# Run in - stall combo. Can I leave open?



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

WELCOME to the Forum...

Not everyone has large acreage, even small acreage and have happy, well cared for and healthy horses.
What you have you designed to make the most of...perfect.
Horses fed hay year round is no crime to that...
Horses need to eat just like any other animal...we provide sustenance so they thrive.
You've provided a beautiful barn and shelter environment, have companionship for the horses and have beautiful safe fencing to keep the animals where they need to be.
Paddocks do not have to be huge, they need to be clean and safe so your animals can go outside and self-exercise...
Regardless of what many write of, a horse can move mighty fast, buck, fart and kick in a small area as well as a huge one...smaller makes getting your hands on them when bonkers a bit easier though.
Since you will be providing hay as planned year round you don't need to have acreage huge for them t o graze on.
Limiting grass for some animals is a must and when you want them to graze...open the gate and let them in the backyard of your home for a specific time.

My concern would be if someone got cranky and started to beat on the other who now might not be able to get away if stall bound trapped.
If there is a way to offer a second entrance/exit into the paddock from that stall I would consider it till a covered shelter can be made. 
Otherwise, well, mine if the stalls are open often find 2 large horses comfortably sharing 1 stall and sometimes my neighbors animals have arrived and have her 3 in my other stall, hence I now close my stalls to all and they get to hang out under my large barn overhang instead.
Our combined animals don't normally squabble but we have one who is a pest and my now older senior gets tired of the nonsense and will go after him in anger...
If your current 2 animals you've never seen aggression toward each other....open the door and let them share.
Just watch for marks on the body, and any sign of boss and underling to show and then deal with that to safeguard both of them.
If you plan to intentionally keep the animals together, make the doors wider... yours already look to be 6' wide but 2 bodies trying to go past each other.... Not sure if or how much wider you could go though.
Pretty barn and your layout is really nice,
It is easily maintained and it works, and it makes you happy and your animals will be happy with you attending to their needs & cares everyday too.
Enjoy your dreams finding a reality!!
🐴


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## Zimalia22 (Jun 15, 2021)

I have a 6 stall barn, and each stall has a run so they can be inside or outside as they wish. That being said, each run is seperate. So 6 stalls, 6 runs. 
If I may make some suggestions, 

Get some angle iron and put on the edges of that pretty wood. Otherwise, they will eat it. Angle iron stops that. And once it's in and done, it's done.
Change those gates. Those have rounded corners, just right for a foot to get hung up in, then no more foot. You want the ones that are square on the corners. I see your round pen is the same way. You can get bars to cover those edges and make it much safer. I have known some horses that lost hooves due to those rounded corners.
That tin inside, make sure you cover the sharp edges with wood. If there is a way for one to get hurt, they'll find it. No point in helping them.
Is that a tin backwall? What is behind it? If you say just a fence, change that tin. It's easy to kick thru, and then you've lost the horse. Yes, I have tin siding on buildings on my ranch. But! The tin is always backed by solid wood or cement. 

I'm sure there would be other changes, changes you'll make once you have been in your barn a while. Your's is really pretty! Enjoy it!!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

That's a very pretty set up. I had a trainer tell me, "You can wrap a horse in cotton padding, keep them in a padded stall, and they will eat the padding, colic and die. They have 2 thoughts every day. "What shall I eat and how shall I kill myself?"". The longer I have horses the more I find I agree. 

Improvements I'd recommend would be trim the rubber matting to lay smooth with no overlaps. There's nothing worse than catching your toe on a mat and going face first into a pile of horse poo. I like to take a drill and make small holes around the mat and then "sew" them together with zip ties. Easy to replace when needed or if you need to replace mats. Same in the stalls, if you have them matted. I like to put down road fines in the stalls and aisles, tamp down and then mat. It keeps smell down and keeps things nice and dry. 

I second the angle iron recommendation to cover the wood the horses can get to, they're freakin' beavers and will take a 2" X 6" board down to nothing in no time at all. I also recommend covering your barn tin with boards, a horse can kick through the tin very easily and can cut themselves up pretty badly in the process. If you can't get angle iron to fit, then you can cover the top of the boards with roof flashing, it's thin but pretty effective. 

I don't like to leave the barn accessible to the horses if they're not stalled. Just too much mischief they can get into, especially for a youngster. I also cover all electrical wiring in conduit. They'll chew right through it. 

If those busses have engines in them, or any vehicle does, make sure the land isn't contaminated from leaking chemicals.


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## N E Buddy (Oct 23, 2021)

horselovinguy said:


> WELCOME to the Forum...
> 
> Not everyone has large acreage, even small acreage and have happy, well cared for and healthy horses.
> What you have you designed to make the most of...perfect.
> ...


