When it comes to designing and building your own stable, the choice of doors and windows are a vital one. Your choice of windows and doors can affect the health and happiness of your horse. You have different styles of windows and doors, and choosing the right ones for your situation can be a hard process. In this post we will try and explain the importance of having good stable doors and windows, the different styles, including internal and external stables doors, the choices you have on offer and what makes good quality windows and doors.
Table of Contents
We’ve even teamed up with some builders who can help your Stable Building dreams come to life. If that’s something you’d be interested in, fill out the form below.
Styles of doors
The style of door in your stable you can choose to have either a sliding or swinging door. A sliding door is much more space saving, because it does not involve a large door swinging into the aisle of your stable. This makes them perfect for an American Barn setup. That being said, they are much more susceptible to the mechanism being clogged up with dirt, hay or any other debris that is commonly found in this type of environment. It also makes a difference if a sliding door is internal or external. With external sliding stable doors being the most likely to suffer problems.
A swinging door is much more common in the UK, and is much more robust due to it being operated using a single moving part – a reliable hinge. This makes the swinging door much more sturdy, and less likely to need to be repaired. However, swinging doors can take up a lot of room which, depending on your setup might not be right for you. For example, in an American Barn, swinging doors will open up into your aisle, and can cause chaos if there are multiple stables open at once. They can completely block the aisle, and the noise of them swinging open too fast and banging against the wall can scare or spook the other horses inside. On the other hand, for a field shelter, they are perfect, as they open up straight into the field and therefore you do not need to use the space saving sliding door.
Stall door fronts
Another option to consider when designing your doors is whether you have a split door, full grill, or a half grill on your door. A full door comes with the option of being half and half. Meaning you can close the bottom half of the door, but leave the top half open. This allows the natural lighting inside and improves the ventilation of the stable. This type of door is perfect for a stable that leads directly to the outside, but not for indoor stables. The bottom half of the door is also perfect for stopping vermin or any other unwanted animals from getting inside the stable and contaminating the food or water of your horse.
The other options for doors are full grill or half grill. A full grill door is more common to see in a vet’s, due to it providing full visibility of the animal while they are inside the stable. The problem with a full grill is if you have an unsettled horse while in the stable, they might try to kick their way out, which depending on the sizing of the grill, can cause injuries to their legs or feet or they get trapped inside.
A half grill on the other hand, has a solid bottom half, meaning that your horse cannot get its legs trapped. The half grill option provides good visibility, ventilation and natural light into the stable making it perfect for your indoor stable or American barn. A half grill can also have an opening to allow the horses to have their heads through. This can help for sociable horses that like to look out and see their friends and neighbours. However, it can lead to unexpected nibbles as you walk past!
Stable Sides
With the sides of your stable, you have the option of being full or half grill, similar to the doors. A full wall is common in a field shelter and it involves the wood or material going from floor to ceiling. This means that your horse will be completely enclosed on three walls, with a door on the fourth. A full wall is good if your horse is not the most sociable or doesn’t have a neighbour that they share the stable with. A full wall gives your horse its own space, which can help them to feel more at home in its stable. On the other hand, if they have a full wall and can hear a neighbouring horse or you moving around nearby, they could become restless and cause them stress. This is not what you want in your stables, as your horses are meant to feel safe, secure and comfortable in their stable.
A stable with half grill walls is designed for your social horses to be able to see and interact with their neighbours. Some horses do not want to be left alone, and therefore using this style of wall means that they will be calmer and feel more at home in their stable. Half grill walls are more commonly seen in permanent stables or American barns due to the community of horses that reside in them. The problem with a half grill wall is if your horse can see when its friends are leaving or getting groomed without them, it can lead to them being jealous or acting up. A half grill also gives the opportunity for naughty horses to nip or bite each other through the gaps, which can lead to some nasty cuts or scars.
Stable Windows
When selecting windows for your stable, you have a few different options to choose from. Glass windows can be used, but you need to consider the safety of them. The glass needs to be stronger, tempered glass and covered with mesh or bars so that your horse doesn’t accidentally thrash and knock or smash the glass. This can lead to serious cuts and injuries to your horse and is not ideal for something that you could have avoided. The other option for glass windows is having them high up above where your horse can reach. This eliminates the risk of your horse smashing the glass. Glass windows are a great option for allowing natural light into your stable, or stable block but safety needs to be considered when choosing this style of window.
Some stables are equipped with an opening or gap in the wall which acts as a window. This is obviously the best style for those horses that do not like to be cramped or shut in. This ‘style’ of window is also the best at providing ventilation to your stables, which is important to stop bacteria and disease. However, an opening in the wall provides the worst protection from the weather out of all of the window types. This will result in your stable becoming very wet inside which as a result can lead to the flooring or walls in your stable becoming damaged.
Another option is having shutters for windows. Shutters can be opened or closed like regular windows, but are made up of wooden slats. Shutters can be left open when the sun is shining to provide light and give the stable a more open feeling, but then can be closed when the weather is bad to offer shelter to your horse. Shutters are an all-rounder when it comes to windows, they provide good ventilation, natural light and can help create an open, airy feel to your stable.
Sliding windows are similar to shutters in that they are deemed a ‘best of both worlds’ providing good shelter from weather, good natural lighting and ventilation and can be opened or closed at will. The problem with sliding windows is that they are susceptible to becoming clogged up with dirt or hay (similar to sliding doors) which can stop them from opening smoothly. Another problem is that if they are not locked or pinned back properly, a naughty horse can learn to open it. This might seem like a funny trick but could result in your stable getting a very wet, or snowy floor!
Conclusion
After reading this post on stable doors and windows, we hope this has helped you get a better understanding of horse stable windows and doors. If you still need help please fill in the form at the top of the page and we will get back to you with the help of one of our trusted partners.