horse stable and riding arena design · capacity as the technical illustrator of this text. bill...

Horse Stable and Riding Arena Design

Eileen Fabian Wheeler

Horse Stable andRiding Arena

Design


DesignEileen Fabian Wheeler

Eileen Fabian Wheeler is Associate Professor inAgricultural and Biological Engineering at ThePennsylvania State University.

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First edition, 2006

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wheeler, Eileen.Horse stable and riding arena design /

Eileen Wheeler.p. cm.

Includes index.ISBN 13: 978-0-8138-2859-6 (alk. paper)ISBN 10: 0-8138-2859-7 (alk. paper)1. Stables. 2. Arenas. 3. Corrals.

4. Horses—Housing. I. Title.

TH4930.W54 2006636.1'0831—dc22

2005013345

The last digit is the print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ixIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

1 Horse Behavior Influence on Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Horse Stable Layout and Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3 Construction Style and Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4 Horse Farm Site Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

5 Stall Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

6 Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

7 Flooring Materials and Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

8 Manure Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

9 Fire Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

10 Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

11 Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

12 Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

13 Auxiliary Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

14 Fence Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

15 Fence Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

16 Indoor Riding Arena Design and Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

17 Riding Arena Surface Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

18 Outdoor Riding Arena Design and Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Appendix Phychrometrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Contents

v

vii

Preface

This book has been more than a few years in themaking. Picture a child drawing horse stable layoutson the back of a restaurant’s paper placemat whilewaiting for the family meal to be delivered. Morerecently, this book has been a multiyear project toget some solid engineering-based design informa-tion to those advising stable managers and buildersof horse facilities. In between placemat drawingsand my current faculty position, this “child” waseducated in animal science and agricultural engi-neering to better understand the depth and breadthof topics that influence horse stable design. My life-long interest in horses sparked the desire to becomeeducated, and now to help others to understand theunderlying principals influencing function anddesign of horse stabling.

Pleasant are my memories of entering horse stablescontaining the mingling smells of hay, horse, andleather. What peace from the satisfied sound of foragebeing chewed by the horses! Stable spaces that werelight and airy felt welcoming. We all seem to knowwhen we have entered a nicely designed and managedstable whether it is plush or spare in its design. I hopethis book can aid in the design of such facilities.

One of my motivations in creating this book is toreemphasize the need to provide adequate ventila-tion for good air quality in stables, because a devel-oping trend is to copy residential construction practices that severely compromise the air quality inhorse stable and riding arena environments. I havespent many years working in ventilation of variouslivestock buildings, and as those systems have madetremendous improvements in providing comfortableconditions and improved air quality, many newlyconstructed horse facilities have worse environ-ments than the old traditional stables.

My interest is in providing readers with enoughbackground information to make good decisions inhorse facility design. Most “nuts and bolts” of con-struction are available elsewhere. Detailed designand plans can be obtained from builders and profes-sional engineers working in horse stable construc-tion. Through the use of this book, detailed buildingplans can be checked for features that you havelearned are important for horse well-being andhuman convenience.

Eileen Fabian Wheeler

ix

It is hard for me to know how to organize the recog-nition of people who have contributed so much tothe successful completion of this book. Being thesole author of this book implies that this is the workof an individual. True, this book’s content comesfrom my knowledge gained through dedicated edu-cation and years of experience that honed thatknowledge. Yet, I can’t even begin to express mythanks that I owe to myriad individuals who havecontributed in concrete ways to this book and theknowledge behind it. In random order, perhaps inthe amount of recent time they dedicated directly tothe project, let me begin.

As you enjoy this book and the amount of infor-mation that it conveys (remember that a “picture” isworth a thousand words), I want you to realize theyeoman’s job that William Moyer has done in hiscapacity as the technical illustrator of this text. Billhas detailed hundreds and hundreds of drawings forme throughout the 10 years that I have been at PennState University. More than 150 of those drawingsare included in this book. Thanks to Bill for suchfriendly, quick, and dedicated turnaround of the var-ious projects that have meant so much to me. Youhave built a career on making others look good.

Jennifer Zajaczkowski is another individualdeserving extra special attention in the developmentof this book. Several of the chapters in this bookwere cowritten with Jennifer Smith, nowZajaczkowski, originally as Extension bulletins onhorse housing topics. These were topics not wellcovered within other available information on horsehousing, and Jenn did a great job of fleshing out mydraft manuscripts with her own capable horsewomanexperiences and information gathered from otheranimal scientists. Jenn has been an invaluable addi-tion to the applied research in horse housing and rid-ing arena environment that we have conducted overthe past several years. Some findings from thesestudies are incorporated into this book. Jenn is the

primary author of the chapter on fire safety, whichextends her expertise and interests as an emergencymedical technician.

