The best roof for a safe, comfortable and good-looking horse stable

Horses are sensitive, loving animals. So you want to take great care of them and give them optimal living quarters. The roof is a key element of any horse stable to create the right temperature and humidity, but also a great look. Fibre cement is an extremely durable roofing solution that also provides acoustic comfort for your horses and it is the perfect underground for solar panels.

Keep your horses cool and dry with fibre-cement roofing sheets

Providing a cool and comfortable environment for your horses is essential to their wellbeing. The normal body temperature of a horse ranges from 37.5°C to 38.5°C. But when temperatures rise in summer, your horse will sweat to cool itself down, just like humans do.

If the heat lasts too long and your horse does not manage to keep its temperature down by sweating, it will suffer from heat stress. Your horse will get distressed and its performance – in case of competing horses – will be negatively impacted.

So it is important to keep the heat and humidity out of your stable. Fibre-cement roofing performs well to keep the living quarters of your horse cool. Fibre cement does not conduct heat and does not warm up. It effectively protects your animal from the sun, but also from the rain and cold. What’s more, fibre cement absorbs up to 25% of its weight in moisture, helping your horse to get dry when sweating.

The importance of ventilation in your horse stable

Fresh air contributes to a healthy environment for your horses. In summer, proper ventilation helps them to cool down when they’re sweating, so it reduces the risk of heat stress. But also in cold weather, we recommend to ventilate your stables well to evacuate stale air and draw in clean air. It is preferable to keep vents and windows open and keep your animals warm with more or thicker horse rugs.

You can use the ‘chimney effect’ to create natural ventilation. The heat generated by your horses rises. By creating an open ridge in your roof, the hot air can escape through this ‘chimney’ while it drags in fresh air from the vents, doors and windows. But make sure you don’t create draught for your animals.

Fibre cement is the ideal material to support natural ventilation required in horse stables. Eternit has a large range of protected open ridges in fibre cement. Or opt for the translucent ridges to provide a good stable climate with homogenous lighting and ventilation without draught.

Let natural daylight in through translucent roofing sheets

Light is important for stabled horses as it contributes to a more natural environment. Daylight has a positive effect on your animals’ behaviour. The reproductive cycles of mares, for instance, are triggered by the length of the days – to the extent that exposing them to artificial light can advance the breeding season.

To let light into your horse stable, you can opt for side windows or skylights. Eternit roofing can be combined with translucent sheets to let natural light into your stable. However, place them cleverly to avoid direct sunlight on your animals and a greenhouse effect, as this might contribute to heat stress.

Keep the noise out of your horse stable

Horses traditionally are prey animals. To protect themselves from predators, their hearing is much sharper than ours. Their ears can rotate 180 degrees to detect where the sound is coming from and run the other way in case of danger.

So you can imagine the stress and anxiety your horses experience when rain drums on the roof of your stable. Corrugated fibre-cement roofing has excellent noise absorption properties.

An environmental option for your stable

Fibre cement is a sustainable choice. It is a durable and lightweight material made of natural components (cement, water, fibres).

Fibre-cement roofing sheets are the** ideal robust underground** for photovoltaic panels, as they are extremely stable in all weather conditions and impervious to mould, rot, rust, pests and fire. Their corrugated shape also allows for proper ventilation around the solar panels to ensure maximum performance. Solar panels are not only good for the environment, they also significantly decrease your energy bill.

Fibre-cement materials are a durable value-for-money solution for your horse stable.