Minimum Stall Size for an 18hh Giant?

[Stratosphere]

Well, I finally bought my dreamhorse after a long and arduous search over the last year and a half, but he came with one big downside in that he is unfortunately an honest 18 hands and wears an 87" blanket–he is a brick wall of a warmblood. I am six feet tall, so we fit great together, but I had really hoped to get a more reasonable size horse and his extreme size is already proving a challenge.

Right now he is temporarily staying in a 12x14 stall at my co-op barn, which seems like a tight fit as it is–his former trainer told me he cast himself twice in under 2 years in that same size stall so they put him out in a paddock pretty much 24x7 except coming into the 12x14 for a few hours during the day so other horses could use that turn-out.

My barn, which I love but has its challenges as a co-op, is now proposing putting him in a 12x12 because the eight larger 12x20 stalls are all full and the 12x14 he’s in now is reserved for “horse hotel” guests and quarantine.

I saw him in the 12x12 last night and it looks ridiculous–it doesn’t look like there’s any way he could safely lay down and get up again, and certainly no way for him to fully lay down and lay his neck out.

What are your thoughts?

Anybody have any experience with stall size for a true 18hh warmblood?

Any success keeping one in a 12x12 with daily turnout?

He will be turned out all day (but at this facility the horses must come in at night due to landlord restrictions)–I am more concerned about safety (like the likelihood of getting cast going up) and whether cramming a horse his size into a 12x12 or even a 12x14 may lead to back/neck pain or other issues due to not being able to fully recline and lay his long neck out.

My vet said during the pre-purchase that my gelding ideally would have a 12x24 given his massive size, but he warned me that a 12x12 was a no-go. I was hoping he was maybe being conservative in his advice, as I really want to be able to stay at this barn, so wanted to check in with COTHers’ experiences.

[winfieldfarm]

A horse that size can live in a 12 x 12 but they won’t like it and who would. Besides, the stall cleaning will be a nightmare. Imagine living in your own bathroom. I suggest at least a 12 x 20 if not a double foaling stall for the most comfort. Any stall can have two by fours along the wall as cast strips so the horse can right itself but laying with it’s head up the side wall in a too small stall is not restful to say the least.

Congrats on your new horse but what will you do when you go to shows! Most shows only have 12 x 12’s if that!

[Lieslot]

I’ve got two WB’s like those.
My big guy is just under 18.2hh, the little guy is 18hh :lol:.
They’ve got a 12x14 stall and are very comfortable in there, never been an issue, lay down flat out and happy.
Their run-in shed is the same size but with open front and again totally fine by them.
When you see mine lay down in their stalls there’s plenty of space for them.

At first I had the bigger guy in a 12x24 and he was far less happy then today, because there wasn’t much to see. Now he has a dutch door front & back plus window, he can see all around and loves it much more.
Of course they are on a daily turnout routine, I doubt they’d like to be stuck in there without daily turnout, but that’s not dependent on the size, even in a 12x36 they’d be expecting their daily turnout.

Here, I quickly uploaded a few pictures of them in their stalls & run-in.
http://community.webshots.com/album/579034840cUcaLl

They’re both wearing 84’s & 87’s depending on the make of blanket.

Congrats on the new horse, soon you’ll find him too small and feel like you need to move on to a true giraffe, mark my words :D.

[Equsrider]

Yupp, I agree 12x12 won’t work. and a 12x12 at a show will cost more, must stalls at shows we go to are 10x10, unless they are permanent stalls. I began getting two stalls at shows and removing the center divider making a 10 x 20…That was the first time I have ever seen this horse lie down in a stall! Of course that doubles your shavings cost as well!!

And if he’s use to turn out most of the time, standing in a 12x12 all day/or night will probably get him into trouble with ulcers. I’d start him on a feed thru ulcer supp, as a procaution…

[Fharoah]

my stall bound horse is 16h.h. and very happy in is 12x16 or is it 14x16 stall. Calmer as he does not feel claustrophobic, but he doesn’t act up. Perfect stall for him. We is not good in 12x12 and 12x20 is too big. 12X16 would likely be good for your boy.

[ladybugred]

Lieslot- Your Bay curls up like a kitty! So cute!, That Grey is pretty handsome to!

LBR

[Lieslot]

Haha, thx LBR, he probably thinks he’s a kitty actually, he’s never been very aware of his size nor strength, lol.

[Tegan]

Does the barn get a lot of hotel guests? I would be pretty upset if they kicked my horse out of the 12 x 14 stall and it was just sitting around empty most of the time. I don’t understand why the guests can’t go in the 12 x 12 stall.

Any chance one of the 12 x 20 stalls will be opening up soon?

[Fillabeana]

I had a Perch/TB gelding that was ‘only’ 16.2 1/2, but he wore a size 92 blanket. He was happy in a 12x16 stall in his previous home. A 12x12 wasn’t really big enough for him, but it did work if he was just in for part of the day.

But- if your horse has cast himself, I would be really diligent about getting him one of those 12x20 stalls, or find another place to keep him (at least until another 12x20 opens up) where he has 24 hour turnout and a run-in, or big enough stall.

Is there any chance of talking to/bribing another boarder in the 12x20 stalls to ‘trade’? If I had a horse that had a history of casting himself, I would pay more to get him a bigger stall.

Does the barn get a lot of hotel guests? I would be pretty upset if they kicked my horse out of the 12 x 14 stall and it was just sitting around empty most of the time. I don’t understand why the guests can’t go in the 12 x 12 stall.

