimes?

[Jleegriffith]

Mine plaster themselves as close as they can get to the fan and stand their all day with looks of pure bliss. Mine are all Tb's who hate flies so part of it is that the fans make the flies stay off and I think they just enjoy the comfort of the breeze.

[Janet]

Mine also have free access to their stalls all the time. 3 of the 4 have fans in them.

Sometimes they stand in front of them, and sometimes they go outside, and it doesn't have much correlation to when I think they will want them.

This morning it was not hot at all, and Belle was standing with her face inches from the fan. But the other day when it was hot and humid, they were hanging out under the overhang, far from the fans.

I leave teh fans on all the time, so they have the option. Sometimes it has as much to do with the flies as the heat,

[deltawave]

Mine seem to like them, but maybe yours object to blowing debris, the noise, or something that might be remedied by putting them on low speed or moving them farther away? A little air movement is better than nothing--personally even I hate a loud, blowing fan even if it's really hot and much prefer quieter and less "blowy".

[msj]

Mine seem to like them, but maybe yours object to blowing debris, the noise, or something that might be remedied by putting them on low speed or moving them farther away? A little air movement is better than nothing--personally even I hate a loud, blowing fan even if it's really hot and much prefer quieter and less "blowy".

I always start them at low and they walk out. :sigh: I've even walked in the stall to see how much air was actually blowing and it's pretty mild. I don't see any debris as they are in the turnout stalls during the day and there is very little bedding there, just enough to soak up any urine if they do urinate. I'm out about 6 times thru the day and at least a couple of times after dinner to pick up any manure so there generally isn't a fly problem. Besides the one horse usually defecates outside anyway. :) I've never seen blowing debris (shavings or hay)even in their night stalls.

Uh for clarification, my barn is a 4-stall barn and I use 2 stalls for evening and they are bedded well and the other 2 stalls are for turnout during the day. That way each set of stalls get the wet spots to 'air-dry' so there is no urine odor. And yes, I am really anal! :yes:

[dmalbone]

Mine MUCH prefer to stand in their stands in front of their fans on a hot day. It's been 92-ish with at least 50% humidity lately and they're plastered in front of them. One of my guys is a huge ham... he'll walk up to the fan and shake his head and flap his lips. It must feel funny to him because he'll stand in front of the fan with his lips flapping and teeth bared.

[Tornado Run Farm]

My horses love their fans. I have a 2yo who presses her nose against it - she seems to like the vibration.:cool:

[dawglover]

I'd probably get mobbed by the herd if I took their fans away.

I did have to remove the Appaloosa gelding's fan from the front of his stall.
He would stick his nose through the stall bars and push on the plastic grill of the fan just to hear that brrrrrrrp noise as the fan blades hit the plastic.

Going to have to put his fan somewhere that he can't reach it. He's such a comedian.

[betsyk]

Ours know exactly how to position their bodies to get maximum contact from the fan's breeze. Then as the evening goes on and it cools off, they step outside the airflow to the other side of their stall. A friend's horse has a dutch door but no fan and she was really sweating the other night, so we traded stalls for a few hours. Her mare immediately did the maximum-contact-by-breeze position, but right in front of the salt block so she could do two things at once. Pretty clever. Leave it to a mare to know exactly what she wants and exactly how to get it.

[Jealoushe]

I'd probably get mobbed by the herd if I took their fans away.

I did have to remove the Appaloosa gelding's fan from the front of his stall.
He would stick his nose through the stall bars and push on the plastic grill of the fan just to hear that brrrrrrrp noise as the fan blades hit the plastic.

Going to have to put his fan somewhere that he can't reach it. He's such a comedian.

We have one who does the same thing! The cover was off and he would stick his head in to stop the blades, then pull it out and it would start up again.:)

[OkLurchers]

Mine looove their fans. They each have a big metal fan hung in a corner & stall guards (doors tied back) with a 2nd big fan on wheels blowing into each stall. They stand in between the fans with their heads in 1 or the other.