Within my department of Agricultural andBiological Engineering at Penn State, there are threeother colleagues who have made this book project asuccessful effort. Staff assistants Marsha Hull andAmy Maney have contributed in so many big anddetailed ways to getting this book done in a profes-sional manner. Marsha is the patient and creativepublication artist for the original set of departmentfact sheets that turned into college bulletins, andnow into several chapters of this book. Without hergood work the original set of information would nothave been so widely noticed, thus setting the stagefor development of the information into a book-scale project. Marsha’s organization has helped atnumerous times in assembling this book from manyyears’ worth of accumulated information. Amy hasbeen so helpful in many detailed aspects of the cur-rent tasks of completing this book-writing projectwhile I also maintained other professorial duties. Imuch appreciate Amy’s dedicated professionalefforts in timely turnaround of assignments and par-ticularly her attention to detail. Having small andlarge tasks completed with high quality makespulling this book together so much easier.

The third department colleague who deservesspecial thanks is Roy Young, department head ofAgricultural and Biological Engineering at PennState. I appreciate his approval to my spending moretime working “out of the office” this past year forconcentrated writing effort. I have the type of brainthat needs full concentration on technical writingactivity. Without that release, this book could nothave been completed. Nor could two other bookshave been completed over the past year, with onebeing in print and the other going into final layoutwith its publisher. (By the way, I don’t recommendworking on three books at once.)

Acknowledgments

And yes, the family. Who needs a dining room?Work on this (and the other two) book has overtakenthe available surface area in my home office, soexpansion into what my older son, Ben, now calls my“second office” has crippled the normally clutter-freedining room aura. What a good group of guys I havewith husband, Tim, son Ben, and younger son Tucker,putting up with a normally active “mom” stuck at thewriting table and computer. My family members, nearand far, have been real troopers. The troop brings realjoy and laughter to my life and I love them dearly forbeing them, individually, and appreciate the supportthey have lent to this book project.

I got into the habit of having my technical writingreviewed long ago because of a career within theresearch and Extension communities. Having otherknowledgeable people look over materials beforethey go to print is invaluable. It takes additional time;my time and theirs. I welcomed and incorporatedtheir input for the wisdom they have beyond mine inso many nuances of the topics covered in this book.For their efforts this book is greatly strengthened.

The book chapters have benefited from technicalreview by both agricultural engineers and horsespecialists. To make sure that explanations madesense to those without an engineering background, Ienlisted the advice of equine scientists or practicingbusinesspeople with extensive equine experience.This book is not meant to be an engineering text, butthe engineer reviewers validated the conceptualframework of the technical discussions.

I’ve been lucky to have some wonderful review-ers. My heartfelt thanks are extended to each chapterreviewer for taking the time to educate me with evenmore good information. These reviewers’ commentsand advice have contributed many thoughtfulchanges and clarifications. It seemed very importantthat each chapter provided sensible content that sat-isfied equine enthusiasts while containing enoughengineering technical content to be of use in decisionmaking.

Book Chapter Reviewers in Alphabetical Order:

Dr. Michael BruggerAssociate ProfessorFood, Agricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Ohio State UniversityColumbus, OHChapters 10 and 11

Dr. John ChastianAssociate ProfessorAgricultural and Biological EngineeringClemson UniversityClemson, SCChapter 11

Patricia ComerfordInstructor of Equine ProgramsDairy and Animal Science The Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapters 4, 5, 8, 16, and 17

Bonnie DarlingtonSafety ChairPennsylvania Equine CouncilChapter 9

Dr. Nancy Diehl, DVMAssistant Professor of Equine ScienceDairy and Animal Science The Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapters 1, 6, 9, and 13

Michael M. DonovanPrincipalEquestrian Services, LLCAnnapolis, MDChapter 18

Brian A. Egan Extension Associate, Equine ProgramsDairy and Animal Science The Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapter 7

James GartheInstructorAgricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapter 14

Dr. Robert GravesProfessor, Agricultural EngineeringAgricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapters 6, 7, 8, and 12

x Acknowledgments

Daniel GreigDistrict ManagerChester County (PA) Conservation District.Chapter 8

Kenneth GuffeyTodd PalmerKory LeppoAgricultural EngineersRigidPly RaftersRichland, PAChapter 16

