Stalling Miniatures

[Little Wolf Ranch]

My husband and I are drawing up plans over the weekend for barns so we can get quotes and start saving the money for it, as we plan on spending a pretty penny on a barn that is going to last us a long time! My husband asked the question on whether or not I wanted every horse to have it's own stall?

I would like to know your guys pros & cons along with how many of you stall EACH AND EVERY horse that you have on your property. Also, what size are your regular stalls, sick horse stalls & foaling stalls? I have ideas about how I want it to be already but would like opinions from people who have been doing stalled horses for longer. 

I have found that most are fine with run-ins to get out of the weather and I have only stalled sick or pregnant horses that are in their last two months of pregnancy. I've never had a horse crib, kick walls, pace, etc. and I know they are bad stall habits and so most of my guys are outside with shelters 24/7 and I have yet to have any illnesses or injuries but I do find that it is SUCH A PAIN in bad weather and cold weather to go out there at feeding time, plus not all the horses like staying inside and still end up wet and nasty. It seems like I could cut my work load in half if they had their own true stalls. (FYI: I do seperate horses at feeding time so each one gets all their feed)

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

 

[ruffian]

I have one run for the broodmares and Thumper. They get locked into the barn in a large pen overnight and in bad weather.

I have 5 runs for the show horses, and those I want separated, such as another stallion and a couple of young mares, that I don't want with the herd. Each run has a stall, and I have a stall in between each run. Each run has 1-3 horses, and each of those horses are put into a their own stall at night. One horse stays in the stall with the run and in bad weather I shut their individual doors. They get their feed in their own stalls am & pm, and hay in the runs.

It makes it nice that if the weather turns bad at night, or if it looks like it's going to be bad, I don't have to worry about them or try to put them in in a hurry.

I have 4 more stalls that are idle right now, but will be put to use as mares get close or if I need to separate one of the broodmares or Thumper for some reason.

 

[RhineStone]

We have a stall for each horse. (That also keeps the numbers controllable. When we are out of stalls, we are full up!

) However, we only stall when the weather is really nasty (it is supposed to be a -30 wind chill tonight, so they will stay in) or we washed horses for show and want to keep them clean. Our shed unfortunately isn't big enough for all the horses. And as much as I have heard people say that "my horse will stand out in the rain anyway", we haven't experienced that with our horses UNLESS there is one that "pushes" the others out. SO sometimes I will stall the lowest ranking horse in bad weather, because I know that (s)he would rather be dry, but won't stand next to so and so. We did have one Saddlebred mare that would stand in the barn in a light rain, but if it was heavy, she would go out. That was more than likely because of the noise of the metal roof on my mom's barn vs. "liking" to be out in the rain. Our roof is now insulated (I HIGHLY recommend that for noise and condensation). Also, our waterer is under the awning in the shed, and if the lowest horse is stalled, I know he is drinking.

Our mini stalls are 5'x10' and there are photos on the Facility page of our website. When we were breeding, the mares would get the full 10'x10'. I have one 10'x10' that has an outside run attached to it, and use that for my "separation" stall if I need it.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

And as much as I have heard people say that "my horse will stand out in the rain anyway", we haven't experienced that with our horses UNLESS there is one that "pushes" the others out.

I actually have one who has his own private "shelter" and he is the only one in that paddock who will stay in when it's hot but if you let it rain/snow/sleet/etc. - yep he's out in it. My only option was to close him in when bad weather hits, for some reason he actually does seem to like it. Goes bucking, rearing, etc. and gives me a good laugh until I remember that he's soaking wet and needs to be dry in this cold weather!

 

[RhineStone]

I actually have one who has his own private "shelter" and he is the only one in that paddock who will stay in when it's hot but if you let it rain/snow/sleet/etc. - yep he's out in it. My only option was to close him in when bad weather hits, for some reason he actually does seem to like it. Goes bucking, rearing, etc. and gives me a good laugh until I remember that he's soaking wet and needs to be dry in this cold weather!

