Stall doors and muscle development

[Mominis]

The hubby and I currently board our horses out. We do not have land of our own, but we do dream to one day. Last year, we were at a facility that was able to remove a front board from Shake's stall, so that he could look out easily and as comfortably as the other horses and we had no problems. This year, the people who own the facility that we were in last year bought a wonderful new facility with an indoor arena, indoor round pen, treadmill, hot walkers, all the bells and whistles--of course we moved over to the new place. I feel fortunate to board over there.

The problem is that, due to the construction of the stalls there, it is not possible to have a board removed in the front of the stalls to enable the kids to see over the front bars of their stalls. They have a lowered partition in between them, so they can nose each other on the same level and not stetch to have to see one another. Both geldings are very friendly, though and I notice Shake developing a bit of a ewe neck from visiting with all of his fan club and I'm sure Eli (who shows halter futurities this year as well as open) isn't going to be far behind. I blame this on the stall front design.

The BMs are completely cool with me putting in full open stall gates or dutch doors or whatever I need to do so the kids don't have to stretch up to 'talk' to their fans, but Shake's stall is the first right off of the indoor arena and Eli's is the second. I hesitate to put in the screens because I don't want the kids inhailing all of the dust off of the arena. I hestitate on dutch doors, as they would encourage people to give them goodies and pet them. I don't mind the petting, but the goodies, even with "Please don't feed the ponies" signs and all the regular precautions one would take still affect the horses' diets in a way I have no control of, being unable to be at the facility 24/7.

Changing stalls is not an option, as the barn is full and everyone is happy with where they are located in the barn. I love my stalls, as they are easy access to the roundpen, arena, and carriage room; not to mention the fact that they are the only two adjoining stalls in the place that the boys can nose up to one another without stretching themselves out of wack.

Of course, everyone wants to come visit the "ponies" when they come to the barn and I have noticed Shake showing a bit of the ewe neck from stretching up to visit with his admiring public. As I mentioned, with Eli in futurities this year as well as open, this could be potentially disasterous to our conditioning and development. This didn't happen when we had a lower door to see out of. So, do I compromise his respiratory with the dust from the arena, or do I compromise their necks' muscular development? I am inclined to go with the health of the horses and work around the other factors. Can anyone see a soloution that I don't here?

Your advice is appreciated.

 

[targetsmom]

Can they get more turnout so they spend less time in their stalls?

The only other thing I might suggest is to swap the two horses every once in awhile so they reach in the other direction. That assumes they stand sideways to reach over the divider?? I remember being in a boarding barn where the horses snaked their heads though their feed dishes to beg for attention and it actually made them stiffer on one side. So swapping stalls so the feed dish was on the other side helped!

 

[Mominis]

Unfortunatly, extra turnout is not an option, as the grass is thick and I don't dare send them out much longer. Shake is very stall-sensitive and does not settle easily into somone else's digs. Again, another problem. I've not noticed extra stiffness in either horse. I am careful to balance the conditioning in each direction. The underside developement of the neck is my primary concen and that seems to be stall-related. Good ideas though! Please keep 'em coming.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Pipe gates with plywood firmly attached to the height you want, but they can see over? Ive been to mini/pony barns where they have stalls made of pipe corral panels with plywood attached between studs.

 

[targetsmom]

As soon as I went out to feed this morning, I realized that our stall doors might work for you! We have an odd set-up because some of our stalls front onto an area where horses are turned out 24/7 and is also exposed to the elements. So we have Dutch doors on these stalls (tops are either removed or open all the time so I forgot about them!) with the tops of the doors filled with Lexan or some type of unbreakable plastic. You could shut the tops of the doors and the horses could see out - and visitors could see in - but none could reach over the door. This would keep out any dust too, although the plastic would need to be kept clean. In our experience, the horses don't mind being closed in as long as there is air circulation BETWEEN the stalls, which it sounds like you have.

You can see most of one of the doors in this photo, with the top open. The square of light you see through the stall is the top of the BACK door, which is similar.

ETA: Those are Princess's ears in the foreground!!!

 

[Mominis]

Thanks for the photo! Dutch doors are really starting to sound like the way to go! I'll see if I can get a photo today of the setup we have now, so you can see what I'm talking about.

I really appreciate everyone's input.

 

[keely2682]

lunge the horses with sliding side reins to build proper muscling in their necks

 

[Mominis]

Longing is only a small paert of the day (though they are longed in proper frame). It's the longer part of their time spend reaching up to talk to people that is the problem, but thanks for your thoughts.

