Designing a stable yard

When horses live in stables, the main aim is to provide them with an interior which is as healthy as the environment they woud have known if they had been accomodated outdoors, and with a better protection against the harshness of the weather.

Several designs are possible

Outdoor stables

Outdoor stables are very satisfactory in terms of ventilation. This is probably the best type of stable yard from a sanitary point of view. Horses living in this type of stable can look out and are isolated from each other. A 1,50m awning will protect them from the rain and from direct sunrays (which also helps to avoid excessive heating up) and allows the staff to work under cover.

Indoor stables

Indoor stables sometimes offer poor ventilation, when there is no wind, when the doors are closed (in the cold weather). Diseases spread faster and it is more difficult to create a good ambient atmosphere for the horses. On the other hand, this type of layout provides comfortable working conditions for the staff and is relatively economical. It requires an advanced study of the ventilation conditions and of the building materials used, to avoid being subject to extreme heat in summer, and condensation on the walls due to cold weather in winter ; these conditions both creating a poor atmosphere for the horses’ respiratory tracts, and for the longevity of the building.

Stalls

Stalls were frequently used in the past, but are now used less and less. They can however be considered suitable for ponies.
Whatever the type of stable yard chosen, special attention should be given to the following points :

• Keeping the temperature as uniform as possible, without extremes.
• Adequate air renewal systems, without draughts.
• A healthy atmosphere, with no condensation on the walls.
• Sufficient lighting (natural or artificial).
• Resistant, non- porous, non slip flooring to allow for evacuation of water used for washing.

Temperature is a factor for respiratory well-being in the horse for two reasons :

• It has an effect on how the bedding evolves,  and on the multiplication of spores and bacteria .
• An excessively high or low temperature decreases a horse’s resistance to disease.

An ideal temperature is situated between 10 and 25° C, without any abrupt changes, however a horse can live between 5 to 30° C with no major problems.

But the ambient temperature is not the only criteria to determine the quality of the atmosphere in a stable : even though the horse is very resistant to low temperatures, he is on the other hand very vulnerable to humidity and draughts. The quality of the ventilation is therefore essential

In practice, ventilation is essentially an issue for indoor stables. Most ventilation problems in outdoor stables are self-solved.

Quality ventilation is paramount for horses’ health. Ventilation also influences other environment factors such as temperature, hygrometry, contamination by germs, dust and concentration of toxic gases.

Turn to the fact sheet on « Stable ventilation » for more information on this subject, or consult the book « Organisation and equipment of an equestrian centre » edited in 2012, available from the Book Store.

Germs

Hygrometry is the humidity content in the air. Adequate hygrometry is situated between 40 to 70 %. Just like temperature, hygrometry has an impact on survival, development, and virulence of pathogens, and on the horse’s resistance to these pathogens. When the atmosphere is too dry (H < 30 %), or close to saturation (H > 90 %), stress or health problems start to appear.

A situation to avoid is a combination of high humidity and low temperature, conditions which favour the viability of germs. When the weather is cold, one should not be tempted to reduce ventilation, as when the temperature goes down, the capacity of the air to absorb water vapor produced by horses breathing and the evaporating bedding lessens.

The Unified Technical Document (UTD) is the technical reference in solving any disputes over design or implementation. According to the standards, stables require considerable levels of air renewal to avoid condensation. Stables can in fact be qualified as being :

• Places with a high hygrometric level (like bathrooms!)
• Places with an aggressive indoor atmosphere.

In some conditions, for instance in the case of abrupt changes in the weather, or in foggy conditions, some condensation is inevitable because the walls warm up less quickly than the ambient air, and become a « cold wall » : this is not due to lack of ventilation. 

Importance of building materials

Condensation will be all the less present if the choice of building materials leans towards those offering low resistance to water vapours (whilst still offering protection against heavy rain), which is characterised by a low thermal conductivity coefficient, which means the material has insulating properties.

Each material has its thermal conductivity cefficient : it should be taken into account when choosing building materials for construction work.

Light is essential for horse health and for keeping a watch and maintaining the stables. Light should come into the building, but without directly hitting the heads of the horses, and without being too bright in summer.

