New farm, let's build some stuff

Yes! Totally this whole story.

Though I never had access to stalls, but simply a three sided run in shelter.
Now I have a two sided run in shelter.

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That is a good idea. The dimensions are 10x14, it’s what I had to work with with my post spacing. So stalls 1 and 2 would stay closed off, in your vision?

I’ve got stalls that open onto the paddock through their rear doors (which have pipe dutch doors on that side of the stalls, with sliding full doors for bad weather). Doors are kept open unless horses are being confined for some reason (bad weather, special meal, etc.) – the stalls are basically a run-in shelter, which has worked very well here.

I’ve had several different horses kept in this particular barn over the years (decades at this point), without problems, having never owned the type of aggressive horse which would be defensive of space or food in well over a half century of horse ownership. If a horse is a faster/slower eater, or the air fern type, of course I restrict access to allow each (or one who requires a special meal) the time/privacy required.

Kicking and/or biting and/or driving away from resources has never been an issue with any of the several other horses I’ve personally owned, nor any of my family’s horses when I was growing up. We’ve had exclusively cooperative, good-tempered, tolerant horses.

Naturally, if someone knows that their own horse is of a feistier nature, then different considerations apply.

Mentioning this because I feel sure that I’m not the only person with a lifetime of experience having a shared shelter, or stalls used as a run-in, be successful with the right horses. Of course it’s not doable in every situation, and it may well be unsuitable for the OP.

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My old man can be a jerk but he’s not one to be and out and out dick. Shayney is super submissive. I’ve never seen her kick or bite anyone.

Not to be an ass and beat the proverbial dead horse, but I also had good-tempered, tolerant horses. No kicking. No biting. Stable herd that had been together for years with Dutch doors into stalls. I said the exact same thing you are saying. I kept horses that way for decades.

We moved to a new rental farm with the same setup, and also acquired 1 new horse into the herd: a submissive gelding. There were more stalls than horses. About a month after moving in, my homebred mare who gets along with everyone trapped him in the stall and tried to kill him. She almost succeeded. This was after a month of getting along perfectly.

I thought it was a fluke; chocked it up to him being “new.” Separated my mare and her best friends of several years away from the new guy.

A week later, she did it to her best friend. :frowning_face: I was right there when it happened. She wasn’t going to stop. Her best friend fell to the ground hemorrhaging and I thought she was dead. (She was fine)

Maresy went to the university hospital for diagnostics and we found nothing amiss, FWIW. She loves her friends. My horses never have a mark on them. There is no fighting at the gate, there is no fighting ever. But no way in hell will this horse be allowed around other horses in tight quarters again.

My story is a totally weird occurance, but I share it because accidents can happen even when everyone gets along great.

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Vision. :rofl: I never have a vision. But I’ll try to show what I was kind of thinking:

If you can swing it, remove the external wall circled in red and place the gates as double gates across the gap. (Or remove the same wall on either stall 1 or 2 depending on what makes the most sense)

It might be a terrible idea. But if you want a shelter, a 10x14 three-sided space might be a better option than navigating small doors and walls in an albeit larger area. I don’t know that for sure, just food for thought.

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The opening being the full width of the “run in” area is how both my mom and I have our run in stalls set up at our farms. Mom has two 12 by 12s side by side with a half wall between them and totally open where the back walls were. Hers also has a 12’ overhang over the back of that.

I currently have a 17’6” open exit to my run in. It’s still a bit tight. I see my pony scooting out fast quick and in a hurry on occasion when my horse is being a grump.

The easiest solution I see is to stall the horses when the weather is poor and plant some shade trees.

I think Tex’s idea is the best one yet, but I’d suggest removing the long wall rather than the short one–so your run in space is 10 feet deep and 14 feet wide, rather than the opposite.

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Do your dutch doors open in? If so, a simple way to reduce pinch points would be to open the door 45 degrees and use something like a stall guard to attach to the stall wall. That and your gates would provide some flow without dead ends.

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I’m not opening the south wall. They would be wide open to the weather. In addition,that wall has a 6x6 post dead center, so it wouldn’t be as open as you think. The east wall is the only option.

@MsM yes, I plan on them opening in, and I will be putting weather strips to keep the bugs and birds out

So while using as a run-in, the dutch doors would be at a 45 degree angle and the stall guard or whatever would continue in that same direction, cutting off the corner. With the gates open, the only corners would be at the ends.

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I like this idea, too.

I honestly don’t foresee any issues. I can take out a wall at a later date if it doesn’t work, or do the 45, or whatever, if needed.

That option is still better than a run in with partial walls inside.

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It’s not just a run in. They have to double purpose as stalls, and stalls that anyone (human) can use. I can’t expect my mother or a farm sitter to be hoofing around 14’ panels.

Dual purpose. I don’t have the land or the money for a ton of dedicated structures.

Yes, I get that. That’s clear. So making one end of it a run in with an entirely open side (which can easily be closed with a swinging gate in case of need) and the other part of it two individual stalls gives you the best of both with the space you do have.

You can’t expect your mom or a farm sitter to deal with a horse that’s been badly beat up, either, or got caught hipping a partial wall. A run in with walls inside isn’t safe.

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Foresee them, because they will eventually happen :confused: I’m another one who has seen the devastation of 2 horses in a too-confined area and it’s absolutely horrible.

You could do a version or Euro style stall/cattle pen dividers. Instead of having fancy swinging walls, you could use gates (like in cattle housing) to divide the run in when necessary to individually stall your horses. Swinging walls are safer for sure, but gates are definitely safer than partial walls, especially if you envision dividing the run in fairly rarely.

I think you said your front to back depth it 14’ (but if I got that wrong - do the math lol) so you’d position your 6’ gates as pictured in your sketch and purchase 2 8-foot gates to pair with them. A 6’ and an 8’ gate meet in the middle to make a stall and fold back and are secured against the front and back walls when the area is in run in mode.

If you swing each set of 6’ and each set of 8’ gates in the opposite direction so they’re folded back onto exactly the same wall space, you could potentially lose only the middle slider and Dutch door when the building is in run in mode.

I can do a sketch if that’s not clear.

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I’m not seeing how the stall doors, nor the dutch doors, work with this set up.

Nothing with horses is safe, honestly.

I’m not seeing how a jerk of a horse is more likely to share a 10x14 space if there’s only one available. That’s the part I’m not getting.

What you’re looking to build is basically large standing stalls that you’re planning on allowing free access to. You’ve got so many corners and trappy spots. If you’ve got a jerk, it’s a great setup for a wreck. It’s a good set up for a wreck even with horses that get along for the most part. Sure “nothing is safe” but some things are a lot more unsafe than others.

A 10 x 14 run in isn’t ideal, either, but it’s a lot less likely, IMO, to get a horse injured. If you’re worried about the space, take more out of your hay storage. 14 x 14 is a nice size. If you’re moving in 6 foot increments, 16 x 14 is even better. If that’s not enough hay storage, then nix the third stall, make your run in 16 x 14 with a couple swinging gates so you can close it in bad weather, and have a 10 x 14 second stall.

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My posts are 10’ on center.

10×14 is not a standing stall. The phenomenon of absolutely massive stalls is a new one, like massive horses. If a horse isn’t cooped up all the time it isn’t necessary.

I don’t think that a 10x14 area is any safer. What will happen is the asshole horse will keep the other one outside.

Note there will be NO FOOD in the stalls unless they are closed in. None.