Dr. Albert JarrettProfessor of Soil and Water EngineeringAgricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapters 17 and 18

Nancy KadwillSenior Extension EducatorPenn State Cooperative Extension of Montgomery

CountyCollegeville, PAChapter 13

Dr. Malcolm “Mac” L. LegaultAssistant ProfessorHealth, Safety, and Environmental Health

SciencesIndiana State UniversityTerre Haute, IN Chapter 9

Dr. Harvey ManbeckDistinguished ProfessorAgricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapter 4

Timothy MurphyConservation EngineerNatural Resources Conservation ServicePennsylvaniaChapter 8

Dr. Ann SwinkerAssociate Professor of Equine ScienceDairy and Animal Science

The Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapter 14

Emlyn WhitinVice PresidentStancills, Inc.Perryville, MDChapter 17

Dr. Stacy WorleyEngineering InstructorAgricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapter 12

Dr. Roy YoungProfessor and Department HeadAgricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PAChapter 5

Last, alphabetically, but certainly not least:

Jennifer L. ZajaczkowskiSenior Research TechnologistAgricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PA

Jennifer was reviewer of chapters 4, 6, and 15 andcoauthor on previous versions of five chapters thatwere first published as Extension bulletins throughPenn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences: “StallDesign,” “Flooring Materials and Drainage,”“Manure Management,” “Fence Planning,” and“Riding Arena Surface Materials.” She was alsoprimary author of bulletin, now Chapter 9, titled“Fire Safety.”

The photographic figures in this book are frommy collection taken over a couple decades of visitsto horse stabling facilities. Many horse people havekindly made their farms available for photographsand offered their experiences about horses in rela-tion to housing. A few companies and individualshave shared their photos when I had no suitable pho-tos of my own to use. The following list containsfacilities that have photos included in this book. It is

Acknowledgements xi

in no ways a comprehensive list (see next para-graph). Some farms are more recently visited siteswhose owners will likely remember my visit. Othersite photographs are from my files and were taken inthe 1980s and 1990s.

Some photographed farms are not listed by name.A few photos in this book are curbside “drive-by”photos taken during my other travels and an officialfarm visit was not involved, so I can offer no farmname. In other cases, farms have changed ownershipand name since my visit, so names may no longermatch. I have included names of builders and con-struction companies with whom I traveled for trou-bleshooting or research project reasons. I don’t neces-sarily list the names of those farms visited during oursometimes whirlwind tour of sites. My apologies ifyou recognize your facility and do not find your nameon the credit list (send me a note to fix this situation!).

Tudane Farm, NYCornell University Horse Farms, NYPenMor Thoroughbreds, NYStoned Acres, NYUniversity of Connecticut Horse Farm, CTBOCES Horse Program, NYSaratoga Organic, NYChampaign Run, KY

Brookdale Farm, KYGainesway Farm, KYLakeside Arena, KYMcComsey Builders, PARed Bridge Farm, PASmucker Construction, PAGreystone Stable, PAJodon’s Stable, PASlab Cabin Stable, PAMaryland State Fairgrounds, MDGreen Mountain Farm, VTTresslor and Fedor Excavating, PARigidPly Rafters, PAWaterloo Farm, PARyerrs Farm, PARigbie Farm, MDSinking Creek Stable, PATurner Stable, PARestless Winds Farm, PAR&R Fencing, PAEv-R-Green, PAGreystone Farm, PAThree Queens Farm, PACarousel Farm, PADetroit Radiant Products Co., MICoverall Building Systems, Ontario, CanadaKalglo Electronics

xii Acknowledgements

When one thinks of keeping horses, a vision centerson the stable. Horses are housed in stables for manyreasons, but they seem to fall into three general cat-egories that include human convenience, providinga less severe environment than that experienced out-doors, and tradition. The first two reasons arerelated to providing an environment where the han-dler is comfortable working and the horses are effi-ciently cared for. The environment and managementof the stable is designed to be an improvement overoutdoor conditions, or the horse will be disadvan-taged by being in a stable. The third reason, tradi-tion, has received little discussion.

