How Important Are Stables?

Tia

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Now over here I don't really use my stables much. I have a small barn which has internal stables which were custom-built to a high standard with no "bits" falling off them, all are safe and rubber matted. Solid doors and partitions etc, however this is not a fancy stable block, just practical and safe if I need to use it in emergencies/accidents.

My stables in England were absolutely beautiful and they were built to the same high build-standard as my ones over here.

When I visit stables, both here and in the UK, I have to say some of them really make me cringe and I know there is no way I could ever keep my horses in them and I am often surprised that others don't see what I see and appear quite happy in keeping their horses in stables which look far more like pig sties to me than stables.
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So just how important are safe and well built stables to you? To me if I was on the regime that is normal over winter in England, apart from good turnout then good quality stables are most important to me.

Here's a snapshot of my little block of stables here - as you can see they are not grand in the slightest but they are safe.

*edited to add the darned photo*
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not not blind.. unless i am as well.

ETS: now im not blind

i like your stables very smart indeed. where my horse is im in the new block so they are big, airy and light. and safe. i will take a photo when i go up and show you.
 
They are really lovely, and I think, smart too.

I don't mind many stables, even the bent and twisted stone and bits of wood, ones with steps in them, etc as long as they are safe, you know, no nails sticking out, with lots of air, drainage, etc.
 
Actually I have kep horses in a variety of places, including former bull pens - however my requirement is that there is sufficient height clearance, enough room for the horse to turn around comfortably and that they are solidly built - any thing else is a bonus.
 
Safe and well built stables are extremely important to me... Size is also an issue for me, I have 12x12 stables at my yard and I definitely wouldn't want to have stables any smaller than that. I don't have any decent photos of my stables (will try to get some soon though), the photo below is the best I can find at the moment...
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You can see some of Ali's stable, it's at the end of the yard and he has a very good view
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My stables "will do". They have to, because there is no way I'm going to get a custom built block!
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Originally our barn or "shippon" as D calls it, was used to tie cows in to milk. The stalls being raised slightly from the gangway to allow washing off and drainage to the outside. Obviously the years passed and the use for the building altered. Technically they were known as "isolation pens" but, in reality, were never used. I mucked the whole building out by hand because you can't get a tractor in there. (One of the many reasons the building wasn't being used really). The stalls were all 15 x 12 - convenient! I had a block wall built at the front of each stall and a door metal door put on. Wall is as high as the "bottom door" of normal stables. Plenty of ventilation, vaulted and beamed ceiling to a slate tiled roof. Electric and water are supplied.

The only downside I have to them is that they are whitewashed with a lime wash. Paint doesn't want to stick over the top of limewash, yet limewash doesn't hold it's colour great on an old brick walled building.

They could be better, but they are a damn sight better than some I see.

Patches dozing on her stable wall
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I don't have a decent picture of the block. This pictures has Patches stable and feed room behind me. The first stable is Tweenie's. Spot the deliberate mistake they made with her door! It was as tall as Patches and she couldn't see over it. Hence the almost anti weave appearance of the top of the door.

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They look lovely SF. I really am partial to beautiful stables and if I lived in England I certainly wouldn't be totally happy with the ones I have, but I don't, so I am.
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Patches, i used to keep horses on a dairy farm and we had exactly the same arrangement there- we also had to walk the horse through the milking herd morning and night, they were 'cow proof' in no time
 
Patches yours are similar to what we considered doing here. We have a huge barn and downstairs in the animal part we were going to build stables in there - however at the last minute I thought no, so we just kept it as shelters for our guys. I love old converted barns.
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My little stable block does the job though.
 
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Patches, i used to keep horses on a dairy farm and we had exactly the same arrangement there- we also had to walk the horse through the milking herd morning and night, they were 'cow proof' in no time

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Mine are certainly cow proof, that's a fact!
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Strangely though, if we see beef cattle, Patches will on occasions have a look. She's only used to black and white cows.
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If I could have a purpose built block, I'd still go for internal stabling. The main difference would be that I'd have a roof with sky lights for more natural light. The bottom half of my building is very bright, but higher up there is a another shed that leans onto my stable block. This shed takes alot of the light as my windows look out in to the shed and not to daylight.

The only other gripe would be I'd prefer a wider aisle so that I could tie up outside the stables if need be. As I have six stables, but only four horses, I currently use an empty stable as a grooming/clipping box so it's not such a big issue.
 
I love your little block and I would hazard a guess they are warmer for your extreme weather than traditional style timber blocks are in the UK.

The main good point for my stables is how they seem to be cool in the summer, but warm in the winter.

If I could design and build my own block, I wouldn't "choose" what I have, but I can't be too picky and they most certainly will have to do for me. Hubby would divorce me if I dared mention better stabling.
 
