How to Maximize Mare and Foal Safety from Day One

You’ve carefully selected a stud for your mare and waited eleven long months to meet your new foal. Before that foal arrives, it’s important to design a safe foaling stall to help keep your horses healthy and prevent potential accidents. Whether you’re breeding your first horse or have an entire breeding operation, investing in quality stall components and carefully planning your foaling horse stall design can help give the foal a safe start.

Start with Stall Size

Creating the perfect foaling stall starts with designing an appropriately sized stall. The Oklahoma State University Extension recommends a foaling stall be at least 14x14 feet, but larger stalls, such as 12x24 or 14x20 feet, are ideal.

For more guidance on stall sizing, check out our article 'What is the Correct Size Horse Stall?' where we discuss key factors to consider for your next horse stall project, including:

• Ensuring a horse can comfortably enter, move, turn around, and lie down.
• Recommended sizes for different breeds—from ponies to draft horses.
• Ideal stall sizes for foaling mares and mares with foals, with a minimum of 20’ x 20’ for optimal space and safety.

Essentially, you need to design a stall that’s large enough for your mare to roll and lie down, and there needs to be space for the mare and foal to move around and sleep without the mare crowding or accidentally stepping on the foal.

Remember that the type of horse you’re breeding will affect the foaling stall size. Minis can be foaled out in significantly smaller stalls, while draft horses will require even more space. If you’re starting a breeding program, carefully consider the size of your horses and whether you might ever expand into working with larger breeds. When in doubt, create a larger stall, which will be more versatile.

We can build custom Horse Stalls at American Stalls to your specific dimensions. We also offer hinged Stall Partitions, which can swing open, combining two stalls into one larger foaling stall. Once you no longer need the foaling stall, you can close the partition and use the space as two separate stalls again.

Carefully Choose Bar Spacing

The spacing of any grills present in the foaling stall is particularly important to your horses’ safety. Bars spaced too far apart can allow a hoof to get caught, and that can result in devastating injuries not only to an adult horse but also to a foal.

At American Stalls, we design lower grills with 1-inch steel bars on 2.5-inch centers. That means that the spacing from one end of a bar to another is just 1.5 inches, so even a foal’s hooves can’t fit through. Upper grills feature 1-inch bars on 3-inch centers, so there are just 2 inches between the bars. We use heavy-duty galvanized round tubing to make the stalls durable and safe for your horses.

Maximize Ventilation

Ventilation is essential to your horses’ respiratory health and can help give your foal a healthy start to life. Consider the various ways available to ventilate your foaling stall. At American Stalls, our Horse Stall Partitions are available in numerous configurations to customize your foaling stall.

In addition to our steel grill options, we offer a steel mesh, which is a ¼-inch mesh with 2x2-inch openings.

Privacy stall divider panels can give your horses extra privacy while allowing for extra ventilation and interaction with horses in neighboring stalls. Alternatively, a full privacy panel may be best if you don’t want other horses to disrupt your mare and foal. 

Your Barn Windows can also add ventilation. Our custom-built Barn Windows allow for increased airflow while letting natural light enter the stall. You can choose from numerous window design options to customize the look of your barn and stall. You can learn more about our various customizations here. 

Install an Anti-Slip Floor

To maximize your mare’s and foal’s comfort, invest in a quality stall floor that also helps prevent slipping. Interlocking horse stall mats are made of premium rubber and can maximize traction while providing shock absorption. The mats make stall cleaning easier and are low-maintenance. 

The StableComfort™ Horse Stall Mattress is an excellent choice for foaling stalls. It provides a safe, supportive, and hygienic environment for both mare and foal. This waterproof, wall-to-wall mat system closely mimics the feel of a natural pasture, ensuring maximum comfort while reducing stress on joints.

Key Benefits for Foaling Stalls:

• Soft & Supportive Surface—This reduces stress on joints and provides a comfortable, slip-resistant area for foals to stand and lie down.
• Insulating & Warm – Helps maintain a consistent, comfortable temperature in the stall year-round.
• Hygienic & Easy to Clean – The sealed, non-porous design prevents moisture buildup, reducing bacteria exposure and making sanitation easier.
• Bedding Reduction – Offers the equivalent cushion of four to six inches of bedding, allowing you to use less bedding while maintaining a soft, supportive surface.
• Custom Fit for Any Stall—It can be tailored to your stall dimensions, making it ideal for large foaling stalls.

This innovative system ensures your mare and foal stay comfortable, safe, and protected from the moment of birth

Choose Secure Stall Doors 

Whether you choose Hinged or Sliding Stall Doors, invest in quality doors that close securely and completely. Our Stall Doors are all built to order, so they’ll meet your exact specifications for your foaling stall. You can create a custom door with options like hinged and sliding styles, yoke options, vented bottoms with mesh, and wood inserts.

By custom ordering a stall door to fit your foaling stall, you can ensure that there are no gaps where your foal could get hung up. Pay careful attention to the door latch, too, and choose a latch that’s easy to operate and that closes tightly.

Install Plenty of Lighting

Proper lighting not only makes your foaling stall a healthier and more enjoyable space for your horses, but it’s also essential if you need to intervene during a foaling or monitor any health issues your mare or foal might have. At American Stalls, we craft exceptionally durable Barn Lighting fixtures. These fixtures are crafted from sustainable materials, such as American metals like steel, copper, and brass. We can custom-design the lighting you need inside or outside of your foaling stall for safe conditions and enhanced visibility.

Order Your Foaling Stall Components from American Stalls

Whether you need to create a foaling stall for this season quickly or plan for the next one, American Stalls can help supply the quality components you need to keep your horses safe. Contact us today at (855) 957 8255 or email us at sales@americanstalls.com to schedule a sales and design consultation or to ask any questions.