Horse Stable Ventilation
Residential soffit has very tiny holes to exclude large insect entry, but will clog with dirt and dust within months if installed in a horse stable. In addition, attics are almost dust-free compared to horse stables. To discourage bird entry at the eaves, wire mesh squares of approximately 3/4 to 1 inch may be installed. Since birds will enter the facility through larger openings such as doors and windows, wire mesh on the eaves is not necessary. Similar logic applies to fly entry.
Figure 14. Open area and effective area for ventilation through eave inlet treatments.
Note: Some soffit coverings are so restrictive to airflow that greatly increased soffit area is needed to provide 1 square foot of inlet area per stall. Tight screenings and small holes will clog with dust within months of installation, providing almost no airflow through opening
Ridge Vent
Ridge opening area should match the eave opening area with a minimum of 1 square foot of opening per horse. The same recommendation for the eaves (providing at least 1 inch of continuous slot opening per 10 feet of building width) applies to the ridge
opening. If no ridge opening is provided, then supply double the minimum recommended eave opening (supply 2 inches of continuous eave opening per 10 feet of stable width if no ridge vent is used). Similar to cautions raised about eave openings, be sure to avoid residential and commercial ridge vent assemblies that are overly restrictive to air movement. Insect screens restrict airflow. Remember,
you are ventilating a barn not a house attic--not only is more air exchange needed, but also the stable dust will clog small screen openings. Ridge vent assemblies from natural ventilation equipment manufacturers that specialize in agricultural buildings will offer relatively unrestricted airflow with modest protection from precipitation. Figure 15 shows several commercially available ridge vent assemblies. Some are useful in horse stable ventilation, while others restrict natural ventilation airflow. Several ridge vent designs in- corporate transparent or translucent materials to allow natural light entry into the stable.