Natural light

When the lighting is positioned at the highest point above the aisle, it gives a pleasant atmosphere in indoor stables, but translucid roofing should not be over-used. The more translucid roofing tiles are used, the less shelter from the sun in summer is provided for the horses.

For vertical openings, rectangular shapes, wider than they are high, are those which give the best lighting.

The lit up area should be of around 1/15th of the ground surface, or of 1m2 per horse. Wooden frames are best as they limit condensation on the framework.

Artificial lighting

The light intensity should reach between 60 to 100 lux at 1m above the groung, which roughly corresponds to between 100 and 150 W per loose box.
Hanging lights should be at a height of 3m minimum. Wall lights should have waterproof covers, and be protected by grids, and should be placed at a height of between 2,10 to 2,4 m.    Pay attention to the following :

• Circulation areas should be lit up, without being brighter than the stables.
• Thought should be given to the location of the electric panel.
• Having light switches at the different entrances makes the staff’s work that much easier.
• If the horses can put their heads out of their boxes, make sure light switches are out of their reach.

Safety lighting

Stables with public access are subject to health and safety regulations with regard to fire hazards, this implies that safety lighting must be installed.

The regulations regarding safety lighting depend on the type of equestrian structure, and on the category, i.e. the risk linked to the structure and to the potential numbers of public in the structre. The health and safety commission can however implement stricter rules than the regulations if specific conditions require it.

Good flooring should repect the following :

• Be resistant to crumbling due to hooves drumming the ground, and to urine.
• Non porous to urines and to the damp from the soil beneath it.
• Non slip, enabling horses to move without slipping in the aisles, and allowing a lying horse to get up without risk when in the stable.
• Fairly smooth to cater for cleaning and general hygiene.

A gradient of around 1 % towards the door of the stable will facilitate evacuating cleaning water. If the boxes are on the same level as the aisles, this will also make sweeping operations easier.

Different materials can be used : sandstone, granit, wood and bricks were used previously. Today, the flooring is often concrete made with 350kg/ m³, this is a satisfactory and economical solution.

Different evacuation systems

Inside the stables, wastewater is generally collected in the aisles by means of a gutter along the front of the stables on the outside (or with a central gutter in the case of indoor stables with a central aisle) and drained towards a decantation tank.

The horse must be able to step easily over the gutter , it should therefore be wide (20cms), and shallow (3cms), rounded and easy to clean out.

Underground drains, although more aesthetically pleasing, are often difficult to maintain, and when obstucted can be a source of bad smells.

In practice a gradient of around 1 % to 1,5 % is necessary. Outdoor drains should be far enough underground to avoid freezing, with a higher gradient (2 to 3%).

The time spent dealing with a stabled horse for every day care is difficult to reduce.

There are solutions for mechanically mucking out : manure chain, stables suited to mechanical mucking out. See the fact sheet on « Stables suited to automated mucking out » to find out more, as well as the book « Organisation and equipment for an equestrian center », edited in 2012 and available from the book store.

In a stable yard there are always things to hang up : a bridle, a headcollar, a lead rope. It is a good idea to plan for the fixtures necessary  right from the start, rather than relying on the DIY skills of the first occupant. Bridle hangers, foldable saddle racks  are very useful pieces of equipment in a yard. Their location needs to be given thought so that they are not in the way for the daily tasks, and do not present any safety risk.

Water taps (either built-in or protected) should also be placed in each buildng approximately every 15m.

Do not forget a storage room with a lock (5m2 minimum) for each stable building to be able to put away brooms, forks, grooming equipment, buckets etc.

Intermediary storage space for hay, straw and horse feed (amounts required for a day or for a weekend) can also be planned. Frequently a loose box is used for this storage, which presents the drawback of reducing the horse accomodation capacity. It is beter to plan a 6 to 8m2 storage space in the middle of the row of boxes, for example between two looses boxes.

The technical points and design drawings are available in the book  « Organisation and equipment of an equestrian center », which can be found in the book store of the Haras Nationaux (French National stud).