# What do you do with a horse at a show if you don't have a stall?



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

If it's hot like it is now and they don't have stalls for my horses, so I can hook up fans and give cool water, hose them down and let them cool off after working, then we don't go. You do not want an awning on the side you have your horses on. That is a nightmare waiting to happen. I know, my horses would ok with it 99.9999% of the time, but that 1 time that something happened and they nutted up and tore down the awning, got all tangled up and somebody got severely injured.......OH BRRRRRRR! Gives me shivers just thinking about it. This time of year, no stalls, no go. It's just not fair to the horses. Now, if you're only going to show early in the morning, it's different. I could be at a local dressage show with 8 am, 8:30 and 9:15 show times and home by noon and it wouldn't be too awful, if the show was the 15 minutes away from my home that it was when we were showing a lot. But further than that, no facilities, nope, not gonna.


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

We either held them or put them back in the trailer or on the truck.
"Stalled" they had access to hay nets to eat, and were offered fresh water we brought from home several times... Our horse truck we actually rigged up a way to hang water buckets so they drank when they wanted.
Both trailer and truck were insulated roof, all windows slid open to catch a breeze.
Our horses were _never_ permitted to eat grass/graze on show grounds, good way to introduce germs of another to yours and no telling what is going around in other barns/facilities...
I know there was a extra battery to run a fan to cool the truck inside if no air movement, but I never used it when I was present showing...
When I was the groom, I was to busy prepping animals and riders, getting them to the correct ring for their classes to have time to sit under a awning...called wear a baseball cap to shield my face is best I got.
Riders waiting sat in the shade of the truck better not be near ramp end or you were told to get.....  
Some of the parents would park their minivans and hang a tarp between the roof racks...but they were on the offside of the truck and not where we went when coming down and off the equipment.
We kept large coolers with drinks for all to take from....everyone contributed $5 for drink and snacks healthy such as fresh fruit, salty individual treats....helped to cool us and the horses enjoyed some of those fruits too...
🐴....


----------



## Palfrey (May 29, 2020)

Tied to the horse trailer. This is what we did when I was in 4-H and Pony Club. I can remember at a Dressage Rally, a horse kept getting loose because in Pony Club the horses are required to have a leather halter or breakaway. Said horse got smart to the breakaway and off he went. 

I much prefer keeping the horse in a stall. Just so much better on so many levels.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I hate tying to a trailer. If you do, you have to stay beside them the whole time. Never walk away from a tied horse. I also hate people leaving their horses in the trailer and walking away, though that is probably slightly better. The problem is that those trailers get really hot. I could never leave a horse in a trailer unless it is a big, box style trailer with AC on. 

At shows where we could not get a stall, Harley stayed with us at all times. That meant having him on a lead rope and hanging out on show grounds. Far from ideal, but Harley was always a saint at shows, so it could be worse. He would just nap. We brought hay, feed, water, and made sure he was always comfortable but it was always so much easier if we had a stall. He could rest and so could we.


----------



## Zimalia22 (Jun 15, 2021)

When we were showing, we had our 6 horse trailer. It was foam insulated under the roof, so it was cooler than most barns. We had a divider that we'd made that would turn it into a 2 stall "barn". 
Its handy when you just take your "barn" with you!


----------



## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

@Zimalia22 That sounds so handy.


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

AC with how large your stalls are in your trailer compared to animal size your herd should be able to be very comfortable.
You king-sized your trailer by customizing a warmblood larger and you have....ponies.
Put up the chest and butt bar, give them their haynets, hang their water and leave them to hang-out and you do the same nearby.
Coolest place you might find could be inside that trailer of yours...
Not every barn is "cool" either with reduced airflow depending upon layout, stall wall heights and what is is constructed of.
🐴...


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Zimalia22 said:


> When we were showing, we had our 6 horse trailer. It was foam insulated under the roof, so it was cooler than most barns. We had a divider that we'd made that would turn it into a 2 stall "barn".
> Its handy when you just take your "barn" with you!


Yes, I have seen those kinds of trailers at shows and was green with envy! They are gorgeous, and so roomy. Definitely a good solution, but sadly, would be way out of my price range.


----------



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Our trailer is nice and roomy, and the inside parts disassemble really easily. If we had just one horse at a show, it would be great for them. I'd just take down the dividers and let them loose in there (once we got there). I paid extra for a full-width butt bar, so we could have the back doors completely open, even without the divider being in. We have a big side window they could stick their head out of, too. But I think with most trailers, if you load them up full there isn't going to be room to convert them to stalls once you get there. At least not room for as many horses as you brought.

Still, I wonder if this might be part of a solution. If we brought both horses, then we could alternate who is in the "stall" (the trailer) and who is tied.