I'll definitely try to get a better photo of my yard, my stable doors don't usually have a speck of dirt on them btw!
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I think your block of stables are very nice, I'd love to have an American barn with indoor stables
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Merlins stable is similar in that it is built in a building that used to house a tractor!!!

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It is about 16x12 so nice and roomy, and is very high so nice and airy.

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It also has very pretty views!!!

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It is a bit tatty inside but as he never goes in it that doesnt really matter.
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edited to say that I would have no lighting if the bulbs were as close as that to merlins little nosey nose!!!!
 
yeh the stables look ok not sure about having the hay parked outside their front doors that looks more of a safety issue in my eyes
 
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Merlins stable is similar in that it is built in a building that used to house a tractor!!!

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he is gorgeous... i love the stable but getting in and out may be a safety issue...
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Patches, I love your stables. I used to have stables just like yours, built in an old shippon, I loved them.

Stables aren't the be all and end all as far as I am concerned. They are a very useful 'item' to have though, even if they are just for emergencies etc. I would hate to be without access to stabling of some sort, I would also, given the choice, never go back to outdoor stables.

Of course I would love to be able to afford a load of smart stalls, but I can't warrant the expense right now, so I make do with what I have, which is a 60' x 40' barn with 10, 11'x10' stalls (3 convert to 11' x 20' stalls), a pump room, electricity and an insulated workshop.

When we moved in they hadn't been used for years and were FULL of junk. It still has soil floors and is not a pretty barn, but it serves a purpose, whoever buys the place can do what the heck they like with it and appreciate the thousands and thousands of dollars we have poured into fencing and land instead.

I generally have some hay stacked in the aisle (saves tramping back and forth to the hay shed) and quite often there is a quad, a tractor or a truck parked at one end too. Before:
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One half done
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Ours live out, we have three stables, one is now a tack room, one is bringing up chickens, and the other is still a stable! They are a decent size, airy without being draughty, but I would update them a bit if they were used at all!
 
We custom built our stables, safety and ventilation were the most important things, and so made sure they had a good sized window that could be covered if necessary which at the time this was taken were open...
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(the boarding hadn't gone on the front at this point so looks quite tatty but did the job)

Inside they are rubber matted, and the walls have a built in ledge for helping stop them getting cast. there are absolutely no nasty edges or unsafe bits

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Our old stables are horrible, with rough painted stone walls and were built around 1900. In those days space was a premium so two are quite small.
our new ones arriving in Dec are made by IAE, and were chosen because the construction was far superior to any others we looked at. Some looked wonderful but had sharp edged bolts within reach of the horse's mouths.
These had big tough fittings and were engineered very well, my husband rejected many of the others as badly made.
Some others looked tough wood construction, good metalwork but looked old despite being new.
In the end I went for plastic boarding, which sounds vile but looks very like wood, is very strong and needs no maintanance compared to treating wooden ones annually.
We chose sliding anti weave grilled doors and solid partitions between every horse, because some hate being looked at by their neighbour.
If you have a yard I like it to look smart, ideally we would have loved fancy bars over the front panels, but no way would we ever waste money on something like that, I would rather spend that money on an extra box!
I do insist on them being as draught proof as possible, good lighting and easy to sweep. Our current ones have hand laid tiled floors, in a pale cream colour (I kid you not!) In the far off days when I mucked out daily, I actually enjoyed using the hose on every gap to leave them spotlessly clean.. The founder of WH Smith built ours and I reckon he had shares in a tile quarry..all the farms round here have the same floors in their buildings.
It still only gives us 10 boxes fro now, but the building is big enough to fit 32 if required.
 
I had a lovely stable when I was a child. It was extremely old, with curved wooden partition on two sides, a metal grilled door, very orante, with tiles on the inside with a blue pattern. It had a herringbone floor slightly sloping to the outside, so no need for mats, and the ceiling height was huge except to the other side it was lower as there was a hayloft above. It had a high up cast iron hayrack. Only downside was no water and electricity... I dont think the tiles were ideal actually as a couple were cracked and quite sharp.

There were also 3 stalls, which my father always promised to knock through, but never got round to. It might have been old, but it was definately my favourite stable. Unfortunately its now been converted into a house.
 
Yours are similar to mine in the UK; mine were block built with timber siding over the top half of them; I loved them! The door openings were 8ft tall and they were huge inside. Mine over here are small; although it doesn't really matter as I never use them, however some boarders have used them and all of the horses have been absolutely fine in them. Ours are only about 12x11 which is actually described as big over here......

HH - your new ones sound great. I know what the plasticy type stables are like - its that polypropelene stuff isn't it? The stud I worked at in Denmark had these and they were fab.
 
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Unfortunately its now been converted into a house.

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Yes as so many of those beautiful old stables/coach houses are these days. Sad really.
 
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