Horses have traditionally been kept in stables.Horses as the precursors to “cars” or “trucks,” ormore appropriately “sport-utility vehicles,” werekept in a stable behind the home or business like ourcars. In this tradition, horses were used all day, vir-tually every day, and stored for the night in a stableuntil they were needed the next day. Compare thiswith the current Amish expectation where horsesare consistently expected to drive dozens of mileseach day and auction horses change hands with theability to drive 20 miles each way to a work site.Now we use our cars every day to move dozens ofmiles and use most of our horses for recreation withmovement restricted to a few miles per day. It maybe all right to close our cars in a garage and to letthem be idle most of the day, but a living, breathinghorse is better suited to being outdoors or in an openairy environment if confined.

The “traditional” use of the horse has dramaticallychanged, but not our horse housing. Most horses arekept in suburban settings for recreation use ratherthan for any type of “work.” This is fine, but perhapsour thinking about horse stabling needs to change tomatch the change in how we use horses. Modernhorses are often inactive most of the day and con-fined to a stall where they originally were onlyexpected to rest and sleep for work the next day.

Throughout this book there are several referencesmade to horse housing design in relation to live-stock housing design. This upsets some horsemenand horsewomen because they don’t think of horsesas livestock. Indeed, within our American culturewe do not eat or derive food products from horses aswe do from hogs, cattle, and poultry. Horses are ourcompanions and treated as family, in many cases,but horses are livestock when it comes to housing.Horses are large, strong animals with instincts andhabits that require they be housed in facilities thatrecognize their needs. As livestock, horses will dropfeces and urine on the floor -- large amounts offeces and urine. Companion pets, such as dogs andcats, are trained not to do this throughout our humanliving environment. As livestock, horses are fed andbedded with relatively dusty materials comparedwith the food and flooring we find in our ownhomes. Horses respire large amounts of water intothe stable air compared with the moisture we find inour own homes. Horse stables have more moisture,dust, and odor than found in human-occupied envi-ronments and, hence, require ventilation rates typi-cal of livestock facilities. In fact, horse stablesshould have very good air quality to maintain horsehealth and athletic ability.

The daily activities on horse farms vary accord-ing to a farm’s primary function, be it breeding,training, or public use. Though each farm requiresspecialized facilities, the basic goals of facilitydesign and construction are similar. There are manybreeds and types of horses and several riding anddriving styles. The fundamentals of horse housingremain essentially the same, though. This book iswritten to house a typical 1000-pound horse.Clearly, scale up proportionally for larger animals.We don’t often scale down for smaller equine but inthe case of significantly smaller ponies and horses,accommodate their needs with fencing and stallpanels that allow them similar safety and ability to

xiii

Introduction

see neighbors, respectively, as provided for the typ-ical 1000-pound horse.

One of the biggest challenges in conveying theinformation contained in this book is that there issuch a wide range of suitable horse-housingdesigns. Designs vary from the simple, low-costbackyard facilities that can be thoughtfully plannedand constructed for fully functional horse care tofacilities that incorporate expensive and beautifullydetailed construction. Stables large and small can besuccessful with informal features or may incorpo-rate every available convenience. Within large horseenterprises, there is wide variation from “high-end”facilities to average construction. Some readers willbe picturing their stable with chandeliers andimpressive architectural features, while others wantadvice on how to most economically achieve horsehousing goals. This book has been written to pro-

vide recommended practices for an average, well-built stable that will be attractive and with featuresthat others will recognize as thoughtful, functionaldesign. There is an emphasis on labor-saving func-tional planning. Surely, special features and finishesmay be added to enhance visual appeal of the facil-ity once fundamentals of housing the horse in a suit-able environment are provided.

This book includes important information on top-ics that are often not carefully considered in initialstable planning. These topics include environmentalcontrol (ventilation), manure management, and fireprotection systems. Additional chapters cover rec-ommendations for stall design, flooring, drainage,fencing, utilities, and riding arena features.Individuals using the technical information from thisbook will be able to more effectively plan and designa facility that best meets operational goals.

xiv Introduction


Design

A designer must understand basic horse behaviorfor proper design and construction of horse facili-ties. For designers familiar with farm constructionpractices, horses have traits that differ from otherlivestock species. People who have little previousexperience with horses or the planned activities ofthe farm should become familiar with basic horsebehavior and functional activities that are expectedat the site. Safe and sound designs respect horses’uniqueness and provide convenience and safety forboth horse and handler. This short chapter serves toprovide an overview of basic horse behavior traitsthat relate to horse facility construction.

FLIGHT OR FIGHT

Horses have highly developed senses of sight,smell, and hearing. They have a 340� range of visionthat makes them very sensitive to motion from al-most any direction.

