Stalling for Time-Caring for your Horse's Inside Habitat

Articles on Horses | Topics: horses, horse, equestrian

by Kade Pennington

A horse's health greatly depends on the condition in which he lives. The stall must be clean and of adequate size for the type of horse and his roaming grounds should be free of any hazardous materials. Most of all, the horse should receive adequate food, water and be able to exercise on a regular basis. When caring for your horses inside habitat, consider these tips to help your horse live a happy and healthy life.

1. The first part of providing the horse with proper care is to choose the type of stall. Normally a 12 by 12 foot stall would be sufficient for most horses, but the larger horses would need more space.

2. Consider getting a stall that has an adjacent Dutch paddock door. This way the horse will be able to walk freely inside and outside. Or if you choose to leave the horse in the stall, the Dutch style has upper and lower portions of the door, so you can open the upper half and allow sunlight and fresh air into the stall while the bottom half is keeping him in his stall.

3. Always provide the horse with plenty of fresh, clean water that is easily accessible to the horse. Fresh water is especially important on the warmer days, when the horse will need to drink more cool water to avoid over heating.

4. Feed from a trough to keep all food off the floor. Eating off the floor may cause ingestion of sand or fly eggs that can lead to colic and other problems.

5. Stalls made of wood are the best type to have because wood stalls are more horse friendly, unlike concrete walls that can damage the horse's feet if kicked. Also be sure that the stall has no exposed wires or nails that could injure the horse.

6. Ventilation but not drafty, is extremely important. Bacteria and other unwelcome guests love to breed in stale areas. You should be able to open the doors to allow the air the to circulate throughout the stall or barn.

Quote of the Day

Since then—’tis Centuries—and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses Heads
Were toward Eternity—

—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

7. Keep the stall clean of manure and make sure the urine is allowed to drain from the stall. Horses can produce about 40 pounds of manure and urine each day, which must be removed daily. A product called Stall Dry can be purchased from most feed and tack stores. Just sprinkle Stall Dry on wet areas of the ground in generous amounts and it will absorb any moisture and odor and help keep the barn smelling great.

8. The bedding you choose should be comfortable for the horse. Although straw is often used for bedding, the ideal bedding would be shavings on top of dirt and sand for drainage, because some horses may try to eat the straw. In the colder months more bedding can be used, but it is always a good idea to have a couple of horse blankets on hand. Whatever bedding you choose, be sure it is comfortable for the horse and free of any toxins.

9. Horses should have a large area to roam, run and play in. Horses should be allowed at least 30 minutes of turn out time per day. Two or more horses can be turned out at a time, but be careful that you choose the mates carefully to avoid aggression. Freedom is very important to maintaining a horse's well-being. Horses who are kept in stall for an extended amount of time can develop objectionable habits like cribbing or weaving. Horses need to be free to roam as often as possible, unless from some reason they are too ill to leave the stall.

10. Fly control is a very big issue that must be controlled. It's very important to make the stable and barn as uninviting to flies as possible and to take the appropriate means to rid the horses of these pests.

11. If the horse is a cribber, meaning that he chews on exposed wood or anything in the stall, than you may want to invest in some Bitter Apple, or other distasteful spray that would keep him from chewing. These sprays can be found in most pet or tack stores and can even be purchased from your veterinarian.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Stalling for Time-Caring for your Horse's Inside Habitat" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by DogsPetsCats.com.

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