I love open front stalls, but I have a cribber and he’d spend all day ruining that pretty powder coating. sigh
I love the look, but my builder talked me out of them. From a practical point of view, they can pose various risks as others have mentioned. The only way he said he would be comfortable installing them would be if I widened my aisle from 14’ to 18’ and made the stalls 14’x14’ with the doors in the middle instead of 12’x12’ with the doors to one side. He said he had too many clients complaining that the horses were getting ahold of blankets or crossties or other horses or people in a more standard set-up. So instead I went with full aluminum gates with bars so that I could maximize airflow and bars with pass-through doors for hay that I leave open for the horses that don’t bother anything. It’s a lot more streamlined and industrial looking, but I’m happy with my decision!
[QUOTE=Punkie;7947629]
I love the look, but my builder talked me out of them. From a practical point of view, they can pose various risks as others have mentioned. The only way he said he would be comfortable installing them would be if I widened my aisle from 14’ to 18’ and made the stalls 14’x14’ with the doors in the middle instead of 12’x12’ with the doors to one side. He said he had too many clients complaining that the horses were getting ahold of blankets or crossties or other horses or people in a more standard set-up. So instead I went with full aluminum gates with bars so that I could maximize airflow and bars with pass-through doors for hay that I leave open for the horses that don’t bother anything. It’s a lot more streamlined and industrial looking, but I’m happy with my decision![/QUOTE]
A top trainer I know did just that, his new barn has a feed door that he can leave open for the horses that are nice and they can stick their head out thru it.
Since it is in a corner, they are not very apt to try to jump out of it or could even try it:
Ive been to a barn that has them. No one seems to have any issues with it. However, their aisles are very wide so there’s really no chance of a horse nipping a passerby, and they have grooming bays so no one is cross-tied next to them.
We have dutch doors in my own barn and I have no issues either. I have a stall guard for the top of one of them, because my gelding is mouthy and likes to take everything off his stall bar (blankets, etc) and throw them on the ground. he also knows how to open his door too so the stall guard (and a clip) keeps him in!
[QUOTE=pattnic;7946511]
Any chance you could find pictures?[/QUOTE]
A past barn I was at had stalls with no protruding latch attachment.
https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/229685_10150333474590132_6639222_n.jpg?oh=ad43f1612096007cf0aefe872053f31d&oe=5523DFA7
https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/281861_10150333474195132_4612667_n.jpg?oh=9fb701eb5351eb193106fa8541c9ac02&oe=55268EE5
(best pics I seem to have)
You would literally grab a certain bar on the stall door, and pull it down. The bar which had been in a hole in the bar above the door, would slide out of that hole and release the door.
These stalls had the option to come with an insert that could be placed in the ‘window’ to close it off so the horse couldn’t stick it’s head out.
[QUOTE=ElisLove;7947721]
A past barn I was at had stalls with no protruding latch attachment.
https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/229685_10150333474590132_6639222_n.jpg?oh=ad43f1612096007cf0aefe872053f31d&oe=5523DFA7
https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/281861_10150333474195132_4612667_n.jpg?oh=9fb701eb5351eb193106fa8541c9ac02&oe=55268EE5
(best pics I seem to have)
You would literally grab a certain bar on the stall door, and pull it down. The bar which had been in a hole in the bar above the door, would slide out of that hole and release the door.
These stalls had the option to come with an insert that could be placed in the ‘window’ to close it off so the horse couldn’t stick it’s head out.[/QUOTE]
Those beautiful blanket bars right there would scare me, having seen horses grab something like that with their bottom teeth and break their bottom jaw when trying to get their head loose.
[QUOTE=Bluey;7947765]
Those beautiful blanket bars right there would scare me, having seen horses grab something like that with their bottom teeth and break their bottom jaw when trying to get their head loose.[/QUOTE]
I believe one horse did have an issue with that (didn’t break a jaw but injured it a bit or something). THey wrapped the bar in padding for that horse. Especially since we never used the bars (BO didn’t want it to look 'messy) it probably would have been better not to have them. Otherwise the stalls were very lovely.
Euro stall fronts are gorgeous! However, with what I’ve learned from having a variety of ordinary horses at our boarding stable, I would think (in addition to the many other points already raised) that horses would get bored and snack on them… has anyone had horse gnaw/chew/scrape them up?
