walls or bars seperating your horses stables??

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Corona

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Do you prefer to have solid walls or bars (so the horses can see each other 24/7) in your stable?

Currently in stables which have bars except the back wall. I used to think this was fantastic, horses able to see each other and bond etc, but i'm really changing my mind. My horses neighbour hates him with a passion, and come feed time they are both pulling faces and being rather nasty with one another. I'm even thinking of moving yards, as I think sometimes my boy would like some privacy, and they cannot escape each other as it is. May also try suggesting blocking a large proportion of the wall off, maybe with some wood, so they can see each toher if they want, or not.

What do you think?

x
 
Ours are split in to two stable blocks so wall, bars wall. all get on well but have had to move around to keep friends together.

Try feeding at opposite sides. Is there room to through un-used rugs over?! just gives a bit of a block. Or woul you be able to swap with some one else?!
 
some like it (mine is much happier) but then he and his neighbour have a bit of a bromance going on. Others can't cope (particularly at feeding times) with another horse "that" close-you could try just getting a board put up? or try slinging a rug over as long as neither horse is one of the great rug trashers?
 
I prefer bars. But if neighbours dont get on then i would swap neighours or board up most of the bars, particularly near feeding place.

Its natural behaviour to pull faces at feed time because of being protective over food but it can be stresful for the horse and should be prevented if possible.
 
Well, if they don't get along, I'd block the bars off. Some of the horses at our yard manage to quarrel through the hole over their mangers
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They don't really bother with each apart from tea time. I may try putting the rugs over just whilst they both get thier buckets (although I have a strong inkling they would both have a nibble). The pony is a childs pony and looks absolutely demonic whilst the poor girls is trying to put his tea in and his rugs on etc, and I feel my boy will go the same way! hmmm
 
*Chavhorse apologises as she stands on her soapbox*

After my horse rolled and got cast with his hind foot in the bars dividing the stable, he needed 4 months total field rest, lost all the skin on one side of his body, missed his tendon by a fag paper, cost over 4k in vets fees and at one point we really thought we were going to lose him. I would never ever put him in a stable with bars ever again.

I thought it was a mad idea of the Dutch to put bars up then I posted the below and we got some English horror stories as well.

Sorry for being somewhat evangelical about this but I had no idea at the time that bars could cause an accident like this if I had I would have been asking to board out the bars at my own expense.

*Steps off Soapbox and says sorry for hijacking the thread*





http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/5177783/page/0/fpart/1/vc/1
 
I have had experince with both. We built our own stables at home and i decided high walls were my best option. Untill my monster of a horse knocked one down. She now has a slightly lower wall but that only works because her mum is next door so they can fuss and groom each other and share there haynets. It really would be a nightmare if it was another horse next door She would be constantly pulling faces they need some privacy in my experience.
I would board half of it off he will be happy then .
 
Chavhorse.... since reading that post I have got one of those soap-boxs and I preach to anyone who will listen... I also took the liberty of posting the link on another forum (and got told of on here for doing so...) , hope you don't mind, but if it prevents a similar accident I'm sure it was worth upsetting some HHO'ers!!
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For me it would be a wall everytime, mine just wouldn't settle with bars and wouldn't eat etc and after reading about the accidents ^^^^^^^^ I would board out any new stable myself.
 
I used to like bars, but like you have changed my mind. Genie is MUCH calmer since moving to a stable with walls, so she doesn't have horses looking in on her all the time.
 
Walls...... Ive heard the horror stories too about legs going through bars. Same thing has also happened with barred head dividers on horsebox partitions.
 
I think wall with a fairly small "window" so the horses have privacy but can also see each other for a chat is probably the best way. I would never have thought of Chavhorse's experience happening - it's incredible the things you learn on here! I'll remember that.
 
Always walls for me. A horse I knew got cast one night, got its hoof stuck through the bars and pretty much ripped its leg of struggling to get free. Have always been terrified of bars since then.
 
We have high breeze block walls - about 5'6" between our stables so the horses can see each other and also have a scratch with their next door neighbour but when they are eating they cannot see each other and so don't get stressed.
 
Mine are similar to that, the two "pony stables" are converted farrowing pens so have seriously heavy duty brick walls to about 3'3 tall. All the ponies have enjoyed being in them, nothing has ever seemed to want privacy and I've never had a problem with anything box walking or weaving in them.
 
Our yard used to be a pig farm, hence the big *pens* The horses LOVE it, when we cannot turn out due to ice/wet they can still interact and *be a horse* - people think it is odd but then they see how contented they all are and are very readily converted! As you can just make out, ours all have higher walls at the back third (but on opp side of the yard they do not), so if horse wants privacy, stand at back of box. There is a walkway at back of boxes too and windows, it works well
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I used to be at a yard with walls like that they could reach over - cost me a flaming fortune getting the neck rugs fixed as they grabbed and pulled them off each other!!

I actually cut a grille into the solid walls of the yard I moved to. No horses had ever settled in them before, they could hear their neighbour next door but had no idea what the noise was which lead to unsettled horses. Haven't looked back as they all settled immediately after the grilles were cut.

Accidents happen. After having been hit by a bus, a car, a horse shredding its leg in a gate, a horse pulling an entire front panel out of wooden sectional stables and taking off round the yard with it, plus another tied up to a hinge of a door with baler twine (not tied up by me!) and ending up ripping the door off the hinges and running round with the door wrapped round its legs, getting tangled in hidden barbed wire out hacking, getting its head stuck in a hay ring in the field etc etc.... (these are all my horses haven't even needed any "friends" horses, I'll take my chance with my grilles!! I am far more concerned about temporary stabling at events than my stables at home!
 
Weezy, I LOVE your stalls, how big are they? (I know your boy is a fair old size) I have always thought that they looked like pig or calf pens because I had pens just like that on the farm in Devon, except they WERE full of pigs!
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Mine had solid oak walls almost up to the ceiling, see far end on the right hand side, we broke a chainsaw cutting them down to about 6' ( 1.5" oak planks, double layered- nothing kicks these walls twice!) I also took down most of the bars on the front walls, some were left up but only because taking them down was more trouble than it was worth. The horses can talk over the side or front walls if they want, mostly they don't bother. The stalls are only used for Vet/Farrier visits and at foaling time anyway.
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OP, I think that I would try covering the bars up with something if your horse is unsettled by her neighbour.
 
That's Casper, not Ted, but he is 16.3
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They are approx 17meters long by 6 meters wide, I am actually going to pace it out today! We are trying to persuade the YO to convert our barn into an indoor ATM as it is a perfect size
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