A stable fire must be one of every horse owners worst nightmares. The following is some advice on how you can limit the risk of fire breaking out at your premises:

Building Construction

• Construct your stables from materials that do not burn or ignite easily
• Suitable materials would include steel frames and block, brick or stone walls
• Timber should be kept to a minimum
• Cement floors are ideal
• Install electric safety switches

Fire Exits

• Stable doors should be at least 1.3 metres wide to allow a horse to easily removed in a hurry
• In indoor barns the aisles and exits should be a minimum of 2 metres wide
• Sliding doors are preferable to swinging doors on main exits
• Large equestrian complexes should have enough exits to allow large numbers of horses to be removed quickly

Fire Equipment

• Each 200m2 of stabling should have at least one 13A rated fire extinguisher. No part of the stable should be more than 25m from an extinguisher
• A hose should be on hand that can reach every stable and has a good water delivery.
• Hoses and fire extinguishers should be protected from frost
• Fire sprinkler systems should be considered for larger establishments

Bedding and Feed Storage

• Hay, straw and horse feeds should be stored separately from the stables
• The use of hay lofts above stables increases the risk of fire

Tack Rooms

• Fires often break out in tack rooms due to them containing electrical equipment such as kettles, heaters and cookers. They should be away from the main stable block.
• If cookers are provided a fire blanket is recommended

Smoke Detectors

• Smoke detectors should be installed in stables and storage areas to warn of a fire breaking out

Electrical Equipment

• All electrical installations should be in good condition and certified and tested regularly by a qualified electrician
• If heat lamps are used they should be purpose made and fitted out of reach of the animal. Circuit breakers should be installed.

Smoking

• The smoking of cigarettes should be banned from all stable and storage areas. Signs should be in place to ensure that all staff and visitors are aware that smoking is not permitted.

Fire Procedures

• Staff and liveries should be aware of the yard procedure in case a fire should break out.
• If useful the full address, telephone number and map of the premises should be kept near the yard phone of there is one.

Everyone’s feeling the pinch these days, especially horse owners who have increases in horse feed, bedding and livery yard charges to find on top of their own every day expenses.

Unlike the popular myth that we equestrian types are ‘loaded’ when actually most of us make many sacrifices to be able to afford our expensive hobby. We often forego new clothes for ourselves to buy a new rug for our equine. Our ‘mount’ gets new shoes every six weeks. We get to drool over Jimmy Choos in magazines while we save up for new wellies to replace our battered, leaky old ones.

Of course we all drive around in ‘posh’ 4×4’s too! Personally I leave my Overfinch Range Rover in the garage for Sundays and drive around day to day in my beaten up Frontera. Don’t want muddy paws on my 100% wool carpets do I?

Getting back to reality…when your joddies have become so holey that they have their own religion it’s time to allow yourself the luxury of some new horsey gear.

Don’t panic! You can afford to treat yourself. Times are hard for everyone so many equestrian retailers are resorting to sales in order to bring in the punters. Many companies also offer voucher codes that give you discounts at the checkout when you place your order online.

Spend a few minutes on Google looking for ‘promotional coupons’ and you might be surprised at the amount of money you can save.

Happy shopping!

Unfortunately crime is something that we all have to live with on a day to day basis. When you have horses and equestrian equipment on site you have to give extra consideration to the security of your property.

Horse tack is a common target for thieves and it’s important to protect yourself by making sure it’s kept in a safe location.

Many people keep their tack in the house but if it’s left on the yard in a tack room then there are steps you can take to safeguard it.

You can buy lockable tack cupboards and trunks that will hold your expensive equipment such as saddles, bridles and bits. There are also saddle locks on the market which fit over a wall mounted saddle rack.

Further security equipment for saddles includes microchip kits and saddle marking.

It is also a good idea to ensure that the tack room itself is a difficult to enter as possible. Always have strong locks on windows and doors. A steel door or security shutters are a good option for bigger yards.

Fit an alarm system and consider installing CCTV. A strategically displayed warning  poster broadcasting your measures can put off petty criminals.

Take photos of your saddle so that if it does get stolen it will be easily recognisable in the event of it being recovered.

Security measures can be expensive but the heartache and money they will save in the long term make them worthwhile.