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Unless you are inviting your horse to lay down mid-day of the show...yep, here goes all that grooming....
You already gave them the extra room to wiggle and move just by buying such a large trailer for such small occupants honestly....
In honesty, if they laid down I would fear them getting hung under those butt bar or chest bar when they went to get up or escape out...
Just lead them in, settle them with hay and water and hang-out yourself outside...
You are overthinking this.... if this is a local show you may not even have time to do anything but unload, tack and ride...finish your few classes, untack load and go home...
Great to be prepared but are you really doing fist and last classes of the day? You and your daughter probably would be pretty close together in order of classes rode if not in the same classes....
🐴...


----------



## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

If I don't have a stall, I tie them to the trailer under the awning and make sure they have water.


----------



## My Salty Pony (Jan 1, 2022)

Get there as early as you can and find a tree to park under, thats what I did, but some places dont have trees to park under. If theres any pens with shade and safe fencing I'll tie there if possible. With the way our heat has been these last few weeks I would not tie to the trailer, that heat coming off that trailer is super hot and not fair to the horses, I know you are in the Austin area and I'm not that far away and the heat hitting triple digits here lately it will be really hard on the horses with that heat bouncing off the trailer, have alot of water on hand.


----------



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I tied to the trailer if I had to as at some venues there was only the outside ring. I also tried to park so that there is a shady side (or on windy days so there is a lee side). I’d hang hay nets as well which kept them from getting bored or into mischief (and then offered water at some point). Aside from a quick bathroom break, I was always in sight of the horse(s) for supervisory purposes (make sure you bring your own water and snacks so you don’t end up in a long line up at the concession stand if there is one).


----------



## Txshecat0423 (May 27, 2020)

Not quite the same since we stay overnight at our rodeos, but my husband made me panels that attach to my trailer. I can have them set up in about five minutes and they are light enough I can handle them by myself. It makes for a very nice pen. 

I don’t like keeping my horses tied to the trailer all day, mostly because Skip has untied himself and gone wandering on multiple occasions! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Txshecat0423 said:


> Not quite the same since we stay overnight at our rodeos, but my husband made me panels that attach to my trailer. I can have them set up in about five minutes and they are light enough I can handle them by myself. It makes for a very nice pen.
> 
> I don’t like keeping my horses tied to the trailer all day, mostly because Skip has untied himself and gone wandering on multiple occasions!
> 
> ...


LOL! I have a Skip that does the same thing. Only he undoes his halter, slips it right off if it's not on tight enough to just about choke him. Next thing you know, he's out socializing.


----------



## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

We leave them tied to the trailer at most shows. Unless we are overnight we never get a stall. If it’s really hot we make sure they get lots of water and put them loose in the trailer (we also have a big trailer with a center divider). I don’t find the need to stand with them tied to the trailer by any means, but I do walk over often to offer them a drink and check on them.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

ACinATX said:


> (After talking to the barn owner of the place where the show is going to be, I actually did work out getting stalls for our two. But at first she said she wasn't going to have any, and that got me wondering.)
> 
> What do you do if you go to a horse show and don't have a stall (or a paddock)? I guess people just tie their horses to the trailer? But what I was wondering in particular for our situation is, what about when it's really hot (over 100 degrees) and it's the middle of the day? Do you just make your horses stand out there in the sun? Do you put them back in the trailer, assuming it has decent ventilation, even though it means they won't be able to move around?
> 
> One option my trailer came with that I didn't get was an awning that you could pull out over the side. I was like, Why on earth would I want that, it's ridiculous. And now I wish I had gotten one. I just don't know what I would do if I were in a situation like this. What do you guys do?


99% of the time, my horses are tied to the trailer at shows, rodeos, barrel races, etc. Even at home, when I am riding one horse, the others are tied at the trailer. Get done riding one horse, and swap for the next. 

When it's super hot, it's tough. Some places don't have trees to get under. I was just at a barrel race Saturday and it was near 100*F which is unusual for us. I was able to park my trailer so that at least for a couple hours, they had a couple feet of shade beside the trailer so at least their heads were in the shade. Of course, by midday there is no shade anywhere. I keep hay in front of them at all times, and offered water very, very frequently. But mine are outside 24/7 at home with no shade in the pasture, so that isn't any different for them. (although they aren't tied up) They spend a lot of time standing by the water fountain.

Usually at a show, I am riding/alternating horses so they are getting some movement and aren't just standing there all day. (I get stiff and sore standing in one place too.)


----------



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

beau159 said:


> But mine are outside 24/7 at home with no shade in the pasture, so that isn't any different for them. (although they aren't tied up) They spend a lot of time standing by the water fountain.


Mine are out 24/7 also, but they have shade and a pond, and they make use of both. They are both (the two I'd take to a show, anyways) dark, which doesn't help either.

We've been taking them out to a new place, and for tacking up we tie them to the trailer, but the one day we were out there in the late morning and tied them on the shady side, and then noon-ish where there wasn't really any shade, but not for too long (although it was already 95 degrees). I just can't imagine leaving them out in the sun when it's 100 degrees for hours at a time.


----------

