Newsletter: October 2010

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Stall Design 101

Part 1 of 3: How to get what you (and your horses) want.

There are so many design options available for horse stalls today. How do you know which designs will be best for you and your horses in the long-run? The answer to this question can be found by considering the following variables:

What is your

• Horse sizes
• Horse temperament and personality
• Barn uses and function
• Climate
• Maintenance preferences
• Barn structure

1. What are the sizes of your horses

Answers:
A. A 12-feet x 12-feet stall is generally adequate for a standard horse of this size. A stall door opening of 8-feet x 4-feet is usually appropriate. Stall partitions should be at least 8-feet tall, although greater heights may be necessary.

B. For larger horses, or for horses confined to their stalls for long periods of time, you'll want to consider 14-feet x 14-feet stalls. Some draft horse owners may even build stalls as large as 16-feet x 16-feet. Horses of this size may also need a larger door opening, as well.

C. Miniature horses can, indeed, require less stall space. However, building stalls smaller than 12-feet x 12-feet greatly limits the flexibility of your barn in the future. Instead, consider a stall design that has crosshatch mesh in the bottom. This design allows smaller horses to see out, as well as creates excellent ventilation in the bottom of the stall.

Summary: Essentially, you want to make sure your stalls are at least 1 1/2 times longer than the length of your horse. The height of your horse will also come into play when considering yoke options (see article below.)


2. Describe the temperament and personality of the horses in your barn.

Answers:
A. Easy-going and social horses are happiest when they can see what's going on. These horses can thrive in stalls with low swooping fronts or open yokes. They also often like to stick their heads outside on beautiful days. If you selected this answer, you may want to consider some of the design options shown in the article below. These are just some of the yoke options we offer. Call us at 888-577-6920 to discuss a yoke option that might work for you.

B. Feisty and curious horses may want to reach out and nip at anyone in the aisleways. They may also bother their neighbors in adjacent stalls. To accommodate these types of personalities, consider a full front stall of grills or crosshatch mesh. You'll also want to consider sidewalls that are made of wooden boards slid into a steel U-channel and fortified with a steel wall stiffener. This design gives more privacy to the animals that sidewalls that are topped with grills or crosshatch. Check out some of the sample designs below.


Wood sidewall with steel wall stiffener


Steel framed sidewall with wood and rubber



Wooden sidewalls for privacy with a small grill opening for ventilation.

C. If you answered C, you know very well that these horses are like magicians! So, important features to consider may be:

1. A hot-dip galvanized finish - practically maintenance free. A super-tough coating for those cribbers.
2. Low-mounted pinlock latches.
3. Full crosshatch mesh fronts that keep these horses entertained by letting them see what's going on in the aisleways, while keeping them from reaching through the bars to crib or try to access latches.

Watch for next month's installment in this series! We'll feature ideas and designs that will work for your particular climate, as well as for the many uses of your barn.

Yoke Options:

Cool designs for social horses.

See some sample designs for social horses. Choose the design that works best for your barn. Or, we'll work with you to create a custom style.

Low swooping design

Gentle rolling yoke

Removable V-yoke

Fold-out french yoke

Fold-down yoke

Window v-yoke

Click here to watch some of our yoke options in action!

Stall Paint Maintenance:

What's normal...what's not.

I recently had the pleasure of talking to one of our Lucas Equine Equipment customers at the World Equestrian Games. Her Lucas Equine stalls were installed in her barn over 10 years ago. And, here's what she had to say:

"I love, love, love my stalls. They work just as well today as the day they were installed. But, I'm starting to see some scratches around the areas where my horses grind their teeth. What should I do about that?"

1. Powder coated paint is durable, but it's still paint. That means, if you rub it with a sharp enough object, it will eventually scratch.

We take precautions to first use a zinc-rich powder primer, and then a Super Durable powder coated top coat, which lessens the likelihood of scratches. However, any powder coating from any manufacturer will eventually need touch up.

2. Touch up required. You can (and should) touch up your powder coated stalls regularly. You can get touch up paint in your color by calling or e-mailing us at Lucas Equine or from your stall manufacturer.

Regular touch ups will keep your stalls looking great and will help prevent rust.

3. A smooth finish. A good powder coated finish on clean steel will be smooth and uniform.

Unlike wet paint or galvanized finishes, powder coated paint will not have drips, brush marks or uneven areas. The high-temperature baking process that seals the powder coated paint helps form a seamless barrier from the environment.

Secondly, here's what you can do when it's time to re-paint your powder coated barn equipment.

1. In-place painting. Sand the equipment to remove any loose paint or uneven edges. Then, use wet paint (oil-based paint usually works best) to re-coat the stalls. You can contact your stall manufacturer to get a swatch of the original paint to match at your local paint store.

2. Sandblast and re-coat. If you can remove your doors for a short period of time, sandblasting and re-powder coating may be an option for you.

If paint maintenance is a concern for you, you may want to consider a hot-dip galvanized finish. This type of tough coating is very resistant to scratches and rust. To learn more about hot-dip galvanizing, click here.