A stable for horses or for people?

When a stable is designed and built, comfort for people is often provided, and the comfort of the horse is provided as a residual. But for whom should the stable be built: for the horses that live there, or for the people who come to visit? And how to make the horse’s stay in the stable comfortable?

Stable for horses: organization of life

To make the stable for horses as comfortable as possible, you should follow a number of rules:

1. The main principles in the design and construction of a stable for a horse should be safety, comfort for the horse, and only then convenience for the person.
2. The horse must see other animals. Moreover, other horses should be so close that the animals can smell each other and communicate.
3. Don’t assume that if a horse walks or grazes all day, he will be comfortable in isolation at night. Rule #2 is in effect around the clock.
4. It is good if the door from the stall leads to the levada, while it is always open. So the horse will have a choice: to be in the stable or in the open. You’d be surprised how often horses choose the latter. Sometimes, even during heavy rain, they prefer “water procedures” to imprisonment in four walls.
5. Consider the type of soil on the parade ground and in the arena. It should not be too hard, but not too soft, not dusty, not slippery or viscous. The soil is also important to keep in good condition.
6. The indoor arena needs good ventilation.
7. Stalls measuring 3 by 3 meters will fit only a small pony. The horse needs enough space to lie down and get up safely. To understand what a large horse is like in a cramped room, imagine that you were put in a cell measuring 1,5 by 1,5 meters – you are unlikely to be happy.
8. In the wild, horses choose who they associate with, but in today’s stables, they most often have no choice. And yet, try to take into account their preferences: put your friends in neighboring stalls and release them into the levada or pasture together. If there are warring horses in neighboring stalls, this is fraught with chronic stress.
9. It is better to place the feeder in such a way that while eating the horse has the opportunity to see what is happening around. It is worth feeding the horse from the floor – this position is natural for the horse and optimal from the point of view of physiology.

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