I’m re-vamping an eight stall barn with a substantial center isle. The old sliding doors have become so difficult over the years even though the rollers have been replaced. I want to replace the fronts with swinging doors that are hinged so they swing 180 degrees and magnet to the stall front so they aren’t swinging in the breeze when it’s unoccupied. I’d like to know your experiences with swinging doors. I don’t want to hate them in a couple years.
Would never have sliding doors.
The ones in other’s barns I have been around are not ergonomic, you have to pull in a way human shoulders are not meant to pull by.
Also, as everyone that has them tells me, they just don’t slide nicely after a while.
There is always one or another that gets stuck just when they need to open it.
Now, in a narrow aisle, sliding doors make opening them less intrusive into the aisle, if that is a concern there.
All our stall doors have always been hinged ones and don’t have any trouble with those?
They swing all the way back against the wall, so no trouble at all to leave them open if we want to do so.
The ones in the old wooden race horse training barn had a little hook on the wall you fastened the dutch door top and bottom with if you wanted them left open.
Your idea of a magnet is a very good one on metal stall fronts.
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I’ve worked in barns with both and when it comes to it, always prefer sliding.
Wood will almost always warp over time which is why I imagine when you replaced the roller/track, issues still happened. I’ve worked in barns that had 30 y/o sliders that weren’t a problem. The tracks have to be kept clear of debris and if the wood warps it does need to be replaced… but that’s the same for swinging doors too.
I haven’t had issues pulling sliding doors back/forth. The sliders in one of the barns I worked at were over 17 years old and were fine. I’d imagine after 17 years you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of a door and a replacement shouldn’t be untenable.
After too many accidents with ajar doors in the aisle-ways involved, it’s always sliding for me.
My draw backs for swinging is mainly the obstruction and intrusion - they take up aisle space – they also overtime sag because the weight is not evenly supported. Even leaving them open, magnetized like your idea, overtime they’ll also sag and warp.
It really comes down to the individual barn and the individual preference. If you’re tacking up in the aisleway I would not consider swinging… but if it’s really what you want as far as look, it does look much better than sliding doors most of the time.
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It may make a diffference that horse stall doors are 7’ tall and generally the latch is at 4’.
I am 4’11" tiptoeing.
Maybe if the doors were 6’ and the handles at 3’ I would also not have trouble sliding them back and forth?
I have heard people having more trouble with sliding doors not opening completely and horses hitting their hips with sliders.
That just means, people should be more careful to keep the horse back until the door is all the way open properly.
Now, our hinged doors in our metal frames have never sagged?
The very heavy wooden doors, now those, some of them eventually sagged and needed to be rehung properly.
Not all, a few and no trouble fixing that.
I think the OP should make a poll of this question.
I also like the sliding doors, but as Beowulf says, they do require cleaning and maintenance to keep them sliding freely. I always know when the barn guys have cleaned the sliders in the smaller, older barn. They take nothing to open, no hanging on and yanking, just a finger push will move them. When dirt/dust/debris builds up over time, it might take just a hand push, but even then, no yanking, tugging or grunting to open them.
The smaller barn has all metal sliders, the bigger barn has metal with wood inserts below, and yoke above which can be left down (open) or secured up (closed yoke). Bigger barn was built in 2011, and no issues with warping or mis-alignment, the components are really first quality.
A properly aligned and balanced slider would be my choice over swing doors.
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With a wide enough aisle, I like swinging doors too. In a narrow aisle, different story. I like that you don’t have to worry about the track, or worry about making sure it’s slid open all the way so a horse doesn’t bang a hip going in or out. My barn has swinging dutch doors and I actually keep both doors fastened open and use a stall guard in front. Works for me!
I have sliding doors. I just finished adjusting the doors (up or down) and greasing the tacks and trolleys. . My doors work smoothly and glide perfectly. Hinged doors eventually will sag --everything takes maintenance.
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Here is another thread on this subject. I haven’t looked it over recently but as I recall, the opinions on the two options were pretty evenly split, with the exception of accommodating a narrow aisle where sliders are preferred.
