Your Ideal Stable Block...

[Mollymillymoo]

Heya guys!

I was wondering, if you could plan your own stable yard how would you have it? What mod-cons would you have? Is there anything (aside from storage and stables elec and water!) you would consider a neccessity?

I ask as we are having a new block built at home to replace our current ones, and although I don't get to choose the make or layout due to planning restrictions, I can play about with gadgets/more minor details.

Have many of you built your own yards and what ideas did you have which are realllly helpful? Do you paint your stables?

Basically anything to do with having a yard built, or your ideal yard, write it up!

 

[monkeybum13]

Automatic water drinkers.

Save so much time in spring, summer, autumn although I use a tub trug in the winter incase the pipes freeze up.

 

[wellsat]

I like to have an opening window at the rear of the stable so that you can get fresh air blwoing through your stable when necessary. I hate stuffy, smelly stables. My other big requirement is a well draining floor that runs outside to a drain and then rubber matting. If they were my own stables I'd have them sealed so I never had to lift them.

 

[stencilface]

Rubber walkways, covered areas for clipping, wash box, heat lamps as the basics. Heated tack room, rug room.

Next up wiould be a pool for the horses

 

[Mollymillymoo]

we have never used rubber mats... why do you use them? why rubber walkways?

 

[Mollymillymoo]

I'd love to have a pool for them!! unfortunately I'm not that rich

 

[stencilface]

Rubber mats in stables to save on bedding and them slipping. And rubber walkways as our concrete is getting older and smoother and more slippy

I'll never be rich enough for anything on my list!

 

[wellsat]

Rubber mats are wonderful for so many reasons. I wouldn't want to be without. They act as insulation for your stable and make the floor warmer so I would imagine they'd be helpful to a horse with stiff joints. They make sure that your horse can't knock themselves on the floor if they dig a hole in their bed in the night. I find that one of the best things is that they act like a draining board for wee. If your stable slopes correctly then the wee will run down through the bedding, under the mats and out the door. Saves you alot of bedding and much nicer for your horse than the bedding soaking it up.

 

[Enfys]

Stable doors back and front, so that horses can go straight out into turnout pens, or at least have the top door open.

By block do you mean the traditional outside stables rather than barn type?

I wouldn't have outdoor stalls if I was paid to now, I like everything under one roof. What I'd add to my barn if I ripped the insides out and started again would be a wash/grooming stall. What would make it better, and is quite normal, is to have the indoor leading straight out of the stable area, no need to freeze your butt off or have to plow a walkway to get to it that way. I wouldn't bother with automatic waterers, I don't like them, but I would have power points outside each stall (need those for the heated buckets)

I am not a fan of rubber matting so that wouldn't be coming anywhere near my barn.

Yes, I do paint my stables, outside is bog standard green, inside is white and green, although it is due re-painting, I may go for red next time, or there is a really nice turquoise I can get now, maybe that...thank God we don't have planning nazis, a friend of mine has just painted her barn black and white stripes!!!!!!

 

[Becca-84]

I like the idea of the indoor school leading straight off the barn Enfys! I'd consider rubber walkways to avoid slippery concrete on icy winter days. Good drainage and ventilation. Also think about position of the stables with regard to the prevailing wind/sun. Definately a wash box, preferably with hot and cold water. Lighting, heating and electric points in the tack room, plenty of storage (rug racks, saddle racks, storage boxes/drawers etc). I'd have great fun designing my own stable block, especially if the budget was unlimited

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Mines pretty ideal from my perspective, a mini barn with opening top doors on the exterior as well as normal stable doors onto the wide central gangway.

The one thing we've been really pleased we spent the extra on was the very heavy duty (like they use them for runways!) cast iron drain channel covers. The lightweight ones you get with the clips are just really dangerous IMO, as they can spring right out. These are amazing and the drainage is perfect.

We wanted a mini barn anyway as the site is on the edge of the Cairngorms and very exposed, and because of the slope it was even higher at the front! Council liked it too as it looked a bit more agricultural and we are a farm so that fitted well.

No auto waterers, like to see how much neds are drinking. We did paint it, told council it would be natural colour, we did dark green with dark green walls and white doors internally. Stables are painted white, more poo stains but a lot brighter and lighter. Slosh a fresh coat on up to poo level every year.

Here they are! (note the sacks of salt/grit, we get a LOT of snow! 3months solid last winter, so am prepared!

 

[only_me]

Well, I would love square courtyard stable block, with a woodchip area in the middle (about 12 stables, 3 each side with a tack room, wash bay/farrier bay.) the woodchip area in middle would be fenced off and so they could be turned out there during the day for an hour.

The stables would be 14x14, black to door height and then white paint above poo level.

Door to front and back.
The back door would open into a private walk area for each stable, about 14x6 so they could mooch about as they please.
The bottom half of the private pens would be rubber matted on the walls, but the wall/bars high enough so that they couldnt kick each other.

The stables themselves would have excellent draining and each wall of the square would have 2 sockets.
Stables would have high roofs with a skylight type thing in each one so more natural light is let in. Oh and overhangs, so rain wouldnt go into stable.

In my "yard" there would also be a spa and a walker with a roof

A girl can dream!

 

[1987]

I have 2 indoor stables and 2 outdoor stables and what I have learnt from mine and would like if I did it again would be top door/window openings at the back of the stable, a painted inside to make it brighter, each stable having it's own light as I hate switching all of the stable lights on watching the poor horses blinking when I only wanted the outside light on.
Outside sockets are essential as well.
In my barn stables I don't have a line of bricks or anything to stop all of the bedding coming out when they walk out of the stable, this really annoys me as I like my outside stables as they have the bricks there. The horses soon learn to pick their feet up.
I would make sure you have a tie up bit that is fenced off if it is outside, in a barn it is slightly different.
Definitely a heated tackroom or even just heated rails for rugs. A place dedicated to drying rugs is also very useful. Somewhere to store your hay/bedding.

 

[Aoibhin]

all 15x15 stables (as my grans has now although in need of repairs to roofs now) in an internal barn with windows to rear & sliding doors onto the central walkway.
hay loft with drop through into long low hay racks (barred from a foot from floor to ceiling) with very narrow bars & long watering troughs.
also each stable would have its own tack room beside so kit diddnt get muddled up & used on the wrong horse.