Choice of Internal Stables

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ladyaga

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I am setting up a new barn with Internal Stables, I have had two makes come out and view and measure up the barn. If you lovely people could choose to do this, what stables would you choose, and why.
Also what stables are you using now, it is our intention as a DIY mainly to have the feed mangers incorporated, so as to not have to open and close doors. We can have either sliding or normal opening. We are going to have a couple of smaller boxes too.
Do you think there would be any call for an adult only diy. or vis a versa.
We have 21 acres of well drained fields, a big sand pit to school in, and the probability of as indoor arena for the coming winter, I am really looking forward to this as I do so miss the daily thing with horses, and some one to have a good natter too. Although I am not to into it these days I do so miss the companion ship of the horse world. Training, going to events etc. We will not charge for trailors or boxes to be left here,
Also what is the position over tack these days, as far as insurance is concerned, do the owners take it home with them. Any help would be really welcome.
Thank you
 
At our yard we have monarch sliding door stables, with hay manger that has it's own little opening to pop hay in without having to open the stable door and automatic water drinkers and rubber matting on the floor. One of the stables has been given over for tack storage etc . Big sliding doors to the front of the barn which are magnetic and only opened by entering a number into the keypad - each livery has their own code. My insurance covers my tack - as it is locked securely in the stable yard - and my livery agreement states that the YO's are not responsible for the security of anything left in the stable block by liveries. HTH. :)
 
we have sliding doors, we have a feed manger in the corner that swings out and then goes back in, automatic water drink and are stables are half rubber matted
(mine is fully but this is only due to when i moved i had my own mats coming with me!)

as for tack and rugs every stable on are yard has a tack locker and a rug rack, i only put the rugs we are using on my rack so current turn out and stable rug, all other rugs are went in a large plastic box!
tack cupboard is locked (by my self yard does no provide locks) and its up to us if we leave tack there or not ! the yard takes no responsible for left tack my tack is covered in my insurance

the lights for indoor school and outdoor at are yard are ran on a meter so you put in £1 and get 30 mins of light, that way they are never left on
 
Wouldn't thank you for a sliding door, had them in a barn we rented, had to be so careful they were shut properly as my lad is a serial escape artist, he also bangs the doors to be out, knocking the sliding doors off the rails.
A regular stable door is easier to secure and allows the horse to look out
 
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, but one thing no one said about is Adult only or mixed stable yard livery's
thank you
 
Sadly there are good and bad adult liveries as there are good and bad children liveries. I would say throughly vet your prospective liveries and be prepared to turn away anyone, adult or child, that you aren't sure about rather than restrict your customer base to one or the other :)
 
Sliding doors and Lodden for me everytime. :p I say accept children but make sure they aren't the teenage sort that thinks they know everything and will bring their "lovely" mates around. Ie. when advertising put "well behaved children welcome"
 
I have IAE internal stables and have been very happy with them (including the sliding doors), especially with the 'plastic wood' as it requires no maintenance and is very strong. In terms of liveries, if you allow children, then make sure you have a clause that they are not left unsupervised under a certain age otherwise you will become a child minding service. Good luck. :)
 
The DIY yards I've been on have always provided locked tack storage, that way it is covered by the livery's insurance if they want to insure it. At my last yard this was a large container (originally a meat locker, the bridles were hung on the meat hooks). Rug storage and drying is a big issue that my last yard hadn't considered at first and it caused some stress until they got something sorted out, livery's usually keep their extra rugs (summer ones in winter etc) at home but you need at least room for a couple of rugs per horse and somewhere to hang a rug each to dry.

Another consideration for me when choosing a yard was whether dogs were allowed and how that was managed. I like to have my dogs with me when doing my horse, but don't want out of control dogs upsetting my horse or a yard covered in poo. I prefer a yard where well behaved and previously vetted dogs are allowed and poo picking is enforced for dogs as well as horses.
 
Just built new stables at my new house (they get bigger and better each time :-) ) here are some pics that are on the site of the builder of my stables; http://www.rutjespaardenboxen.nl/luxe-paardenstallen/
automatic drinking bowls + electrical tracing, + matting on the floors.

don't like sliding doors because if you have horse that puts it's bum against it one too many times it can come off the rails. I have what they call fingerlocks (look at the 2nd picture) and night locks in the bottom
 
I have to say I'm not a fan of sliding doors either and would prefer the normal doors as then that also allows you to put rug rails, boxes and hooks etc on the front of the stable itself. I'm not sure how much room a sliding door would allow for that? I know that with sliding doors people do put rug rails on the doors themselves but if you have a horse who chews/launches his stuff all over the aisle then that would be quite annoying. I like the idea of doing DIY but then offering a part livery service too if you're able? Even if it's just morning turnout, feed, change of rugs. Or even offering these things individually when liveries need the help.

