Thanks for your post about horse stalls. The part about bone loss due to
standing on a thick layer of shavings was something I'd never heard
before.
I have a question. What is considered an adequate amount of headroom? I
have an old dairy barn on my property and am thinking about using it for a
horse. The ceilings are about 8 to 9 feet high; the horse is 16.1 hands
tall.
Bambi C.
<Ceo@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1171432366.846788.94830@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> Sadly many of horses today are left in stalls for the large part of
> their lives. For some this may be for convenience such as riding
> stables and others are kept in so they stay clean and for shows.
> Because our horses spend so much time in their stalls, it is im****tant
> that we provide them with the best stall possible that is safe and
> clean.
>
>
>
> A horse won't stay standing forever and many like to be able to take a
> load off and lie down. This means that a horse must have ample room
> to prevent from getting cast. Many horses will lie down and not leave
> themselves with enough room to get back up again because they have
> lied down to close to the wall. The standard measurement for a box is
> twelve by twelve feet. This is generally large enough for a horse to
> lie down comfortably and still be able to get up. There may rare
> occasions, however, when the horse does lied down to close to the wall
> and then unable to get up. Ponies will not typically need more than a
> ten by ten foot stall. If you have large breed horses such as
> Throughbreds, Appendix Quarter Horses, or Warmbloods, then you may
> choose to go with a larger sixteen by sixteen foot stall. These are
> often referred to as stallion or foaling stalls.
>
>
>
> The partitions between the stalls should be made of heavy two-inch
> planks up to a height of about five feet or so. The edges should be
> reinforced with metal so that the horses are not able to chew them
> down. Another partition is often placed above the walls that allow
> the horses to see each other but not necessarily make contact. This
> is also true for the front of the stall. Stall doors may also have a
> gate that swings up and down to all the horse to stick his head out of
> the stall and into the barn aisle. The stall should be well
> ventilated as a horse can emit a lot of heat and a poorly ventilated
> stall can cause an increase bacterial growth that is not good for the
> horse's health.
>
>
>
> The less that there is in the stall the better. Most stalls will be
> outfitted with a feeder and perhaps an automatic water or water bucket
> holder. Anything that is in the stall should be secured, as horses
> may bang their feeders on the wall. There should also not be anything
> pointed or jagged that could cut or stab the horse. Some horses may
> require something to keep them occupied and there are several stall
> toys made just for horses. A stocked hay net will also keep your
> horse happy and busy while you are away.
>
>
>
> Don't underestimate your horse's ability to open his stall door. Many
> horses have spent hours fiddling with the latch on their doors until
> they were finally able to free themselves. Once they have done it
> once, it is pretty much guaranteed they will do it again. In fact,
> they may get even better at it with practice. This means you will
> need to outfit doors with a chain and clip or horse-proof bolts.
>
>
>
> Most farms today use shavings for their horse's bedding. Many will
> generously stock the stall with shavings, however, this can actually
> do your horse more harm than good. Too much bedding decreases the
> amount of stress put on the horse's legs. If the horse stands in
> bedding that is too thick all day, his bones will slowly become more
> brittle. This means that you may one day find yourself riding and the
> horse fractures his leg because his bones have adapted to the soft
> ground of the stall. Shavings are excellent to help protect the horse
> from the cold ground, but use them in moderation.
>
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