A horse’s natural defense mechanism is the fight-or-flight instinct. Horses are generally nonaggres-sive, but when threatened, excited, impatient,scared, or in pain they will typically first try “flight”to escape by running away. Facilities that containhorses need to be sturdy and free of projections thatwould impale a panicked horse. If escape is not pos-sible, then horses might “fight” by kicking, striking,or biting. A horse’s reaction to a threat, real or per-ceived, is rapid and imparts high force on contact,so construction materials need to be sturdy and han-dler safety becomes important. Horses are wellknown for their apparently frantic behavior whenentangled in fencing materials or caught with a footbetween bars of the stall. Some horses patiently waitto be freed, but unfortunately most seem to strugglein an attempt at flight from the confining situation.

This flight-or-fight defense explains the excitablenature of the horse. The degree of excitability andnervousness varies among individuals and breedinglines. Properly designed handling facilities allow for

horse and handler safety while diminishing thehorses’ instinct or desire to escape by runningthrough or jumping over barriers. Some classes ofhorses, such as breeding stallions, can be naturallyaggressive and require specialized facility design toguard against horse or handler injury.

SOCIAL NEEDS

Horses are social creatures so most will try to joinother horses if they can (Fig. 1.1). Isolated horseslack the security of a group and often develop unde-sirable and possibly health-endangering behaviorsnot found when a number of horses live together.Horses in stalls quickly become bored, which leadsto stable stereotypies (often called “vices,” but thisimplies that these behaviors can be affected bytraining, which they cannot).

Stereotypies include the following:

• Wood chewing• Pawing or striking the ground or stall walls with a

front foot or repeated kicking out with a back foot • Weaving nervously by repeatedly shifting weight

from one front leg to the other• Pacing and circling the stall, headshaking• Placing the upper incisors on a solid object and

expanding the larynx, which results in the gulpingof air behavior known as cribbing (Fig. 1.2)

Horses housed individually are calmer if they canmaintain visual contact with other horses. If possi-ble, horses should be allowed to see other horsesand outside activities to decrease these stereotypiesand to reduce anxiety from being isolated (Fig. 1.3).

DOMINANCE ORDER

Horses kept in groups develop a dominance order.Each horse uses a combination of aggressive andsubmissive behaviors to place itself in the domi-nance order within the herd. Pastures and paddockswith corners and other small-enclosed areas that

1Horse Behavior Influence on Design

3

4 Horse Stable and Riding Arena Design

Figure 1.2. Stereotypic be-haviors (cribbing shownhere) can develop in horsesthat are kept in situationsthat deny normal horse be-havior.

Figure 1.1. Horses on pas-ture setting exhibit morenatural behavior of socialcontact and time spent eat-ing forages.

allow a dominant horse to trap a submissive one in-crease the frequency of injury.

In addition, feed, water, and shelter represent lim-iting resources and access to these are affected bythe dominance order.

A good horseman is observant of horse behaviorand temperament and can use these to advantage intraining and even housing. Grouping horses accord-ing to observed relationships at pasture can make

turnout, stabling, and trailering safer. Both peopleand horses can affect another horse’s movement byuse of the flight zone, much like a person’s “person-al space.” Once a person enters the flight zone, thehorse will move away. With training, the flight zonenormally decreases. The flight zone is used everyday when a person attempts to catch a horse in thefield or work the horse in a round pen. A dominanthorse may need only enter another horse’s flight

zone, without making apparent threats, to make themore submissive individual move away from food,water, or even a grazing spot.

STABLES AS A PLACE FOR FOOD,SECURITY, AND REST

Horses have a major preoccupation with food andsecurity. In a natural setting horses spend a consider-able portion of their day grazing than when in con-finement where feeding may be a short, regularlyscheduled event leaving considerable time to fillwith other activities. A stable area typically repre-sents an area for food and security. An excited horsemay reenter a burning barn because of this connec-tion between food and security.

Horses often rest or doze standing but will liedown for prolonged sleep. Sleeping patterns meanthat horses need a comfortable area to stand and liedown. Horses prefer bedding versus hard, bare

flooring. Horses need to get into lateral recumbencyin order to get their required daily REM sleep, or atleast be able to lie in sternal recumbency and leanagainst something to mimic lateral recumbency.This is pertinent to horses kept in tie stalls.

