I’m moving a mare from the east coast to the west coast and the boarding culture is certainly different. Where I’m from in PA, it’s pretty much exclusively box stalls, but with daily turnouts in large pastures. Now I live in Los Angeles, CA, and as there just isn’t as much space to work with I am finding a lot of places that offer both 12’ x 12’ stalls, or partially sheltered pipe corrals of sizes up to 24’ x 24’, with some turnouts in small/medium size pastures a few times a week. I am thinking the pipe corrals (as I don’t think my east coast 17 year old TB will like being in a stall all the time) but as I don’t have any real experience with them, I would love some input.
I personally chose pipe over stall when boarding, because even if it’s still not a lot of space, it’s at least more.
It does depend how your horse does with other horses. My mare is insecure in a pipe corral unless there is an alpha next to her. Put someone bossy who will fight all challengers next to her and she is totally content, and the bossy horse ends up liking her when she makes it clear they are welcome to be the boss.
My other three horses will fight anyone who looks at them wrong, and so they had to be next to horses with personalities more like my youngster.
Horses who get along with almost everyone can be very happy in them, and since cold isn’t such a concern, I like them for the airiness, and lack of ammonia and dust stalls can have in some barns. (The dust even in barns which are cleaned well twice a day)
I am a huge fan of the covered pipe corrals. They have more space, the airflow is better, and the horses can see more around them.
The downsides are that any section that is not covered can turn to a mudpit, and the horses may fight through the bars with their neighbors.
The horses are on sand instead of bedding, usually, which is fine for health, but it can mean that your horse will not stay as clean in one, for example after a bath the day before a show.
The secondary downside is that they are usually the less fancy section, so you may be further from a tack room, and also you might not have a place to hang a halter and a blanket that is safe from horse noses. Hay can get pushed over to the neighbor. Sometimes people build them so part of the front panel is solid for this reason.
In general, horses seem to like them and they do save you money on board.
When I brought my horses home, I built 12 x 16 fully covered pipes.
Covered pipe stalls, Mare Motels, Malibu barns… there are different names for similar setups, but I’d choose them over box stalls every time. There’s more air circulation and more room for your horse to walk around.
However, this is also more room for him to argue with his neighbors. Some places have solid dividers between where the horses eat, some add (or let you add) planks between the railings, or even hang heavy rubber sheeting, like conveyor belt material, between horses. There are a lot of ways to thwart the naturally self-destructive tendencies of bored boarded horses. Which I know from personal experience!
More important than the enclosure is the rest of the boarding facility and how it is maintained. Stalls and pens both need to be cleaned and maintained. A lot of places don’t bed pens, but they’re lots nicer with bedding. A bedded corral should really cost almost as much to rent as a stall, materials and labor-wise. Look for big overhangs to reduce mud during those rare rainy periods, as well as drainage et. If they use bedding, do they also have mats, or can you add them? What keeps the bedding from blowing away? (Hint: railroad ties)
Boarding on California is often very different than the midwest or east. Biggest differences are turnout and grass- we don’t have much (any?) of the second and not much of the first out here.
Before you panic, though, check out some different places and talk to boarders… chances are your horse will adapt more easily than you and you’ll both be fine… and neither of you will miss the snow, bugs, and humidity.
Good luck!
I’m currently setting up sheltered pipe corrals for my horses–but I’m placing them with windblocks as well as roofs. My windblocks will also prevent at least some of the hay migration. I intend to bed them under the roofs–using either 4 by 4s or railroad ties to keep the bedding inside the sheltered area.
If I needed to board my horses, I would definitely choose a sheltered pipe corral or a stall with a run over a box stall with limited turnout. If you go the sheltered pipe corral route, you may need to blanket your horse in winter–depending on where you are and what the crazy weather is doing.
I hope you’ll enjoy living in California.
