Stall kept or run-in shelters?

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I haven't been on the forum for a while so before I go any farther, I just want to say hey to everyone on here!

My question is based on the fact that I am pregnant and am expecting a little boy on February 14, 2014. This is my first, and while I have no plans on selling any of my horses, I am looking to make chores as easy as possible. I currently have 5 broodmares, two 2013 fillies that are keepers, a gelding and a stallion.

My question is, I can either add on to my foaling barn (4 stalls at the moment and large run in shelter)....or I could set up run in shelters for 2 horses to share at a time. Luckily my stallion and gelding that was castrated this summer get along very well and can be housed together even around the ladies.

So my main question being.....would it be easier with a little one to have all horses under the same roof or have individual shelters?

One pro I can think of is during bad weather I wouldn't have to worry about anyone being stubborn and staying out in the rain/cold/ice/snow....

So do you prefer to have a stall for each horse or let them have the option to shelter themselves?

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

My answer might not help much but I like to have both. I want the run ins so if I can't get to them they can shelter from bad weather (sometimes weather happens when I am in town for example) and I leave mine out with run in stalls all summer but in the winter I prefer them to have their own stalls to spend the dark hours in. In your situation tho I would have to think about the time cleaning and rebedding those stalls would take each day and whether I was up for that and also what I would do with the baby once it was here while I took care of the stalls. Especially in the beginning when you will be so very tired and hardly have time to grab a shower let alone clean the stalls.

 

[Tab]

I vote 2 horses per stall with a run. The horses are so much happier and healthier getting out regularly. There will be a little less mess in the barn. I have always taken care of my horses unless I was in the hospital or in a really bad way. Now that my boys are older they help me out. Sometimes I wonder how I had newborns and horses at the same time. If people are willing to help --let them lol.

I did not read it properly. If you could have everyone under the same roof, WITH turnouts/runs per stall, that would be the easiest for you as a new mom.

 

[Marty]

I like both also but being under one roof is much easier for me. That way in bad weather I know for sure everyone is safely inside their stalls and no one is stealing someone's food or blocking them from the safety of the lean-tu and I only have one place to have to run to for their care instead of going over here and going over there etc. Lean-tus on the other hand have a lot of merit in nice weather but you can't trust them to use them in lightning storms etc.because they don't have a clue that lightning will kill them. And you always have to worry who's really on the bottom of the pecking order and not getting fed and you end up in that bad weather tending to them also.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

The way it is set up right now, I am able to bring horses in and out of the barn via a fenced in pathway that leads the the paddocks and pastures and back so I don't have to bring everyone in at the same time and don't have to worry about haltering and catching.

I do have a run that they can get into if they aren't stalled. As of right now the only ones to get stalled religiously are my late pregnant broodmares and mares with foals at side. Unless there is bad weather I would only bring the two weanlings in overnight - other than that they would come in to eat and then turned back out.

I'm really thankful that our house will be built by the time Liam comes into the world, so we will be living on the same farm as my family so that means if I need some horse time, I have my mother who's retired that will be more than happy to help. Its her first grandchild, so I'll be lucky to even hold my own child lol.

Anyways....I'm guessing that everyone here has a stall for each horse?

My guys have always been so happy having minimal stall time and I'm just concerned about them developing bad habits.I'm a firm believer that a happy horse is a horse on the move in open space. To this date I've never had an pacers or Cribbers...knock on wood!

 

[Jenny]

I don't know if I'll be much help because I only have one horse, but here is my setup. My boy has his own little barn with his stall attached to a little paddock. He can come and go as he pleases in the day, but at night he gets shut in his stall. I really like this setup for my one horse, I don't know how much work it would be with many horses though.

