Tips To Combat Barn Stink
It’s a pungent smell, that’s for sure – the musk that follows you home from the barn. My husband hates it almost as much as the smell from my putrid, used winter horse blankets that I secretly try to shove in our home washing machine at the end of the cold season.
As the weather warms, it’s hard to avoid “barn stink.” Even if you’re not riding, the smell of manure, dust and dirt seems to follow you home on your skin, your clothes, and even in your hair. Add in some physical activity – like mucking stalls – and that reek really turns ripe.
As a lifelong horse lover, I’ve come to embrace the stink. There certainly is no avoiding it. It’s just a part of being in the barn, around large animals, and taking care of the farm. It is what it is. But we polled our readers and listeners and found some creative ways on how to mitigate – albeit only slightly – the musk that follows you home. Some of us are pretty busy, juggling barn time with work, family, you name it, so any tips to help us speed through the day are certainly welcomed. Hopefully these tricks can help you!
Put that hair up, girl.
It seems wildly farfetched that anyone would wear their hair down at the barn. But who knows, maybe someone likes it. But one simple way to avoid the turd smell from gathering in your hair like cigarette smoke in a damp dive bar is to keep your hair up in a ponytail. Add a cap if you can. Sure, you might sweat in a hat. But you’re keeping the dust and dirt from touching your scalp, which really helps. One listener took it even farther, in that she wraps her hair, pulled into a tight bun, in a bandana and secures it into the hair tie. Genius!
Skip the products.
There’s a time and a place for making sure our hair looks nice – being at the barn isn’t one of them. If you can swing it, skip the hair products before coming to the barn. A lot of those moisturizing-type products will absorb the stinky particles in the air, like dust and dander, and will stick it straight to your hair.
Keep designated barn clothes.
Obviously we’ve got our matchy-matchy breeches and sun shirts for riding. But even for barn chores days – have these second- or third-tier older clothes that are used just for this. It keeps you from ruining nice jeans or other pairs of clothes. Some our readers/listeners change out of these “barn rags” before they get in their car to go home or walk in the house. This includes changing your shoes, too!
Invest in refreshers.
Dry shampoo goes a long way, my friends. It’s a staple in my tack trunk. The second that helmet comes off after my ride, I spritz my scalp and also the inside of my helmet to combat that helmet hair funk. It truly makes a difference in both smell, appearance and just the oily/sweaty mess of my hair. (There are also helmet-specific sprays out there on the market, same for the inside of your shoes, or in our case, boots.)
Other products I keep in my car to ‘refresh’ before I go home: A simple body spray fragrance, deodorant and a fresh pair of clean socks. I reapply and spray my clothes before I get in the car to go home, and it does really make a difference.
Nothing beats a shower.
But nothing beats a real shower to scrub away that barn funk. Maybe you’re lucky and your farm has shower facilities on property, where you can shower and change before going home. Or maybe you’re like the rest of us, and have just succumbed to the reality that in summertime, we’re taking 2-3 showers a day.