Designing facilities to account for horse behav-ior does not have to be complicated or expensive.Horses have flourished for ages on open grassyplains. Excellent horse husbandry can be achievedwith a paddock and simple shelter (the simple“shelter” may include natural things like densebush or tree stands). Facilities should promotesafety as well as the efficient care and handling ofhorses. Well-planned facilities allow for lower op-erational costs. Poorly planned or improperly con-structed facilities interfere with daily operations,increase costs such as labor and maintenance, andcompromise the safety and health of both horsesand people.

1 / Horse Behavior Influence on Design 5

Figure 1.3. Horses kept instable for prolonged periodsseem to benefit from beingable to see other horses andactivities around them.

A well-designed stable protects horses from weath-er extremes and keeps them dry while providingfresh air and light and protection from injury.Stables need ample space for the well-being of thehorses, chore efficiency, material storage, conven-ience and safety of handlers, and the enjoyment ofriders (Fig. 2.1). Many horses are successfully kepton pasture with a simple shelter (Fig. 2.2). Stablesare a popular feature for horse housing irrespectiveof whether the horse is confined most of the day oronly during certain periods.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OFSTABLES VERSUS PASTURE SHELTER

The advantages of a stable are that it

• provides shelter for horse care and handling;• allows closer observation and individual care of

confined horses;• provides a better opportunity to regulate feed in-

take with training or exercising programs;• provides shelter for a horse to maintain condition

while clipped for winter working and showing; • confines horses off pastures during wet, muddy

conditions, so that • they can be kept cleaner; and• improves security.

The disadvantages of stables are as follows:

• More manual labor and attention to horses is re-quired for such things as cleaning stalls, bedding,feeding at least twice a day, watering, and exercis-ing.

• Improper care and exercise lead to poor healthand/or stereotypies.

• Stables are much more expensive to build andmaintain than pasture shelters.

• A poorly designed or managed stable can be anunhealthy environment—excess moisture, highammonia level, stressed horses, hazardous con-struction, and so forth.

STALL LAYOUT OPTIONS

On the basis of stall and work aisle locations, horsestable floor plans are usually identified as single row,center aisle, or island design (Fig. 2.3). The single-row option is more common in mild climates wherethe exterior work aisle is comfortable for the humancaretakers (Fig. 2.4). The single row is also usedwhere horses are outdoors most of the time with freeaccess to the stall area. The center aisle design iscommon in the United States for private boardingand showing facilities where the enclosed work aisleis central to horse care functions (Fig. 2.5). Theisland design is more common with horses that are inintensive training, such as racehorses, where the cov-ered “ring” of aisles is used to cool down or exercisehorses (Fig. 2.6).

Single-Row Configuration

• A single-row stable is a one-story structure withside-by-side stalls.

• Horses have access to outside air and sight ofactivities from the front or rear of stall.

• Stall door(s) opens into the stable yard, individualruns, or communal paddock.

• The work aisle is under a roof overhang or, lesstypically, is enclosed.

The single-row configuration is attractive andminimizes enclosed space compared with the othertwo options. Horses are closer to their natural envi-ronment, so each horse can have a desirable positionwithin the stable. The handler has less protectionfrom weather unless the aisle is partially enclosed.

Central Aisle Configuration

• The stalls are side by side along opposite stablewalls and are separated by a wide alley.

• The alley can be used for tying, grooming, sad-dling up, and cooling out animals and for cleaningstalls.

2Horse Stable Layout and Planning

7

This floor plan makes efficient use of interiorspace, with one work aisle serving two rows ofstalls. It provides occupants protection from theoutside elements. The central aisle configurationcan also be designed to provide each stall with adoor to the outside.

Island Design

• An “island” is two rows of side-by-side and back-to-back stalls. An aisle encircles the entire islandof stalls.

• Stall doors open into the aisle that encircles all thestalls.

• Another option encloses a central aisle stable asthe island with stall doors open to the central workaisle.

In the island floor plan, the aisle can be used tocool horses or, if the ceilings are high enough, toexercise animals. If alleys are used to exercise ani-mals, then dust suppression is important. Sunlightusually cannot reach stalls. This design has the mostcovered area per horse housed; so unless the extraalleys are frequently used, it is an inefficient design.

Clearly, other stall and work aisle arrangementsare successfully used as stables. Particularly withbuildings remodeled from other uses, stall and aisle


Figure 2.2. A simple pas-ture shelter with contiguousexercise area is sufficient formost horses, but handlersoften desire more amenitiesin commercial facilities.

Figure 2.1. Housing thehorse in a stable offersmany conveniences as longas management of interiorenvironment and horse ex-ercise is sufficient.