Like another poster stated, I would take your liveries on a case by case basis. After all you might get a few mother and child pairs or capable teenagers who would be good liveries. And then there can be adults who will just take the p***. But yes, definitely choose them wisely, after all you said that you wanted to be able to talk to them! :)

Onsite I would also expect a secure room to store tack in and other bits and bobs, also perhaps a little place to make a tea! It would also be nice to have a toilet too but this wouldn't be essential (unless you plan on letting them use yours). It might be a good idea to have a room for tack and then a separate space for people to keep their rugs and feed.

Good luck with it all, sounds lovely, I want to move in!....where are you based? hahahaha :)
 
I've been on a few different yards, through Uni and whilst working. Mainly it's down to personal preference but this is what I'd have if I were building a yard and why...
Regular doors not sliding - as others have said problems with securing them and more stuff to go wrong with tracks and catches. It's much easier to maintain, repair and replace traditional stable doors.
I don't like fixed hay racks, feed mangers and automatic waters. I think the time saving aspect is negligible, they are difficult to maintain and keep clean and remove versatility within your stable space. I prefer to have a couple of tie sites for nets so horse isn't always eating in the same position, when you have a fixed manager the horse will spend most of their time standing and pulling out their forage in one direction and it is not replicating a natural feeding stance. It doesn't really take any longer to stuff a net than stuff a manger, I stuff nets and tie them and then just pass the tied loop through a clip to secure to the wall, it's as quick as dragging the hay cart and stuffing the manger and produces less wastage. Same goes for mangers, staff have to hang around to flip them back after the horses have finished eating, I never feel like they get really clean even when you take them out and scrub them. You still have to mix feed in buckets, tip out the feed in the manger and now you just have a second thing to wash. Stick to rubber trugs, you can drop heavy weight ones over the door without opening it, there is one thing to wash and you can leave it in the stable safely. Instead of automatic waters, where you can't assess what the horse is drinking and they are a pain to clean, have a pipe and simple tap in each stable. You can fill big trugs in the stable so no heavy lifting but can still easily remove them for cleaning and choose which corner they are in.
I like internal stabling with an open front like the gorgeous pictures someone else posted but I prefer a filled partition between the stables so horses can have the opportunity to talk to a neighbour or be on their own as they choose.
The adult vs child thing is up to you I think and who your market is locally. As others have said it is very dependent on the individual in question. I've known lots of charming pony liveries who were a pleasure to have around on the yard and also some absolute brats and people who seem to think a livery yard is a form of cheap child care and abandon their offspring and various friends at the stable all day. You have to take it on a case by case basis unless you have a particularly strong feeling about it or know that being adult only will give you a USP locally. Do you have the ability to set up a separate area for younger owners? Like their own aisle or block? That might be a halfway house.
I would go and look at as many yards as possible and speak to the people working them. What do they love, what would they change? Pinch the best bits that would work for you and your site.
Good luck and post photos! I love a bit of yard perving! ;D
 
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I'm going against the grain it seems but we have monarch stables with sliding doors and I much prefer them to ordinary stable doors: space saving, easy, safe, never had a problem with them getting stuck in the runners, of course you do need check the doors are shut properly but that's a given with any door! We all had feed mangers that swing to the outside then turn back in - no one uses them as they are a pain to clean out and you can't open the door fully if they are left turned to the outside of the stable. We also have fixed hay racks that open from the outside for you to shove hay in, but again no one uses them for hay - feeding position is all wrong - we all use these for storage instead (rugs, grooming kit etc). We have auto waterers too which are a godsend, no filling and lugging full water buckets about, easy enough to clean out; put a bucket underneath, scrub/wipe around bowl, then take bung out and let water run thru into bucket till its rinsed clean (if you put bung in half way you can control the water flow a bit more), and rubber mats are a big plus if you can stretch to it. Adult only yard would be my preference, I like kids but they can be a hazard!
 
I had a company called Stables on Line they built me three stables to my own spec really pleased with them. The wood bit is made of Bamboo with UV covering very tough couldn't recommend them more
 
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