# Making a stall for the first time



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

First off she is going to really miss the other horse. Can you house it as well? I gather you don't have any pasture so you will need to exercise her several times a day, either lunging or riding. Get 2 small mesh hay nets and hang them at opposite ends as this will encourage her to move back and forth. Let her soil in there, pick it up and that's where you want to put down straw. You don't have to bed the entire 30'. The stones will strengthen the soles of her hooves. A straw bed, 12'x 12 is plenty if she wants to lie down. Since she will be somewhat cooped up don't feed any supplements, just hay.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I would never stall a horse on gravel. You need some dirt and then you can put down straw or shavings. are makeing a box stall ? or just a corral ? 
gravel = rocks.. this will cause sores and she can get stone bruises.


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## mistysms (Jul 15, 2012)

Saddlebag said:


> First off she is going to really miss the other horse. Can you house it as well? I gather you don't have any pasture so you will need to exercise her several times a day, either lunging or riding. Get 2 small mesh hay nets and hang them at opposite ends as this will encourage her to move back and forth. Let her soil in there, pick it up and that's where you want to put down straw. You don't have to bed the entire 30'. The stones will strengthen the soles of her hooves. A straw bed, 12'x 12 is plenty if she wants to lie down. Since she will be somewhat cooped up don't feed any supplements, just hay.


I know she is going to miss the other horse but I plan on trying to keep her company at least a few hours a day. Also i have been looking at stall toys too. I will be exercising her several times a day like you said. I will get 2 mesh hay nets and hang them at opposite ends thats a great idea! This stall is going to be on the side of our house. So its kind of an outside stall I would say. One said of the stall will be against the house but i was wondering about the other three sides. The back of the stall I think i'm going to board up completely then the front of the stall will have the gate for me and her to come in and out. Then i'm left with the last side which will be the 30foot side opposite the house. Should I also board that side completely, I was thinking to put a few 2 by 4 all the way across. then my boyfriend thought we shouldn't leave empty space between the 2 by 4 and wanted to put up fencing. Any ideas on that?


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## mistysms (Jul 15, 2012)

stevenson said:


> I would never stall a horse on gravel. You need some dirt and then you can put down straw or shavings. are makeing a box stall ? or just a corral ?
> gravel = rocks.. this will cause sores and she can get stone bruises.


So you think on top of the gravel I should put a load of dirt then straw? The reason we don't want to put matts down is so when she pees she isn't standing in it and it will soak in to the ground a little.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

mistysms said:


> So you think on top of the gravel I should put a load of dirt then straw? The reason we don't want to put matts down is so when she pees she isn't standing in it and it will soak in to the ground a little.


If she is going to be stalled for a month it want as much support as possible for her legs. I'd put rubber mats down over the gravel and shaving (i prefer woody pellets) over that. The shavings will absorb the urine and your going to be riding several times a day I dont see why you can't pick it twice a day. The other thing I've found that works great is 5-8 inches then a "still skin" the gravel is very forgiving and the stall skin allows any liquid to pass right through it. 

For stall toy Uncle Jims hanging balls are awesome! Also, every horse who has an amazing graze (rolling treat dispenser) LOVES it!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## wetrain17 (May 25, 2011)

You will definintely need something over the gravel. What you chose is up to you, straw, shavings, wood pellets. If you're concerned about absorbtion, I wouldnt go with the straw, especially having a mare.



SlideStop said:


> For stall toy Uncle Jims hanging balls are awesome! Also, every horse who has an amazing graze (rolling treat dispenser) LOVES it!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


My horse never eats these! I can't get over it. I've tried different flavors too, nothing.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Are you talking car port? A garage is completely enclosed. When a horse is confined to a relatively small area, where it can't run, it sees it as a trap. When a predator lurks the horse relies on a fast getaway. Because a horse's vision isn't binocular like ours it doesn't see things as well as we do so when it sees something move, it needs to be able to go. Are you able to fence off an area, 1/2 an acre as that would be better and she could use the carport for a shelter.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

wetrain17 said:


> You will definintely need something over the gravel. What you chose is up to you, straw, shavings, wood pellets. If you're concerned about absorbtion, I wouldnt go with the straw, especially having a mare.
> 
> 
> 
> My horse never eats these! I can't get over it. I've tried different flavors too, nothing.