2 / Horse Stable Layout and Planning 9

Figure 2.3. Common stable floor plan andcross-section configurations.

Single row of stallsExterior aisle Covered aisle

Central aisle between stalls

Island stall layout, back to back

Island stall layout with center aisle

Figure 2.4. Single-row stall options are typi-cally open to outside work aisle and are agood option in mild climates.

Figure 2.5. Center aisle de-sign, with its enclosed,weather-protected work aislewith stalls on either side, isvery common in the UnitedStates. This stable featureshay storage over the centeraisle with no ceiling over thehorse stalls.

The type of structure selected depends on size ofthe operation, climate, amount of capital available,and the owner’s preference. Consider general at-tractiveness and keep facilities well maintained.Locate buildings to take advantage of existing con-ditions and provide economical use of labor infeeding, cleaning, and maintenance. For all stablesand other horse buildings, evaluate the followingfeatures. For additional information on a topic,please refer to the suggested chapters.

Flexibility: Assume that remodeling will takeplace in the future to meet changing needs. The abil-ity to cheaply and easily remodel a stable into an-other useful function (cabin, garage, storage build-ing) will typically increase the property’s resalevalue (see Chapters 3 and 4).

Attractiveness: Aesthetic value is achieved by astructure with good proportions in harmony with itssurroundings and fulfilling its function. Good de-sign enhances value. Landscaping enhances attrac-tiveness (Fig. 2.7).

Space: Both horses and handlers need enoughspace, but too much of it unnecessarily increases ex-penses. Provide roofed space for stalls, indoor alleys,tack, and equipment and for storage of hay, bedding,and feed (Fig. 2.8). Some of this roofed space maybe in separate buildings (see Chapters 5 and 13).

Safety: Protect both humans and horses from unnec-essary risk with good design and construction.Eliminate sharp projections. Provide enough space toallow safe passage of horse and handler through


arrangements can be quite variable. Generally,straight, wide aisles are used in stable layout to allowsafe and efficient movement of horses with handler,bulky bedding and forage materials, and stall wasteremoval. Stalls are positioned with direct access tofresh-air openings and to allow a confined horse tosee activities within the stable and/or outdoors to de-crease boredom. Developing a comfortable area tohouse horses is the main objective of a good stabledesign. In addition to comfortable stalls, it is impor-tant to design the building to be functional.

PLANNING HORSE STABLES

A stable, large or small, private or commercial,should be well planned, durable, and attractive. Itsbasic purpose is to provide an environment that pro-tects horses from weather extremes, maintains freshand dry air during all seasons, and protects horsesfrom injury. A stable is a convenience for handlersand serves a social and recreational function forboth private and commercial facilities. Considersafety in features that minimize sharp projections,eliminate fire hazards, and are sturdy enough forhorse abuse. Provide enough space for safe passageof horses and handlers through doors, gates, and al-leyways. Provide enough dedicated storage spacefor the tools, tack, and equipment needed for horse-keeping. Additional large storages will be neededfor bedding, hay, and manure. Stall barns typicallyallow animal access to paddocks or riding areas buthouse individual horses, or mares with foals, in in-dividual stalls.

Figure 2.6. Island designputs stalls in the center ofthe structure with an exer-cise walkway around the en-tire perimeter. Shown is aportion of a racehorse stablewith a center aisle stablesurrounded by an exercisehallway with enough heightso that horses can be ridden.


Figure 2.7. Landscapingand buildings in scale withtheir surroundings con-tribute to attractiveness andproperty value.

Figure 2.8. Space is needed for storage oftools (shown here) and plenty of equipment,tack, feed, and bedding in addition to thespace needed for horse stalls and work aisles.

doors, gates, and alleys. Understand horse behaviorin relation to building design features (see Chapter 1).

Floor-to-ceiling height: Low ceilings interferewith ventilation, make the barn dark, and are a safe-ty hazard for people and horses. Common ceilingheights are 10 to 12 feet for stall barns and 16 to 18feet for riding areas.

Minimized fire risk: Prohibit smoking. Follow afire prevention program, and prepare to contain andextinguish a fire (Fig. 2.9). Precautions can preventlosses and may reduce insurance premiums. Usefire-resistant materials and fire-retarding paints andsprays where practical. (see Chapter 9).

