How to build a horse stable with your own hands
Horses, like other animals, need their own housing and human care. Stables are usually built by professional builders. But if you have the skills and resources, you can easily build a stable with your own hands in accordance with all requirements and specifications.
Choosing a place to build
A place for construction is chosen on a small hill. Groundwater should pass no closer than 1 m from the foundation, which will provide elevation. If there is no such site, the site will have to be dried and groundwater removed from it. High humidity is the cause of horse problems with legs.
Important! Horse dermatitis (mokret) affects the horse's limbs in the area of the brushes with prolonged contact with moisture.
The longitudinal axis of the building should be located from north to south. Trees or other buildings cover the building from the north wind - this will provide an optimal microclimate in the stable without heating. The stable door is planned on the east side, then in the winter it will not be overly cooled by the northern winds, and in the summer the animals will not suffer from overheating.
Design and Dimensions
The total area of the building depends on the size of the main room for the horses - the stall. Here the horse will spend most of the time. The basic size of the room is 6 x 6 m. If the horses are less than 10, then the stalls are lined up in a row with the passage in front of them. For more heads, they are placed symmetrically on both sides of the aisle. The width of the aisle of a single-row building is 2.2 m, with a two-row system of stalls - 2.7 m.
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You will also need:
- a place for storing hay - fodder (each horse consumes from 2 to 4 tons of hay per year);
- a place for equipment storage - a saddle-inventory room;
- washing.
Even if you do not need large rooms, foresee at least one such thing for the future (for a mare and a foal). Large stables additionally equip a staff lounge and a bathroom. The size of the utility rooms is 10-12 square meters. m. The total size of the single-row stables:
- width - 5.2–8.2 m;
- length - a multiple of the number of stalls, i.e. 6 m (maximum);
- height - 3 m.
Important! Do not use cedar accessories! Cedar wood contains oils that horses love to chew.
Determine what type of lighting will be used. Wiring must not be accessible for contact with horses or rodents. This is very important as there are a lot of flammable elements in the stable and a circuit can cause a fire. Determine the right water needs for your horses. It is not only about drinking water, but also about that which is needed to maintain cleanliness and disinfection, as well as bathing animals. Select the type of roof for the stable.
A solid partition is made up to a height of 1.4 m, the lattice part is installed higher. Thanks to this form, horses can communicate with each other, see and hear each other. The stall doors can be sliding or swinging open. They must be installed latches. The minimum opening width is 1.2 m. The forage doors can be smaller, but must close tightly.
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How to build a stable
If you have created a good overall plan with all engineering communications, you only need to work out in detail the individual structural elements. The degree of comfort for animals depends on how well the materials are selected and the calculations are carried out.
Foundation
The foundation of the stable is assembled from ready-made blocks, which are laid in a trench; this type of foundation is called a band prefab. This is the fastest and easiest way to install - you do not need to fill in the formwork and wait for it to dry.
Did you know? The oldest stables in the world opened in 1999 in Egypt. They were created by Ramses II (1304–1237 BC). Holds 480 horses at a time. There were 6 halls, divided into stalls, one common room and a platform for walking and training.
Walls
The best material for walling is wooden logs with a diameter of 20–23 cm. Wood perfectly retains heat and maintains an optimal microclimate. Brick or concrete masonry is not recommended for use due to the fact that the brick easily cools in the cold and heats up in the heat.
Roof
Most often used are gable and single-pitch roofs, which prevent snow from sticking in the winter. Coating - metal tile or slate. When laying the ceiling, use a ceiling board with a thickness of at least 5 cm. The board is covered with clay mixture from above. The main objective of such a mixture is to ensure moisture resistance and eliminate drafts.
Did you know? In 2014, archaeologists discovered the stables of Octavian Augustus during the construction of a parking lot in Rome. The building is made of marble, its walls are decorated with many frescoes telling of victories in races.
The ceiling height should allow the horse to raise his head comfortably, without worrying about not bumping into the ceiling. For ponies and small breeds, a standard height of at least 2.4 m is convenient. For long-legged trotters, the desired height is at least 3 m. Make sure that nails do not protrude from the boards and that there are no unprotected lamps hanging from above that the horse might hit.
Floor
The most important element is gender. Its main qualities:
- low thermal conductivity;
- moisture resistance;
- dryness;
- strength;
- lack of slipping in autumn and winter.
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Advantages of this gender:
- moisture and frost resistance;
- immunity to mechanical damage and high wear resistance;
- lack of dust in contact with hoofs, unlike clay;
- preservation of a presentable appearance during the entire period of operation;
- reliable barrier preventing the penetration of rodents.
Windows and doors
Windows provide natural ventilation and lighting. There should be quite a lot of them, as horses need natural light. Swing-out window constructions are better than monolithic because they are easier to keep clean. Windows must be double glazed. The minimum distance from the floor to the window is 1.5 m, but not higher than 2.1 m. The inside is covered with a grill. The window size is about 15% of the total wall area.
