Horse Stall Components

No matter what type of horse you own or what style of riding you prefer, you need to provide your equine companion with a safe and comfortable stall. Providing a stall that is large enough for his needs will keep him comfortable, and designing the stall properly will make caring for your horse a lot easier.

  1. Stall Door

    • A secure door is a vital component to any horse stall. Horse owners have a number of choices when it comes to stall door design. A sliding door is a good choice, especially for a multi-stall barn with an aisle in the middle. The sliding door allows horse owners to take their animals out of the stall without swinging a door into the aisle and disturbing others who may be walking by.

      A swinging door can be a better choice for a barn consisting of a tack room or hay storage area and two or three stalls. The swinging door design allows the owner to access the stall directly from the tack room or storage area, providing better freedom of movement and making it easier to move in and out of the stall.

    Stall Grate

    • Stall grates are designed to stop horses in adjoining stalls from biting one another, and to stop them from chewing wood and engaging in other destructive habits. The most popular type of stall grate consists of metal bars set into the wood at the top of the stall. These metal bars extend into the top of the barn to create a barrier. In order to make feeding easier, the stall grate typically has a gap built into one corner. This allows the horse owner to feed the horse without entering the stall.

    Bedding

    • The bedding is an important component of any stall, and horse owners need to consider this aspect carefully. If the stalls and barns were previously used for cattle, there is a good chance that concrete flooring was used. Standing on concrete can be very hard on a horse's legs, so ideally that concrete should be jackhammered up and replaced with packed earth. If the concrete cannot be removed, placing thick rubber mats across the entire length of the stall is a good compromise.

      No matter what type of flooring is used, however, be sure to put down a thick layer of bedding, either pine shavings or compressed wood pellets. Make the bedding at least 3 to 4 inches thick initially, and add new bedding as needed to replace the soiled bedding.