I’ve been at barns with both and I prefer hinged doors to sliding ones, as long as the hinges are well maintained as well as the latches. I agree with Bluey about sliding doors and human shoulders.
Technically hinged doors are not “swinging” doors, because, unlike a swinging kitchen door, they do not swing 360 degrees on their hinges when you push your way through the doorway.
Another reason I prefer hinged doors is because prefer dutch doors to one-piece doors. I boarded at one barn that had one-piece barred hinged doors, but most hinged doors I have known have been dutch doors. And yes, some had the hooks that hooked them to the wall when you wanted them to stay open.
One barn added a foot bolt to the (seldom-used) stall doors that opened to the outside of the barn to keep the horses from wearing out the hinges or getting out if they learned how to open the upper latches with their teeth! The trick with the upper latches is the only thing I don’t like about hinged doors.
The barn I am at currently has metal grate hinged doors that swing in or out. They have a yoke shape. We always swing them in and leave them against the stall wall. It gets the horse to back up when you get them out and the door stays out of the way. Since they are metal they have not sagged.
They are similar to this.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/horsemens-pride-stall-gates-15067?utm_source=cpc&utm_medium=google&utm_content=shopping&utm_campaign=nb_shopping_barn_gifts&utm_term=Stall%20Supplies&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw4rA87PA2wIVC8RkCh13LAI_EAQYAiABEgKlL_D_BwE
I prefer my sliding doors. We haven’t had a problem with ours since installing them, but I’ve also seen some barns with sliders that were super difficult to open, so I think construction and maintenance play a role in overall longevity.
Beware if you choose swinging doors, and have them swing in, that if a horse goes down or is unable to get out of the way of the door in an emergency that you may be unable to open the door.
sliding, hate the swinging doors as our horses (they were used in competitive trail) can open either but the swinging they can open easier…the sliding are easier to secure
IME hinged wooden doors sag over time. They become difficult to move as they drag on the ground,
Another option, which many stalls at my current barn have, is metal gates. She has both small and to-the-ground gates with yokes. Improves ventilation. Hers open inward and there is wooden stop on the doorway frame. If you hang them just right, they also will stay open when not latched shut (or you have to have a snap to attach to wall when open. (Of course my special snowflake horse needs his privacy and now has a solid sliding door!)
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My barn has both. They have pros and cons. Pros for swinging doors include that you can hang blankets on the swinging ones to dry off and the cat can use them to get down out of the loft. 
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Lol, having been raised in the UK and only knowing ‘proper’ stable doors, hinged opening doors, I still get frustrated when tacking up…always used to park the Saddle on the door, so it was in reach…still feels odd not to do that!
The barn I grew up with had hinged dutch doors and my barn now has sliding doors. I would never opt to put hinged doors in a barn ever. So often the hinged doors hit the horse in a moment of panic or similar situation when there isn’t time to get it open all the way, magnet or not. Or when one horse gets out of his stall and opens the other horses’ bottom doors and they try to get out of just the bottom door.
I don’t see any cons with my sliding doors. They have stops so the guides have never been an issue. The frame is metal with grates on the top so wood warping shouldn’t be an issue (the barn is 6 years old now). They are light and easy to open/close. I love them.
I’ve had both and would not ever choose swinging doors, for all the reasons already highlighted here. Sliders are so much better.
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Agree!
We’ve had a metal modular barn for almost 18 years, with sliders on the stall fronts, as well as sliders on the stall rear openings over the half gates, with no problems (and almost zero maintenance - one door needed minor adjustment after several years).
The stall front doors, in particular, operate very smoothly, and we open/close them by the optional blanket rail which makes it even easier.
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I really like swinging doors. I have had sliders and they are fine too. Honestly, you can’t go wrong if they work properly. I also like the gates someone mentioned. I do NOT like sliders if they have a place for the horses to put their heads out…prefer a Dutch or gate if that is an option.
Have hinged swinging metal gates, works fine in my barn. Stalls only on north side of barn. Rest of barn is open, no stalls on south side so huge isle.
