For natural lighting, provide a minimum of 4 square feet of window space in each stall. Shadows and poorly lit areas make stall cleaning cumbersome and inhibit observation and care. Lighting is important for proper care and observation of stalled horses. Horses may try to jump over doors that are half height (such as a Dutch door) however, options are available that allow a horse to hang its head out yet discourage jumping. Position door latches out of reach of horses that may find pleasure in learning how to operate them. Door latches and other clasps that can be operated with one hand are an advantage at chore time. For example, door guides on sliding doors should be rounded and out of the traffic path. Full-length doors should have less than 3 inches of clearance under them to prevent the horse from getting a hoof or leg stuck.Īll doors and doorjambs need to be durable, with secure latches, and free of sharp edges or protrusions. They also need floor-level guides to keep the lower portion in place when the horse is pawing, leaning, or kicking at the door. Sliding doors, in addition to the overhead track, need a stop to prevent the door from opening too far and falling off the track. They also require less hardware to function properly, but heavy-duty hinges are needed to prevent sagging. Open swing doors decrease aisle workspace but may be latched open to alleviate this problem. Swing doors should open into the aisle rather than into the stall. Doors can cover the full length of the doorway opening, be divided into two panels (Dutch door), or partially cover half to three-quarters of the opening, which is more common with metal mesh doors. Doorsĭoors come in a wide variety of materials and configurations, although swinging and sliding doors are common (see Figure 1). In this case, the minimum height is the clearance to the lowest item on which a horse may strike its head, such as a light fixture or truss bottom chord. In fact, many stables have open truss or rafter construction with no ceiling. A low ceiling not only inhibits air circulation, but also increases the chance that a horse may strike its head. Horse barns are commonly built with a ceiling height of 10 to 12 feet with 8 feet being the minimum. These smaller doorway openings are adequate for horse and handler safety. These are the dimensions of the actual open area that the horse can pass through. Stall door manufacturers typically supply a doorway opening of slightly over 7 feet with a 42- to 45-inch width. An 8-foot-tall by 4-foot-wide stall doorway opening has been the recommendation for years although this is not often seen in stables. Partition height needs to be at least 7 1/2 feet to prevent horses from getting legs over the wall. A divider between two standard stalls may be removed to allow more space for a mare and foal or a stall-bound horse.Īn 8-foot-high stall partition is standard. The more time a horse spends in a stall or the more active it is, a larger stall size is justified. Generally, the stall wall length is 1 1/2 times the horse's length. Many stables are successful with stalls slightly smaller than this, but walls less than 10 feet in length are not recommended. A 12-foot x 12-foot stall is the standard recommendation for a 1,000-pound horse. Larger horses require more square footage than do smaller ponies to be able to turn around, lie down, and get up comfortably. The size of the horse and the amount of time the horse spends in the stall help determine stall size. You should adjust the dimensions for significantly larger stall occupants. This fact sheet provides an over- view of some basic stall features for a typical 1,000-pound horse. Many options that effect function and cost are available for horse stall features. No matter what your management style or needs, the basics of a safe horse stall are the same.
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