O/T: Specs for box stall for a horse...

I need to build a box stall for my daughter's mare out in the barn. I guess I could look it up, but I like hearing what you folks have to say about things. It is always enlightening.

How long, wide, high should it be? What kind of flooring is suitable? Gate? Ventilation? Etc? I'm aiming for suitable for the horse but otherwise cheap.

Thank you for your help.

Christopher

Regular is 12'X 12' or 10'X10'. Its done by size, Nancy could tell you more, I really don't know much other than size.
Alex

10x10 will work. but I like 12x12. thick rubber stall mats should be used if it is a hard ground.. that and wood chip bedding.

I made mine out of 2x6 boards in case they were kicked. buck doors with a dip inthe front for the horse to look out. I made my front barrier about 5' tall.

soundguy

Looks like 12 x 12 wins. David..................

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/612A4055-0C74-4AB7-A92B-ECD44A9D33C2/14364/6118HorseBarn.pdf

Lock her up nice and toasty then take her out in the cold to work her :roll: . Not badmouthing you, just see it a lot over here.
I'd keep it as open as possible. Keep her head and feet dry and let the temps go where they will. If inside space is limited and you can afford a little room outside, 10x10 and a runout that is 10x10 or more as you can afford the space. You'll have a much happier and healthier animal and an easier stall to clean. Sand, wood chips, pea gravel, whatever is cheap and/or close for outside and use your imagination on the inside. Rubber mats are nice if you have a cement floor and reduce the bedding needed, but you can do without. If the mare is not a freak, walls don't have to be any more than a couple 4x4's (or 3 or so inch pipe?) as rails. Again, if space allows, have a setup where she can stick her head out so you can feed/water outside. Keeps the stall cleaner and nothing to get hung up on. We have all open stalls that are just a leanto with 10x10 under roof and 10x20 runout. They'll stand outside in nasty weather and get under roof when the sky closes. Have Fun. Thinking about doing some rearranging and making a couple bigger foaling stalls but it's just a twinkle in the eye right now.

Dave

12 x12 is what we have, are floors are stonedust. You need a window for air to come in, our windows are over my head, but the horses can see out of them fine. There is metal pipes maybe 1/2 inch thick over the window so the horses cant get to it. I can reach threw to slide the window open thought, or I use a pitch fork handle. hth J

12x12 is a pretty nice size. Our stalls are 15' deep since that is where the barn structure works and vary from 9 to 15 feet wide. Probably would not want to go any less than 9' in any dimension unless stall was intended for a pony or very small horse.

Ventilation can be open doors, windows, leaky walls, etc. I do not advocate a very tight environment for the horses. Seems like diseases are more prevalent the more we try to enforce our human comfort criteria on them.

Floor can be optimized a little on how you intend to bed or what exists where you intend to place stalls. Ours was excavated to backfill with gravel for drainage and then topped with "Stable Mix" Asphalt (basically larger aggregate), which allows liquids/urine to drain into the base. For awhile we had mats on top of this, but have found stalls stay much nicer and we use less bedding without the mats.

Just our experience, Location here is South Sentral PA so local customs/conditions may have some impact as well.

Kirk

12x12 is the way to go, but you can get away with as small as an 8x8. The determining factor, really, is the centers on your barn posts- you"ll want to tie in to those as corners.
I keep 12 horses, so here"s some things I"ve found:
* put 2x8 around the base and fill with GRAVEL (not stone dust) to a level higher than level if you might potentially have water issues
* definitely go with mats; makes clean up much easier.( a must if you go with gravel as above). These usually come in 4" widths- another reason to build stalls on 4" increments!
* anyone sell used conveyor belt material in your area? great stall mats!
* get to the dump and find the metal base to one of those cheap futons people are always throwing away- these things are about 4x8 with bars about every 6 inches and make great stall fronts. Look factory made!
* cover the windows with peices of those metal pallet grids (also from the dump) - I have also used these for stall fronts and they look good too
* you want a sliding door, not a swinging one.
* always line your stalls with wood- at least half inch plywood- particularly if you have a metal barn. nothing stips a leg of meat like metal siding when a horse kicks through and then pulls back!

We've got 12 X 12, and that's just about right. We put in crushed rock for a base, then tamped it with a vibrating "tamper", then thick stall mats. Works great. We don't use any bedding- clean the stalls every day, and it won't get messy.