6 Best Weather Resistant Stall Guards For Open Barns That Old Farmers Swear By
For open barns, weather-resistant stall guards are a must. Explore 6 top picks, proven durable and trusted by generations of farmers for animal safety.
You see the dark clouds rolling in and know that summer squall is about to hit. A flimsy nylon stall guard, perfect for a quiet, enclosed aisle, becomes a tattered flag in an open-sided barn. For those of us with pole barns or run-in sheds, weather isn’t just something that happens outside; it happens inside, too. Choosing a stall guard that can handle wind, sun, and sideways rain isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity for safety and sanity.
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Why Open Barns Need Weather-Tough Stall Guards
An open-air barn breathes with the seasons, but that means your equipment takes a constant beating. A standard stall guard, designed for an indoor show barn, will be shredded and faded in a single year. The constant exposure to ultraviolet light breaks down the fibers, making them brittle and weak.
Wind is the other enemy. It doesn’t just flap a guard around; it puts immense, repetitive stress on the stitching, the D-rings, and the snaps holding it in place. Add in driving rain or wet snow that soaks the material, and you’ve got a recipe for mildew, rot, and catastrophic failure right when you need the barrier most.
Investing in a weather-tough guard isn’t about appearances. It’s about buying something once and trusting it to do its job without constant replacement. It’s about knowing your horse is secure, whether it’s a calm, sunny morning or a blustery November afternoon.
Tough-1 Denier Guard: The All-Weather Workhorse
When you need a solid barrier against the elements, a denier polyester guard is the answer. This is the same rugged material used for horse blankets, and for good reason. It’s built to repel water and resist the kind of pulling and rubbing that would tear lighter fabrics.
The Tough-1 guard acts like a mini-wall for your stall opening. It effectively blocks wind and keeps driving rain from soaking the front of your stall, offering a real measure of shelter. This makes it a fantastic choice for the side of the barn that gets the worst of the weather.
The primary tradeoff here is airflow. A solid guard doesn’t breathe like a mesh one, which can be a drawback in hot, humid summers. But for three-season protection and sheer durability, it’s one of the most reliable, no-nonsense options you can hang.
Schneiders Dura-Tech: Resists Sun Fading and Rips
The afternoon sun can be brutal, especially on the west-facing side of a barn. Most fabrics will bleach out in a few months, but that fading is a sign of a bigger problem: UV degradation is weakening the material itself. Schneiders’ Dura-Tech line directly tackles this with UV-protective coatings and materials.
This focus on sun resistance means the guard not only looks good for longer but also maintains its structural integrity. A vibrant color indicates that the fibers haven’t been cooked to a brittle state. When a horse leans or paws at it, a UV-protected guard is far less likely to tear.
Many of their guards also feature a ripstop weave. You can see the little grid pattern in the fabric. If a small hole does develop, this grid prevents it from turning into a massive, barn-door-sized rip. It’s a small feature that dramatically extends the life of the guard, saving you money and hassle.
Weaver Leather Poly Guard: A Classic, Tough Choice
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one. The Weaver poly webbing guard is the definition of old-school durability. It’s essentially a gate made from the same tough webbing as cargo straps or seatbelts.
There’s no fabric to rot, fade, or tear. The open design means wind whips right through it, so it never turns into a sail during a storm. This guard is purely a physical barrier, and it’s an incredibly strong one. It’s an excellent choice for a horse that is pushy or leans heavily on barriers.
Of course, this design offers zero protection from wind or rain. It’s a containment tool, not a weather shield. For a barn with deep overhangs that already provide good shelter, the Weaver guard offers bombproof security without any of the downsides of fabric. It just works.
Cashel Stall Guard: Top Pick for Air Circulation
In the thick, humid air of mid-July, airflow is paramount for a horse’s health and comfort. A solid stall guard can block a desperately needed breeze, turning a stall into a stagnant hotbox. This is where a heavy-duty mesh guard, like the one from Cashel, truly shines.
The vinyl-coated mesh is tough and resilient, but its main job is to let the air move. It keeps a horse safely contained while allowing for maximum cross-ventilation. The material also dries almost instantly after a rain shower, which means no lingering dampness or mildew.
The compromise is a reduction in weather protection. It will slow down blowing rain but won’t stop it, and it offers little defense against a cold wind. For a barn that gets stuffy in the summer or for horses that need that constant breeze, the health benefits of superior air circulation make this the top pick.
Country Pride Guard: Best for Custom Fit Stalls
Old barns are full of character, and that character often includes stall openings that aren’t a standard size. A guard that’s too loose is a safety hazard—an invitation for a horse to try and squeeze through the top or bottom. A tight, secure fit is non-negotiable.
The Country Pride guards often stand out for their superior adjustability. They typically include more D-rings and longer, more robust adjustable straps than other brands. This allows you to get a drum-tight fit in a 46-inch opening just as easily as a 50-inch one.
This level of customization prevents sagging and eliminates dangerous gaps. It ensures the guard functions as a secure barrier, not just a visual deterrent. If your barn has quirky dimensions, prioritizing a guard with this much built-in flexibility will save you a world of trouble.
High Country Plastics Guard: Chew-Proof Security
For the horse that views every fabric guard as a personal chew toy, you have to bring in the heavy artillery. The High Country Plastics guard isn’t fabric at all—it’s a solid panel of high-density polyethylene. It is, for all practical purposes, indestructible.
This is the ultimate one-and-done solution for a destructive horse. It is completely impervious to weather, chewing, and cribbing. You can leave it up year-round for a decade, and it will perform the same on day one as on day 3,000. For chronic gear-destroyers, the high initial cost is quickly offset by not having to replace shredded nylon guards every six months.
The downsides are its weight, cost, and lack of "give" compared to fabric. It also offers ventilation through its grate-like design but less than a fully open mesh guard. However, when faced with a horse that can shred a denier blanket in an afternoon, this guard provides peace of mind that no fabric option can match.
Securing Your Guard for Wind, Rain, and Snow
The best stall guard in the world is only as good as the hardware holding it up. The flimsy, pot-metal snaps that sometimes come included are the first things to fail in a real storm. Your first step should always be to upgrade your hardware.
Start by installing heavy-duty screw eyes deep into the solid wood of your door frame. Don’t just tack them into the trim. For connecting the guard, use high-quality bull snaps or panic snaps. They are easier to operate with cold hands and are far stronger than the cheap double-ended snaps.
Think strategically about placement. In a windy location, using all four attachment points is essential to keep the guard from billowing and putting stress on the seams. For a solid guard on a stall exposed to rain, using slightly longer straps on top than the bottom can create a slight angle, encouraging water to run off instead of pooling.
Your setup should be adaptable. The hardware that holds a solid winter guard can be used for a mesh summer guard. Taking a few minutes to install robust, reliable hardware turns your stall guard from a weak point into a secure and functional part of your barn.
Ultimately, the best stall guard is the one that solves your specific problem—whether that’s a destructive chewer, a sun-baked aisle, or a lack of summer breeze. Don’t just buy a guard; buy a solution. By matching the material and design to your barn’s unique environment and your horse’s habits, you invest in safety, durability, and one less thing to worry about when the weather turns.
