Shutting stable top door - opinions

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Oddjob's Wife

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Firstly, hello - I've been lurking and have contributed a few times to other threads, but this is my first time starting a thread.

I have never shut the top door of a stable while a horse is in it, believing that fresh air is better than being stuffy and a horse should have some view rather than feeling as if it's in prison! Even at my current yard, where it can, depending on wind direction, rain into the stable. I'd rather put an outdoor rug on my boy (who still insists on standing right in the doorway so he can have a view while munching hay) and lose a bit of bedding at the front than shut the top door. I also thought my boy would make a heck of a fuss at best and more likely panic if his ability to see what's going on was restricted.

Last night, due to high winds, our YO shut the top doors for all the horses in my block. I don't know what time they were shut, but at 6am this morning, after a quick panic about the state I'd find my horse in, I found him completely chilled out and not remotely phased by a lack of view.

Does anyone else ever shut the top door and if so, has it caused an issues? I don't think I'd do it habitually, but if we have another wild night, might consider it to save the boy getting soaked (he is the only one who gets wet - all others sensibly tuck themselves out of the way!)

Love to hear other experiences.
 
I have never shut the top door - in fact normally get the top door taken off as I just can not see the point.

Only people I know who shut the top door (partially) was to stop a horse jumping out.
 
We were right on the line of the area that would get storm weather today on forecast, as it happens we had a beautiful day! However I was planning to shut the top doors of the stables if the weather had hit us, mainly because the roof is slate tiles and I'd be concerned that the wind may manage to blow a couple loose and wouldn't want them hitting them if they had their heads out. Habitually I wouldn't as I can't see it would be good for air circulation. I have done it once two winters ago when it was snowing heavily into a few of the stables facing in the wrong direction, none of the horses were bothered by being shut in.
 
Three of our stables are inside, so no top door, the fourth stable shares air with two of the others, we shut the top doors (they are double doors) on the fourth stable last night, the youngster in there was absolutely fine. The top doors will be closed if there is wind in the wrong direction.
 
My stables have top doors, I very rarely shut them but it's handy to be able to in exceptional weather conditions eg if snow is blowing in. The horses don't mind at all (but then they have windows front and back and talk grilles).

If the stables were facing into the wind then I'm not surprised your YO shut the top doors last night, as exceptional wind and rain was forecast. I wouldn't want my horses to get wet if rain blew in, they can't move around to keep warm as they can if they're out rugs or no rugs.
 
The only time I shut my top door is while pony is out during the day in bad weather, as the wind does blow the rain into my stable.

There was a girl who used to be on the yard who shut the top door as her horse used to wind suck/crib bite. It looked seriously unhappy at being shut in as it couldn't see others or what was going on. Needless to say it still did suck/bite, just on the feed manger instead.
 
My mare would do her nut if I closed her top door, so no, unless it was an absolute dire emergency I wouldn't do it.

I think unless a horse is super chilled with it then I would be extremely reluctant, given the fact that they are naturally claustrophic animals anyway.
 
Yep, we close the top doors whenever the wind and weather is driving into the stables (which face away from the wind most days). Our doors have an inch gap underneath, an inch gap between the top and bottom doors, and louvre boards at each end of the four stable block. Last year it still drifted into the stable when the top doors were shut.

My friends on the hill above us used to always leave top doors open until one night they found the whole roof half a mile away.

If my stables were in some leafy glen surrounded by trees and houses, with no exposure to the elements I would happily leave them open. Most nights, even in the exposed area we live, the doors stay open, but last year they were closed for quite a lot of nights as the weather came from the north quite frequently.

Edited to add, we have windows on the front of the stables, so they can see the same view as from the doors, but nothing I have ever known stressed (even the liveries, with the owners that thought they would stress!). They can hear each other in the next stable eating (they always stop eating and listen out for each other, then once they've heard the others, happily start eating again).
 
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It's not something that would sit comfortably with me, as I think it goes too much against their natural instinct. For me personally, it is just a step too far - so I wouldn't do it, no.
 
I don't have top doors, so couldn't even if I wanted to! they aren't happy about coming in as it is, so wouldn't want to shut them in! Plus there is a massive barn 10 foot in front of the stables so its pretty sheltered from the elements.
 
Nope never. In fact I went to do it one day to see how my boy would react and before I got it shut he shoved it right back open with his nose! Anytime I pretend I'm going to do it now it gets shoved open with great force.
 