My husband and I were just talking today about how horses like it cooler than we people do, and are generally more comfortable at 50 degrees. So if you are in a warmer climate, that will make sense. Yes, in the summer if our horses are out on pasture and they would rather eat the grass than come in when it is a warm rain, they will stay out.. But now in the cold, they will tolerate the snow only so long before they want to be dry. If it is a cold, all-day rain, they will be under that shed in a heartbeat. I have a couple of minis that are so against being wet, they will roll in their stalls when they are done with their feed.

 

[Charlotte]

Like Rhinestone, we have a stall for every horse. I'm just a bit nuts. In bad weather I want to be able to put every horse in if needed. A few of ours stay outside most of the time....with run in sheds, but their stalls are available if needed.

But I'm also a nut about ventilation so our barn is built to address that. Stalls are 8 x 8 and that is for all purposes, foaling, show horses, etc. The breeding herd is in at night and out in the daytime.

I like being able to monitor the eating and drinking of each horse, their manure and urine output and such as that. I also find that haltering and leading each horse two times per day keeps them very mannerly.

But probably the bottom line for me is the night time situation. I just sleep better knowing the horses are safe from any intruder that might be able to get inside our 'dog proof' fencing and to know that in thunder storms they aren't out in lightning and hail.

Charlotte

p.s. And Rhinestone is so right about the number of stalls controlling numbers!

 

[Anne]

Every horse here has a stall, I love it that way

 

[Riverrose28]

Well! We have nine paddocks with run in sheds, and three different barns with 20 stalls. the main barn has a stallion stall, and two 12 by 12 brood mare stalls with private paddocks. then four reserve stalls. The stallion barn has 4 stalls, I only let the stallions run with the mares while breeding. then there is the show barn/indoor. We have 9 show stalls, 8 by 8 with a large round pen and room for storage, such as my ranger, cart, etc. If I could I would let all horses stay outside as much as possable, as they enjoy the company of the others and seem to keep fit outside better. The only problem is that before show season I need to sweat necks and if they are outside the others will pull the sweats off. We have over 30 horses so no we don't have a stall for each and every one, but we do have two round pens, and extra stalls so in case of emergency we can always double up. Case in point, four years ago we had a tornado come through, several trees came down over fences, and one brood mare run in shed was sent to the heavens, we all went out and put all horses in the indoor, and switched some other horse around and were able to get everyone in the barns and out of the weather. I am a firm believer that horses should be outside as much as possable, but to each his own thought on that.

 

[GrullaBlue]

Charlotte, where did you get your stalls!!??? I love those panels! I, too, like the more open types...our panels right now are actually the "goat" panels from Tarter Gate...

Rhinestone, we, too are bracing for these nasty winds tonight.....this time of year I'd love to leave WI and move south.....lol

Angie

 

[Charlotte]

Angie, those stall fronts where built on site. If I had it to do over today I have seen some wonderful stall panels with something like a very heavy gauge 2" x 4" mesh. The Oklahoma State Fairgrounds has stalls made of this in their new barns. I have actually seen ready made panels like this I think for sheep or goats? Small livestock? Which I thought would be perfect for miniatures. I know you can get the ready made for big horse stalls. this wasn't available at the time we built this barn.

I love the bar fronts because of ventilation and the horses are in full view of each other and whatever is going on in the barn and out side too, but they do have one draw back. My very intellignet barn cats learned to stand on their hind feet in the aisles, grab the water bucket edge and tip it so that water pours out and they can lap it as it pours....flooding the stalls which are 4" below the aisles. The poor horses got blamed for that for a year before we caught a cat actually doing it.

Charlotte

 

[Kendra]

Our due-to-foal mares are stalled at night, horses clipped early/late in the year are stalled, and occasionally the night before or after a show. Otherwise they are outside.

 

[normajeanbaker]

Each of our horses have their own stalls. Not only do they like having their own space, but like someone stated above, it keeps your numbers in check. When my stalls are full, I have no room for more! We have 7 stalls. Right now, we only have 6 horses, so I turned stall #7 into a stall to put grain and hay in, along with a few carts. It's working out so well having the extra stall for storage that I have no desire to fill it with another horse! 4 of our stalls are 8X10(which are big enough to use as a foaling stall). 1 stall is 6X10. 1 stall is about 6X6. And the last stall is about 6X8. I would not go any smaller then the 6X6 stall, but the mare who is in it likes small stalls and never really settled into the larger stalls. I am sure my horses would all adjust to living in run-in's if they had to, but they really like having their own stall. They are all stalled at night, and in bad weather.

