If you have exterior dutch doors...

[dmalbone]

Do you close them behind your horses when they go out? For instance... if we have 2 horses in a pasture together, would you just let them out together and then close the doors behind them for safety's sake? I've seen pastures where they have a couple horses out together and leave the dutch doors open, but I'd be worried about one trapping another. Just curious what most people do! We're considering having the aisle serve as a 12'x24' run-in anyway so it might not end up mattering anyway.

[cutemudhorse]

I used to have a barn like that and wish I still did. I had an overhang and kept the doors shut for the reason you mentioned and the why let them mess up the stall reason. I think with horses that get along (and no overhang) I might have left the doors open if the weather was going to be bad.

[Calvincrowe]

I always shut the doors for that reason. I have stalls with exterior doors, and a 12 x 48 overhang. I turn them out, shut the doors and they have plenty of shelter/space to hang out, out there. I can't see why letting them in is necessary in that situation--just messes up the stalls and wastes bedding.

That overhang was the best thing we've done to our farm!

[2DogsFarm]

I leave my dutch doors open.
The stalls lead to my sacrifice paddock that leads to either of two pastures. I can close off the pastures from the paddock, but seldom do.

My two get along just fine - in fact they normally buddy-up in a single stall for bad weather or the night.
When I feed they separate: each goes into a stall.
So far - 5 years & counting - they haven't had any issues with free access to both stalls.
My younger horse pretty much just lets Senior be the Boss.

[deltawave]

My 3 stalls (with Dutch doors) open out in to the sacrifice paddock. They are open virtually all the time, unless I want to keep a horse in for some reason (and then I usually put a chain across the door) or keep the horses OUT during nice weather so they don't use the stalls as a toilet.

Yes, they go in and out at random, and I will sometimes find 2 big horses and the pony stuffed into one stall. So far I've had one bumped hip, and that was a horse BY HERSELF spooking at something coming down the driveway and bolting out the door. Even the old mare who's had EPM manages to maneuver herself into a spot where the herd order is maintained and the boss mare has the prime position near the door when they all go in together.

I do feed them in separate stalls, and sometimes have to confine the young mare to hers during a meal because she eats a lot more than the others and often stops eating to go stare at something that might be coming to eat her herd. :rolleyes:

Anyhow, it works for us. :)

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

I have a two-stall shed row. Each stall has a dutch door on the front and a dutch door on the side (the back wall of the barn forms part of the fenceline). I latch both doors on both stalls open, and nobody can get trapped inside.:)

[webmistress32]

The stalls lead to my sacrifice paddock that leads to either of two pastures. I can close off the pastures from the paddock, but seldom do.

I have the same setup. Over my stalls is a large overhang and it's separated down the middle by the paddock fence so it's really like two big shelters.

I shut the stall doors otherwise they come in from the pasture just to pee in the bedding.

[jacksmom]

two of my stalls have direct access to the area that i use as a sacrifice paddock. they are side by side. i remove the center divider, that gives the horses access to a 12x24 space with two doors. that way there's an 'entrance and exit' when necessary.

[the_other_mother]

I close mine during the day and open their paddocks up so they can graze together and have both paddocks all day. They have the overhang and trees for shade. At PM feeding I separate them again and put them each on their own sides, then open their doors. Theh then are in their separate paddocks.
My stalls are small and Im very afraid of both going in the same stall. They do know which one is theirs tho, in fact at feeding time, my big boy herds his brother over to his side when he sees me coming down the driveway to the barn. But to leave them together w/ the stalls open......dont think so.

[dmalbone]

Thanks for all of the tips! We'll see what the numbers come back at and see what we can do with adding an overhang and leaving them closed. My guy now can be pretty aggressive, so I'd imagine that any horse we add might be the one to get beat up.

[jacksorbetter]

we have a 2 stall shed row barn in the middle of the sacrifice paddock which leads out to the pasture. I leave the doors to the stalls open all the time (except meal times). My two often buddy up in one stall, and although it looks scary, nobody has gotten hurt. They even lay down together in one stall!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=209009&id=1585174288

[JB]

Depends on the horses.

I don't have anything but chains on my doors, as nobody is stalled for any length of time. When it was just my mare and gelding, I left the chains undone and they would go in and out of the stalls as they pleased, and I'd often find the 2 of them in one stall on a hot afternoon. Never any problems.

However, when my boarder's horse arrived, after I'd made sure they had all the proper acclimation and were all turned out together for a while, I found that I could not do that any more :( The new horse would come into a stall behind my mare and bully her - I found broken interior chains and evidence of a horse having been in the aisle more than once.

Really bummed me out, but oh well, now they all are locked out of all stalls.

