Housing of Horses

STALL ARRANGEMENT

Stalls in the stable shall be arranged in a single or double row depending upon the number of animals.

The width of the passage shall be 1.5 to 2 m in single row system and 2.5 to 3 m in double row system.

In double row system the stalls shall be so constructed that the horse do not face each other.

The height from the floor to the roof shall be at least 4 m in the case of flat roof and 3 m from the floor level to the tie beam in gabled roof.

DIMENSIONS OF STALLS

Size of animal	lenght (m)	width(m)	height(m)
Small horse	3.0	2.5	1.9
Light/average/meidum	3.5	3.0	1.9
Large	4.0	3.5	1.9

STALL DIVISION

Shall be of hard wood of sufficient strength or of reinforced concrete or of brick work. In case of wooden partition, a gap of at least 15 cm, between the bottom of the partition and the floor level, shall be provided.

MANGER

Manger may be in 3 parts for providing grains, hay and water. The manger shall have a wide thick top of chinrest made of reinforced concrete to avoid crib-biting.

The hay rack may be of either mild steel bars or wooden poles and placed lower than the animal’s head and not above.

Dimensions of the manger shall be 45 cm wide at the top, 22 cm wide at the bottom, 75 cm long and 30 cm deep.

The bottom of the manger shall be 75 cm from the floor level.

The manger may be portable or built-in type. All the corners shall be well rounded.                                                                         

STUD DESIGN

The ideal stud has been carefully designed and built from scratch and subsequently soundly managed as a business so that mares, stallions and young stock can be safely and efficiently cared for. The following chapter outlines the basic requirements for a two stallion stud.

FUNCTIONAL UNITS OF STABLE

Stallion stable box

Mare's stable box

Foaling boxes

Young stock yard

Teasing and covering yard

Examination stocks

Paddocks

Fencing

Isolation boxes

STALLION BOXES

Horses require roomy, well-ventilated boxes and the stallion requires a box at least 14 feet by 14 feet (4.27 m x 4.27 m), and preferably bigger to prevent boredom.

Traditionally, stallions have been kept in separate yards, well away from the mares’ yard but it may be desirable for stallions not to be completely isolated from the yard activities.

If stallions are being frequently visited on a public stud it is wise to have strong grids on the doors to prevent the curious onlooker from constantly harassing the stallion.

The stallion’s name should be prominently displayed and the box should always look clean and tidy when prospective clients arrive

ACCOMODATION OF STALLION

The stallion boxes should be roomy, airy and should have plenty of light. 4.25 x 5.00 m is ideal size for the stallion box.

Earthern floors are usually preferable but these require frequent replacement and thorough ramming to keep them level. With a view to maintain proper hygiene and sanitation, the floor of the stallion boxes should be made with cement concrete, impervious and non-slippery by making grooves.

The floors should have very gentle slope towards the rear so that urine can flow and drained away easily.

Each stallion box should be provided with an independent feeding and water trough with rounded corners to facilitate easy cleaning.

There should be arrangements for proper cross ventilation and stallion boxes should have 3 m wide verandah (corridor) in front.

Each box should be provided with electric ceiling fan, all windows and doors should be fly proofed and there should be arrangements for coolers/khus khus. tatties to deal with the heat effect in summer months.

The stallion must be protected during winter from cold wind, by suit­able wind protector.

There should be open loose boxes made of pipe railings and posts, 7.25 x 7.25 m in size, well separated from each other, for keeping the stallions at night during hot summer months.

MARE BOXES

There should be at least 30 boxes for visiting mares; mares with a foal at foot require boxes of at least 12 x 14 feet (3.66 m x 4.27 m), and preferably 14 x 14 feet (4.27 m x 4.27 m).

A barn system is economical in terms of space and labour and can usefully take advantage of existing buildings.

 ACCOMMODATION

Stables for brood mares must be airy, roomy and protected from draughts. Brood mares as a rule are kept in liberty and should be provided with covered as well as open dry paddock.