Important! Horses are extremely smart: opening the heck to many breeds is not a problem. Therefore, install the second latch at a height of 15 cm from the floor on the outside of the stall.
Communications
For the stable, in which the horses are kept constantly, all types of engineering communications are necessary:
- lighting;
- water pipes;
- heating;
- ventilation.
Electricity
Lighting is arranged along the aisle between the stalls and in each of them, as well as in the office premises. All lighting and wiring are installed in full compliance with safety requirements. The lighting rate is 2.4 watts per 1 square. m. The regulations provide for the installation of fluorescent lamps, but they do not work well in cold weather.
The wiring must be out of the reach of the horse and rodents, as well as out of moisture. Switches and sockets must also be kept away from animals. Lamps are placed so that the number of shaded places is minimal.
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Ventilation
Natural ventilation is performed using the supply and exhaust ducts. The diameter of the duct is 0.5 sq. m. In the process of life, horses emit carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. Light and volatile gases are removed through the upper exhaust openings, but ammonia is heavy and the lower level of the ventilation openings is formed to remove it from the room. The rate of exhaust pipes is 1 per 10 horses. Standard humidity is 60–75%, maximum is 80%. The optimum air temperature is 16 ° C, the minimum is 4 ° C.
Plumbing and heating
Decide how you will wash the horses. The easiest way is from a bucket. You can also consider connecting a hose to the sink for convenient washing - water flow becomes more difficult to control, but you won’t have to inconvenience with the buckets. Consider hot and cold water, draining and flooring with rubber mats. The approximate consumption of water is 50 liters per 1 individual per day.
Did you know? The radiant heat of an infrared heater affects the horse in the same way as the sun's rays. Such warmth calms and relaxes your pet.
The uniqueness of heating the stable is that each of the rooms has its own thermal regime - in stalls, fodder and inventory. Therefore, some prefer to buy heaters to turn on heating only where it is needed.
How to equip a horse shed
If the horse is not kept in the stable, but in a barn adapted for this purpose, a stall is made in it, a manger with hay is set next to it, a feeder and a feeding bowl are fixed. Litter is laid on the floor.
Stall
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, horses were kept in stalls; in some farms, work horses are still maintained. The horse was tied next to the feeder in a small fenced area - if necessary, he could lie down, but could not turn. The standard stall dimensions are 3 x 3.7 m. The minimum stall size is suitable for a pony - 2.4 x 2.4 m.
Feeding troughs and drinking bowls
When a horse chews, it scatters the grain on both sides, so the feeder and the drinker should be away from each other. Their wall mount prevents overturning. A wide box-shaped tank, mounted on the wall of the stall, will be sufficient for the distribution of feed. The height of the feeder is 1 m. The length is 1–1.2 m. The width is 30 cm. Hay is laid in a special nursery: they must be deep enough to hold the hay, and not have holes so that the horse does not catch on his leg and is not injured. if he decides to lie nearby.
Wall shelving and hay nets are not recommended for everyday use, as the horse normally feeds by tilting its head. The drinking bowl is installed at a height of at least 0.9 m from the floor so that two horses can drink from it. Horses can use an automatic drinking bowl if you decide it will be more efficient. But some horses like to play with an automatic drinker - opening the valve and having a small shower in the stall.
Did you know? The skin of a horse becomes heavier in wet weather. Skinning after a walk is a very effective way to prevent disease. It is also a massage that increases stamina and performance.
Litter
The horse is kept on the litter, its thickness is 10-15 cm. Straw, sawdust and peat are used for it. Straw is considered the most effective because of its softness, ability to retain heat and good moisture transmission.
What else is needed
The feed room is used to store stock of hay and concentrated feed. Concentrates are stored in special boxes to prevent their damage by rodents. Partitions can be installed inside the box for convenient placement of different types of feed.
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Saddles and other harnesses are stored in the harness after drying. There must be good ventilation and heating in the winter, so that the skin sits less deteriorated from moisture. There must be a boiler in the room for staff.
Summer playground
Near the stable they will definitely equip a platform on which the horse can be driven on a cord. The coverage of such a site should be strong enough, and at the same time pliable. The summer ground is usually rectangular in shape with an approximate size of 20 x 40 m, it can also be a round ground with a diameter of about 22 m. The coating can be adobe, on which a layer of sand is laid, and a layer of sawdust on top of it.
Manure storage
If you have only a couple of horses, then the manure removed from them can be immediately distributed to the pasture without additional buildings. Although this approach is not welcomed by ecologists due to the fact that pollution can get into groundwater and poison the environment. An ideal manure storage should be simple but effective. This can be a special manure pit, which is pumped out 2-3 times a year, or a large tank, which, when filled, will be replaced by another, and a special team for the disposal and processing of manure will bring it out.
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The regulations regulate a special manure pit, where 2 cubic meters are allocated for one horse. m. Knowing the width (not more than 9 m), you can easily calculate the length and volume of the manure storage. Construction is carried out from concrete or brick, ensuring the absence of contact of manure with groundwater. The shape of the manure storage facility is square or rectangular.