Tips To Clean Your Horse Trailer
If you’ve got a horse trailer, you don’t need us to tell you that they can get really dirty! To ensure the safety and good health of your four-legged friends, it’s best to thoroughly clean livestock trailers from time to time. It’s also the best way to prolong the life of your trailer.
To help you do the job well, we at True Value Trailers & Power Equipment have compiled this guide to deep cleaning horse trailers. Read on to learn more or come on down to our dealerships in Penrose and Florence, CO and have a chat with our helpful staff. While you’re there, you can check out our inventory of livestock trailers!
Getting Started
You should ideally clean your horse trailer within 24 hours of having transported a horse. If the horse was sick, don’t use a pressure washer as it’s likely to spray the infectious agents into the area outside the trailer. Decide if you want to remove the dividers for the cleaning.
Gather your supplies, like a stiff brush, broom, foaming agent, bleach or disinfectant products, etc. You should wear protective clothing and gloves, especially if the transported animal was ill. Remove all items like hay-nets and floor mats (which will all be cleaned separately) and sweep the feed and manure off the trailer.
Cleaning The Trailer
Rinse the inside of the horse trailer with a low-pressure hose. Then use a foaming agent and a stiff brush to clean the roof, walls and floor of your horse trailer. The brush should be able to fit into corners to get them clean. Start from the top down: scrub an 18 to 24 inch section of the roof, then one wall, then the other wall and finally, the floor. Keep doing this till you’ve foamed up the entire interior of the trailer.
If your brush isn’t suitable for tough horse trailer areas like hinges, latches, bars, etc. then get a different brush for them. Use the power hose to rinse off the soap. If there’s any area that’s still got organic matter caked on it, scrub it again and hose it off. If there are any padded areas in the trailer, clean them with a soft cloth or sponge and dry them completely. Soap up and rinse the outside of the livestock trailer, including the wheels.
Disinfect Everything
Now that your horse trailer has clean surfaces, it’s time to sanitize it by spraying all the surfaces with a disinfectant. You should scrub the solution in to ensure it covers every inch of the trailer, including the doors, hinges and the loading ramp. You can use a store-bought product or make your own mixture of one part bleach for every ten parts water.
Use the products as recommended by the manufacturer or their label instructions. For the bleach solution, leave it on the surfaces for at least 10 minutes. Rinse off the solution and allow the horse trailer to dry completely.
Cleaning Carpet & Mats
If your tack room carpet isn’t too dirty, you can simply sweep then vacuum clean it. For the floor mats, rinse both sides out with the power hose to remove caked dirt and debris. Use a foaming agent to scrub one side from top left to bottom right, and wash it off. Then apply the bleach solution or disinfectant product on it and allow it to dry. Follow the same procedure for the other side. Wait for the floor mats to dry completely before you replace them back in the livestock trailer.
Final Points
To make cleaning an easier process, never leave feed, hay, wet bedding or anything that can rot in your trailer. You can use these to create compost or give it to someone who’ll compost them. You can sprinkle a layer of baking soda on the floor of the trailer before replacing the mats as baking soda is anti-acidic and neutralizes horse urine.
Before your horse trailer is ready for its next trip, you should ensure that the chains and hitch parts are functioning properly. The floor and the walls should be rust free and the vents, windows and dividers should all be up to code. Check your turn signals, hazards and brakes and ensure that the tires are in good condition.
We hope these tips will help you keep your horse trailer in good shape for years to come! If you’d like more information, visit True Value Trailers & Power Equipment in Penrose and Florence, CO. We’ve got a wide collection of horse trailers for sale near Pueblo and Colorado Springs, so call or come over today!