A stable comparison.
If I was a horse, I know which barn I’d rather be in.
So I toured the stables at the bottom yesterday, they are gorgeous. Solidly built with heaps of opportunities for social interaction and a lovely open feel. The solid wall shown on the right of the picture was a requirement for bracing (there is also one on the other side but it does have a cutout window so the horses aren’t shut off from each other.) The horses can see out on all sides from any box in the stable. These stables are only used overnight and the horses spend all day turned out on the hills. There are no crossties used either - in the wash bay and other areas where horses are tied up, a single rope tie is suspended from the roof which allows the horse to move around with a lot more freedom.
Note: I don’t know where the stables at the top are, I got the picture online, but they are similar to ones I have worked at overseas. No chance for the horses to interact with each other at all, and in Ireland we had small ponies and foals in boxes who could barely see out over the grills. No surprise they were grumpy and skittish :( Even worse, he stables were so enclosed that no natural daylight came in except through skylights or sliding doors at least 20m from the nearest box to the door.
Please note: I do not own these images. Bottom photo (c) Showtym Horses
