# What kind of stalls?



## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

I am in the process of choosing stalls for our barn, which is going up in early May. Does anyone have any recommendations with respect to stall kits? Here are some of the options I am considering.

Full self-supporting stall panels anchored to the walls and the ground. No posts or headers are required.

Stall fronts mounted on 4x6 posts requiring full header.

Galvanized or heavy gauge painted steel?

Full dividing wall or open top with bars every 3"? Our horses get along and are more comfortable in site of one another.

Standard horizontal sliding latch or spring loaded vertical bar latch?

Opening grill on door, or opening in grill for feed door (2' wide and full height)?

Wood floor, or rubber mats over compacted roach crush?


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

The sturdier your walls and supports are the better, horses like nothing better than scratching their butts on something if they get an itch and a wall comes in really handy!!!
If your horses get on well then lower walls with metal grilles above will give you better air flow especially in the summer and make the place seem lighter.
I don't think I'd like wooden flooring, its going to really absorb fluids and get slippery I would imagine. We have rubber matting laid over crushed stone here and that seems to work OK though we had to put a piece of old carpet in the main entry from the field in the winter as they were sliding on the snow/ice that had gathered in their feet. It doesn't seem to happen in normal wet weather either shod or barefoot as the rubber has a bit of a texture too it.
I regularly spray the floors over with disinfectant and also use a powder (Sweet PDZ) that absorbs wet and kills smells


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

The horses briefly used a building this winter that had a raised wood floor. I use pellet bedding, and it was their run in shelter, so nobody was 'stuck' being inside it. They busted 2 floor boards, and thankfully nobody got hurt. I love stall mats though! they have a new run in, and I've got mats for it. If they have free access to leave, I don't like using bedding. They usually won't pee on a hard surface (splashes on their legs) so they go outside to do that. 

I use a metal tube gate currently for my divider in the shelter, but again, they have free access to leave.


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## ericp502 (Nov 29, 2012)

We just finished our barn and used Priefert Premier Stalls. We love them. We had a smaller barn with two stalls before building this new barn and also had Priefert stalls in it. 

Here is a link to their site:

Premier Stalls

We also bought the stall feeder kits. They are a little expensive but makes it easy and fast to feed. Also makes it safe to feed horses as you don't have to go into the stall to feed grain or hay. Nice when you have someone farm sitting and they don't know your horses.

Our barn builder wanted $2,200 per stall to build traditional wood stalls but we built these using Priefert stalls for about $1,100 per stall. We used 2x8 tongue and groove for the back walls and end walls with Priefert 12' stall fronts and 12' foot stall dividers.


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

I have Classic Equine stalls, Love them.

Horse Stalls - Equine Stall Systems - Stable Equipment, Supplies

I will say a couple things, I got the drop downs in the door so the horses can hang their head out. They are great for some horses, but others push their chest on the door, they can put all their weight against it, more than once the door has popped off the runner because of this.

Number one culprit below










I also have the swing out bars for feeding, I love that, the horses can still hang their heads out but they don’t seem to push on the wall like they do the door, I guess they know they don't go out there. So two swing out openings is over kill and a waste of money.

The horses don't seem to push on this opening. I tie the doors open with zip ties.


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## ericp502 (Nov 29, 2012)

Here are a few pics of the Priefert stalls in use. Couple of the things we liked about these stalls is the pull down door release. Horse proof and they cannot get out. The other thing we liked is the doors can't come off the runner because they are attached to bars. You have to remove a bolt and swing a piece of metal out of the way to get the door off the runner.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks for the pictures!

Ericp502 - your barn looks very similar to what we are building with the wall height and wall lights above. How high are your walls? I also like how you have grills on the top half of the dividing walls. This is what I am planning as well. We can get Priefert stalls but have to bring them in from the US and shipping makes them very expensive. There is however a Hi Hog manufacturer just south in Calgary and their product looks very similar. A 12' front and centre panel with grills runs around $1200. It is heavy painted steel rather than galvanized, but rusting shouldn't be a problem as long as everything is kept dry.

Taffy - I really like those stalls as well. They look like dipped galvanized steel. Again, we pay a premium on shipping and bringing these in from the US. There is a manufacturer in Ontario, but again shipping is crazy expensive, especially for welded panels because they are so large. I looked into similar unwelded stall kits that require assembly, but was told that as the wood shrinks, everything starts to rattle. Not good in a horse barn...


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

Oh yes I did not realize you were so far north, Shipping on classic Equine would kill your budget, They are in Missouri.


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## ericp502 (Nov 29, 2012)

The barn is 36'x48' with a 8'x48' foot covered porch on the front. The walls are 12' tall with 4' clear panels. 4 12'x12' stalls. 12'x16' Hay/feed room, 12'16' tack room and 12'x16' wash stall with drain. All concrete except for the stalls. We dug about 2' of dirt out of the stalls and brought them all back up level with limestone dust. There is a 12'x48' loft above the 12' isle way for hay storage as well. 

The bars on the dividers work really well. We did think about making one divider all wood instead of bars incase we had a horse that didn't get along with other horses but we opted for better ventilation instead. All of our horses get along and we don't board anyone's horses.