We have pre-fab stall fronts 4’ high with 4’ of vertical pipe grills above. I had a window section cut out of most of the sliding doors just so the horses could hang their head out… and then some proceeded to scrape the heck out of the tongue and groove wooden stall fronts.
'Bout broke my heart to have to put galvanized sheets on top of my pretty natural wood stall fronts in the upper corners near the door where the beasties hang their heads out.
That said, the little bit extra room to hang their heads out seems to be a mental plus for most of them.
Our main barn has a 16’ aisle and NO tack trunks, cross ties, or anything else to clog it up. And I took down all the blanket bars once they could get their heads out/jaws wrapped around a bar.
Other barns have either shed row, which works fine, but one barn has a narrower aisle and the heads-out thing is not ideal there. Although most of the horses have stall screens anyway, and hang their heads over those. No grooming/tying in any of the aisles though, always designated cross tie areas that are not on the flight path.
I did retrofit a lot of windows between stalls- most of the dividing walls were solid floor to ceiling, originally, and I had 4 x 4’ windows cut in most of the dividing walls, filled with vertical pipe grill, so the horses can visit with their neigh-bors on either side… works well. All the stalls also have similar windows on the back wall, so ventilation is much improved and all the horses can watch their friends out the back window.
We live in a very mild climate, but it seems like the lower walls with Euro stalls would probably make for healthier air and generally happier horses in most locations.
Boy, it’d be hard to forgive a horse for dragging his teeth over one of those beautiful new stall fronts, thought…
One more concern with horses sticking their heads out, some of them, when they get excited, learn to bang on the door with their knees, seem to love the noise it makes and that is not good to their knees.
I know, our old race horse training barn was an old style barn, walls all around all the way up.
It had dutch doors only, no windows and solid between stalls, so the horses had their heads out all the time and stood there, making a hole in the clay stall floor right in front of the door.
That is when the use of rubber belting started, before mats, to be put in the stall doors, so they would not end up with a hole there.
We learn so much from what others have done, what has worked and what has not.
The best way to build for each one working on plans now is just what we are doing here, ask many questions, look at a million pictures and then decide what is best for US, which may be different for each one of us.
Where you can, do build so you have several options, like on stall fronts, a way to open so some horses can hang their heads, but also to close it if you want others not to stick their heads out.
These beautiful open fronts will fit some places, but not others.
Gwen of http://gestuet-falkenhorst.com/gfhome.html has these. I don’t think any pictures on her site show it but she has sent me some and I saw it. It may be here broodmare barn? She may be able to help answer some questions if you want to send her an email.
[QUOTE=acoustic;7947263]
My horse is an ass and would bite anything within reach, including other horses and some choice people. These stall fronts would give him too much space to cover with terror. :lol:
They sure do look lovely though![/QUOTE]
That was my experience with dutch doors. I kept telling the other boarders to keep the top part shut. They kept up with the “Awww poor horsey” crap until she bit them often enough.
The other horse wasn’t obnoxious, but did use the dutch door like a drive through window - she could reach the bale of hay stored in the aisle in front of the stall next to her.
[QUOTE=retrofit;7946526]
Personally I don’t think any type of door that allows horses to hang their heads out works particularly well if you cross-tie horses in the aisle or store blankets, etc. on the stall fronts. Usually most of the doors end up with baling twine rigged all over them to keep wandering mouths IN. That kind of defeats the purpose of pretty stall fronts! The only way I could see it work is with a flip-down option, so you can let Dobbin hang his head out if/when you want, and close him up the rest of the time.[/QUOTE]
Sorry I don’t quite understand your description - how would the horses not have their heads over? Never been in a yard where the horses can’t put their heads out, always half doors/v bars.
In favor of sliding doors! In favor of horse’s heads not out in the aisle. Sure I love seeing the heads over the doors, etc. etc. But I don’t like coping with nipping and squealing, nor do I like picking towels. brush and sheets off the floor. and as for ribbon racks, :lol: :lol:
Bluey brought up a great point, if they can hang their heads over it, their chest is up against the door, knees and front feet are close enough to bang against it. Actually groaned when I read that, brought back memories best forgotten. Nothing as bad as the foot thru the bars but just gosh awful racket if anything thought anything else was getting to eat and it was not. Heck, they are always noisy but that barn was over the top thunderous.
