Although there are many options in the industry, the basics of a safe horse stall are consistent across the board. That includes standard best practices for horse stall sizes, heights, and safety standards.
For this article, we'd like to discuss the basics of a horse stall's size and dimensions – particularly the horse stall partitions.
General Dimensions
To begin, the size of your horse and the amount of time he spends in the stall will largely determine the stall size. Our standard recommendation is a 12' x 12' stall for a 1,000-pound horse. This recommendation varies though as we get into specific breeds of horses. For example, larger horses require more space than smaller breeds. This includes space to move around, lie down, and get up comfortably. For this reason, we usually recommend the width of a horse stall front and horse stall partition to measure 12' from end-to-end.
Note: In the rest of this article, we will cover specifics that pertain to stall partitions. Please visit this article for more tips and best practices regarding stall fronts and stall doors.
When considering the height, it's useful to know that horse barns are usually built with a ceiling height of 10' to 12'. Please also consider that horses can often kick as high as 7'. For this reason, we recommend that stall partitions' should be 8' tall. That being said, 7'6" tall stall partitions can work in older barns with smaller ceilings.
Design of Stall Partitions
In addition to aesthetics, it's important to consider the following when deciding on your horse stall partition's design:
- The function of your horse barn
- The temperament of your horses
- The climate and temperatures in your location
The first point and second point are especially important in deciding the design for your stall partitions. Are you operating a boarding barn where you have clients' horses have different temperaments? Do you have a training and sales barn where you regularly have new horses? In these cases, we often see customers choose full privacy (full wood) or partial privacy partitions (wood on first 1/3 and 1" round bars on 2nd 2/3 of partition) to handle different personalities.
In contrast, private hobby barns and private commercial barns also love our half-grilled horse stall partitions for socialization and airflow. This brings us to the third point - your area's climate and temperatures. It goes without saying that ventilation is crucial in any horse barn. It is even more important as you get into warmer and more humid climates. For this reason, we recommend that clients choose our partial privacy design and preferably our half-grilled partitions for superior ventilation.
Although there are countless options in design, the basics are often all you need in your decision for your horse stall partitions. Below is a chart that helps outlay our recommendations, considerations, and key benefits associated with each type of horse stall partition:
Do you have any additional questions? Please reach out to our design team at (855) 957-8255 or email us at sales@americanstalls.com. Our team of expert consultants would love to sit down, understand your questions, and provide our 16+ years of experience.