Interior environment: Barns minimize stress onhorses and humans by protecting against rain, snow,sun, and wind. Summer wind cools, but winter windchills and can drive snow and rain into the building.Get data on prevailing wind direction and velocity tohelp properly orient buildings. Sunlight entry into abuilding can provide natural winter heat (Fig. 2.10).Trees are practical windbreaks, summer wind“funnels,” screens to obstruct undesirable views, andshades. Some stables will benefit from having criti-cal areas heated for human comfort, moisture controlin tack storage, and horse drying in wash stall area.(see Chapters 4 and 12).

Good ventilation: Poor moisture, temperature, andodor control can be major problems in horse stables.Ventilation minimizes moisture buildup during cold


Figure 2.9. Horse facilities are built so as toensure safety and minimize fire risk. Horse-proof hardware and construction is essential.Provide fire suppression tools as a backup toefforts to prevent fire ignition.

Figure 2.10. Maintaining agood interior environmentof stables and arenas is veryimportant. The interior envi-ronment should have ade-quate light level, which maybe provided with translu-cent panels shown here.Admitting fresh air to arenasand stables is essential forhorses and human handlers.Having panels like thoseshown here, which open forwarm weather air exchange,is beneficial.

weather and aids in odor removal. The option toprovide large openings (Fig. 2.10) on a stable or rid-ing arena will aid heat removal during hot weather(see Chapter 6).

Suitable exercise area: Corrals and paddocks needsafe, durable, and attractive fence material on sturdyposts (Fig. 2.11). Provide adequate space in paddocksand access lanes. An efficient traffic plan reduceslabor for turning out and bringing in horses. Considerfencing the entire farmstead so loose horses cannotleave the property in conditions where loose horsesare particularly undesirable (see Chapters 14 and 15).

Water and feed: Sufficient quantity of good-qualitywater must be available all year round in stable andturnout areas. Provide feed storage in a rodent-proofand horse-inaccessible location. A storage area forlarge quantities of hay is best located in a separatebuilding, with a several-day supply (Fig. 2.12) con-venient within the stable (see Chapters 10 and 13).

Special features: Special features may includegrooming area or wash rack, trailer storage, breedingarea, exercise area, office, lounge, and living quarters(Fig. 2.13). These facilities and others can be in oneor several buildings. Indoor riding arenas are a popu-lar feature on horse farms (see Chapters 13 and 16).

Labor saving: Three quarters of horse chores aremanual, so labor saving is desirable for any sizedoperation. Labor-saving mechanization is availablefor large operations (Fig. 2.14). Design to minimizedrudgery with a bright and airy interior, compact


Figure 2.11. A suitable area isneeded for daily turnout or exer-cise of horses.

Figure 2.12. Each stable willneed at least short-term storageof hay, bedding, various tools,and cleaning equipment.

Figure 2.13. Many special fea-tures are often included in sta-bles, such as this grooming sta-tion. Other features are specificto the main function of the horsefacility, such as breeding area orlounge for lesson spectators.


Figure 2.14. Labor-saving features and effi-cient routines are important because of thehigh labor demands of horse housing. Thisstall features a labor-saving overhead waterline that supplies the bucket with water after avalve is manually activated.

Figure 2.15. Plan for effi-ciently handling the largequantities of manure andstall waste generated fromhorse housing.

facilities, and efficient chore routines. Put highestpriorities on daily chores that consume most time:feeding, watering, cleaning and bedding stalls,grooming, exercising, and turning out and bringingin. Teasing, breeding, worming, veterinary proce-dures, foot care, halter breaking, and so forth aresecondary chores (see Chapters 4, 8, and 11).

Manure management: Plan ahead for storage anddisposal of the tons of manure and stall waste thateach horse generates (Fig. 2.15). Prioritize conven-ience in chores associated with stall waste handling.Assure that manure storage locations protect the en-vironment from pollution, such as pile leachate flowinto nearby waterways, and from odor and insectnuisances (see Chapter 8).

Drainage: Build on high ground for adequatedrainage year round. Proper drainage considers bothsurface flow and groundwater influences. Poordrainage causes serious problems in the ability tosuccessfully use an otherwise well-planned facility.Fix small drainage problems with grading or sub-surface drains (see Chapters 4 and 7).

Construction and maintenance cost: Select mate-rials and construction type for durability, ease ofmaintenance, cost, advertising value, and intangiblevalues such as pride and satisfaction. Top qualitymay be most economical in the long run. The pri-mary types of structure construction for horse facil-ities include post and beam or clear span. Each typehas advantages and disadvantages (see Chapter 3).

horse stable and riding arena design · capacity as the technical illustrator of this text. bill...

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