Tack Lockers IN Stalls

[RolltopTX]

Anyone have this set up? I’ve seen tack lockers placed under mangers that are accessed in the front of a stall but I don’t want doors hanging open in my aisle, and they seem to small. Since my new stalls will be 10x16, I want to put a full length tack locker in the back corner.

I currently have 2 wash stalls and will add another 2 in the new barn. We don’t have any other cross tie or tacking areas other than that and I HATE cross tieing in the aisle way unless for the farrier or vet… so we have cross ties in our stalls and I LOVE it. Cuts down on traffic in the wash stalls and a lot less mess and clutter to clean up. Also, no tack room to sweep and clean up too.

My questions for those who have them or use them:

• What are your likes and dislikes?
• What are your dimensions?
• How did you build them? Materials? Latches? Hinges?
• Anything you would do differently?
• Lights or outlets in yours?

[China_Doll]

I would put them at an angle so horses do not have a corner to chew on and would be safer. Wood seems like the easiest material to use. I would want them full height and deep enough for a saddle with a few rack for saddles inside. Hooks and shelves towards the front where you have extra width.

[Calvincrowe]

As a boarder, I would HATE having a locker in the back of a stall. I want one that I can access from the aisle, without having to enter my horse’s space. I don’t want to track bedding/manure into the barn (or my vehicle), some horses, like my retired gelding, just don’t enjoy humans in their space. The lighting in most stalls is barely adequate for brushing, let alone finding that hoof pick I just dropped. I frankly don’t like to tack up in a stall-- again, horses become resentful, it’s messy, dropped things get lost in bedding, bedding is tracked into aisle, you’ll need ways to tie horses in stalls…

I’ve boarded where the locker was built into the front right corner with the door opening into the aisle.Like in the second picture that Bluey linked in her first set of photos. If your aisles are 12 feet or more, there should be no problem with the door vs. aisle. There was plenty of space in those for two saddles, bridles, etc and all my other basic gear (my boots, helmet, brush box, etc.).

[Displaced_Yankee]

I am not sure what sort of client you have, but as a boarder this has no appeal to me. I have no problem with crossties in stalls, I think it does help keep the aisle clear. However, I like a proper tack room. Here in NC, climate controlled tack rooms a necessary to cut down on mold in the summer.

I also like a clean and well lit area to sit and pull on my boots, clean tack and generally get myself organized either before I ride or before I leave. That is without tracking in and out of a shavings filled stall.

[KBC]

I have never boarded with that set up…but at the one show ground we go to you can’t tie in the aisle and I DETEST having to get ready in the stall…

[Srfarm]

I also dislike having to tack up my young, large horse in his stall. The light is inadequate, there are no cross ties, and it is not the safest option.

[CHT]

The barn I grew up at had tack lockers in the stall that opened to the alley. I really like that set up. I do not think I would want the locker actually IN the stall as there would be more risk of the horse getting caught on the lock/latch, chewing on the door edge and I would find it annoying too.

What if the locker was open to the aisle, but have the doors somehow slide (pocket doors), or roll up like mini garage doors?

[RolltopTX]

Again, these would be 10x16 stalls with it in a back corner. I have a white fabric arena so even during the day, it’s super bright. Not to mention I would have additional lights and outlets in the tack locker itself.

I figured it’s something boarders would love! Large private tack locker where they don’t have to pick up after themselves?! Their horse can crap and they dont have to scoop it up? They don’t have to wait on cross ties or even carry their tack very far. My other favorite part is they won’t leave their crap out to “get stolen”.

As for putting your boots on and such, we have benches and tables. I personally would’ve loved this when I was a boarder!

[seabreeze]

I wouldn’t like it, either. Things like taking off/putting on my own boots that I might keep in my tack locker, cleaning my tack, rolling bandages, etc…all that just isn’t best done in a stall also occupied by a horse at the same time I’m doing it.

ETA: Just read your last post about benches and tables. I’d still have to go in the stall, open the locker, close it back up (so horsie can’t get in it), go outside the stall, change, and then go back in the stall and open the locker again. I don’t know…just not to my liking. Maybe you will find people like yourself who will love it.

[vxf111]

Do you really want to attract people who don’t like picking up after themselves?

I would hate this. Someone else posted a thread about those corner ones. I found they really ate up stall space (even out of a bigger stall). They’re not climate controlled. The horses could potentially break in. I also, like others, wouldn’t want to tack up in the stall.

Is a light inside the locker safe? What if boarder accidentally leaves it on with a saddle pad leaning on it? It could start a fire? I can’t imagine the kind of lighting that could wire inside all of these lockers IN STALLS and be totally safe? If the horse broke into the locker, the horse could chew on the electric? Heck, if the boarders have treats in the lockets mice/rats are going to get in and they chew wiring.

Plus it’s not convenient as a boarder (IMHO). Envision this. Horse in stall. Boarder goes in to get saddle. Where does she put it while she takes the cover off? Anywhere it is, horse can get its mouth on it. Or turn around and start poking through other stuff in the locker. At the point at which you have to tie the horse up in the stall, you might as well cross tie in the aisle/grooming stall. Boarder is cleaning her saddle. Horse is nosing her over her shoulder. Shavings are all over the place. There’s no where to put anything down that horse can’t get to. So maybe boarder decides to clean saddle on benches. She still has to take the saddle and all her cleaning supplies, hands full, and get out of the stall. Then deposit the crap on the ground to close the stall behind her so the horse doesn’t escape. Then pick it up again and go clean it. Repeat in reverse to get it back after cleaning. Everything you do with your tack/stuff you have to get past a nosey horse and dirty shavings to do it. And close the door fast behind you or the horse would escape. I’d find that super annoying.

