# Are 12 x 16 stalls worth the extra money?



## Nokeen (Apr 27, 2011)

My sister is building a small 2 horse barn with runs on her property, she was going to make them 12 by 16, with 16 by 24 long runs attached, but the person helping her make up the plans said it was a waste of money space and bedding to make stalls bigger than 12 by 12 unless you have draft horses. She came to me for clarification because we have always been told to make stall as large as you can but i don't have the answer because i've never put money into building or running a stable only working on them. So anyone who has actually built their barn from scratch, is the cost of materials and bedding worth the extra 4 feet or not?


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Nokeen said:


> My sister is building a small 2 horse barn with runs on her property, she was going to make them 12 by 16, with 16 by 24 long runs attached, but the person helping her make up the plans said it was a waste of money space and bedding to make stalls bigger than 12 by 12 unless you have draft horses. She came to me for clarification because we have always been told to make stall as large as you can but i don't have the answer because i've never put money into building or running a stable only working on them. So anyone who has actually built their barn from scratch, is the cost of materials and bedding worth the extra 4 feet or not?


If the horses spend much time inside I think it's worth it. I use my stalls mainly to separate them out for feeding or if the weather turns ugly, but mainly have mine out on pasture as much as is possible, so mine are 12 X 12 except for my 2 foaling stalls which are 12 X 20.


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## Nokeen (Apr 27, 2011)

oh yea for got to mention that, since her land is really small they would be in all day and out at night during the warmer months to save the field and then out during the day in the winter and in at night when the weather permits.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Where does she live? That would color my perception too. In AZ, maybe not so much, OK during the winter it would be nice to have larger stalls, in Canada....I'd say definitely yes, in HI not so much....LOL!


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Our mares are out 24x7 but we have a 10x20 stall (roughly the same size as 12x16) that we use for sprains, foaling, etc. It may seem like a horse 'mansion' to some, but it give them a lot more room for them to move, lay down, and be worked on. Bigger is better, IMHO.


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## BarnBum (Oct 23, 2009)

My barn has stalls that are 12x24. The barn was an old polo barn and the stalls were tiny, so the current owner knocked out the middle wall and made two stalls, one big one. 
My 17hh horse loves his stall. He has plenty of room to lay down and stretch out or shuffle around and make dirty faces. No horse has ever been cast in these big stalls and even in foul weather or in injury they dont go crazy in these big airy stalls. In my opinion, horses should always have bigger! My 16hh horse loves the big stalls too, because they can roll to their hearts desire.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

If you have more room I would make the runs bigger. 24' is not very long


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## Clementine (Sep 24, 2009)

If you can afford to build & bed the larger stalls, I would definitely go for it!


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## Val1991 (Aug 26, 2011)

the more room the merrier. it encourages horses to move around which has lots of benefits. It will discourage stall vices, support healthy hooves (Every time a horse takes a step, it's hoof spreads and stretches and acts like a pump to bring fresh blood into the inner hoof. Horses are disigned to move!) and will allow your horse to spread out and vegetate after a long day's work without worrying about kicking the walls. It will also help with keeping the stall cleaner as your horse will have more room to stay away from his mess without walking through it and kicking it all over. When it comes to horse stalls, if you can do bigger without breaking your wallet, then take advantage of it. There will be horse owners around the world drooling at your stalls. ^^


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

There really is a big cost difference in material in having to make the whole barn larger to accommodate larger stalls and I couldn't justify the cost.. Personally, and unless you are breeding, I would rather make the runs larger. You will find that they spend more time there then in their stalls.


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## Val1991 (Aug 26, 2011)

iridehorses said:


> There really is a big cost difference in material in having to make the whole barn larger to accommodate larger stalls and I couldn't justify the cost.. Personally, and unless you are breeding, I would rather make the runs larger. You will find that they spend more time there then in their stalls.


good point. if you do have the room/money for bigger paddocks, then that would also be a bonus, even at the expense of bigger stalls. Unless the horses will send alot of time inside...like, more than they would outside...which would be sad.


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## Nokeen (Apr 27, 2011)

thanks for all the input guys you were a real help


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