[bludejavu]

I just hosed a horse off a little while ago and parked him in a tie stall with an overhead fan on him and a big floor fan. I went and did his stall, glanced in the tie stall and saw that he had moved his rump to where the floor fan was blowing right on it and was dozing. Most of my horses pretty much live in front of their fans though so he's no exception.

[PaulaK]

This will be my mare's second year with a stall fan. For once in my life I was on top of chores and got the fan up early. Led her into the stall and she noticed it. Turned her loose and she immediately ran over to stand right in front of it. Proceeded to pitch a tantrum when she realized it wasn't on yet! Horses never cease to amaze me.

[harveyhorses]

Mine shares a run in with his best buddy, they alternate head to tail or both heads towards the fan, we had to reposition it last weekend and they looked so worried when we turned it off and started moving it. Then just went back to the position.

[cloudyandcallie]

Are you kidding?
This is coastal GA, home of heat and humidity.
My mare used to stand with either her rump or her head up to the fans, plural, and let it blow.
My wb ate his fan cord in Florida, ate his fan cord at one other barn even though I warned the BO, and pulled one fan cord out of the socket at another barn, I guess because they weren't cooling fast enough?

The "oscillisaurus" which is what we call fans when animals first see them and are snooky, is the friend of the horses in the south.

[msj]

I'm guessing I have a couple of weirdo's then. :sigh: The OTTB is acting like an OTTB today so it could be the day. Normally he's as laid back as any old style QH. I would think though for sure that the 27 yr old QH would have enough sense to enjoy the fans. Maybe later in the summer. Anyway, there is a good breeze blowing -actually a storm is brewing and my boys as well as the neighbor's kids (a yearling and 3 yr old) are all being jerks and running around. Well, not the QH. He has enough sense not to run around like a lunatic. But the OTTB does make him move about a bit. :sigh:

[msj]

Are you kidding?
This is coastal GA, home of heat and humidity.
My mare used to stand with either her rump or her head up to the fans, plural, and let it blow.
My wb ate his fan cord in Florida, ate his fan cord at one other barn even though I warned the BO, and pulled one fan cord out of the socket at another barn, I guess because they weren't cooling fast enough?

The "oscillisaurus" which is what we call fans when animals first see them and are snooky, is the friend of the horses in the south.

Well, this is NY, land of cool and cloudy and snow and ice! Rarely do we get heat and humidity, thank God! :eek:

Are you sure your wb wasn't just fooling around? I had a QH that would do things like that. He used to grab the plastic handle for the electric fence that went over the top rail of my 3-rail post and rail fence and unhook it. :sigh: Things like that I don't miss even though I do miss the little bugger when I think about him. He should have been called Dennis the Menace cause he was just like the cartoon character. He didn't really mean to get into trouble, he just did. :eek: :lol:

[Debbie]

It's been in the 90s here for the past few weeks and I can tell by the poop piles that my mares stand directly in front of their fans all day long. :lol: My corgi on the other hand will not go in the dog room once I turn the air conditioner on. I think it's the noise that bothers him, but when I start turning it on as the temps rise in the spring, he declines to spend the day in the dog room with access to an outdoor run and opts for his crate all day. :confused:

[WorthTheWait95]

We use the metal fans (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=9202-48819-FE50-F1&lpage=none) with the triangle bases, zip tie them to the top of the stall partitions and then direct them down into the stalls on medium speed. All of ours love them. That seems to be the best spot to get maximum stall coverage but we'll still see them stand most often in the spot where the breeze is the strongest.

[equusvilla]

Stall Fans are for the horses..??? NO WAY! I thought they were for the poor owners to use when they were cleaning out the stall in 104 degree heat! ha ha ...

[msj]

Stall Fans are for the horses..??? NO WAY! I thought they were for the poor owners to use when they were cleaning out the stall in 104 degree heat! ha ha ...