I would rather just have a tack room (lockable, climate controlled) or a row of lockers/trunks in the aisle.

Nothing about this appeals to me.

[Lusoluv]

For all the reasons stated by others, I would NOT want a tack locker in the stall…regardless of size! Dust, mold/moisture all come to mind. I would tolerate it if the locker were in the front corner of stall and opened to aisle.

[goldenstirrup]

This sounds like a good idea if the locker opens to the outside, with maybe a sliding door or something. That way everything is close by but opening into the aisle will hopefully be an incentive for people to keep organized. Also, if someone has multiple horses they don’t need to go into each horse’s stall all the time, just access their tack from the aisle. For tack cleaning and such, I would prefer doing that in the aisle rather than in a locker. Maybe have the light switches on the outside of the stall as well so if it is left on someone can notice and turn it off. Otherwise, sounds great!

[StormyDay]

Having it open into the stall is an accident waiting to happen.
The tack door is open and the horse moves a bit and catches its hip/halter/etc on the door. Now you are trapped in a stall with a panicking horse. Horse stops freaking out and you deal with the scratched up horse and then realize in the panic the horse broke the whole door off of the tack locker.
Also, even at 10x16 that still is small for someone dealing with a 17h horse. I don’t know if I could comfortably move around my horse in that stall.

[betsyk]

I would hate this arrangement. Do I have to clean my stall as soon as I get there in the evening so I have a clean place to work? I can picture my horse standing tied, a foot away from his hay pile (messy) and pawing and fidgeting because he is stating right at it but can’t have any. Not to mention the dust and dirt from the stall would always end up all over your stuff in the locker. If you have decent ventilation, it will be filthy, and if it’s tight enough to keep the dust out, it will be a mold factory.

[Jarpur]

JW Hall offers a Tackroom between stalls, which the website claims is popular with boarders: http://jwhall.com/stalls-2/ (scroll down), but I’ve never seen one in person.

[lifeishorsesarelove]

I would also hate this. My mare would inevitably hurt herself on it if its not triangular, and if its triangular to keep her safe, then its not a convenient shape for me to use.

I do untack in my stall as my mare pees after EVERY ride, but when I’m trying to get her clean, I want to have her out of the mess of her bedding, contained by cross ties in a well lit aisle.

This would a HARD pass for me. As in, would not consider the facility at all type pass.

[RolltopTX]

I plan on having the saddle rack be on the door so that it swings out and the saddle is more accessible for cleaning and tacking.

Shavings getting in the tack locker wouldn’t be easy as the door would be up at least 18" off the floor.

My current tack room isn’t climate controlled and hasn’t been an issue.

Lights and safety? LED strip lights inside around the top edge… there are so many options that are perfectly safe. They can easily be set up to turn on/off when the door is opened as well.

Nosy horse? Yup. They are nosy and pushy… that’s why I cross tie my 18h Tb while I groom and tack in his stall. I’m surprised that you guys say you don’t “feel safe” tacking in a stall when most tack stalls are about the same size as a regular stall. Are you planning on closing the stall door while you’re in there tacking? I find most horses are more calm in “their space” vs. being out where all the action is. IMHO horse’s should stand quietly and behave themselves no matter where they are tied and it sounds more like a training issue than a facility issue.

Mice? Same risk exists in a normal tack room? Barn rules state treats need to be kept sealed and in their trunk only as to not attract mice.

[vxf111]

You seem hell bent on doing this. I think you have feedback from a bunch of people who’ve boarded. Whether you’re willing to hear it is up to you. I wouldn’t like this setup and if I had a better option I’d board elsewhere

[MsM]

I have known of barns that had a similar setup (mostly saddleseat for some reason). I get the pain of having crossties in the aisle, but as a boarder, I would rather deal with that.
I like to stand on a clean surface without shavings to do grooming and tacking. My horse would be very upset if he had remaining hay and I crosstied him so it was just out of reach. And my horse would either hurt himself or destroy any hardware on a tack locker in his stall. (I had to modify his bucket handles!)
OP, do you have boarders now? Are they okay with crosstieing in the stall? Are their horses not too inquisitive or destructive?

[vxf111]

No, I don’t like this any better based on the pictures. In photo #1 there is a hinge for the horse to rub on and scratch himself. Even while the locker is closed. And there’s a lovely pile of manure right in front of the door. Which I think illustrates why this design is flawed. No one wants to traverse manure to get their tack.

With either #1 or #2, all you need is one good spook when the locker is opened and now you’re desperately holding a wound closed while waiting for the emergency vet to come out with sutures. The whole point of stalls is NOT to have 3D stuff. Now you’re adding 3D stuff. The whole point of stalls is to create a safe, relatively private place for horses. Adding a bunch of 3D stuff, moving parts, and electricity that could be exposed is asking for injuries. And with mouthy horses, they’re going to be trying to get in to the lockers, and they eventually will.

In addition, no one wants to tack up or store their stuff amid shavings and manure. No one. No one wants to walk around a horse, through dirty shavings, to get their helmet or their gloves. Why not put some shavings and manure in your garage for a couple weeks and see how you like going to/from your car through that every day? I bet you wouldn’t. Same idea.

I get that you want to do upscale and I agree that the idea of lockers is a nice idea. But I think this design is one of those things that fancy rich people who aren’t that horsey think sounds good on paper, but not something that actual horsemen would want/appreciate.