Mine were in last night with all doors shut but I have 3 largish open top stables so they can all see each other. I have a big barn door which I would usually keep open as well as stable doors but each time I checked on them with all doors shut they were super chilled and didn't go back out until mid morning.
 
I don't have top doors but what I use is the plastic strip curtain that shop freezers have about 3 inch wide,I leave a gap of about 15 inch in the middle and the horses just stick there heads out when they wish, They soon learn to walk through the door as the curtain just move aside as they walk through.It stops the draft which my old 26 yr old boy seems to like.
 
Mine isn't usually stabled, but a few years ago he was kept in a large barn for a while on box rest. When it rained, he used to crane his neck around so his neck and face were outside getting wet... I wouldn't rule out that your horse is actually choosing to get rain on his face ;) We assume they want to be tucked up out of the weather but they might actually quite like some air currents, rain on the face etc. :)
 
I occasionally have done so when the wet and wind is coming from the wrong direction to stop a mini tornado in the end box. It still has a window to the outside and internal grill to the next stable with their top door open usually as their door is less exposed being the middle stable of the block. The horse with the closed top door doesn't bother at all by it being shut over. There is plenty ventilation still with top door closed.
 
I wouldn't even bother having top doors put on. Absolutely no way I'd ever close them.

Current stables are a large open fronted barn split into 3 with half height partitions so they can see each other, touch & groom their neighbour.
The fronts are large filled in gate type doors. Yes, sometimes the rain & snow gets blown in but each stable is big enough that they can get away from it.
I hated my scruffy stables initially but having seen how chilled & happy my gang are in them I'm actually not in any rush to replace them with the swish yard I've got planning for!
 
Have never shut the top door - horses need the fresh air - this is the reason I hate the Barn system as the place gets seriously stuffy at night - you can smell the urine when you open up ion the morning.

It seems to be a thing here in NZ - they shut the top doors in the middle of summer and the poor horse cooks inside.

When I was in UK even in heavy snow the top doors remained open. One horse had a piece of carpet that was hung down to reduce the wind blowing in - he was in a sable that was on it's own at the end of an L shaped block
 
I wouldn't shut one on a loose box. Nor anywhere normal weather wise.

However we live on top of a hill overlooking the Cairngorms. And the horses are in a mini barn with both internal and external openings (ext) and doors(internal). The external top door has a window inset into it., so it is just the frame that is wood.

When our weather is bad winds can regularly exceed 80mph and we can get 5 foot of snow. It is not safe to leave the external openings open when this is the case.

The horses arent remotely bothered since they can still see out of the top door, they just can't put head out, and they aren't getting a hurricane of bedding or 5 foot of snow on top of them.

However as I say I would not do it with a loose box where it's the only side to see out, nor anywhere except as extreme conditions as ours, nor with a horse that wasn't used to it, nor with a top door that isn't specially designed with a window in.
 
For those that don't shut doors under any circumstances, would you not in weather that leaves buildings looking like this...? Can't find the pics of the stables with the snow in them even with the top doors shut. Would you rather all that snow drives in at the horse?? I think you can't possibly live in an exposed area! Personally I would rather leave my horse out in the field to walk around and keep warm than trapped in a small space with driving rain or snow on them!


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I've never shut my top door, but I would if needed to. Our stables have windows anyway so they would still get a bit of view.
 
I shut my mare in once she went mental!
All our top doors are closed at night - they are barn stables, with wooden bottoms and metal bars on top.
 
You see, HHO is wonderful! There are so many different opinions, it's clear to me there's no one way that's 'right' which is where I started from which was never shut the door while the horse is in and many share my views of why not. However, hearing others views and experiences of shutting the door and why also make sense.

I have decided to shut the door on the occasions where it's p****ng rain in the stable and likely to for most of the night. If I get a bad reaction from the boy on trying that, then I'll revert back to leaving it open :o

By the way, beautiful photo Honey08!
 
Thank you Oddjob's wife, Nice to look at in a picture, but not so nice at the time! - and welcome to the forum, meant to say that yesterday!

Yes generally speaking doors should be left open, but a dose of common sense has to be applied in driving weather or conditions that may take the roof off the stables, that's my take on it!
 
My stables have a huge overhanging roof so no need to shut the top doors for bad weather, the only time I do it is if I am leaving a horse alone on the yard and I'm worried they will jump out. I think they would probably get used to it being shut but would only do so if absolutely needed as it can't be good for air circulation.
 
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