Huge stable: pros and cons

[coffeeandabagel]

I am moving to a new yard in June sometime so I can have my horse with arthritis and my new loan horse in the same place. New YO is converting a barn for me and its going to have a huge stable, so even when he is in he has enough room to move around.

It will be 24 x 11 on a chalk base.

I am wondering how to manage such a big area - he wont be in it much hopefully since turnout is the best thing for him. But when he is how shall I play it - straw and deep litter sound promising but its soo big - will that be too hard to manage? I have never done deep litter.

 

[EPRider]

I would just bed down one end of the stable. Rubber mats would stop the chalk from getting dug up.

 

[Foxhunter49]

I have found horses kept in large boxes a great deal easier to clean. The are less likely to trample everything in!
I always have a large stable on deep straw. Take all the poop out and then once a week take the wet areas out without lifting the whole bed. On chalk there will probably not be a great deal of wet as a certain amount will drain through.
Removing the wet weekly saves a great deal of hard labour of removing all the bed at the end of the winter.

 

[mandwhy]

I would bed one end, maybe half of it, preferably with mats if he is arthritic.

 

[mynutmeg]

I love huge boxes - the horse is usually so much cleaner. Bed down a decent size area at one end and then either just leave the chalk (haven't used chalk before so don't know how it would stand up to this) or else put matts down at the front

 

[Suzie G]

Our stable is 12 x 12 and we bed 3/4 and leave 1/4 clear near the door so he can stand on a clean level area. Stable is fully rubber matted.

 

[Littlelegs]

I'd do as foxhunter suggests, or if its the type to wee & poo in a neat pile in one corner, take the wet out daily. I also find that the bigger the box, the easier it is to keep clean.

 

[chestnut cob]

Mine is in a 16 x 12 box, fully matted. I put the bed at the back (about half of the stable but not particularly thick as the mats are good) and hay/water at the front. He's so nice and clean in a big box!

 

[AdorableAlice]

You will love it. All pros apart from the initial set up cost.

I keep mine in arks, approx 30 x 30. Earth floor with scalpings on top. Putting the initial shavings/wood chip bed in was an eye watering experience financially but if you shop around (I used cushionbed from Giffords) you will be able to buy the stuff in.

Of course a heston of straw is much cheaper but I hate deep litter straw, my horses eat it and it makes one of them itch. Plus straw ultimately will turn into a compost heap that will have to be dug out at somepoint.

With shavings the urine soaks through and into the earth, no smell and after a few weeks the base becomes solid and I justed added the odd bale of shavings/woodchip to it. No wet to take out, just muck and if you are blessed with a tidy horse you will find the horse becomes even more tidy in a big box. I never ever dig the floor up, there is no need, it maintains its own level and remains dry.

If you do use shavings you need to let go of the idea of white fluffy beds in such a large area. The shavings will discolour, impact and make a supportive dry bed, remember horses are not nesting creatures. My beds look more like a menage surface. I muck out 3 in under ten minutes and it is light work.

 

[Irishbabygirl]

I had one a similar size on a chalk base too, I deep littered it on straw. Was so easy to skip it out every morning.