Do you prefer indoor or outdoor stables?

Has to be indoors for me. Generally cooler in summer, warmer in winter. Don't get bothered by flies/midgies. More sociable for the horses and riders (think sitting around drinking coffee in the cold!). Easier to hang things up to get them dry, tack over stable door stays dry. Farrier can shoe in the dry! No draughts etc etc. I personaly can't see many advantages of outdoor stables UNLESS you are on a small yard, in which case the horses could easily become bored with the lack of stimulation.
 
Personally I prefer indoor, because it's warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and you can get them out and stay dry when it's raining. From the horses point of view, it depends what they're used to.

My Shire x hated being in the barn, and he never settled, but when we moved him to an outdoor stable with a view, he much prefered it, and he immediately stopped box walking.
My TB (ex-racehorse) is the complete opposite. He is completely settled in the barn but goes into a real frenzied state, and wont eat if he's in an outdoor stable, where he can see other horses in a field.
 
oh indoor for me. My stable is in a barn and apart from emptying barrow, i don't need to go outside at all. I just mean if it is hissing down, don't mean that I am agrophobic :D
All my feed bins are together, I have my shelves for all my bits and pieces, my rugs are all along the wall of the barn on nice hooks, no nasty wind to mess up her pretty bed, she is all nice and cozy in her bed with no rain coming in the top door.
Got our little cafe, well not really a cafe per se, just an old kitchen cubboard thing with kettle/tea/coffee,biccies etc. I brought up a microwave and a toaster but we still need to get a shelf up for it.
You don't have all that under one roof if your stables are outside :D
 
I like old barns, partly because im fascinated by the character of old buildings, but I find them lovely and cosy and they feel nice and solid. My horse is on his own in a barn where he can see out and he's very happy. Never tried him in an indoor setup but he seems to like his own company! Doesn't suit every horse tho.
 
taz has an outdoor stable but he does have an overhang of about three foot over him where he can put his head out his stable and not get wet, unfortunately he cant be in an indoor stable as he spends all his time coughing as he cant get enough air, so outside it is, and he has a nice view of the yard so he seems very happpy unless some annyoying person ties their horse outside his stable while he is in it then he just stands and grumps at them!
 
I prefer outdoor stables for the horses, usually a better view (not always). Better air circulation, I've been on an indoor yard and coughs and ring worm spread very quickly. More room to tie up outside, again, the indooir I was on had a narrow passageway and caused a few problems with tying horses or leading them through.

The advantages of indoor stables is keeping dry.
 
Outdoor. I think the air circulation is better. I like my horse to have a view too of what's going on on the yard as think it helped him get used to the tractor traffic, JCB etc more quickly. Our indoor stables don't have enough space for people to tie up their horses outside of them without blocking the walkway to the feed room and tack room - the outside stables have an overhang a bit to keep a horse dry a bit if tied up outside and plenty of room for everything to get past. My stable also faces west so pony and I enjoy a lot of beautiful sunsets together :) I won't mention the horizontal rain that sometimes comes from that direction :D The indoor stables have sliding doors with antiweave grills and I much prefer bog standard ordinary stable door for my horse to look over. Only benefit in fact of the indoor stables at ours is the great lighting, outdoor stables have very poor lighting.
 
I have both types. a gorgeous cob built courtyard of stables, about 10 in total. And a modern barn with and other 6. I personally have my own horses in the courtyard, there is an overhang in front of the stables, their wall as about 2ft6 thick so they are beautifully cool in summer and lovely and warm in winter. My feed room, tack room and kitchen are all within 15 ft. My muck heap is very close. It isbeautiful in summer just sitting out on the yard, looking across the fields. Horses love it as its so serene. My other stables are 6 in a modern open fronted barn, with their own tack room. The stables are all on one side with a huge walkway in fron then the side of the barn is open. Loads of fresh air to all stables and they have a view over the fields. As I own the yard I could use any stables but I just prefer the courtyard.
 
I know that outdoor boxes are usually better in terms of airflow but I have a mare who settles much better in a barn and of course I prefer it because it means I have everything under one roof - out of the weather and the rain. The stables in the barn all have a window to the outside too and there is a door at each end so the air circulates well. Fortunately it is only mine in there so I don't have to worry too much about the spread of virus or infection.
 
I really like courtyard stables but with a large over hang in front to stop the horses head's getting wt, but the arm miserable in the winter!

The problem with indoor is that diseases and infections spread more quickly so if one horse became ill with something infectious it's likely the others would. But I'd say if I had the choice in the summer I'd keep my horse in courtyard stables and in the winter I'd keep him in a barn.
 
I guess it depends on how well designed your indoor stables are. Two previous livery yards I was at had large buildings with indoor stables but the roof was only as high as a conventional wooden stable and the ventilation terrible. One was newly built, mostly out off cheap timber and ply but although the stables were large enough there was little space between the opposite stable so no room to tie up and really awkward if you did tie up and somone needed to get their horse by. The other was a converted pig barn so again a bad design with a long walkway along the front of all the stables so your horse woud be attacked as he walked past to get to the stable. My present yard though is lovley with a huge brand new barn and large Lodden stables. The difference in light, ventilation and room to move is a real contrast.
 
I think for ther rider, indoor stables are better, for the horse, outdoor are better!