You might want to call Priefert and see if someone has the stalls close to you. They gave me info for a place that had them in stock that wasn't on their list of dealers yet and didn't have to pay any shipping.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks ericp502! Your barn sounds lovely! We are building a 36' x 36' pole building with 10'walls and 2' of the wall light panels on both sides. We will start with two 12'x12' stalls and a tack room but can add 2 or 3 more stalls later. Since the floor is dirt, we plan to bring in some tamped road crush and lay rubber mats in the stalls and rubber paving blocks in the centre aisle. Concrete is crazy expensive here and the prep to ensure it doesn't crack in our cold climate is extensive. We also have the issue of traction in the winter, as any moisture or any snow tracked in will freeze and become very icy. My neighbour uses the rubber pavers in his barn and is very happy with them.

I will check with Priefert to see if they have any dealers in Western Canada. So far, I haven't seen any. If we were closer to the border, I'd go and pick up stall kits myself, but we are a good 6 hours north of the border and further yet to any major US centres, so finding something locally made makes sense.


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## CCH (Jan 23, 2011)

Our stalls are HiQual brand. We actually bought them in Canada years ago when the exchange rate was better for the USD and hauled them home ourselves.

HiQual :: Original Horse Stalls
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ericp502 (Nov 29, 2012)

Koolio said:


> Thanks ericp502! Your barn sounds lovely! We are building a 36' x 36' pole building with 10'walls and 2' of the wall light panels on both sides. We will start with two 12'x12' stalls and a tack room but can add 2 or 3 more stalls later. Since the floor is dirt, we plan to bring in some tamped road crush and lay rubber mats in the stalls and rubber paving blocks in the centre aisle. Concrete is crazy expensive here and the prep to ensure it doesn't crack in our cold climate is extensive. We also have the issue of traction in the winter, as any moisture or any snow tracked in will freeze and become very icy. My neighbour uses the rubber pavers in his barn and is very happy with them.
> 
> I will check with Priefert to see if they have any dealers in Western Canada. So far, I haven't seen any. If we were closer to the border, I'd go and pick up stall kits myself, but we are a good 6 hours north of the border and further yet to any major US centres, so finding something locally made makes sense.


I'd look at least 3' clear panels if not 4'. We were going to do 2' also but just did not let the light we wanted in. With 4' clear panels you don't even have to have a single light on in the barn. Even the loft is fully lighted. Our builders did it for no additional cost. They recommended not putting it on the roof since over time it would leak. We have a 1' overhang around all sides of the barn and the clear panel is all the way up so no way to leak. 

While your getting your road crush think about adding a 10x10 area around your doors so you don't track as much mud into your barn and not walking in mud right outside the doors.

I looked at the rubber bricks too but talked to several people that have them and they don't like that the dirt, urine and other stuff gets down between them. You might be better off putting the road crush in the isle and just using rubber mats.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

CCH said:


> Our stalls are HiQual brand. We actually bought them in Canada years ago when the exchange rate was better for the USD and hauled them home ourselves.
> 
> HiQual :: Original Horse Stalls
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


What are the prices like on those? We're re-doing our barn and are debating between building partitions and stall fronts with tongue-and-groove and buying. There's a few dealers two hours from me.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

ericp502 said:


> Here are a few pics of the Priefert stalls in use. Couple of the things we liked about these stalls is the pull down door release. Horse proof and they cannot get out. The other thing we liked is the doors can't come off the runner because they are attached to bars. You have to remove a bolt and swing a piece of metal out of the way to get the door off the runner.


We have these at my friend's place where my horse is. Yes they are horseproof as far as getting out but you CAN knock them off the track at the bottom. Ask my moron of a horse, went out to feed and his door was completely off at the bottom and was a PIA to put back on. 

I hate the feeders. Half the time the hay slides onto the floor before I can get the door slammed shut (we feed from 4x4x8 bales so it's not in flakes).

That all being said, I love those stalls.


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## ericp502 (Nov 29, 2012)

Delfina said:


> We have these at my friend's place where my horse is. Yes they are horseproof as far as getting out but you CAN knock them off the track at the bottom. Ask my moron of a horse, went out to feed and his door was completely off at the bottom and was a PIA to put back on.
> 
> I hate the feeders. Half the time the hay slides onto the floor before I can get the door slammed shut (we feed from 4x4x8 bales so it's not in flakes).
> 
> That all being said, I love those stalls.


Has to be either a different design than ours or the metal arm at the bottom is bent. There is no way it can come off without being bent. Not saying a 1,000 lbs horse couldn't bend the metal arm holding it in place at the bottom but it would take some force.

We do not have that problem with our feeders but our hay is very tightly bound and 70 lbs bales. If you had loose hay I can see that being a problem.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

We used a company out of Indiana for our stall fronts. Our sides are wood, as are our floors. The wood is full dimension 2" oak, laid over about 6" of gravel, and so far, I really like it. We went to the Amish man's house that built the barn, and he even had 2 pigs in the stall, and it did not smell.

Nancy


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## CCH (Jan 23, 2011)

equiniphile said:


> What are the prices like on those? We're re-doing our barn and are debating between building partitions and stall fronts with tongue-and-groove and buying. There's a few dealers two hours from me.


:? I wish I could help you out, it has been almost 15 years since we purchased them. I remember the fronts cost more than the side/back wall. I also remember getting some sort of deal because we bought a bunch of stuff all at once. For ours, we did not buy any pieces for the back wall though. They are attached directly to the barn posts. The inside wall of the barn is 8ft of tongue & groove board that matches the stall boards.

With these stall kits, you still have to purchase the wood which can be costly. I did see one outfit, that went cheaper and built an inner frame inside of the portion where you vertically slide boards. They then screwed no-climb wire fence to that frame. I will try to find a photo.


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