Indoor vs outdoor stabling

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Hillpark

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As the title suggests, would you rather have an indoor barn style stable our outdoor loose box? I've got the option of either and trying to weigh up the pros and cons....
 
i prefer outdoor as i think its healthier for horses to be able to breath fresh air that is as dust free as poss, when i muck out indoor stables i have black gunk up my nose (TMI sorry) and its because it is a dustier enviroment
 
For me, with a 5 horse barn, pros are its sociable, warmer in winter, easier for me to do and keep an eye on them all, I have feed, bedding, hay etc all in one together. Cons are ventilation can be tricky, something we have worked on, they bicker through the bars at tea time as I have full length bars, if you give one something extra they all see! Its harder to light as well. Depends if its set up already or if you are building from scratch.
 
Indoor are great in rubbish weather but one problem is it is a problem to have just one horse in as they can't see any of the others. I keep meaning to have a rear window cut in mine so that I have one box where they can.
A compromise is outdoor boxes with a deep covered yard in front.
 
Indoor every time BUT only if the following apply:

Outdoor windows as well as internal facing
Two rows of stables facing each other so horses can interact with not only their neighbour but also see what horses opposite are up to
Not too big and noisy
Warm enough but good ventilation (I prefer wooden barns for this reason )

We built a mini barn and it is wonderful on our Cairngorm hill both for the horses and us. 4 stables and feed/tack room, the horses are snug and it is light and airy (portal frame so stables don't form part of the structure so massively airy and light above them.
 
I have both and outdoor is lovely when the weather is nice but over the winter I much prefer the indoor. We did alot of research into ventilation for the indoor so never have a problem with it as we built it with that in mind. I think on the whole with the British weather like it is I would go with indoor.
 
Depends on the barn/stables really. Kal's been in three barn stables . . .

1) First one the barn was really airy and clean - super-high ceilings, relatively low walls, lots of ventilation/airflow, calm/relaxed atmosphere with really wide walkways - he loved it b/c he could see all the other horses and didn't feel too enclosed.

2) Second one - stables packed really tight, walkways really narrow so horses could reach out and bite/sniff, etc. passing horses, walls quite high, ceiling relatively low, limited airflow - he tolerated it but only b/c his stable was right by the opening so he could see out onto the yard.

3) Third one - loddon-style stable in a row of four in the feed section of the barn . . . although it was airier and he could see out, he was constantly disturbed by people coming in and out of the barn to make up their feed, get hay, hang up rugs and, being a very nosy horse, it wound him up.

When we first bought him, he hated regular stables - I think he found them too "enclosed" . . . but now we seem to have hit upon the Goldilocks version of "just right" . . . stable is in the far corner of a u-shaped yard, he can see all the comings and goings but there is very little foot traffic past his stable . . . . he also has no glass on the bottom two windows so there's plenty of ventilation and, when possible, I leave his door open with the stall chain up. Oh, and the stable has a MASSIVE overhang so very sheltered in even the worst of the weather. Overhang is so big, I could (and do) park Kal under it in a pinch (and he's a big lad).

P
 
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lachlanandmarcus said:
Indoor every time BUT only if the following apply:

Outdoor windows as well as internal facing
Two rows of stables facing each other so horses can interact with not only their neighbour but also see what horses opposite are up to
Not too big and noisy
Warm enough but good ventilation (I prefer wooden barns for this reason )

We built a mini barn and it is wonderful on our Cairngorm hill both for the horses and us. 4 stables and feed/tack room, the horses are snug and it is light and airy (portal frame so stables don't form part of the structure so massively airy and light above them.
Click to expand...

this looks great, well ventilated, light and with good visability. if you do it like this then go indoor but from your post i got the impression stables were already up and you were just choosing one.

good indoor stables are great but i have never found any on a diy livery yard unfortunatly.
 
Ours was a conversion of a dilapidated barn so the stables don't form part of the main structure, each stable has a metre square window but our problem is no electricity which makes winter hard. I think a lot depends on type of horse, type of usage and location, where we are is fairly windy.
 
