Shutting top stable door?

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rockinghorse

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Just one of those thoughts that go through your head. Our stables have top hinged doors which we never close. Most stables I come across have similar design. Would anyone actually close the top doors to keep horse from jumping out? maybe weather perhaps? Would this freak the horse out? Curious and thoughts welcome...
 
only time I have ever done it was when my horse had the most wful ulcers and was danger of losing his sight had to stay in complete darkness for three weeks bless him!!! he is normally a door kicker,floor scraper sort of a horse and was as quiet as a mouse for the time he is was in .
 
I close mine when I take one horse out and leave the other behind, as they share a field and know they are both mine. They are jealous of each other as well as feeling insecure at being left, especially George. I only have one stable with a top door so I shut the unridden horse in there.
 
I would only ever shut the top door for safety reasons - to stop a horse jumping out mainly. Our vet sometimes recommends shutting it for a while if a horse has been sedated - otherwise they can squash their windpipes if they rest their heads over the door. I've rarely needed to shut a top door though and would always try to use a grill instead. I'd hate to think of a horse panicking from being shut in.
 
In the olden days i always shut the top doors at night!
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Dont now as i dont think it is healthy for them.

But i dont think I would have a problem with it as i have done it in the past with no issues.

I guess it depends on the horse really.
 
We have to shut the top doors on our stables as mine and another liverys horses are known for getting out and trying to get out over the bottom doors and its safer for them to be shut it, the top doors has bars in so they can see out and get air in still though but got piece of mind when its shut. The other horses that are ok with the top doors open have them shut when the weather is bad as if we didnt we could have lost a roof a few times.
 
I've seen a horse shut in for safety reasons, a number of horses shut in after sedation just as GT_02 said, and sometimes shut the top door of one horse who grabs the headcollars of others when the farrier is trying to work on them. No one seemed bothered by having the door shut, if anything they seemed calmer.
 
We used to have chains on our doors that enabled the YO and I to shut our top doors halfway, this was due to the weather during winter. At that yard they do top door horses that are being silly/ naughty in their stables.
 
I shut the top doors when weaning. Or after weaning when leaving foalie on his/her own or taking a horse away. Is for their safety. Gradually I leave the top door open for longer and longer periods.

I am happier knowing that they are shut in if I am not there!
 
Top door was shut on Blue tonight.... seeing as he had a stallion tied up outside his stable.... suffice to say even with the top door shut said stallion had to be moved!

Also shut the top doors when the babies were weaned!
 
So, if there is silliness with a horse if it's left on its own whilst others are out hacking etc does this calm them down, shutting the top door? Just as I have never thought of trying that - possibly duh me!!

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So, if there is silliness with a horse if it's left on its own whilst others are out hacking etc does this calm them down, shutting the top door? Just as I have never thought of trying that - possibly duh me!!


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It certainly works, I had an ex racehorse who would stress himself into a frenzy if we rode out the others and left him behind - but would be quite happy if left in with the top door shut.
 
Only ever done it if vet needs the stable to be very dark when say checking horses' eyes etc.

Also done it to keep stable dry when my horse is turned out, if say it is blowing rain/snow towards the stables.
 
My horses would get wound up even more if the top door was shut on them - they like to see what's going on. I suppose it's different for different horses so I wouldn't treat it as a 'quick fix' for a stressy horse.
 
We used to shut ours for a variety of reasons. On Bonfire Night, so they wouldnt get spooked as much by fireworks. When Ellie was young, we used to have to shut hers every time another horse left the yard, otherwise she would throw herself at the door trying to follow
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With the door shut, she seemed much calmer! Also when the weather was really bad, and if wind/rain/sleet were driving into the yard. And when a horse had a bath, we had a stable with an infra red light that we used to put them in to dry off - we'd always shut the top door then as well
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I have never used my top doors but think I will be on Saturday. My gelding used to be a hunter til I got him, and the hunt is coming round near us on Saturday, it was suggested that at the first sight of the horses or hearing the dogs or horn he may well try to join them!! So unfortunatly he will be in his bed with his doors closed
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Not risking him injuring himself in the field as just got him back into work!!
 
I have never had top doors to shut, but on occasion it would have been handy to have had them. My stables are in a barn so I only have two sets of sliding doors.
 
Someone else with the same problem as me, its not the filly mind just my gelding who wants to kill her if i am with her and not him, yet out in the field he loves her??? we dont have a top door though as we are in barn like stables!
 
i like lots of air getting int he stables so mine have their windows open(back of stable- as the doors are in a barn part)
otherwise i worry they are getting too dusty in there as my hay is stored int eh barn part(no where else to keep it)
if its raining really hard and blowing in i will close them.
horses only in overnight.
plus the 2yo kicks the door if she cant see out her window at whats going on!lol.
 
I would never shut my top door and think its pretty mean and very unhealthy to do so if its a normal stable layout, I mean itd probably be fine if it was an American Barn type layout inside as obviously thats far more airy with more to look at that a stable all on its own if you know what I mean. I think its totally unnatural to close a horse completely in a small enclosed area however.
 
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I have never used my top doors but think I will be on Saturday. My gelding used to be a hunter til I got him, and the hunt is coming round near us on Saturday, it was suggested that at the first sight of the horses or hearing the dogs or horn he may well try to join them!! So unfortunatly he will be in his bed with his doors closed
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Not risking him injuring himself in the field as just got him back into work!!

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May I suggest you try him with the top door shut before Saturday so that if he gets overexcited you know whether it's because of the hunt or because he doesn't like the door shut?
 
Maiden used to live in a stable with an extra window (with a flap to close it) but no top door. I used to close that in bad weather simply because the nail in the flap would give way in strong winds and I didn't want it slamming shut on my horse's head!
The only time I shut horses in is when they are door kickers. We have two chronic door kickers at work. They are kept open as much as possible but sometimes they will bang for the hell of it (they have hay) and they will be shut in to save their knees (and the doors, and my sanity!)
I hate doing it but it's preferable to losing my rag with them
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2 of our stables had been knocked into 1 big one when my girly had her foal, and there is now a partition back up there to make it back into 2 stables. These 2 stables don't have an over hang over them, and I will shut the top doors on these 2 stables, as the 2 babies in there can see each other and are quite happy.

I usually only do this if it is a very cold wind or rain / hail blowing in.

I haven't ever shut the other 2 stables' top doors - they have an over hang over the doors, and its very rare for the rain / hail to get as far as getting into the stable.
 
We shut the top door on my stallion sometimes (only for brief periods) when something is going to be happening on the yard that is likely to over-excite him, such as a mare being teased or another stallion being led out to cover a mare.

The important thing is to shut the top door before the potentially exciting 'event' has started - if he has already seen what's happening, shutting the top door will result in a lot of outraged shouting and banging!
 
My top doors are shut every night because of the wind, we're on the side of a hill and my stables face into the usual wind direction. The stables are very airy inside and have open windows at the back. I do feel bad doing it, but better to shut the door than loose the roof!
 
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