Social stallion boxes, this seems like progress...

[milliepops]

Not sure if this has already been shared but this looks like an interesting study and now put into practice at one stud in Germany

https://eurodressage.com/2021/04/08...e-social-boxes-stallions-based-swiss-research

stallion boxes with open spaces for interaction... i wonder if their hearts were in their mouths to begin with? though it sounds as though they are quite forward thinking in their stallion housing at this particular place.

I'm always interested in stable designs esp having a weird horse with baggage in the stable, but I think she'd have her front leg striking through that gap in a flash! ouch!

 

[ester]

As you saw Frank's new friend reaction I'm thinking exactly the same as you

 

[Michen]

Gosh I wouldn't even want Bog and Bear next to eachother in that set up despite them sharing a field (and sometimes a stable!)

 

[milliepops]

As you saw Frank's new friend reaction I'm thinking exactly the same as you

yeah he said "For the first few days we bandaged the boys"
sod bandaging, i'd be thinking riot shields, haha.

i love the idea in theory, i think Kira would be so happy with this. but the horse the other side would need to wear a padded suit.

 

[Scotsbadboy]

Interesting read and a nice way of stabling. They just need to touch a bit of grass and mud for more than five minutes now and we could be on to a winner

 

[milliepops]

the stud website looks pretty good in that respect. google stopped translating a few pages in but it seems much more horse centric than some.

 

[ycbm]

I like it. It looks like the bottom bar and the side bars are strong plastic or plastic coated. You'd need to be really sure that the horses shoulders couldn't get stuck in the gap, and the stable had to be very big to let a shy one so
stay back behind the wall, but I think it's a very good idea.

 

[daffy44]

I love it in theory, but I would be nervous of a front leg striking through that gap!

But I guess it depends on a lot on how the stallions are brought up. I used to work with stallions and they were all kept in stables with bars all the way around the top half of the walls, so they could sniff and touch through the bars, and we always had stallions or geldings side by side and there was never an issue. They were competition horses, so they were good about being ridden and traveling with mares, they were pretty civilised, and they did not do live cover, they were collected from on the dummy which I'm sure helped.

But these stallions look very happy with the arrangement, and I think thats lovely.

 

[Xmasha]

Its great to see people looking at better designs, but that design scares the bejesus out of me.

 

[Barlow]

This is great to see. My gelding is stabled next to a stallion. They happily talk through the stable bars and feed each hay from their nets. It’s a proper bromance!

 

[SEL]

We've got 'windows' between our stables (holes in the breeze blocks with iron bars across them) and most horses are OK but the one we had to block up was for a new mare that came and decided to start kicking out at the box next door - both barrels, caught the breeze blocks a few times and we were worried she'd get high enough to get a leg caught in a bar.

I think my mare would be leg striking through that gap too, but I like the fact they are trying solutions to socialise them. A friend keeps her PRE stallion with 2 shetland geldings - he's not in charge!

 

[conniegirl]

Cobbus is not a stallion but this would be a very very bad idea for him, its already bad enough when he can reach over the wall.

 

[Equi]

If it works for some then great. I love the more cattle like hay feeding system, that would save so much dirty hay in beds ?

my little stallions were stabled with buddies and could reach over the partition so they could groom etc easily. Always worked well and both were very social.

 

[Palindrome]

It's a similar design to the hay feeders that are very popular right now. They are even used with youngsters (with hay on one side and the horses on the other), so far I haven't heard of accidents, the width is supposed to be just right so they can get their head in and out easily.

 

[The Jokers Girl]

Having seen horses kick the living daylights put of each other through electric tape this just leaves my heart in my mouth. Would they be better having some sort of solid partition part way up and then the gaps for socialising and grooming so no bum to bum kicking or front leg sticking can occur.
On a positive I love that they are thinking if innovative ways to improve improve quality of their horses lives. It is great to see stuff like this and with a few tweaks to design it should become mandatory for most places that have horses with restricted interaction.

 

[scruffyponies]

Great idea. I have had the joy of seeing mine out with their buddies behaving naturally over many years. They are typically MORE social than the geldings; always the first to greet each other. The striking/squealing/sniffing is ritualistic and greatest between closely bonded stallions. The idea of them stabled alone would break my heart.

 

[milliepops]

I like it. It looks like the bottom bar and the side bars are strong plastic or plastic coated. You'd need to be really sure that the horses shoulders couldn't get stuck in the gap, and the stable had to be very big to let a shy one so
stay back behind the wall, but I think it's a very good idea.

Can't remember if it was in the article or the one linked from it, but they padded the bars, and the stables are 5x5m, linked in pairs so the horses have a closed side to go to if they want private space.

