Newsletter: November 2010

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November 2010 Newsletter Topics:
Stall Design 101: Part II - Function & Climate
Keep Nails Out of Your Stall Design
Ventilation in the Winter Months
Design Idea: Double Stall Door for Wide Entryway

Stall Design 101

Part 2 of 3: Function & Climate

This is Part II of our write-up about horse stall design considerations. To read the first installment of this topic, click here. Part I discusses how the following aspects can affect your stall design: 1) Horse sizes and 2) Horse temperament and personality.

How you use your barn, as well as the climate in your area, are two important factors to consider when designing your stalls. Answer the following questions to see what horse stall options may suit you best.

1. What is the primary use for your barn?

A. Personal Use
B. Boarding Facility
C. Breeding, Training, Lessons, you name it!
D. Vet Facility

Answers:
A. Personal barns that house your personal horses allow the most freedom with stall design. Because you know your horses and because you are the primary user of the barn, you can choose features and styles suited exactly to your needs. You may want to consider the following options:

Wood inserts in stall doors and/or walls, including pine, oak or exotic hardwoods.
Decorative and useful hardware, such as saddle racks, bridle hooks and brass finials.
Yoke cut-out options for social horses. Read more about yoke options here.
Finishes and materials that match the style and design of your home or other buildings on the property.

B. Since boarding facilities house a variety of horses with a variety of

personalities, the keys to design choices will be flexibility and ease of use. Features to consider include:

Completely removable yokes or full front stalls to limit aisleway access to stabled horses.
Exterior exits for each stall, to allow easy removal of feisty horses.
Pinlock latches well below the reach of the horse.

C. A multi-use barn that offers breeding, training, lessons and other activities is a very busy place, indeed. You likely have many people and horses coming in and out of your barn frequently. So, you'll look for features that make it easy to use and easy to clean...for anyone who might be utilizing your barn.

All-steel stall fronts make cleaning easy with water and mild soap.
Feed doors built into stall fronts offer quicker feeding times.
Choose all-mesh stall fronts for excellent visibility of foals.
Add name card holders that feature removable card inserts. This gives flexibility to the location of horses and allows you to also display important information about each horse.

D. Vet facilities require some of the flexibility of other types of barns, but also place a huge emphasis on cleanliness and visibility. Therefore, important design decisions may include:

Steel or block wall dividers (versus wood) for ease of decontamination.
Hot-dip galvanized finish that can stand up to cleaning chemicals and serious wear and tear.
Extra wide doorways to accommodate large or encumbered horses.
Exterior stall exits for ease of transport.
All-mesh stall fronts for excellent visibility of horses who are laying down.

Read about the design of the Lucas Equine Equipment stalls at one of the nation's top equine hospitals Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital by clicking here.

2. Describe the climate in your area.

A. Coastal
B. Hot Summers / Cold Winters
C. Hot Summers / Mild Winters
D. Mild Year-round

Answers:
A. In coastal areas, the damp, salty air is the number one enemy to horse stalls. That's why it's important to choose your materials and finishes wisely in areas exposed to the outdoor elements that come with coastal living. You may want to consider:

Aluminum construction for the barn and end doors protects against rust; although aluminum is not recommended for stall construction because it doesn't offer enough strength.
Hot-dip galvanized finishes (not pre-galvanized finishes) can offer a virtually maintenance-free finish, even in harsh environmental conditions.
Hinges made of all stainless steel parts are best suited to withstand the salty air of coastal areas.
If you choose to include wood in your stall design, choose extremely dense hardwoods, such as Brazilian cherry or ipe to help protect against rotting caused by moisture in the air.

B. In areas that experience hot summers and cold winters, you'll need a horse stall design that offers excellent ventilation in the summertime, but also prevents drafts in the winter. Designs well-suited for this type of climate include:

Crosshatch mesh stalls allow air to be pulled through the aisleway into the stall to create good ventilation.
Adding exterior stall doors with screens will allow you to close the doors in the winter to prevent drafts and latch them open during the summer to create optimal airflow. Making your exterior door a dutch door offers the most flexibility.

C. If you have hot summers and mild winters, heat is one of your primary concerns. Consider the following:

Shedrow barn designs create maximum ventilation and prevents trapped air.

Add exterior screens to keep air moving through the entire stall.

Make sure the bottoms of the stall and sidewalls are well ventilated to help clear out any moisture and heat accumulating in the lower parts of the stall.

D. In milder climates, you can be more flexible with design and materials, choosing building materials such as brick, wood and stone. Ventilation is always important in barns in any climate, however, so make sure your barn will continue to have good airflow.

Watch for the final installment in this series next month! We'll feature ideas and designs based on your particular maintenance preferences and barn structure.

Smart Design Principles:

Keep nails out of your stall design - The Wedge Design.

Choosing smart design elements can result in safer horse stalls. Here's one example from the Lucas Equine Equipment Smart Design Principles archive

Using nails of any sort in a horse stall is just asking for trouble, right? We know two things for sure:

1. Nails will eventually work themselves out of wood to create a hazard for horses.

2. Horses will find, chew on, or make trouble out of anything of interest in their stalls...including exposed nails.

Therefore, stalls from Lucas Equine Equipment are designed with a unique U-channel and wedge design that securely holds tongue-and-groove wood slats without the dangerous nails or screws.

Plus, this smart design makes future wood replacement easy. Click here to see the wedge design in action.

This system is also used for Lucas Equine Equipment wood doors, wood sidewalls, and even wash stalls.

Addressing ventilation during the winter months.

Managing stall ventilation during the colder times of the year can be a challenge...here are some suggestions.

When it's cold outside, you want to keep your horses warm, right? But, how do you create an environment for comfortable horses without risking the respiratory hazards associated with poor ventilaiton?

Remember: Your primary goal of ventilation in winter months = Remove moisture, odor and ammonia.

Here are some tips:

1. Resist the temptation to close every window. Sure, it's cold to us humans, but remember that horses can withstand cooler temperatures than we can. That's why it's often okay to keep some windows open to help with ventilation.

2. If the bottom of your stall is wood, consider adding ventilating cut-outs to the wood to increase airflow...moving the low-hanging moisture and ammonia out of the stall.

3. Eliminate extra moisture sources when possible. This can be helped by cleaning stalls daily.

Ventilation is so important to creating a healthy environment for your horses. Would you like to learn more about the details of ventilation? Click here for an in-depth report on horse stall ventilation, published by Penn State.

Design Idea: Double Doors for Extra Wide Opening

This double door opens to create a wide entryway and features Lucas Equine crosshatch mesh on the top and bottom of the door. Wood infills create an arching top and a wide center rail. Copper vein powder coated paint gives this door a warm, natural feel.