Study results revealed that they—especially closed box stalls—have much higher concentrations of potentially disease-causing pathogens in the air compared to run-in sheds. | Photo: iStock

Escherichia coli, staphylococci, mold fungi, and other varieties of disease-causing bacteria hover invisibly in the air of our stables, threatening horses’ and humans’ respiratory health, said Katarzyna Wolny-Koładka, PhD, of the University of Agriculture Department of Microbiology, in Cracow, Poland. And those pathogens circulate in much denser levels when horses are kept closed-up in box stalls.

“Also the dust, formed during maintenance work within the facilities, contributes to the increase in the microbial concentration of the air,” said Wolny-Koładka said.

In their study, the researchers took air samples four times a year (once in each season) for three years from four to five locations within each of three riding stables in