Joules2345- yes, they are already built and on a livery yard.

My horse is currently in a large indoor stable in the corner of a large, high ceiling barn. The ventilation isn't bad and I think he likes the social element, but his stable is very damp- made of brick on 2 sides and it just seeps through the walls.

Outdoor stable is well sheltered, dry and would face another horse who comes in at night also. I'm most concerned about the social element as I'm sure the outdoor box is far healthier for his lungs etc!!
 
Outdoor. If they ever need to be on box rest they will have a better view and get less depressed. Obviously you hope they won't ever need it but horse being horses you never know!
 
What about a Walk In Walk Out design? They are really popular over here.

The stable is an indoor design but has a door at the back which opens out onto a small yard. This can either have a gate to access it from the outside or not.

The door to the yard can either be left open or left shut, allowing the horse to be kept on box rest if needed but still able to see everything. You can have high or low fencing depending on your needs.

Here is one of the babies at TAFE out the back of the yards, with the door to the stable closed.
photo36_zps6ccc71e2.jpg


Here you can see the indoor part of the stable & breezeway with the door to the yard open.
wiwo_zps226c7f05.png


And here is a different design of WIWO showing the yard at the back.
wiwo1_zpsc5029082.png
 
I prefer outdoor. My cob is much better if he can see what is going on on the rest of the farm. I like the open feel which is much better for ventilation. Being a cob he is much hardier too so the cold isn't an issue. When the sun gets up to a certain point it is a much more pleasant place to be than inside with thick walls.
 
We are in a big indoor barn - open at either end.

Pros are its Lovely when it's cold and wet outside, sociable, we can have storage boxes and rugs outside stables with no problems. My older horse loves watching everything going on. My younger one used to get severe separation anxiety and Is south better now.

Only downside is its less ventilated than outside - a few if them picked up coughs a few weeks ago. That said the ends being open really help - I have asthma and haven't noticed any effects for me.
 
NaeNae87 said:
What about a Walk In Walk Out design? They are really popular over here.

The stable is an indoor design but has a door at the back which opens out onto a small yard. This can either have a gate to access it from the outside or not.

The door to the yard can either be left open or left shut, allowing the horse to be kept on box rest if needed but still able to see everything. You can have high or low fencing depending on your needs.

Here is one of the babies at TAFE out the back of the yards, with the door to the stable closed.
photo36_zps6ccc71e2.jpg


Here you can see the indoor part of the stable & breezeway with the door to the yard open.
wiwo_zps226c7f05.png


And here is a different design of WIWO showing the yard at the back.
wiwo1_zpsc5029082.png
Click to expand...

Wow... I like this design very much!

Now then... how to get some money........
 
Ours is an American style barn, that opens at both ends, but the horses have windows out, so like an outdoor stable can have access to fresh air, we also have the chains across the doors so we can leave the stable doors all open in the summer :)
also in the winter they are so much nicer!
 
NaeNae87 said:
What about a Walk In Walk Out design? They are really popular over here.

The stable is an indoor design but has a door at the back which opens out onto a small yard. This can either have a gate to access it from the outside or not.

The door to the yard can either be left open or left shut, allowing the horse to be kept on box rest if needed but still able to see everything. You can have high or low fencing depending on your needs.

Here is one of the babies at TAFE out the back of the yards, with the door to the stable closed.
photo36_zps6ccc71e2.jpg


Here you can see the indoor part of the stable & breezeway with the door to the yard open.
wiwo_zps226c7f05.png


And here is a different design of WIWO showing the yard at the back.
wiwo1_zpsc5029082.png
Click to expand...

Love the idea of stables like this, always feel like I'm shutting the prison doors when I slide the barred doors back on horses at work:D
 
I prefer outdoor, but I find indoor more common around here. Better ventilated, generally more for them to look at while they're in, more daylight, outdoor tie up point directly outside your stable for better weather, etc.
 
