Internal stables v outside

Penny Less

Penny Less

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10 March 2009
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Having been on a yard with courtyard stables I am now on one with horses in barn.
One horse now refusing to go into stable and when does go in is bargy and box walking. Stables are light and airy. Yard is quiet so was old one. Wondering if its just settling in or the fact that she doesnt like the barn.
 
are there external windows or just internal with skylights? Does the horse get on with their new neighbours either side? Are they in the same positiion in the 'yard' as before eg corner or middle of row? How long since they moved?
 
Stables facing double doors which are kept open. Only two horses. Weve only been there 2 weeks but horses temperament totally changed ! Doing me ead in at the moment !
 
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Are there bars between them in the new stables and not in the old ones? Also are the doors together so the other horse can possibly be offputting to yours going in and out? If there are bars between them here and not at the old yarrd try putting a curtain on 1/2 or 3/4 of the bars so yours gets some privacy.
 
I have been in a barn arrangement and stables before now. My horses preferred the stables. In the barn they were not happy with their neighbours and kept away. In their case the barn was much noisier too all concrete and the metal bars would rattle. Even there on my own it was never quiet.

Not sure if had something to do with not being able to see as far either.
 
I have two horses, one is quite relaxed in a barn and almost completely stopped box walking when in the barn. The other horse hated it from the start. I boarded up the bars and moved her to the end box so only neighbours on one side but she found the noises and movement around her very irritating and she got incredibly stressed and tense. She would whip round in her box at the slightest noise as if she didnt know where it was coming from. She now lives out occasionally stabled in a stable with a half height wall to my other horse and she is much happier. As she is happy with a half wall I guess it was the noise that was the issue and not that she had another horse so close.
 
I wonder if its because of the restricted view . No other stable available, beginning to wish I hadnt moved now. Its a very very nice yard its just the stoopid horse!
 
My horse didn't like internal stables, even though the barn was massive and open and airy and with a clear view to outside and there were several other horses in there. It was the first place I kept her and she was always stressy and difficult in there, and would get very agitated if she could hear something happening behind the wall or round the corner. It wasn't really until I moved her to another yard with outdoor stables (or ones under the back half of a pitched roof, IYKWIM) that I realised quite how much difference it would make. In particular, in the internal stables having just one other horse in there never seemed to "count" as security and she would react as if she was on her own, whereas in the external one she'll sometimes be a bit lit up on her own but is calm as soon as there's one other horse in eyeline.
 
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