Thank you for your encouraging words about my little paradise. For sure a dream come true! I'm so in awe, I can hardly stand it!!!

The exterior doors are only 4 ft wide. There is an option of going into the center part. The interior stall doors I mean. However, I wouldn't keep the entire slider open. So...not really another " out" door option. 
Miss Ears, 24 yo....is the boss. Does nip at Mira (6 mo) but I think it's just what they are going to do getting things figured out... who's boss and underling.


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## N E Buddy (Oct 23, 2021)

Zimalia22 said:


> I have a 6 stall barn, and each stall has a run so they can be inside or outside as they wish. That being said, each run is seperate. So 6 stalls, 6 runs.
> If I may make some suggestions,
> 
> Get some angle iron and put on the edges of that pretty wood. Otherwise, they will eat it. Angle iron stops that. And once it's in and done, it's done.
> ...


Oh how I wish I could do the separate runs for each, area just won't allow for it.
Angle iron is a great idea, or some sort of wood protector.
The gates to the barn area are square corners. The round pen is rounded. Didn't think of hooves.
The rear fence is tin, but more sections of wood fencing will soon be installed to keek a distance from the tin fence. Plus there's a gap at the bottom in some areas too.
Agree, there will be continual improvements along the way 
Thank you for taking time to reply. Much appreciated


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## N E Buddy (Oct 23, 2021)

Y


Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> That's a very pretty set up. I had a trainer tell me, "You can wrap a horse in cotton padding, keep them in a padded stall, and they will eat the padding, colic and die. They have 2 thoughts every day. "What shall I eat and how shall I kill myself?"". The longer I have horses the more I find I agree.
> 
> Improvements I'd recommend would be trim the rubber matting to lay smooth with no overlaps. There's nothing worse than catching your toe on a mat and going face first into a pile of horse poo. I like to take a drill and make small holes around the mat and then "sew" them together with zip ties. Easy to replace when needed or if you need to replace mats. Same in the stalls, if you have them matted. I like to put down road fines in the stalls and aisles, tamp down and then mat. It keeps smell down and keeps things nice and dry.
> 
> ...


Yes, accident prone for sure.
My husband put the mats down and knew cutting was needed. On the to-do list for sure.
Angle iron or some form of chewing protection needs to be put in as well.
All electric is in flex steel wrapping. (Can't think what it called). The kind that can't be chewed on or through ..easily. maybe called armored cable?
Thank you for your kind reply. All feedback and tips are so appreciated.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

It's a little hard for me to tell from the picture, but are the two stalls separated by a space? Like, those doors in the middle are for entryway into the barn? If the two stalls were adjacent, I'd just take down the center wall. If not, then I agree with putting another opening in both stalls, so that if one horse is being harassed it can escape.

I wouldn't cover anything horse-accessible with duct tape -- I'd be afraid they'd eat it.

I love the picture of them in their stalls -- too cute!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

N E Buddy said:


> The rear fence is tin, but more sections of wood fencing will soon be installed to keek a distance from the tin fence. Plus there's a gap at the bottom in some areas too.


One thing I noticed is placement of your fence boards...
Fence boards need to be placed _*on the inside*_ of your posts so if the horses lean against they not pop the boards off or loose.
What you did is fine because you put a top board angled to also shed precipitation so that will keep them off a bit from pushing...
When you put up more fence though do it so it looks like this... notice the board placement.
Placed boards like you did, by placing another board that covers ends prevent board end pop  {see 2nd picture} ...
Its not as pretty to look at... but it is stronger to keep those where they belong.















The closer you place your posts the stronger your fence becomes too.
My neighbor has bulls, breeding bulls and across the driveway are the cows and heifers...they can not get through his fence and they try....we made our fence to his specifications.. My horses are not getting through it, period.
Our posts are 5'6" apart center to center. We then were able to use 1x6x16' long boards and you are not pushing through my fence...had a cranky Clydesdale try and fail! 

If you find your horses are chewing or challenging your fence, adding 2 strands of hot/electric wire to the inside will have your horses touch it once and never again....
I like thick like your thumb called braid that I would use.
I want to make sure my horses know its their as they can see it and feel it.
Hot/electric wire "bites" and horses are not stupid they not like a ouchy!! 
If you use electric do not string any wire lower than your 3rd - 4th board space seen below so less chance of a hang-up of hoof in the wire if a rear/buck occurs at the fence line itself is what I've been counseled by those who use hot exclusively..








Your electric used is probably called "armored wire", wrapped steel over wire and not chewable. 
You can also use regular vinyl encased wire and slide through metal or plastic conduit that is rodent proof and not chewable if you have the need to string more electric in the future.

