ICYMI: Northlands Stables keeps it sanitary

Sun Valley’s Northlands Stables has found an innovative solution to combating the spread of the coronavirus.

This with a simple but effective homemade walk-through sanitiser, also called a sanitiser booth.While lessons have been put on hold at the stables during the lockdown, a few people with permits have been allowed onto the yard’s premises to exercise horses.

Stables’ owner, Rogan Asken, wanted a walk-through sanitiser to protect visitors as well as his grooms working there, but commercial walk-through sanitisers were going for around R20 000.

Asken believed they could be constructed for much less than that price and a design by George and Lisa Williams from Rudd Scale was constructed.

“We got two shoebox trailers, a tank, a pump and a special detergent that will be sprayed for 15 seconds. We installed this for under R5 000,” Asken explained.

He said the safety of visitors and hard-working grooms on site were of paramount importance and stables should do everything they can to ensure their safety. Still, Asken believes government should let stables and riding schools open sooner rather than later.

“The horse riding industry is not an essential service but it is definitely an important one. Many people’s jobs depend on it and horses, which can cost millions of rand, need to be exercised or their muscles can seize up.”

He said horses should at least be gently exercised a few times per week, and the horse riding industry has shown it can play it safe when it comes to operating at minimum capacity under the lockdown.

Therefore, the risk to riders is minimum if stables and riding schools follow strict hygienic and social distancing measures.”No stables want to take a chance with the health of their staff, grooms mean the world to us, and I think everyone will be well taken care of [if stables open].”