At my present yard I have outdoor stables, at my previous yard it was indoor. Each has pros and cons but have to say my elderly mare is much happier with the outdoor set-up. She hated the close proximity of the other horses (is a very private mare that likes her own space) and I had to put boards up in her internal stable so she couldn't see the other horses.

I'd pick whichever you think would suit your horse best :)
 
Personally I like conventional outdoor stables with a decent view for the horses facing away from the rain and wind. Our main stables are in a u shape with the back of the main bit to the wind and rain, so you don't get so wet. It also forms shelter for the horses when they are turned out on the winter turnout area around the yard. The only time it would be better to have all indoor ones is when it snow, as you can do more without opening doors etc. We also have a block of indoor ones in a tiny stone barn, which we use for ponies, they are great to work in, warm and dry, but boring for the ponies IMO.

Indoor ones are great for humans, but boring for horses and often cold when in big barns. Especially with openings looking out for every stable - it creates wind tunnels and I've always found them freezing. I like the horse to be able to see others but have privacy, not just bars.

Those WIWO stables look great. Two years ago we built a hardcore turnout area around our yard, and its the best thing we ever did, the horses can wander around all day. If we ever moved it would be the bit of the yard I would miss the most.
 
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I love our American barn. It's warm in winter, cool in summer and very airy.
It's lovely to come in on a stormy winter night and close the big doors behind you, knowing your horses won't get blasted in the face by wind and rain all night. It's also fab being able to get your horse in and have it tied up outside the stable without it standing in the bad weather, or if the horses can't go out due to heavy wind/rain etc they can be let loose on the yard one at a time to stretch their legs and have a mooch round.

We have 8 12x12ft stables with automatic drinkers and rear opening windows so there is always plenty of fresh air.

They're made by National Stables, which are great quality.

Not the best quality photos, but you can get the gist :)

a9a7034d-b0b8-426c-a85d-d3d57fc1ac72.jpg


MES1079-3.jpg
 
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I've always been at yards with an American barn (indoor) style and liked it. Moved to current yard a few months ago with outdoor stabling and am now completely converted. The horse loves it, he's so nosy and spends his entire time trying to peer through YO's house windows to see what she's doing! He loves the fact he can watch what's going on, and our stables are arranged in an L shape so he can see all of the other horses, all of the time. They are much less dustier too, never get any of those thick, dusty cobwebs I used to get in my indoor stable. I always thought outdoor stables would be cold but even though ours have huge grills between each stable (ie, from my waist height to almost the ceiling, is open with a grill/bars between), they're actually a lot warmer than the indoor stables at last yard. I also like the fact you can tie up outside your stable without people walking past/behind all of the time, or other horses leaning over and biting etc.

I am converted to outdoor :)
 
Barn every time, ventilation is key but also width of the passageway. Many are too narrow so you can't tie up outside your stable or even can't lead past without others nipping. Mine has a 4m wide passageway so I can tie up and clip one and still lead another one past if I need to.
An indoor yard is really useful - trotting up for vet, clipping at night with lights on etc etc
 
It is worth bearing in mind that ventilation in badly designed standard outdoor stables can be equally as bad as in a barn.
Air rises and must have an outlet. If outdoor stables do not have a roof cowel or vents under the eaves they will not have suffiicient ventilation.
The best indication of bad ventilation is cobwebs. If your barn or stable is full of cobwebs then the ventilation is not good enough regardless as to the type of stabling.
We built a new barn that is very high with ventilation through doors, windows but also eaves to cowel. Ventilation is the most important factor of any barn design.
We also have paddock boxes and I would never put a barn in without them if it is an option:

 
Depends on the shelter there is, at the present yard I am at, the stables are outside and in the North and Easterly winds there is no protection from the elements. Lovely on a sunny warm day, but a blinkin' nightmare when trying to sweep up the stable as all the bits just fly back into the clean stable :eek: :eek: drives me nuts. :) :)
 
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