Covered accommodation is provided at the scale of 4.25 X 2.50 m per mare and the brood mares should be stabled in small batches if individual boxes are not possible.

Ideal stable for a batch of 15 brood mares or 10 brood mares with foal at foot is 4.25 x 35.00 m covered standing and 35.00 x 75.00 m dry paddock.

The feeding troughs should be provided in the covered standing and as well as in the open dry paddocks. The mares should be allowed to roam about at their will under cover or in the open.

There should be a water trough, with running clean and fresh water provided outside in the dry paddock. Fencing for dry paddock should consist of upright angle iron posts with four strands of wire.

Each dry paddock should have some trees to provide shade for the brood mares. The ground should be level, sandy, free from stones and holes and must have facilities for quick draining during monsoons.

Each group of brood mares in the paddock should have an independent grazing paddock, easily approachable.

The foaling boxes should be roomy and spacious in order to provide enough room for the mare and the foal.

An ideal size for foaling box is 4.25 x 5.50 m. It should have independent watering and feeding troughs inside, should have electric ceiling fan and be provided with fly proof windows for cross ventilation, so that it does not become stuffy during hot weather.

The floor of the foaling boxes should be made of cement with gentle slope of 5 cm in 3 m for the drainage of urine and water.

It should have few shallow grooves to prevent the mares from slipping, to take the liquid away and keep the bedding dry. 

FOALING BOXES

There should be one or two spacious foaling boxes; these should be at least 14 x 16 feet (4.27 m x 4.88 m) and have a minimum of stable fittings on which the foal might injure itself.

Ideally, there should be heat lamps and closed circuit television so that foalings can be carefully monitored.

The boxes should be in a quiet situation with a sitting-up room containing the television monitor nearby.

YOUNG STOCK YARD

It may be advantageous to over-winter young horses in a yard rather than stable them individually.

They can be put in their own stables at night and released into a covered yard by day to exercise and play.

This provides them with a more healthy and natural environment.

The yard must be free from dangerous projections and of an adequate size for the number of youngsters.

Examination stocks

Stocks can be used to prepare mares for covering, pregnancy testing, artificial insemination and embryo transfer.

They are designed along lines similar to cattle crushes, being sturdy cubicles used to restrain mares. Ideally, solid partitions should enclose the mare on two sides with two doors allowing access and exit.

Other buildings

Other buildings should include a tack room, feed room, office, wash box (hot and cold water and heat lamp), staff accommodation, garages for machinery, a loading ramp and hay barns.

PADDOCKS

Provided for horses, gelding, yearling, stallion, colt, filly in order to provide them fresh air and natural environment.

Facilities for feeding and watering must be provided. A night shed is necessary to provide safety for horses during rain and during extremes of climate.

About 75 acres (30 hectares) will be required for this stud with two stallions covering approximately 100 mares.

Stock should be divided into appropriate groups, e.g. mares and foals, barren mares, foaling mares, stallions and young stock.

There should be one paddock resting for each group so that fresh grazing is available at all times.

FENCING

Double post and rail fencing about 4’6” (1.37 m) high is ideal between paddocks although existing hedges, providing they are sturdy, are useful as they also provide shelter.

Corners should be rounded so that horses cannot be trapped.  

One or two isolation boxes, situated well away from the yard, are essential to stop the spread of infectious disease.

They can be used to house mares on arrival at the stud if it is suspected that they have been in contact with disease

EQUIPMENT USED IN STABLE

Manger - Need to be positioned at about the height of the horse chest. Removable manger is the best one for horses. Mangers at ground level get dirty easily as bedding and droppings fall into the manger.

Haynet - Most satisfactory and economical method of feeding hay. A ring for the hay-net should be positioned about 5 ft. from the ground.

Feeding buckets - Should be positioned in the corner of the stable or held by hinged rings on the walls.