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  Discussion on Keeping out that cold north wind!
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Posted on Sunday, Sep 30, 2001 - 8:58 pm:

Using a north-facing stall as a run-in? Wishing you could keep your horse out of the draft (or rain, or snow!) as the temperatures sink, without closing him in for the night? Our solution: those clear vinyl strip doors that commercial garages use. Our horses quickly learned to go through them (takes a few carrots, you can tie back some of the strips to make it less intimidating at first). Also good for a barn door in the winter. You can get them from Grainger.com, and they're made by ALECO (search on "strip doors"). They come in just about any size, replacement strips are easy to put up (though ours seem indestructible), and you can trim them to the ideal length with scissors. You can overlap them alot or just a little, depending on your needs. They may not be fancy, but they're practical - and easy to take down if you want to in the summer. Sure beats those drafts!

Posted on Sunday, Oct 7, 2001 - 8:17 am:

Melissa,
This sounds like it maybe the answer to my problems, but I have 2 questions. I checked out the web and was unable to find your particular strip doors by ALECO. The ones I did find indicated you needed 18" of clearance at the top of the door for installation, which I do not have for this shed. They also indicated a side installation. Can you shed any light on this?? The sites didn't go into any detail whatsoever about the installation.

The other question I have is that it can get very windy here. I am wondering if these strips will blow into the stall area with heavy winds.

Thanks for any information you can give.

Sally

Posted on Sunday, Oct 7, 2001 - 10:03 pm:

Hi Sally,
I'm pretty sure what we have would be the ALECO since we got them from Grainger. Anyhow, ours don't have an 18" DrOp -- they're hung from a rod and start immediately from it -- and I don't know what "side installation" could be -- ours are a simple installation of a bar and these clear flexible strips. You might call Grainger for help on this. Also try www.aleco.com.

These doors aren't as wind/rain/snow proof as closing up will be. So yes, they will blow into the stall when the wind is fierce, if you're installing them on the "prevailing" side. I haven't found anything that's "perfect" under these conditions. But they help a lot -- there are lots of days here when snow or rain will otherwise blow into our north-facing stall, or it will be breezy for the night, and these doors mean we can leave the stall doors open when we'd otherwise have to button up for the night.

We've got 2 over 20 who do best when they can move around, so we try to give them the freedom if we know they'll be able to come in for shelter. We think the bigger the overlap the more windproof - but that will also make it harder for the horse to push through and/or get used to the doors. Our horses are pretty nonchalant at this point, so I'm sure we could make them a little tighter without causing our horses much hesitation. You could also increase the overlap on the sides, and leave it a little less in the middle for easier adjustment. It's a pretty quick learning curve though.

Let me know if you need more info!
Melissa

Posted on Sunday, Oct 7, 2001 - 10:20 pm:

We do this with our stalls, but we use carpet instead. What worked best was a flat thinner type. (we used the outdoor type) We cut the carpet into 4" to 5" pieces almost all the way up. If you call carpet stores in your area you can probaly get the carpet for free, because to dispose of used carpet is expensive. In the summer it cuts down on the flies also, but they still get fresh air.
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