[billie]

Ours are open too, and the horses congregate in one stall, play musical stalls, and otherwise entertain themselves. I have one gelding who claims the center stall and he is often spied going into the other two stalls to pee and poop, thus keeping his stall clean!

[columbus]

I have had them open as a shed for two young horses and that is the most I will allow. Perhaps I will use it as a shed when I have weanlings for that brief time when Irish Draughts are small. They will fight coming in and going out and standing side by side so the pairing has to be careful if they don't get along perfectly it wont work. I have used it, top open, to feed. I have also used it as a shed for a single horse though occasionally they do race in and out just all by themselves. I have had two nearly full sized Irish Draughts come in the door totally side by side and they did morph the door but it still closes after some "adjusting". My littlest Irish Draught bent the bottom half trying to bull in when all the others were in and I was planning on feeding her out side...it bows a bit and some "adjusting" had to happen for the two haves to link together again. I have a warning about too low over hangs. I just had a friend lose her filly by it galloping up in play to the overhang and rearing full height and then cut open her jugular on the exposed metal edge...she died nearly immediately. My overhangs are much too low...intended for much shorter horses...I am trying to figure out how to protect them from themselves from this sharp metal. The over hangs are a danger and you need to consider your horse standing on their hind legs after galloping in while playing with a friend. Can they contact the metal and how can you protect the edge...a wood roof would be great but I need another solution. Good luck. PatO

[f4leggin]

I leave my doors open, and it's not uncommon to see as many as three in one stall. With my mares, they are experienced and old enough that if a bully comes into the stall - she will leave a way out for the horse that is in there. My mares know the space is cramped and respectfully get out of the way. I would not do it with horses that weren't mine or horses that weren't well established in their herd. I do close doors and feed grain seperately.

Jill

[suzyq]

Depends on the horses. The two I have now, I leave them open. If they're in, they are usually both in the same stall. The two I had before, I left them closed. One horse was a lot more dominant than the other and I was afraid he'd hurt her.

I have overhangs so if I leave them closed they still have a shelter. Mine don't poop/pee much in the stalls, otherwise, I'd close them off. I always feed in the stalls.

[fivehorses]

I feel any space horses share needs an ingress and an egress.
I have seen a horse get pinned against the wall and have the other horse use the pinned horse as a bucking bronco target...not pretty.

I am building a barn, and it will have an overhang and dutch doors, and the horses will be shut out, except at meal time or if I want them in.

[dmalbone]

I think we decided we'll have the dutch doors and leave them closed if their in their pastures together. We'll have a 12x20 aisle that can function as a run-in so that will solve that problem. At night we can separate them and let them each in their own pasture and be able to go in and out their dutch doors. My horse can be a little aggressive, so the more I thought about it the more I don't think I'd ever feel comfortable with him in that situation with another horse. We figure if we are ever at the point of getting a third horse to mix up the situation then we'll just have to factor in the cost of adding an overhang! Thanks for all of the advice.

[kcmel]

Wow, I can't believe so many of you let your horses have free access to stalls. This would never work with my horses. The boss hoss is always trying to corner the other horse and make him squeal. Regardless, this doesn't sound safe to me.

[PicturePerfectPonies]

We leave ours open, and there is an overhang. There are only 2 stalls, and 4 horses, (Well 3 ponies and mule). The overhang just isn't big enough for them all to stand under. My guys have their herd dynamics pretty well figured out. When its feeding time April and Tello will go into one stall, Wilma (the mule) into the other, and Ella stands in the overhang. There has never been a problem b/c the horses know their place. WIlma and Ella would NEVER go into a stall with April, but Tello knows she'll let him. Ella will go in with tello or wilma. Tello and Wilma are never seen in the same stall. They just know what works. The only time ive ever seen them up by the stalls was feeding time though. There are two HUGE low to the ground shade trees that when they just need out of the weather they go hang under those,

[2DogsFarm]

Before I built my barn and brought my "herd" of two home I might have agreed with you.

You have to be able to assess the dynamic of your own horses before you make blanket statements concerning how they are kept.

In 5 years I have not had a problem with both horses having 24/7/365 access to stalls.

27yo TB, 16h, 1100# - stall-kept with limited turnout for the first 15 years I had him and most likely before that as he was a pony horse at the track.

16yo TWH, 17h+, 1300# - kept intact until he was 8yo and stalled all day in the old-fashioned manner of keeping stallions. I bought him as a 10yo recently-gelded. He spent 2 years before I bought him turned out in a mixed herd, stalled at night only.

Somehow these two have managed to coexist w/o any issues related to both being in a single stall.
The TB is the Boss and they treat each other in a manner best described as: After you, my dear Alphonse

I'm not saying it will work for everyone & all horses, but it certainly does for me & them.