Ask Tiny Fuzzy who is all of 32" tall - she has a 10 x 12 at her disposal but prefers the field shelter which is 22 x 11 (the latter provides her own allocated eating, sleeping and w.c facilities in different corners of it for her )
Old lady was in a 10x12 last year and has been in a small 12x12. She can move and lie down quite well in 10x12 but prefers a 12x12 for her lying down and stretching...now she's in a 13x13 one...and a giant one at that
She's 14.2hh and welsh x
my 11hh brp stable is 12x 8 as that is what fits in my barn, its 12ft long by 8ft wide and he has plenty of room, my 15hh youngster was in a 17x 11.5ft and then my spare is 15x11.5ft. My stables were designed to fit in the barn with out having to modify the barn layout, I do have a beam across the roof space of each stable but this doesnt affect them unless they rear but mine dont, there wouldnt be the head space for a big horse but nothing over 15.2hh would be here anyway as im a short a*se.
Thanks everyone - interesting. I remember ponies in my youth at riding schools being housed in about 8 x 8 or being tied up in narrow stalls. I think today's ponies are so lucky as most boxes are 12 x 12.
My 14hh has been living in a 14x8 stable which I feel is too narrow (we're in the process of building new 12x12 boxes) but was all i had available.
However, she managed to lie down comfortably - she's never been the sort to stretch flat out though, she always tucks her legs in underneath her very elegantly, even in the field!
Where I live 10' x 10' is acceptable for a horse. 12' x 12' is regularly described as 'Airy'
My stables are 11' x 10' and 16handers actually manage very well in those.
Larger is better of course but I wouldn't have a problem using smaller stables for ponies. I get three 13.2 to 14h in a 20' x 11' quite comfortably.
When the minis come in for vet, farrier etc they go in goat stalls which are 5' x 5.5' the first thing they always do is lie down and go to sleep, but then they are actually smaller than a couple of my goats
There was another one lying down in there out of shot as well.
Orchardbeck - ponies are so adaptable but I bet you are excited about having larger stables, which are always easier to keep clean as the poop doesn't get so tramped in.
Enfys - very encouraging as we may have to go for smaller stables than we are used to simply to stay in the flattest area of our new home. Digging out for a new yard revealed a metre difference in height from one end of the stables to the other. I SO love the photo - what happy animals. You say where you live 10 x 10 is acceptable for a horse may I ask which part of the country you are in?
Horse management is often quite different here, smaller stalls, smaller paddocks, more horses kept in dry lots, are all perfectly normal.
When I first came over and was looking for horses the stabling and paddock arrangements at some training establishments horrified me. 16h Quarter horses in 9 x 9 stalls, 10 horses in a half acre dirt corral ... hell of a shock to a dyed in the wool BHS mind
Now, although I don't choose to keep my horses that way, I am used to it, and no longer stand there quite speechless with shock.
ps. I made a mistake with the measurements of the stalls I use for my minis, they are in split 10' x 11' stalls, so it is 5' x 10' ish not 5' x 5' . Not as bad as it may have sounded at first.
Crikey, your land sounds very hilly.
As a matter of interest in North America we have many 'bank barns' which are either built into hills or have the ground built up on one side, split level in other words. The livestock go on the bottom level which is underground at the back and open out to yards at the front. Then machinery or hay is stored on the second level, often there are three levels. Apparently not uncommon in parts of the UK ether.
Enfys - this is all not only very helpful it is also fascinating. I used to be an equestrian writer and like you when I travelled I saw some sights that would make a lot of UK horse lovers uncomfortable to say the least. Yes we are very hilly in our part of Devon but we have amazing views so it is worth it.
Patchworkpony, I imagine the writing and travelling was a very interesting job, did you go to any really out of the way places? (Why did Mongolia pop into my mind then?)
I grew up in Devon, near Honiton, then later Plymouth and then Bovey. I miss the Devon countryside, little fields and rolling hills, and I loved the moors, although now I suspect it would take me a while to get used to again. I am surrounded by 400 acre fields, tobacco and broccoli this year. If we didn't have trees in the way it is so flat here I could see for miles. Like this, (taken from 1500' in a balloon) we live somewhere on the left :-
Enfys - I was very lucky and saw some great sights as a writer. I went behind the scenes at the Vienna Riding School and the Carde Noir at saumur , rode across parts of Ireland, rode the white horses across the Camargue (on dreadful wooden-tree saddles), drove a pair of army horses in Switzerland, visited and got involved with various polo centres and much more. The cherry on the cake was meant to be taking part in the annual buffalo drive in South Dakota (the same herd that was featured in Dances With Wolves) followed by driving a team of mules on the Oregon Trail but OH broke his leg very badly out hunting just before we were due to make all the final arrangements so that sadly never happened. Writing certainly opens doors to things you would never see otherwise.
We lived near Honiton for many years but East Devon it is now becoming too busy. Your countryside looks stunning!
Woooooooo, small world. I grew up in Farway and Northleigh.
I am very envious of your experiences, as a writer you obviously got to see the workings rather than just the public face of things. What fun.
Our countryside is deadly dull by the way, which is partly why we intend to move further north (ish) where there are hills, Little Britain really In fact, I believe there is a place called Little Britain somewhere in Ontario.
The great thing is Enfys if you can string a proper sentence together and be enthusiastic and have experience of your chosen subject anyone can be a writer and if you get to be good most editors will take your arm off. I used to write for a lot of American horse magazines and it really did open a lot of doors for me, offering a real chance to get behind the scenes. Anyone can do it if they are prepared to put the time and effort in to building a CV - the trick is to start small, with less known publications, and then gradually build up to the big boys. I was paid as much as a $ a word by some of the airline magazines. By the way Farway and Northleigh are my favourite parts of East Devon.
We used to live in Mill House, by the ford (before they fancied it up and cut down the tree in the courtyard, and God Knows what they have done to the guts of the house ) and then we had the Barton beside Netherton Hall (when it was still just one house not about 10 des rez's) my family still own land in Farway now, even though we haven't lived there for years.
I often go for a Google wander around the lanes there and everything seems SO tiny now, with hedges! and corners!
Do you still write? $ a word, nice job! I really do envy you that experience.
Enfys - no I don't write at that level these days, I have all but retired from writing. Interesting that you Google the lanes - the high hedges and corners in Devon are a nightmare if you are carriage driving there is just nowhere to go if you meet a tractor.