Unless they're out during the day at least, I think indoor stables are deathly boring for the horse. Yes they can see each other, but thats it. We have both. The indoor (pony) yard is cozy and dry for humans to work in, but we get much more face pulling at other horses etc. The horses on the outdoor yard spend a lot of time at the door, ears pricked watching whats going on across the valley. Our outdoor yard is L shape, with its back to 90% of the wind, and we find the corner where the two overhangs meet is very sheltered, so great for the farrier etc. We're lucky that our outdoor stables are extra large, and have tack lockers and a rug rail in them, so things don't get wet - that is the disadvantage otherwise.
 
indoor stables for me! My previous yard had outdoor stables which were forever flooding, had poor ventilation & were cold in winter. They did have plenty of space to tie up outside though, altho obviously couldnt use it in winter. We are now at our own place & have a lovely 80ftx80ft barn that was used as tractor/grain storage when we moved in so has a really high roof (20+ft, easily 30ft at highest point) & plenty of space for us to put stables in as we wished. There is plenty of space in the walkways, brilliant ventilation (not had a cough yet!), dont have to venture outside until i need to empty the muck trailer, dry area for farrier, only downside is that due to the high roof its not a particularly warm barn at the mo as we havent finished all the stables yet so its still a big open space. You couldnt pay me to go back to outdoor stables!
 
Indoor for me, outdoor for most horses.

I imagine it would be very boring for horses indoor with no views of the outside world - especially if they don't get much turnout?

My last yard was a mixture of the two, had a very old high roofed stone barn that had bits added to it over the years, full length door that was open at the top so horses had a fairly good view outside and air circulation was good. If it was windy with rain or snow you used to get a bit coming inside but nothing too bad. Nice and dry for the farrier, to tack up etc. Everything close at hand. Tap didn't freeze as much as an outdoor one would.

Have moved to a yard with outdoor stables and it's harder for me but not impossible, farrier struggles a bit more, stables too warm when it's very hot, have to walk further to get hay/tack etc, have to tack up in stable if raining, but horses seem very happy and have a lovely view with lots to see. Though my old boy doesn't appreciate it, he is too busy eating..
 
I would say indoor for owner/farrier/vet convenience.

But for the horse I prefer a nice outdoor courtyard, better circulation and more interesting for the horses I think.

...Also a nice old courtyard I work at with red brick stables, cobbled floors and old wooden beams does look lovely :)
 
I have an indoor stable but I'm on the end nearest the door so i think i have the best of both worlds.
It was an old beef shed so has a big sliding door at each end but because all the fields entrances are at the other end nobody needs to walk down to my stable :)
I get the air and breeze from the outside but the warmth and storage of being indoors. My horse can look out across the fields without getting his head wet or being battered by the elements!!!
In the really bad weather i just shut the big door and it's a cosy indoor stable again.
Downside is that if the door is open and the rain is coming from the North it does tend to blow in and although not far enough in to reach him it comes in about a foot into the barn, the snow has been known to come though the slatted wood on the outside wall but it doesn't happen very often :rolleyes:
I've never had an outdoor stable so can't compare but i do like his indoor one.
 
As lots of people have said, indoors for people and outdoors for horses. IME, my horses have always been far happier in outdoor stables and as they are the ones who spend more time in them than me, they win! :D
 
Ours have only ever had outdoor ones in the time we've had them so I don't know how they would take to indoor ones, they'd probably adapt. I can see advantages to both types.

Bella's has a massive overhang though so she can stick her head out and not get wet and because of how it is situated she doesn't get a chill wind right through it or anything. I think she likes this type of stabling because she can see what's going on and get a whiff of fresh air.
 
I think it comes down to how they are set up at the end of the day. Have been in fairly boring (i.e no view & nothing going on) indoor stabling with not great ventilation and no view - but have also been in outdoor stabling with similar issues.

My horse is really nosy so he likes to be able to see what's going on and enjoys a reasonable amount of 'business'. My prev yard had lovely big outdoor stables (old stone ones) in a courtyard setup which was lovely. The fields were literally just across from the stables and he could see everything.

Our current yard has an indoor system (I think it was an old dairy) - again lovely stone stables with open scalloped fronts if that makes sense, very well ventilated and there is enough going on to keep him occupied (he's currently in during the day and out at night). Feed room/tack room all in the barn and its pretty social. Its also lovely, clean and dry for us (my boy likes it too as he hates mud and rain!) and the other peeps, vets, farrier etc. I actually prefer my current setup to anything I've been on before and I think my boy does too - although that probably has more to do with how many extra sweets he can con out of people by hanging over the door doing his 'starving pony' impersonation ;-)
 
I like indoor for me but outdoor for the ponies... needless to say the ponies win and are all in the out door stables our 3 indoors are empty atm

bx

Actually they're not empty they're full of straw hay and farm equipment but you know what I mean...
 
love indoor stables they are cool in summer and more shelterd in the winter went to a pc rally with a lovely american barn that had huge stables...enough room for my pony to canter in if he felt lke it hehe and they had sides that they could move out in summer and in to stop the wind in the winter
 
My horses live out, but my yard does have some lovely stables in a courtyard setting. The stone walls are almost 2ft thick, cobbled flooring and original stone hay feeders in the corner, and those ceiling beams.... Crickey, I could happily live in one!.

Not that im one for stabling horses, but if one of mine had to be kept in if ill, id happily keep them in these stables. They are apparently warm in the winter and cool in the summer, unlike the wooden stables at my old yard.

I agree, indoor is better for humans, but a room with a view sounds better from the horses point of view, so i'd pick outdoor anyday!.
 
Outdoor - horse is grumpy if he has bars blocking him from the horse next door which most barns have. He also gets a better view, better circulation and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I come home dripping wet from a day a the yard.

edit: the ideal scenario would be an indoor barn with an additional door on the outside so horse could have the benefits of an outdoor stable, and I could have the comfort of a covered walkway/rug storage
 
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