Should I let horse pick her own stable?

[Cherryblossom]

My 15h mare Poppy is naturally a little feral, having been unhandled until she was 3yrs. I have her and a welsh A, and have them in two connected stables. Bubble’s stable is 12 x 12ft but because it has doors on three sides, the bed is about 7x7ft. Poppy’s is about 15x 15ft, nice high ceiling, half door connecting it to Bubble’s stable…. and she seems to hate it! She doesn’t want to go in, but will happily go into Bubble’s stable, and he’ll go in anywhere there’s food!

I’m not sure whether to just let her pick the stable she clearly prefers, or if with the partial bedding, it’s really too small for her and I should work through it with her- any thoughts?

Picture of Bubbles looking lost in the big stable- back when they weren’t in at night, so the bed is now much bigger!

 

[JBM]

I’d let her do what makes her happy! If she seems more comfortable in the smaller stable why not? And it’s not a bad size either. She may start to like bigger stable in time

 

[Goldenstar]

If a horse shows a strong preference for one stable I always try to accommodate them .

 

[Abacus]

I’d let her choose and be happy. Is there a door you don’t need to use and could extend the bed area?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Absolutely yes ? it can make a huge difference to their attitude

 

[Red-1]

I would let her choose in this circumstance yes. Why not?

 

[ycbm]

If the stables are connected anyway can't they share both?
.

 

[Trouper]

Absolutely let her choose - sounds as if she is seeking the "security" of a smaller space.

 

[fidleyspromise]

My mare was in one stable and I couldn't move her as there were none free and no one else would swap.
She was unhappy and would rear at the door. Tied up outside it she pulled and got loose so many times.
Sadly a horse died and I immediately moved her into that stable and she was 100 times better.
If I have the option I definitely let them choose.

 

[rabatsa]

She probably gets a better view and feels to have more escape routes in the smaller stable. Size is not everything.

 

[KJ94]

Not a helpful comment at all but I love your pink stable door ?

 

[poiuytrewq]

Absolutely let her choose - sounds as if she is seeking the "security" of a smaller space.

This may be it!
I had a 15.3 TB on a livery yard where he was allocated a nice big stable. He never really settled in it and one day on box rest I put him in my daughters ponies box which was a tiny little wooden stable of I bet only about 10x10
He was happy as anything in there!

 

[Landcruiser]

I think the more listening to horse's preferences we do, the better their state of mind. Horses that are allowed choices are (IME) more confident, calmer and happier than those that are micro-managed.

 

[Rowreach]

I had a big ID who insisted on being in a 10x10 pony stable. He simply wouldn't settle in a big stable, and the one he "picked" was not only tiny, but the doorway was narrow and the way the door was hung meant he had to go past it, turn in a passageway, and then come at it from the other direction at an angle. I got a few comments about it, but so long as the horse liked it, all the experts could mind their own business

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

personally I do not like partial beds.

one is making the horse poo and pee and sleep in one spot, laying on poo.

I like full beds so the horse can choose to sleep away from its own mess. All my horses have full beds.

 

[Zoeypxo]

Love the pink door !

 

[Fjord]

If she's happiest in the little stable I'd let her have it. As long as she can turn around OK and there's enough room for her to lay down safely then she'll be fine. There must be something about it that just makes her feel safe.

 

[splashgirl45]

12 x 12 is a good size stable so let her choose, no point stressing her

 

[Cherryblossom]

For some reason I didn’t get any notifications about this and assumed that because it was posted at 10:30pm on a Saturday, everyone was either in bed or out partying!
Thanks so much for the feedback. I also love the pink door- everything else is painted hunter green and I’ve no idea why there’s one wildcard! ?

Glad everyone agrees about letting her do her own thing, as that was my inclination. She came to me pretty unhandled and promptly failed to jump a fence and was on box rest for weeks with a big bandage on- at that point I had her in a smaller stable because it had doors on both sides for her to watch the world go by. When she recovered and I went to give her the bigger stable she hated it. I’ve moved them to these two stables as wee Bubbles couldn’t see over the door if he was in big stable, so this way he can see his friend! But I think the box rest has made her like cosy stables better, because in both cases she preferred the small one.
I can’t open the door between the two stables as there’s a foot drop between them, but when they’re in the field they also can have access to their stables and their preference seems to be both in the wee one together!

 

[Cherryblossom]

personally I do not like partial beds.

one is making the horse poo and pee and sleep in one spot, laying on poo.

I like full beds so the horse can choose to sleep away from its own mess. All my horses have full beds.

In an ideal world I’d agree with you. My plan had been to use these two stables (A&B) as night beds, have the little one fully bedded and the massive one 12x12 with bedding, and then have the other two stables (C&D) as a day bed if they want to shelter in from the field. Except since moving to A&B, they now don’t like C&D and as Poppy will only go into A, I’ve got the choice of a partial bed, and do a 10pm skip out, full bed that gets soaked and trailed out into hardstanding, or no shelter for them.
I’m still trying to work out the best solution.