~Jen~

 

[Becky]

I think the climate where you live dictates whether all horses need to be stalled or not. Here in Oklahoma, the weather is mild enough that horses can live outside all year long with proper shelter.

The only horses I stall are my show horses and the pregnant mares at foaling time. The rest of the time, my breeding herd lives outdoors in dry lots with loafing sheds. During the day, the mares are generally put in the pasture. At night, all put back into their lots. That plan has worked very well for me for a number of years. Cleaning a lot of stalls is not my idea of fun!

 

[LindaL]

I like being able to monitor the eating and drinking of each horse, their manure and urine output and such as that. I also find that haltering and leading each horse two times per day keeps them very mannerly.

But probably the bottom line for me is the night time situation. I just sleep better knowing the horses are safe from any intruder that might be able to get inside our 'dog proof' fencing and to know that in thunder storms they aren't out in lightning and hail.

That is how I am as well. I dump/refill water buckets daily, so at night I can see how much they are drinking. I can see if they are pooping/peeing "regular" (I know each horse's normal). I can work on manners (and some do need daily "reminders") while leading to/from stalls.

And, like Charlotte, I sleep better at night knowing they are "tucked in" out of any bad weather we may have, away from any danger from animals, any fence breakage, etc.

I didn't used to be that way...My horses used to be outside most of the time with a few inside and they were fine, but I like the way I do things now. It gives me a chance to interact with all the horses twice daily.

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

Every miniature horse and shetland pony has its own stall, nobody is out in sheds or anything at our place, we have three barns.

 

[Leeana]

Only thing in my barn is show horses, stallions or ponies I am conditioning. Bred mares come in the barn when they are close to foaling. I like the mares to be outside, its more natural for them and easier for me ....

.

Stallions are in the barn but have an outside paddock attached to their stall so they can be in or out.

 

[~Lisa~]

Yes I have stalls for each horse and each hores is stalled at night or in bad weather be that extreme heat or wet and windy

They love to go into their stalls in the summer they have an automatic fly system that keeps them bug free and in the winter they have a dry clean space to lay down

Our stalls were built for 10 stalls at 10x10 each but now that we have less horses we took the middle panels out and htey are 10x20

My foaling stalls which are now filled with ponies are 16x16 with large attached runs.

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

We currently have enough stalls for everyone, but not everyone goes in.. I mainly stall my broodmares/fillies and Doc (main herd stallion) in my mare barn.. They get daily turnout and stalled at night.. I've currently got a 5 stall barn empty after selling a few horses

, no plans on filling it yet lol I also have two sheds that are split with a lot on each side, one currently has an open broodmare on one side and my big grade buckskin mare on the other, then the other barn I've got my junior stallion and his colt buddy on one side and the other is a 2 year old colt and our gelding.. We have plans to put up a few more sheds on dry lots and pastures..

 

[LAminiatures]

I stall mine at night and during bad weather. I like everyone to eat in peace and I am able to keep track of eating drinking and pooping . I have run ins in every pasture and paddock so they can get out of the element if needed. I like to be able to keep them in during hot summer days so they have fans and no bugs. My foaling stalls are 12x12 and other stalls are 8x8.

When I built my barn I built roofs coming off either side which can be used at shelter if your babies are out and you are not home. It also keeps the rain water away from the barn.

Good Luck

 

[Taylor Richelle]

Mine are in every night. They each have their own stall. I only have four so it's pretty easy to keep them in every night. I like them in that way I know they are safe (we have bears all the time in the summer) I can see that they are all eating and getting the right amount of water. Plus I only have 4 stalls so I can keep my number at just 4 as a few of you said. But we are adding a big addition to the barn this summer...It will be nice to have a few more stalls and more room! Plus I could fill a stall or two