Plastic or hardwood Internal Stables?

[Shez]

We are just about to buy some internal stables and didn't know which is better! We had a look at some second hand stables yest but they were soft wood and i can see all our horses chewing and kicking it to pieces in no time! Also sliding doors or opening? Our farrier said if we get sliding doors he has known a horse pull off his whole foot as he got it stuck under door so make sure they have something on bottom to stop them swinging out! Any advice from people using them would be grand!

 

[Bosworth]

have a look at west country stables - heindrik weigesmara. We are going to get 7 of them, having looked at loads of others these seem to be the best and at £5k for 7 installed they are really good value. They are hardwood and haveing been up to his yard to have a look at them, with 60 horses stabled in them not one has been eaten. However the softwood beams in the roof had been chewed so something discourages 60 horses from eating them.

I looked at the plastic internals and to be honest they were more expensive than his hardwood and the plastic had faded from dark brown to a really horrid version of baby poo

 

[Enfys]

I have no experience with the plastic so could not comment on that but I can recommend hardwood.

My stables are built with thick oak planks (2 layers, one vertical, one horizontal)and are as solid as rock. We broke several saw blades lowering the height of the walls. To my knowledge the stables have been up for at least 15 years and housed racing standardbreds throughout the year. There are a few teeth grate marks and a few dents but nothing else, one of my horses kicked out at another horse so hard that I would have expected a big hole in ordinary walls or kicking boards, nothing.......except the horse lamed himself doing it!

I would recommend hardwood to anyone.

 

[happihorse]

Hard wood definately - the plastic ones tend to fade and can shatter when they have been exposed to sunlight for many years.