I have an extra stall that I would love to turn into a grooming stall so I’m not so tempted when looking at horse ads online.
Current plan is rubber mats for the flooring, shelves on one wall and crossties.
How would you set it up and any cool items that are a must have?
a bell to ring for room service would be nice, I am pretty much fed up with the horses banging on their door with a hoof
Hahaha I filled my extra stall with hay so I wouldn’t be tempted!
Shelves and crossties for sure. It’s nice to be able to have all grooming and bathing supplies organized and right there where you need them. I also keep a blanket rack with coolers hanging in my grooming stall. I don’t have one currently, but I had an overhead radient heater in my old barn’s grooming stall which was awesome, especially for clipped horses in the dead of winter.
Will horses hang there after being hosed/bathed to dry off? If so, a fan would also be nice in the warmer months.
I also keep a muck tub and caddy with a broom and shovel in the corner so I can easily clean up messes. And treats. Lots of treats!
Not something I bought, per se, but in my x tie area, I have one of those mini two tier shopping carts that I found in a ditch. It’s my favorite thing! It’s loaded with grooming stuff, bath stuff, random stuff & you can hang an endless amount of things off the side grids & handles & everything in there drip dries. So keep an eye on ditches & don’t be ashamed to pull over!
Horses rarely bang on the stall door with a hoof if they can’t stick their head’s out.
Closing the fronts, at least on those banging horses, helps.
We use cheap Walmart bath wire shelves here and there for grooming supplies.
Also those rolling saddle racks with baskets in them.
You can use them to carry your saddle to and from the tack room also.
Strongly suggest looking at Schneider’s supplies. They have a lot of really good basket-type things. I have bridle hooks, some baskets with hooks underneath, and a folding saddle stand (not Schneider’s).
You don’t mention other riders, but I put up enough that every boarder gets one “basket”. Mine also serves as my wash area, so we all have our bathing supplies and topicals in there. I’d love shelf space, too.
In my old barn, I had 4 high shelving (the kind you get at Home Depot) along one line, and we all have our own “shelf.” Be sure to secure the shelving to the wall if you go that direction.
If you have a little cash, consider putting in some infrared heat lamps (if it is cold in your area). That’s going to be my next big addition when I am prepared to invest some more in the barn. Last year we did arena mirrors, mag flakes, and 6 truckloads of limestone dust to eliminate mud, so I’m pretty tapped right now.
Good lighting, a fan or fans, and make sure whatever shelving you use, the if the horse pees it won’t splash onto valuable items.
All the hooks: Hooks for halters, hooks for bridles, hooks for lead ropes, hooks for the shovel and broom dedicated to this space, hooks for all the things that multiply in the dark. Plus a fold-down saddle rack and a place to hang a wet blanket up to dry.
A fan for summer and heat lamp for winter would be dreamy. Spacious cubbies so you can group like items together. An outlet for a radio, phone charger, etc. And a magic wand that will instantly eliminate all mud. (Note to Dover: this last seems to be a hole in your otherwise extensive inventory. Please address…)
Such great ideas. So it’s just me in the barn and I technically have 6 stalls and a tack/feed room in my little red barn.
I use the foaling stall as it’s 12’x24’ for hay storage, three horses occupy stalls, and two empty stalls.
This would eliminate at least one empty stall.
Love the shopping cart idea!
I’m having the electrical ripped out and rewired this summer so fans and heaters can easily be pre-wired and added later. The radiant heater sounds so nice, my farrier would love me.
When you find that magic wand let me know. This is our first winter here so it was totally a learning experience.
I would add rubber hooks, the kind that won’t catch a wandering nose and then ample lighting, then even more lighting. You can use a dozen brushes and a vacuum and still walk a horse out of a dimly lit stall looking like a dust ball. I always disliked converting stalls to grooming bays for that reason, they tend to be dark.
…fold down saddle racks, a shelf and hamper for clean/dirty rub rags, swing out holder to hang a blanket to dry and an infrared stall heater would be nice. It’s chilly today, I’m focused on warmth.
I agree with checking out Schneider’s for some cool basket ideas but I worry about the edges and durability especially if wet. I had wood “triangular” shelves (three) built in to the back of my grooming stall in one corner. Very happy with them and no sharp edges. I put up a Schneider’s basket with 3 hooks perfect for halter with lead rope that was on sale last month, very sturdily built. I did hang it out of the way of potential horse interaction and away from moisture (powder coated wire)
Those rubber hooks are great and hold more than we think.
We have some in the arena corners, where if a horse hits one it just glances by, like the one holding the rope to drag a log, that lives in that corner.
Those Flex-hooks also make great little presents, everyone loves to get them:
If possible, a drain in the floor so you could bathe a horse in there.
There is a Gray version of the flexi hooks that is much more durable than the black and colors. I have been using them a long time, and the black ones fail after a few years. The Gray do a lot better.
I use those on my stall fronts, and a 10-hook Schneiders thing in my grooming area.
Highly recommend the black fans Ramm sells. They are safe for barn use and move a ton of air. I have one aimed at the grooming area and it is terrific in summer!
For mud—nothing beats stabilization. I spend a lot on mud control, and no regrets, ever!
I feel like this thread needs PICTURES …! 
Cabinet space so I could keep dust off all my stuff.
Currently I have a single light in the front of the stall that is ok but leave shadows.
Would you add lighting on each side of the stall, like surgery bright?? Or just two lights, one on each side?
Love those rubber hooks, I forgot about them. Way better to hang stuff on around horses.
I’d love a drain and hot water in the barn but with the way it’s set up I don’t want to run additional water lines. Barn is super open shed row and I have no way of keeping pipes from freezing.
I can always walk over to the big barn if needed and use the wash rack there.
One of the reasons for a grooming stall is there really isn’t a good place for cross ties except in stalls.
I would add it light enough for the vet and farrier to work easily, no matter what part of the horse they are working on. Think stitching a wound on a leg - not having to position the horse to avoid shadows would probably be really appreciated by the vet.
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