Praise Allah that those of us in Western NY don't get that kind of heat!!!!!!!!!:eek:

PS. But of course we do have AC in addition to heat in our homes! :D

[cloudyandcallie]

Well, this is NY, land of cool and cloudy and snow and ice! Rarely do we get heat and humidity, thank God! :eek:

Are you sure your wb wasn't just fooling around? I had a QH that would do things like that. He used to grab the plastic handle for the electric fence that went over the top rail of my 3-rail post and rail fence and unhook it. :sigh: Things like that I don't miss even though I do miss the little bugger when I think about him. He should have been called Dennis the Menace cause he was just like the cartoon character. He didn't really mean to get into trouble, he just did. :eek: :lol:

Oh I know he was just fooling around. Like when he took down his salt holders (many times) and his hay rack (one time) and his window ledge (many times) and his feed tub (old wooden one, one time) and his auto waterer and flooded his matted stall and lay down in it (obviously one time as that BO put in 2 buckets instead.) I prefer to call him curious as opposed to what some others call him.:lol:

It has been 96, 98, 95, etc here and humid. we wilt even with fans when cleaning stalls and grooming.

[msj]

Oh I know he was just fooling around. Like when he took down his salt holders (many times) and his hay rack (one time) and his window ledge (many times) and his feed tub (old wooden one, one time) and his auto waterer and flooded his matted stall and lay down in it (obviously one time as that BO put in 2 buckets instead.) I prefer to call him curious as opposed to what some others call him.:lol:

It has been 96, 98, 95, etc here and humid. we wilt even with fans when cleaning stalls and grooming.

I think your wb and my Chocolate would have made a great pair! :lol: :lol: After I sent him over the Rainbow Bridge, I wrote some of the antics he got into and it went on for 5 pages! :eek: Things like picking up and throwing a jump standard over a friend and my heads because he was bored and we were talking too long to suit him. :eek:

Well, we were in the upper 80's for a while but a thunder storm blew thru and we are back to the lovely comfortable low 70's. No humidity as well. :) No need for the fans. You southerners have great winters but we northerners have great summers (usually). :)

Next hot day I'm going to try putting the fans on when the horses first go out to pasture so when they decide they want to come back for a drink and hang out, the fans will be on and, maybe, just maybe, they will learn they are GOOD things.

[Countryclips]

I have a cheap box fan that is in front of one stall, but I have 5 other stalls that don't benefit from it. so I spent $300 on some actual barn fans that we had to mount on the top of the stalls so that it would blow through out the barn. Only problem is it is so high it just blows the hot air up there around and is only one speed, fast and noisy. I hate them. I can't figure out how to make them useable. You actually had to wire them to a switch to turn them on. so they are permanent now. :mad: But the one horse who gets the first stsall loves the fan. And so do I as I groom in front of it...

[strawberry roan]

Mine love, love, LOVE their fans!! It is so hot here mine can't wait to come in and stand in front of the fans all day. :):)

[billiebob]

Mine doesn't really care either way about his fan. It's right over his feedbowl, so that was a great way to desensitize him to the noise.....but he prefers to stand with his head over his door. So the fan doesn't really affect him. At least now he doesn't think it's going to eat him.

I, on the other hand, LOVE fans while grooming and mucking. :D

[Seven-up]

Ours know exactly how to position their bodies to get maximum contact from the fan's breeze. Then as the evening goes on and it cools off, they step outside the airflow to the other side of their stall. A friend's horse has a dutch door but no fan and she was really sweating the other night, so we traded stalls for a few hours. Her mare immediately did the maximum-contact-by-breeze position, but right in front of the salt block so she could do two things at once. Pretty clever. Leave it to a mare to know exactly what she wants and exactly how to get it.

Mine do the same thing. I just hung up a 2nd fan for each of my horses, and one of the mares spent a couple minutes trying to find the best place to stand. She quickly figured out she could stand so one fan blew on her face and the other one cooled off her butt. :lol: That same mare likes to put her face right up to the fan and make faces...she wiggles her lips around, kind of reminds me of a dog sticking their head out of the car window.


I do try to situate my fans in such a way that there's always a "breeze-free" area for them to stand in if they choose. Sometimes they just don't want anything blowing on them.