Really? Our horses go nuts over them. We had one horse who was chewing the hell out of his stall from boredom regardless of the amount of work he got. Unfortunately he shared a paddock so he couldnt have 24/7 turn out. As soon as he got it all the stall chewing stopped and has never ever chewed since!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mistysms (Jul 15, 2012)

Well we have now changed our mind again. We will not be making a stall outside we are going to make a stall inside our shed it will be at least 12 by 15. the shed has a garage door on the front and back we are going to take the back door and lock it up and build a gate there so she can see out. We are also going to fence in a little less then 1/2 an acre just outside the gate so during the day we can leave the gate open so she can go outside in the fresh air. Do you think thats a good idea?


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

mistysms said:


> Well we have now changed our mind again. We will not be making a stall outside we are going to make a stall inside our shed it will be at least 12 by 15. the shed has a garage door on the front and back we are going to take the back door and lock it up and build a gate there so she can see out. We are also going to fence in a little less then 1/2 an acre just outside the gate so during the day we can leave the gate open so she can go outside in the fresh air. Do you think thats a good idea?


This sounds like a much better idea. Have you got better footing in the shed? You could also put down a wood floor, which would me more manageable in a 12x15.


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## JeepnGirl (Jan 15, 2013)

stevenson said:


> I would never stall a horse on gravel. You need some dirt and then you can put down straw or shavings. are makeing a box stall ? or just a corral ?
> gravel = rocks.. this will cause sores and she can get stone bruises.


Horses get stone bruises because their feet are not conditioned. I've been told that if you put gravel around the watering troughs outside or just in front of the stall (if they have an attached pen) or somewhere they have to walk everyday, it helps to condition their hooves and get them toughened up. 

If you have gravel in her stall and want to put shaving, straw or something else down for bedding, but down stall mats (the thick 3/4" ones) and put the bedding down on top of them. That way the gravel will not get mashed into the poop and bedding and it will make it way easier to clean out.

I think it is good to take your horse away from others if you can. I see some awful buddy sour animals and people keep enabling this behavior by bring them back to the buddy all the time.
Kinda like people who say "My horse will not load into a straight load trailer". Really? 
Sorry - pet peeve...

Danielle


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## mistysms (Jul 15, 2012)

JeepnGirl said:


> Horses get stone bruises because their feet are not conditioned. I've been told that if you put gravel around the watering troughs outside or just in front of the stall (if they have an attached pen) or somewhere they have to walk everyday, it helps to condition their hooves and get them toughened up.
> 
> If you have gravel in her stall and want to put shaving, straw or something else down for bedding, but down stall mats (the thick 3/4" ones) and put the bedding down on top of them. That way the gravel will not get mashed into the poop and bedding and it will make it way easier to clean out.
> 
> ...


She HATES walking on gravel but its getting better because where she is know they have gravel around the water and around where we feed her. Now we are building a stall in the shed so there is concrete floors. I'm going to put down stall mats then some kind of bedding down. When she pees in the stall is it going to go under the stall mats? My horse is very buddy sour already (used to be a trail horse) so hopefully this will help. She only buddy sour really when we ride tho.


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## hemms (Apr 18, 2012)

Much better!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

mistysms said:


> So you think on top of the gravel I should put a load of dirt then straw? The reason we don't want to put matts down is so when she pees she isn't standing in it and it will soak in to the ground a little.


I would put some mats down on the area she will sleep in, and then shavings on top of that. I hate straw, it's not very absorbent and will stink in very short order, as well, it gets really heavy when wet. So in your 12 X 30, I'd put a 12 X 12 area in mats and shavings, the remaining 18 ft can still be gravel as long as it's not too coarse and shouldn't hurt her feet. It'll provide pretty good drainage to help keep her feet/fetlocks dry and will help dry out the scratches. I wouldn't put dirt or sand on top, just shavings if needed. The mats and fairly deep shavings in the sleeping area will make things soft enough to not give hock sores when she's getting up and down.


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