 

[TheMule]

I think it is such a massive step forwards to not treat stallions like they need to be caged behind bars 24/7. If they have been raised properly in a herd and this is the system they are bought in to with new introductions carefully managed then I can’t see it causing a proble. Of course and older stallion who is poorly socialised may not cope.

 

[Mule]

That's great, stallions can be so isolated. Some have a very unnatural lifestyle, it's no wonder that they get the reputation of being difficult. Of course that leads some people to isolate them even more. I know one who lives alone and I'm not sure how often he gets to leave his stable

 

[honetpot]

Stallions can get along fine. https://www.facebook.com/wildfireforgeUK/photos/pcb.1355097838184716/1355097411518092/

 

[ycbm]

It's a similar design to the hay feeders that are very popular right now. They are even used with youngsters (with hay on one side and the horses on the other), so far I haven't heard of accidents, the width is supposed to be just right so they can get their head in and out easily.

View attachment 69827

I'm not sure if those two are in separate stables, but I have seen set ups where horses eat with their heads through bars when kept as a herd (like cows are) and it gives me the heeby jeebies. All it takes is a bit of a herd tussle and the risk of a broken neck is huge.
.

 

[splashgirl45]

love the idea behind it but feel nervous that there is nothing to stop striking out or kicking.. there was a newly gelded horse in my old yard. my mare was happily in her field, the ex colt got out and was quite excited saying hello but she was anti and struck out, missed him but she got her leg caught in the fence, cost me quite a bit in vets fees, i know striking out is very much a mare thing but in those stables i would want a solid bottom part of the gap....

 

[CanteringCarrot]

My gelding lived out with a stallion for awhile. Imagine that. A stallion living outside and with another horse...as if the stallion was a horse or something.


It looks like they put some thought and research behind it. If it works for the horses, why not? Much better than being isolated.

 

[ester]

I know stallions get on with being social fine.
It's just this particular set up I can't quite get my head round.

Maybe this leg greeting is just a welsh thing that they never grow out of ?? (given the responses ) and warmbloods don't do it?!

 

[milliepops]

Tbf I haven't had another horse that's done the Welsh Handshake
The study in the article linked had no injuries that sounded like they could be related to a strike out (some bites and skin wounds from banging their heads, that was before the padding).

 

[oldie48]

There's been a couple of stallions on Rose's yard. Currently one of them is stabled at the end of the block next to a gelding. He is regularly hacked with the gelding and they can say hello when stabled both in the stable and out on their balcony. Rose is often tacked up in the next bay and he's just a really well behaved boy with all his bits!

 

[DabDab]

Tbf I haven't had another horse that's done the Welsh Handshake
The study in the article linked had no injuries that sounded like they could be related to a strike out (some bites and skin wounds from banging their heads, that was before the padding).

It's definitely a welshie trait. I've seen both my girls strike out on the odd occasion, but it is not the go-to greeting the way it is with the welshies.

I like it, and hope more start coming up with something a bit more innovative for stallions. My big lad grew up in a bachelor herd with his dad and brothers and has a few little stalliony behaviours that he obviously mimicked at some point and it stuck. I find them quite cute. He also used to live with a stallion at the livery yard I kept him at, and tbh I never really thought anything of it.

 

[palo1]

We have had geldings living with a stallion and stallions living together (well out of the way of mares) in a turned out setting and all was well. No serious injuries (I can't actually think of any minor ones either) but you do have to be cautious in some particular ways. It may actually easier to manage stallions if they can be social (ime) depending on the set up and work load/life style of the stallions in particular. But it probably wouldn't be that easy for a busy stud! Happy stallions that have chance to be normal horses are generally easier to deal with but it is unusual to keep entire horses socially in the UK.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I love it in theory, but I would be nervous of a front leg striking through that gap!

But I guess it depends on a lot on how the stallions are brought up. I used to work with stallions and they were all kept in stables with bars all the way around the top half of the walls, so they could sniff and touch through the bars, and we always had stallions or geldings side by side and there was never an issue. They were competition horses, so they were good about being ridden and traveling with mares, they were pretty civilised, and they did not do live cover, they were collected from on the dummy which I'm sure helped.

But these stallions look very happy with the arrangement, and I think thats lovely.

When my horse was entire they were kept the same way as what you describe and we never had any problems with it, they all got on and enjoyed the interaction with each other as well

 

[paddy555]

my stallion just lives with the rest of my horses as did my previous stallion. The current one is surrounded by other horses when he is stabled at night. He has a gelding on one side, his son opposite and a mare also opposite. No problem but he and his son have a very strange habit of "French kissing" they stretch their heads out so they can reach each other and stand licking each others tongues. It goes on forever. Still, I suppose whatever keeps them happy.