That will totally work. Be sure to build/hang them so you’ve got a little overlap (6" minimum) so they sit nicely when chained together. A gap will make them far less stable than they can be.
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It’s not just “getting suck in a corner,” it’s options for egress. With walls, options for egress are a lot more limited than if it’s open. And a horse that’s harassing another isn’t just a static block–they’re also moving, often rapidly. Two rapidly moving horses in a space with walls is inherently less safe than two rapidly moving horses in an open space.
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I understand what you’re saying.
I think Sachas idea gets the best of both worlds. I’ll try that first. Bonus - will make placing the mats much easier than trying to cut around posts/walls. Hooray!
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Little doors are hard to get out of. Big doors are easier to squeeze out of.
That’s why 10x14 is less trappy with three walls and a 10’ opening on one side than with two small doors and four corners.
I had the aisle door open when my mare was pummeling my other mare to death in a stall but she just couldn’t get to it. Two doors open, still couldn’t get out.
I feel like you got a pile on about this, though. I’m sorry for that. I know it’s annoying. I am not as vehemently against the set up as some; I think the interior gates idea is clever. I just don’t think it will do quite what you want it to do.
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I’m curious why the Dutch doors will swing in? I’ve never seen that. I mostly have them so I can open quickly in case of fire and don’t use all of mine for regular egress and ingress.
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Ours opened outward as well. I’ve never seen a dutch stall door that opened inward. There was a clip attached to outside of the barn proper, to keep the door open wide when needed for stall cleaning and bedding (and horse was out) or when a stall guard was wanted instead of the door.
I would worry about the possibility of being squished between horse and door when leading horses in or out of a door that opened inward.
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I didn’t take the drawing to mean the doors open inwards, although now that you said that, I get where you would think that. I also have never seen them open inwards.
I just drew the drawing how it was drawn without thinking to demonstrate the gates… I honestly don’t usually think of door opening directions when looking at floor plans. I guess I should!
Maybe I misunderstood.
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I am not proficient at reading architectural drawings so perhaps I am seeing the dutch doors incorrectly as well.
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Dutch doors can open either way. I’ve only dealt with inwards opening ones. They are less likely to get kicked open and less likely to become inoperable due to snow drifts. Tops can open outwards though. I’ve seen that, but that can be a pain in winter when you have to trudge around the outside opening and clipping back.
Even half doors to the inside of a barn I’ve only ever seen open into the stall. It keeps doors out of the aisleway and they are less likely to get kicked open.
As far as getting squished - nope, manners and the way you operate the door are key. The horse must back up for you to open it and you must not be dumb enough to get yourself into the little space where the door closes against the frame. If you enter the stall completely you’re fine OR if you stay in the aisle, the worst that can happen is you’ll get knocked down by the door, you cannot get trampled because the door will hit the frame and stop the horse in its tracks.
The most important thing is to get them hung properly balanced so they stay folded back in the fully open position so they don’t swing and catch a hip.
And that said, “Horses.” No matter how safe our how good our reasoning they will find a way to find fault so they get to see their favourite doctor.
I’ve also only dealt with outward opening Dutch doors, and wouldn’t have them swinging in. If a horse is down against an inward swinging door, you’re SOL on opening it. At least here there’s another way into the stall.
I think you’ll be far more satisfied with the swinging gates that leave your interior open, endless. Bonus, too, that they’re not limiting space in your “short” direction.
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They’re going to swing inwards because I’m not using treated lumber. They will stay in better condition this way, less warping, etc. Will also look cleaner for the neighbors who have to stare at this set up everyday. They will still be operable from outside, via a hole you can reach your hand through to get to the latch.
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I’ve never dealt with any other kind. Typically, in my climate, there would be 2 doors to the stall if there are Dutch doors - slider or half door to barn interior and Dutch to outside (which can also be operated from outside if needed, for example a horse up against the door and the inside door somehow broken/unusable, you would open the top door and then proceed to remove the door from its hinges if necessary. Exactly the same as for an interior-of-the-barn half door.
There are latches/handles you can get that make Dutch doors operable from both sides. No need to stick your hand through a hole!
Just for those who were commenting that they were not sure how to read a floor plan, you did read it correctly, the swing of the door is shown so you know which way the door opens, and those doors are shown swinging in.
On the topic of which way dutch doors should swing. I live where there is snow. I have dutch doors on the outside, they swing out.
Everyone I know with dutch doors (in this same part of the world with snow), they swing out.
Each to their own.
If I had the money to get the metal ones that are prehung, they would swing out. Or if I had a substantial overhang that could keep them dry.
But I don’t
So in they will swing!
It is standard for stalls to have doors opening to the outside (or sliding) as a safety measure.
As already mentioned, if a horse is down or crashing around, in the way of the door opening, you can always open a door to the outside.
Have rarely seen stall doors that open into the stall, is not considered safe.
Saying that, screens do tend to be hung where they swing inwards, because doors would be in the way to swing screens outwards.
While stall doors opening out is standard, I am sure that there are barns where someone had other concerns and hung them inwards and that is ok, their barn to manage, their horses.
We do have one stall in the quarantine barn, a stall rarely used, with one door to the overhang and run side, that is hung on the inside because there is a large column on the outside, you can’t open a door all the way back against the wall, so had to be hung on the inside.
The stall has a door on the opposite side also, opening into the large aisle, so access to a horse down or struggling is possible from that side.
While there are standard ways to do things the safest way, some times the situations ask for different settings and most times it works fine.
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I’ll stick my hand through a hole. I have latches already, and am mentally done with spending money on this project lol
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If you would prefer them to swing out: mine are wood and swing out. They’re 20 years old and other than needing painting, the wood is in fine shape. I think they’re constructed from oak tongue and groove, although I might be wrong and it could be something like southern yellow pine.
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If this is mostly used as a run in, it seems the simplest would be to have a couple of large doors and the inside completely open. If you need to use as stalls, you could use a couple of strands of rope or similar attached to eye hooks to form “walls”, with or without the gate panels. A very small wall could also be used to provide some privacy for feeding.
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