You did good with your project....the horses approve I'm sure.  
🐴...


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## N E Buddy (Oct 23, 2021)

ACinATX said:


> It's a little hard for me to tell from the picture, but are the two stalls separated by a space? Like, those doors in the middle are for entryway into the barn? If the two stalls were adjacent, I'd just take down the center wall. If not, then I agree with putting another opening in both stalls, so that if one horse is being harassed it can escape.
> 
> I wouldn't cover anything horse-accessible with duct tape -- I'd be afraid they'd eat it.
> 
> I love the picture of them in their stalls -- too cute!


Yes it's a 10 ft open walkway. I love leaving their top doors open. 😊


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## N E Buddy (Oct 23, 2021)

horselovinguy said:


> One thing I noticed is placement of your fence boards...
> Fence boards need to be placed _*on the inside*_ of your posts so if the horses lean against they not pop the boards off or loose.
> What you did is fine because you put a top board angled to also shed precipitation so that will keep them off a bit from pushing...
> When you put up more fence though do it so it looks like this... notice the board placement.
> ...


Thank you. Yes, boards are on the wrong side. My husband was really excited to be putting this together for me, I couldn't find it in me to correct the board placement. If they start needing replaced, he will know for next time. I may suggest it for the next section since I'm learning too. But, I was aware. He made it with 2 " boards all around and cemented every other post. Even with boards on the wrong side, it is really strong.
Have considered adding the hot braided wire too. Just hoping it's not needed. Time will tell?
Thank you for your feedback.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Hello and welcome

My worry is the weanling could end up hurt pretty bad if the boss mare decides to take a charge on her “just because”.

I see two possibilities:

1. The expensive one would be to add an overhang so they could both get under it yet it would be wide open for easy escape. If you go that route, don’t let the contractors attach it to the barn. Butt it up to the barn as close as possible then have them add flashing between the barn and overhang.

That is how my overhang is constructed. It’s been chuggin’ along for 18 years without issues

2. The second solution would be to divide their areas off at the center of the barn or near center, giving each horse access to their own stall while they are outside.

****
As the weanling matures, hopefully the two horses would bond to where they could be crowned in one stall together without issue.

That isn’t always the case, however. My remaining two horses have to be separated until their end times. My horses are 26 & 27 and have been together since 2006. The 27 yr old bullies the daylights out of the other horse so they can only be friends over the fence.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

Run hot wire along inside of fence one wire on top fence board. Then another strand of hot wire mid way down fence. Problem solved no leaning on fence no popped off boards.

Board fencing looks better with boards on outside of post. I've never have seen board fencing with boards on inside of post. 

Horses don't need to be near fence leaning on them. Every stretch of fencing here has hot wire one on top an one mid way down. One good zap an they stay the heck away from fence. 

Invest in a hot fencer ,it saves on fencing being ruined by leaning horses.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

If the stalls are separated by a wall, you would want the paddock areas separated by a fence. If it is set up like a huge open shed, no walls, then there should be room for them. I would want a senior horse to be separated by a fence as that filly could get frisky and playful and injure the 24 yr old horse. Also for feeding time. The senior horse probably chews slower than the filly.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

N E Buddy said:


> Thank you. Yes, boards are on the wrong side. My husband was really excited to be putting this together for me, I couldn't find it in me to correct the board placement. If they start needing replaced, he will know for next time. I may suggest it for the next section since I'm learning too. But, I was aware. He made it with 2 " boards all around and cemented every other post. Even with boards on the wrong side, it is really strong.
> Have considered adding the hot braided wire too. Just hoping it's not needed. Time will tell?
> Thank you for your feedback.


I've seen horses snap boards when the post doesn't give some. Just something to be aware of. With the cap it should be less likely. It seems no matter what you (g) do they will figure out a way to hurt themselves or destroy the fencing.


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## TrainedByMares (Jun 5, 2021)

If the ground you are using as paddock once was part of the salvage yard, you will have metal, glass ,plastic ,rubber, foam, etc working its way up out of the ground almost daily. Bad if a horse steps on it or eats it. Feed the horses on large rubber mats, not on the ground out there. What the other person said about the buses and leaking oil is correct. Oil, antifreeze, washer fluid,gasoline is all poisonous. I like your barn and your horses.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I was looking at your pics again and admiring that beautiful, shiny, new barn and saw something I missed last night. The latches on your barn stalls are what I call "rib rippers". They can stick out past the edge of the stall door and if a horse gets in a hurry or pushes against them as they're going in or out of the stall, the latch bolt can rip that skin right over the ribs right off. Been there done that and paid the vet bill. Basically took the hide from the point of her shoulder and tore a huge flap to her last rib, skinned her neat. That took a while to sew up and of course left a big scar. Anything that has a rigid bolt like this pic is a disaster waiting to happen. 








