Cobwebs in the rafters. It's a common ailment in horse barns. How best to get rid of those cobwebs is a subject stable owners discuss among themselves. Some like leaf blowers. Some like to securely lash a broom onto a pole or old broom handle with duct tape in effect making a super long broom. Some like to use a shop vac with an extension or two added to the hose and then stand in the bed of a pickup brought into the barn for this purpose. Some ignore them and let them grow.
cobwebby ceiling
I do not like to ignore them and let them grow. Cobwebs are dust catchers, which, like moldy chaff in the hay loft, has an adverse effect on air quality in the barn. And, also like a build-up of chaff in the hayloft, cobwebs are a fire hazard. I definitely do not want to increase the risk of a barn fire! So I try to clean out all the cobwebs from the rafters at least annually (and those that build up on the stall fronts at least twice a month).
While a regular broom works well for stalls fronts, the rafters are harder to reach. What I have found works for me was to commandeer an extension duster we'd bought for using in the stairwell of the house. It has a telescoping handle that lets it reach to 15 feet. Which means that 5' 7" tall me can stand in a stall and reach all the way to the peak of the ceiling in said stall. I can also slide the rod shorter and reach the top of the stall walls without having to awkwardly contort in order to fit my extra long pole within the confines of the stall.
Yep, that's the tool for me. Not a taped up extra broom handle with one length option. Not a leaf blower that leaves me crippled up the next day (true story from a barn I worked at in 2015) from lifting that thing over my shoulder while bending backwards to look up in order to actually reach into the rafter with the blown air. Just a simple household stairwell duster.
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