 

[romewhip]

With pregnancy involved and winter I'd be going more toward the run ins, and not taking care of stalls. You aren't going to want or even sometimes be able to take care of cleaning stalls, you need to make it as easy as possible. It's also better for them to be out more than in, in case of a day where you can't get to them as soon as they'd like to be turned out they are already there. Next year you can do it different, but for this year I'd make it as simple and non-physical as possible.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I pretty much agree with Marty; but I do also utilize a large, deep(16')south-facing run-in shed for my mule, who spent her previous life at pasture, and isn't 'into' small living spaces! Most winter wind here is out of the NW, most of the 'worst' storms come from the east, so protection is pretty good...though I have been 'brainstorming' some ways to put up a 'temp',parial south wall at night, that could be easily moved to allow daytime sunlight to shine in, for winter.

Margo

 

[wingnut]

While I currently have a stall for each horse, those stalls are made up from run-in shelters (each with 8ft tack room) that we have divided in 1/2 and put doors or gates on to create a stall. That said, we rarely purposely stall any of our horses for any length of time. They are free to come in and out as they choose. We often find all 4 in the same stall. You'll find at least 2 or 3 in a stall at any given time as well. The first year we only had one building and there were 3 blizzards that year. We were forced to stall 2 and 2 for the storms. Thankfully, they did just fine. So we can if we have to but prefer to let them choose how they live day to day.

Congrats on the baby!

 

[chandab]

Except for two with health issues, my 15 minis live outside 24/7 with access to run-in shelters. I do have stall space for most of them, and they all go into individual spaces (except the 3 yearling boys, they are still happily sharing food) for their hard feed once or twice a day (some get hard feed once daily, some get it twice). Mine are all happy and healthy (the two with issues have Cushing's, and are quite healthy considering).

 

[crookedhalo09]

I have a 2 year old daughter and have been the only one to care for her and the horses since she was born (I have a husband but he works nights so sleeps during the day and can't help with chores, etc). Speaking from experience having the run ins is MUCH easier. If I had stalls, there's no way I could clean them daily, there is just no time. The horses have the choice of being out in the pasture or in their shelter and I don't have to worry if I can't get out there for a day or so.

 

[Minimor]

I don't keep horses in the barn and definitely not a stall for each horse here. All are outside with run in sheds for shelter. They are grouped so that everyone can get into a shed--if someone is getting chased out they get moved around.

They have round bales outside so they eat there.

I do not like having horses shut in--we have too many punks and arson fires in the general area.

 

[misty'smom]

This is my little set up! It is kind of a run in and stall combination. I just have the 2 yearlings, half sisters and one is a little dwarf. They get turned out after they are fed in the morning and stay out until dark. They have the run in area and most of the time the stall door is open. I clean their stall daily and they are brought in at night to get fed and stay in overnight. Their stall is a little bigger than a 10x10 and they have plenty of room to move around, eat and lay down. They have been together since they were born( a month a part) sharing the same paddock at the breeders with their Mommas, so they get along great!! I also have storage for hay, feed, tack etc on the other side from the stall. This set up works great for me and having a place for them in bad weather and safe at night gives me piece of mind that they are safe and comfy!!!

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[susanne]

Since you're in South Carolina, I'm guessing you see very little cold weather and that the bigger concern would be shelter from the sun, good ventilation, and protection from rain and wind. Is lightning an issue for you? Are you in or close to hurricane zones? Do you get heavy rains and therefore mud? Plan according to your own weather patterns, not that of others.

I have no children, so I can't speak to that, but I can say that when our horses have had a choice of stall vs. run-ins, they much prefer the latter, and run-ins greatly simplifies my workload. I would vote for using your existing stalls for any horses that need separate feeding and using run-ins for the rest.

If at all possible, I would set things up so you can feed from outside the fence, so that you can easily handle it with a baby in tow, and so that someone else can feed easily in case your little one is sick. Hay and grain storage should be central to all, but (of course) safely out of reach. This central access should have non-slippery, mud-free gravel paths for wet weather. If you are feeding with a baby in you arms, in a snug sack, or in a stroller, you don't want to slip and fall.

Before you build, visualize your worst weather conditions, hot or cold, and plan accordingly.

 

[MindyLee]

Run in's!!! and stalls for birthing here!