I like the idea of just the window type arrangement they can stick their heads out of that’s mid neck height instead of low chest height. That way they can’t lay on top of it and grow a 10’ long neck going after something or somebody and they can’t bang their knees and front feet on the door.
I even remember Dutch doors with neat crescent shapes worn into them, almost exactly the same size and in the same place on every lower door. I finally realized they are formed when the horse hangs its head out and down and swings it back and forth and back and forth-with its front teeth scraping along in slow rhythm. Actually had tooth wear problems in some. One trainer had an Aussie Cattle Dog who would do patrol duty up and down the aisle, nipping any nose that dared appear over the door. Dog really didn’t have much to do, once they got nailed a couple of times, horses saw that dog, retreated to the rear if their stalls and stayed there until it left:lol:.
Gosh, you all must have really rotten horses! :lol: In 25 years of boarding at barns and having horses at home, none of mine were aisle-biters or stall-eaters. We had one knee banger, but he did it regardless of door arrangement. What I hate are stalls draped in blanket bars and blankets and towels and halters and ribbons and brushes and… you get it. What a mess! What a temptation. I do think many of the behaviors you are describing are due to bored horses, but that’s a whole 'nother thread, now isn’t it!?
Lots of turnout, hay and less stall time is best. Again, my boys at home have a Dutch door at the back to look out of and a slider with a “head hole” in front to monitor the barn out of. No issues. But, they are out 12 hours a day, minimum and are pretty happy in their stalls.
Timely subject as we are in the midst of barn building and trying to decide on stall fronts for the barn. This is the barn as it exists now:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203076397966985&set=a.10202914767886334.1073741854.1116980909&type=3&theater
What I really like are the high rise euro stall fronts. So pretty, so functional with doors that come all the way up. I own a young stallion and also mares/foals and don’t feel that the low rise is safe for them. Discussing all the options and pricing with my husband now…we shall see what happens!
Who was asking about a way to latch sliding doors with a pin?
Did you mean this here, where a pin hangs from a chain and you insert it in a little pipe welded to the stall frame, to keep the door from sliding open, but otherwise nothing is sticking out to get hung on?
Our stall doors are sliding and there is a metal “jail bar” panel that can be left open or shut. I am not worried about horses trying to jump out because the stall is basically 3 sided with the back almost totally open to the two outside paddocks. Usually their paddock doors are open to the turn out area. I think my horse would go ballistic if she had to be in a stall most of the time.
I wouldn’t like them in a large barn, guaranteed you will eventually have a biter, one that pulls everything off the stall front, etc.
But I love it in my parents barn. Feed room in one corner, and three 12x12 stalls in the other three corners. The aisles are like a cross, so each stall has 2 walls that are euro style, and 2 walls that are barn walls with windows. They always have their heads hanging out and seem much happier. The aisles are wide enough that you can still walk through without getting touched by noses. And the barn is small enough that storing blankets, coolers, etc. away from the stalls isn’t overly time consuming.
However, my young hunter figured out how to open his door so we changed his latch. He also goes under fences, pulls hoses out of water troughs, etc., etc. so I wasn’t surprised. I don’t thing the other two horses will ever figure it out.
I boarded in a 12-stall Euro-style barn, and every day it was like running the gauntlet. You couldn’t lead a horse straight down the aisle. I had this whole zigzag path mapped out so I could avoid the ill-tempered, lunging warmblood teeth coming at me from all sides. The BO’s attitude was to tacitly imply that I was a wussy for not finding this arrangement exhilarating.
When I built my barn I did non-Euro (redneck?) wire mesh fronts with yokes in the sliding doors. They can stick their heads out but can’t reach the blanket bar. No bite attacks because the stalls are only on one side of the aisle. There are inserts for the yokes when I need to lock’em in. The latch system is kind of cool, recessed in the door. I once lived with and didn’t like the pin-on-a-chain on the back of the door system, since it was counter-intuitive to me latch the door on the side opposite the handle. I was always forgetting to latch it.
I will admit that the non-Arab chestnut in the picture clangs her shoe on that door like her life depends on it pretty much any time I walk into the barn. It is deafening.