I would imagine that the 12x14 stall is in a place where the horse occupying the stall does not have contact with any other horses in the barn, hence the ‘quarantine’ designation.

[Chief2]

Can you offer to pay more for the 12 x 14-foot stall? Maybe that would change the terms?

On the other hand, if hotel stall = quarantine stall, maybe it would be better to seek better accommodations elsewhere.

[Callaway]

I had an 18 hand Hanoverian who was on stall rest who lived in a 12x12 stall. Really, he was fine and did not look rediculous. He could still lay down flat out comfortably, get up, pace, run around in the stall, no problem! He never got cast, either.

[TrueColours]

My new stallion is 17.1hh - so not the giant your guy is, and he is in a 12 x 16 stall and he can lay out flat, roll, get up and down very happily in that size.

I wouldnt stuff him into a 12 x 12 either. Even with hanging his head out, that is small - IMO - for something his size! He is just going to be able to pivot around in circles around a central point in his stall

[ChocoMare]

My 17.3 Percheron would be insane in anything smaller than 12 X 16. Too bad your guy can’t stay out 24/7

[monstrpony]

Well, just for the record, my 17.2h 1650 lb TB/Perch (78 blankets) did 12 weeks of stall rest in a just-under-10’ by just-over-11’ stall. It was a condition (neck injury) that precluded him getting up and down (or moving much at all, for that matter), though I know he did lay down at some point during that episode. I later built a 11 x 14 stall for him, and he did well in there, when he was on stall rest for laminitis. Otherwise, he had run-in/out at all times with a large paddock.

Normally, my horses have run-in to the barn at all times. One of my geldings likes to herd the other horses into one stall and then stand in the doorway with his butt in the barn aisle so he can nap and still keep track of everyone. So there were times when I’d find the draft cross, my 16h schoolie, and the front of his 16h self all in one of the 10x11 stalls. Sardines, they were.

Ancient barn I renovated, I had nothing to do with the miniature stall size, and always planned for horses to be in/out at all times anyway.

But I’d think for actually staying in, an 18h-er would want a bit bigger than even 12x12.

[jn4jenny]

I was at a vaulting barn once that kept their 17.3hh vaulting horse in an 11x11 stall with a door gate that allowed the horse to look over into the aisle. The horse was fine, but it also got lots of turnout and was not prone to casting itself.

If I were in your shoes with a horse that was casting-prone, I’d not go smaller than 12x14.

[Trakehner]

I had a Shire mare, 18.2 (yes, sticked at that height) and 2,250 pounds (by scale). She wore a 108" blanket. She had what had been a foaling stall, 12 x 24…what a wonderful place for her.

My 17.3+ Shire was in a 12x12 stall and he did fine, he wore a 96" blanket. Would I have liked larger? You bet, but it’s what was available in the barn I wanted him to be in (vs. dark with larger stalls).

[LauraKY]

We had a 17.3 ISH boarder last year in a 12x12 stall. We warned owner about the size of the stall, but he did fine. He was older and didn’t move around much, kept all the manure in one spot and did lie down at night.

It wouldn’t be my first preference; I would prefer at least 12x14 or 14x16. If he’s already had a problem with being cast, I would worry about 12x12.

[Lieslot]

Do you know why or how he gets himself cast, does he roll (over) in his stall?
Mine have never gotten cast at all. When I bought my grey he’d lived in a 3mx4m all his life, 3 concrete walls and one fully grated side and it hadn’t damaged him physically. I do know he hated the fact he couldn’t see a damn thing, not even another horse, coz there were no stalls on the other side of the aisle and he could not stick his head out.

FWIW, when I had my grey in the 12x24, he was unhappy and paced in the stall on the long end, when he heard a noise but couldn’t see it. Now in his 12x14 he just stands there or lays down.
Would he have been happier in the 12x24 if it had had windows, open topdoors etc, you bet, but that wasn’t possible.
I’ve seen no ill effects in mine. When the weather gets bad, they stand at the gate wanting to come in, if they didn’t like their stalls, they wouldn’t do so.

As for their necks, mine do lay out fully flat and head nor tail is touching walls, quite some space left either end, sadly I have no picture of that, but I’ll take a shot next time one is fully down.
My grey has even had neck X-rays, a scan and it showed no damage (for reasons other then his stall size ;)). He can do carrot stretches past his hipbone.

So it’ll depend on the horse, if he struggles figuring out how & where to lay down, then the stall is going to be too small. If he rolls (over) in his stall, then even a 12x20 might be an issue for casting, coz it’s the 12 that’s not wide enough in that case.
I’ve known a 15.2hh polo pony that used to roll over in her stall a (12x12) and got cast time & time again.

[dwblover]

I think for certain large horses a 12x12 stall can be perfectly fine, but the OP’s horse has a history of getting cast. That would scare me enough to basically demand he stay in the 12x14 he’s in now, or better yet ask to trade for one of the bigger stalls and offer up some kind of deal to the person who is doing the trade with you. Otherwise I’d probably end up leaving.

[LauraKY]

Heck, we had a horse in a 100x120 paddock get cast against the side of the barn. Just misjudged the distance, I guess.

Our 15.1hh QH has managed to cast himself in his 12x12 stall. He was pretty firmly stuck and having trouble breathing when we found him. It’s been 3 years since it happened and he’s now very careful about rolling over in his stall.