My barn, despite its constant battering by wind, has developed a smell. It's not poop and pee, but is still a stench that permeates my clothing when I'm out doing chores. It's annoying and while it's been there a bit for awhile, it's now really quite strong.
So, where is this smell coming from? My best guess is the dirt itself has started to smell for whatever reason, but I had to investigate all possible sources. Under the mats in the one stall? Nope. Where else?
These are the interior walls of my barn
There is space between the two walls for crud to accumulate, and oh how it has accumulated. And, it can't just enter and fall all the way to the ground because the people that built the barn put a board across the bottom of the wall, basically making a three sided box at the bottom perfect for catching shit.
With a hay hook, I have slowly been getting what I can out. The crud under the wall, what crud I can get from in the wall. Some of it was a lesson in sedimentary rock formation: a semi-solid brick of dust, shavings and hay. Note I haven't used shavings since I had Fudge, so some of this stuff is from 2009 and earlier.
I've spent several days at this project now and have taken five wheelbarrow loads of crud out.
Something will need to be done about the walls, but it's not in the budget for this year. I have determined the smell has to be the dirt, specifically in the stall without mats. Fortunately, in the budget for this year is gravel and mats for it.
Also in my barn cleaning was scrubbing the shit Foster Mare left on the walls. Ugg.
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