BTB: Tidbits about stall design

Posted: 29 Aug 2010 01:35 PM PDT

Most women read House Beautiful or Home and Garden -- me, I seem to love reading about stall design. Riley and Harv have encountered quite a number of stall types in the last few weeks, and it's interesting to watch their reaction to the various features. Here's what the experts say on the subject...

Size
While in some respects you can say bigger is always better, from a practical standpoint, this isn't really so. The ideal size seems to be 12X12. Smaller stalls, like 10X10 or 10X12 are just "okay," probably a bit tight for a larger horse. A 14X14 stall is a must for breeding barns, but otherwise it's the law of diminishing returns applied to horsedom. That extra 2 feet can double the cost of building the stall, and it takes a lot more shavings/straw to bed. But most importantly, experts say the size of the stall is not as important how the design accommodates the horse's visual field.

On a clear day....
As it happens I love the "European" stall design (picture above right). From an architectural standpoint, it opens up the barn space and makes the interior more visually impressive. I like the curve of the stall front, too. From a horse psychology standpoint the open front is advantageous because...

The horse does not have great depth perception and their eyes are designed to function best in open spaces. While stalls are confining, it's possible to make them more comfortable by giving them a view to middle and far distances.
The stall is a "social space" where a horse can see and interact with other horses.
It offers improved light and ventilation.
Barn managers can monitor a horse's well-being more easily.

I'm guessing we don't see this design much because of cost. Dutch doors, stall grates all around, and adjoining paddocks might be cheaper alternatives (not sure about the grates, that's probably expensive too).

There are disadvantages other than cost. The open stall design is most feasible in a private barn, where the stall inhabitants tend not to change and personality conflicts are easier to resolve (by moving the horse, etc). In a boarding barn it could result in conflict, stall kicking, etc.

At any rate, here are some examples of stall designs that I think are fairly horse friendly...