smoking in the stable

Question
hello ma'am, should smoking inside the stable be restricted? do horses start feeling difficulty in breathing through smoke? our grooms are dirty, then never wash their hands, they smoke and come into stable. how much ever i tell them not to enter the stable smoking, then never listen to me.

Answer
Hi Rohit,

Smoking in a barn should always be banned.  There are so many highly flammable materials in a barn (hay, straw, shavings, dust, cobwebs) that any little spark could easily start a devastating barn fire. The average horse barn takes 6-8 minutes to become fully engulfed in flames, resulting in most horses burning to death or dying of smoke inhalation.  Anyone who refuses to stop smoking in the barn should be tossed out and banned. Not to mention, horses have very sensitive respiratory systems and shouldn't have to be subjected to second hand smoke any more than people should be.

Regards, Corlena