Category: Around the Farm

In this worrisome time, we find ourselves very fortunate that our barn community is private and our boarders are courteous and began practicing safe hygiene protocols without being asked. While we have already been practicing heightened cleaning protocols, we we have decided to implement some further bio-security measures at the farm. Some of our family members throughout the country are suffering terribly with this virus and even though official state protocols are moderate, we feel it is necessary to maintain practices that keep our boarders, staff and horses safe and healthy.

It is good for your horses to stay active so by enabling these practices, we can ensure that you can continue to visit your horses while keeping the health of their caretakers at the forefront.

To that end, please read carefully and follow the below protocols when visiting the farm.

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When coming to the barn:

CRITICAL NOTE – WASH YOUR HANDS IMMEDIATELY
Upon arrival you must wash your hands with soap and running water for 20 seconds before touching anything. Please set down your items and go straight into the open tack room to wash your hands.

CRITICAL NOTE – SCHEDULE YOUR VISIT
We are limiting visitors to two people concurrently and disinfecting between visits. For this purpose, it is now required that you schedule your visit to the farm. We have implemented a user-friendly self scheduling system that you can visit at THIS LINK.

STEP 1) Find the time(s) that you would like to visit and Click on the block for your preferred time that says “Copper Light Visitor Appointment”

STEP 2) Change the title of the event from “Copper Light Visitor Appointment (Centerline Style)” to YOUR NAME (+ any visitor’s name) then click save. You’re booked!

Please include any guest or trainer that will be joining you. If you do not want to or are unable to use the system, please text Lindsey and she will add you to the schedule. Please note that scheduling is first come first serve, so if someone is already scheduled for a time slot, you must choose a different time slot. If you arrive to the farm without an appointment and another member who did schedule an appointment is here or will be arriving, you will be asked to return at another time. The limited exception is for medical emergencies. If your trainer/farrier/vet can only come at a certain time when another member is already booked, we will ask the other member to help coordinate. We’re lucky that we’re a small group and we’re all considerate and sympathetic so I do not anticipate this being too stressful. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need any assistance.

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ADDITIONAL BARN PROTOCOL:

• The tack room door will remain OPEN between 7am and 6pm. Teigan and Lindsey are the only people to open the following: tack room door, stall feed doors, laundry, feed container doors, pitch fork, broom, shovel, muck buckets, hay cart, medical supply cabinet (unless in an emergency).

• If you or someone in your household has had a fever or cough or known COVID-19 exposure, do not come to the barn until you have self-quarantined for 2 weeks or tested negative and been released by a medical professional.
  
• Visits are limited to boarders, staff and limited trainers only, with exceptions for spouses who frequently visit. Please do not bring additional guests with you to the farm. Farriers and veterinarians are allowed as needed of course, provided they meet the requirements above, but any other visits should be cleared first by barn management.
  
• Respect the 6 foot distance to other people.
  
• Consider your personal risk level and whether coming to a communal place is an appropriate risk for you.
  
• If you develop signs of COVID-19 (fever, cough) or find out about a known exposure, notify your management and trainer so appropriate steps can be taken to reduce the risk to our barn community.

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WHILE AT THE BARN

• I apologize that we do not have gate clickers for everyone yet, please consider using gloves/a napkin/etc to press the entry keypad at the gate. We will wipe down the keypad at least once daily.

• Go directly to the bathroom to wash your hands with soap and running water for 20 seconds. This is the best prevention, perhaps better than alcohol-based hand gel. Please leave the tack room door OPEN. Teigan and Lindsey will be the only people in contact with the doorknob.

• While we clean the crossties daily, we would like to suggest tacking up in your stall. The wash rack cross ties/sweat scrapers/hose handles are being regularly disinfected and we will now begin to clean these items after every use (hence the schedule system). Please do NOT use the pitchforks, brooms or shovels. If your horse poops in the aisle, don’t worry – we’ll get it!

• Tack, including whips, should be used by their respective rider only. Store in your private tack area. Minimize or eliminate using any communal equipment.

• Gloves are great – but remember that gloves are vectors for viral spread and virus can live several days on cloth. We all often wipe our nose on our riding gloves or sleeves. Be conscious and try to avoid this, carry Kleenex or take off your gloves after you ride, hand wash again, wash the gloves at home that night or store them in a private area like your tack locker.

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OUR BARN CLEANING MEASURES

At minimum we daily wipe down all of the commonly touched sites with alcohol-based wipes, hydrogen peroxide or bleach soaked rags/paper towels. Common sites include:
◦ Door knobs of tackroom, bathrooms, and stalls
◦ Light switches
◦ Wash rack handle/sprayer
◦ Pitch forks/ brooms/shovel handles/wheelbarrows.
◦ Cross ties

We are disinfecting all common surfaces after every visitor – hence the new scheduling system.

We are using gloves when touching your horse’s equipment (halter, lead, fly mask, fly spray) unless in an emergency. We are using these gloves when turning your horse in/out so the gate latches and chains are not being disinfected daily, we’d request that you also use your gloves when fetching your horse from turnout if possible.

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COVID-19 FACTS

The virus can survive on:
Cardboard for 24 hrs
Copper for 4 hrs
Plastic for 2-3 days
Stainless steel for 2-3 days

The virus can hang out in air droplets for up to 3 hours but usually falls to the ground more quickly.

• Wearing gloves may protect you but they still spread the virus if used surface to surface.

• There is no evidence that COVID-19 is transferred to our pets, but handwashing before and after is encouraged.

• Solutions containing either 60-70% alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide or bleach (5T per gallon) are effective in disinfecting. Disinfecting will “kill” the virus, sanitizing is meant to reduce the number of virus. Non alcohol-based hand sanitizers that contain benzalkonium chloride are not as effective as alcohol. Hand washing is preferred because soap removes dirt and binds the germs, physically removes them with rubbing your hands together and running water washes them down the drain.

• Effective also are EPA approved emerging viral disinfectants—hospital grade. https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2

• Clinical signs of COVID-19 appear 2-14 days after exposure but not everyone will show clinical signs.

• High risk patients: Over the age of 60, chronic illness such as cancer or immunosuppression, heart, lung and or kidney disease, diabetes, pregnant or postpartum within 2 weeks of delivery, BMI >40

Adapted from:
https://sway.office.com/JmIvPNmDrT5OhRpd?ref=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1dhhHXGgUV7dmkqBRPZlv-OsppmLaej9p427Tuk8gOONTqhGxoA9Zd3DM