I prefer to have a drop pin that you use once the door is closed and it stops it from opening (slider type doors) or a even a door chain guard (like you see on a front door) can stop them from being able to open their doors without being dangerous.


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## N E Buddy (Oct 23, 2021)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I was looking at your pics again and admiring that beautiful, shiny, new barn and saw something I missed last night. The latches on your barn stalls are what I call "rib rippers". They can stick out past the edge of the stall door and if a horse gets in a hurry or pushes against them as they're going in or out of the stall, the latch bolt can rip that skin right over the ribs right off. Been there done that and paid the vet bill. Basically took the hide from the point of her shoulder and tore a huge flap to her last rib, skinned her neat. That took a while to sew up and of course left a big scar. Anything that has a rigid bolt like this pic is a disaster waiting to happen.
> View attachment 1119620
> 
> I prefer to have a drop pin that you use once the door is closed and it stops it from opening (slider type doors) or a even a door chain guard (like you see on a front door) can stop them from being able to open their doors without being dangerous.


Unfortunately, sliding exterior stall doors wouldn't fit.
Puzzle by the other options you suggested for latches. Will have to look into different latch types.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

If your horses don't challenge the stall door then this works great. I use them on all but 1 stall door, even the stallion doesn't challenge them.









If you need something a little more secure then this works well. I have something like this on my stall door for the one who will challenge other things.









Then main thing is, you don't have anything sticking out that can rip their hide.


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## Caballera (Sep 10, 2021)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> That's a very pretty set up. I had a trainer tell me, "You can wrap a horse in cotton padding, keep them in a padded stall, and they will eat the padding, colic and die. They have 2 thoughts every day. "What shall I eat and how shall I kill myself?"". The longer I have horses the more I find I agree.
> 
> Improvements I'd recommend would be trim the rubber matting to lay smooth with no overlaps. There's nothing worse than catching your toe on a mat and going face first into a pile of horse poo. I like to take a drill and make small holes around the mat and then "sew" them together with zip ties. Easy to replace when needed or if you need to replace mats. Same in the stalls, if you have them matted. I like to put down road fines in the stalls and aisles, tamp down and then mat. It keeps smell down and keeps things nice and dry.
> 
> ...


Sooo true haha... They are so accident prone! 
Anyway, your shelter looks fine to me. Before I'd open it up to them though, I'd make sure there isn't anything lying around (such as tires, scrap metal, etc.) that they could hurt themselves on. Such as those "rib scrapers" @Dreamcatcher Arabians mentioned. I'd also make sure that the stall mats completely cover the floor so there's no gaps where the horses can step into.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

The way I set up my barn is with two adjacent stalls that give onto a pen which is divided in two. There's a gate at the far end which is usually open; they can go into each other's stalls if they want. If I need to keep the horses separate -- say one is being fed specially or needs to be confined -- the gate is closed. It give me flexibility as the situation alters.

I agree with everyone about doing your level best to make as safe a structure as you possibly can.


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## N E Buddy (Oct 23, 2021)

Finally put in the pen gate caps. Here's the update. They aren't perfectly aligned but better than leaving open for sure. The walkthrough gate needed the panel connector because of the width between. Easy enough to snap on and off. Thank you for the suggestion! I feel so much more safe now...without buying new everywhere.


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## Zimalia22 (Jun 15, 2021)

horselovinguy said:


> One thing I noticed is placement of your fence boards...
> Fence boards need to be placed _*on the inside*_ of your posts so if the horses lean against they not pop the boards off or loose.
> What you did is fine because you put a top board angled to also shed precipitation so that will keep them off a bit from pushing...
> When you put up more fence though do it so it looks like this... notice the board placement.
> ...



While bull may not be able to get "thru" that fence, I can tell you they won't have any trouble going over it, easily. 
My panels, we built ourselves, they are 2 inch iron pipe, 6 foot high. They can clear those too. I caught a bull in, put him in one of my corrals, chained and locked the gate. The next morning, the gate was still chained and locked, and no bull. No hair of where he might have had problems clearing the top rail either! 
I am not real sure how high you'd have to have panes to contain a determined bull, but a 5 foot wood fence is not a problem to them. Not at all.
Glad your neighbor's bulls stay home. And I was glad my neighbor wanted his heifers bred too!


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I do not think this set up for cattle. It is for horses and looks okay. The wood is nailed up wrong, and an easy fix would be to just move every other board to the inside.


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