Every horse has a 4 sided run-in they live in 24/7. They are much more happier this way. And theres no way I could catch and stall 7 minis everyday. However closer to birthing season, mares do get moved into a stall untill they foal. Then stay in one till foals are 1 month old and then move out to their own pasture with 4 sided run in's weather permitting.

My run-ins are 6x8 for stallions and mare/foal pastures

My main mare herd pasture has a 8x16 4 sided run in.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Y'all have given me a lot to think about! Especially you Susanne!

As far as weather goes, I'm about 30 mins from the mountains, I love in the "piedmont" area so we see about 2-3 snows per winter varying from 1/2" to 6" and we usually have very wet falls/winters/springs and there is a mass accumulation of mud in the winter so one third of it becomes useless and I have to put up temporary fencing to keep them out. It just gets too slippery in there for it to be safe.

Sun isn't a problem for me as we have a large group of trees in each pasture they use for shade - and I do too!

I also have all electric tape fencing so feeding from outside the fence is already not possible. My two big boys - a 20 yo QH and 9 year old TWH cross have two stalls that are in the center of their paddock so I'll have to go out there anyways. Luckily my mare barn is outside of the paddocks so no need To go through any gates there.

I really like having the horses out as much as possible like they are now but with having two hard keeper mares, a stubborn gelding that will stand in the cold rain, and weanlings that need their own grain rations....I think I may have to add onto my barn and do some run in shelters....

Do any of you have run in shelters that have the option of them to be shut in?

 

[LittleRibbie]

2 barns here...love both barns (both shed row) but if space allowed I would prefer to only have one big barn. I have feed room and hay in each barn. No actual run ins per se but each stall has individual fans water etc. opens up to a community paddock/pasture and although I do stall separate when feeding I just leave all stall doors open during the day and they can come and go. Often I will see 3/4 in one stall with 5 empty stalls ...go figure.Sometimes I get cheap and I don't want them pooping all day in clean stalls so I will close the doors but there is still a huge overhang for them to get shade if needed. Pretty much the same in the second barn but smaller pasture and is used for foaling but in the winter its for the stallion. Lucky you...with nice shade trees..wish I had them but the overhangs in each barn do the trick. I can pasture all horses w/out haltering ...just a few gate latches and its easy to move them. We did just fence another area that has lots of trees which I like but there really isn't much grass...they really have to forage but it keeps them busy and its not overly hot. Congratulation on your soon to be new arrival!!!

Oh...I see no reason you couldn't have run ins and still make them able to be locked in if needed as long as there is some ventilation and window....good idea..

 

[paintponylvr]

You can turn any run in shelter into an enclosed space by adding a gate. There are a multitude of gates out there -some will work great for the larger horses and can be hung well clear of the ground, some are with different materials so a smaller leg/hoof won't get caught and would need to be hung closer to the ground. Or you can build one out of solid wood (my large horses always chewed up the wood ones and the gates were always very heavy. Then there is the one that my hubby built - once three of us got it tipped up where it could be put into place - any of the ponies under 14 hh could crawl thru it somewhere. I'll have to see if I still have a picture.). Of course I don't have any pictures right now.

I've even "gated" an enclosure by putting up braided haystring like a stall guard - worked for separating some at feeding time and also during bad weather (doesn't keep the weather out) or to keep some out when I don't want them inside. Others quickly learned the string gates weren't hot and went right thru them, lol. And walk thru doors with actual stall guards when I didn't want the doors closed.

I'm in NC and have much the same weather as you do. Most of our 37 head have either access to the barn (currently set up like a run in, not stalls) or they have trees they shelter under. Some have been blanketed during bad weather when needed.

 

[Mona]

I would much prefer a single large run-in shelter, and think it would be "easiest" for chores.

 

[romewhip]

We had run-in 'stalls' where the stalls had a gate that was usually left open. If someone needed to be kept in the gate would be closed, but otherwise it was free choice. The stalls weren't bedded like closed stalls, but we would feed in them and they gave good shelter.