 

[targetsmom]

Apparently this reaching through (or over) stalls in boarding barns is a common problem. I was discussing this with my helper who rides dressage and has boarded at a number of barns. When I mentioned how my big (dressage) horse Target got stiff from sticking his nose through his feed slot, it was like a light bulb went on for her!! She says that happened to HER dressage horse but she didn't know what caused it - only that her horse is no longer stiff at his new barn where he has longer turnout! And she knows other riders who have seen the same thing. I think it can be quite subtle, but a dressage rider (or driver) would notice! Something for everyone who stalls their horses to think about.

 

[Marty]

This is a tuff one and although you like what this facility has to offer, it still has issues that are compromising Shake's welfare. I'm extremely anal that if a horse is stalled, he should be able to see out in as many directions as possible easily and without any struggle or constriction in his view at. Confinement of any horse without the ability to see and socialize leads to problems. I don't blame you for being so concerend as Shake is your beloved baby.

You do have issues as I wouldn't want my horses injesting dirt either nor would I want to be worried about people feeding my horse unauthorized snacks. Why not ask the owners if you could build your own doors that are low? Or if not find a way to build up the flooring to raise them higher so there will be no struggling at all to see out. As far as people feeding your horse's snacks, I would think that comes under the barn owners jurisdiction to apply studious and reasonable care that no one is going to do that and they should be able to enforce that for you as a paying client. If it takes signs, so be it, but put some responsibility on the owner too. Good luck and best wishes with this.

 

[susanne]

One year at a show I spoke with some ASPC folks who said they used this same situation (reaching over full height doors) to encourage their ponies to stretch rheir necks...

Of course, these Shetlands were taller than your minis, but I wonder if there isn't some way to turn lemons into lemonade.

Is there any way to attach something to the inside of the door so thet couldn't stand smack up against it? This way, they'd have to stretch forward and up, not just up, preventing overdevelopment of their undernecks.

Obviously you would need something safe for them...prthaps a rolled mat?

 

[Magic]

Oh Susanne you are a genius!

I've had this neck problem too, as some of our stall doors are the yoke-front that the horses can put their heads out. The smaller ones have to reach up to do so and for one horse especially it caused the muscles in his lower neck to build up. I'm going to see what we can do to keep him back a ways so that he won't be lifting his head straight up in the air.

Good luck on your quest for a solution Mominis!

 

[Mominis]

A friend at the barn today suggested a solution to this that I think may work. This winter, when it was too yucky to go outside, we used the indoor arena for turnout. When I would be walking around the barn aisle, where Shake could hear me, but not see me, he would get up on the mounting block and look over the wall to find me. Steve suggested that we build a platform at the front of the stalls that they could step up onto. This would keep them from being able to get forward and crane their necks in a way that would bevelop them incorrectly.

Now...to figure out how to build something safe. Hmmmm.....any ideas?

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I think what you're talking about is a problem for many minis. Just looking up at us humans all day is enough to develop the underline of most A horses!

Kody's was terribly overdeveloped and it took a lot of dressage work to reverse that. Turbo grew up in a barn customized for minis and had no such problems.

I'm trying to picture your current stall fronts. How can they see visitors but not be fed or get dust from the arena? Can you post a picture? Kody gets terrible respiratory problems from the bagged cedar shavings at most of our shows so I do my best to always set him up with some sort of door guard or panel so he gets good air flow from the outside and can put his head out. Being stuck inside a stall where the walls are way above his head with something he's allergic to is a death trap for him, health-wise. For us a fan is a good solution as well; he does pretty good if he can stand with his head in a fan. (That trick works for my night-time allergies too!

) That obviously doesn't solve your problem though as you're more worried about things from outside coming in.

Shake is very stall-sensitive and does not settle easily into somone else's digs. Again, another problem.

Maybe I'm just odd, but I think that would make me MORE likely to switch stalls periodically rather than less! He's a show horse- he needs to get used to strange stalls and learn to quickly relax in them. It took Turbo a few shows last year to get it and neither he nor Kody was happy when they first moved into the big horse stalls at my place but they got it and are now comfortable switching stalls whenever I ask. The longer they had stayed in one place since coming here, the more unhappy they were when first moved. Once they were used to switching they settled in quickly wherever I put them. Spyder never would change stalls but then again he'd been here 15 years and had a really traumatic background related to changing homes. I think being 30+ years old gives you a pass on some issues!

A friend at the barn today suggested a solution to this that I think may work. This winter, when it was too yucky to go outside, we used the indoor arena for turnout. When I would be walking around the barn aisle, where Shake could hear me, but not see me, he would get up on the mounting block and look over the wall to find me. Steve suggested that we build a platform at the front of the stalls that they could step up onto. This would keep them from being able to get forward and crane their necks in a way that would bevelop them incorrectly.

Considering that's how most minis I know solve the stall door issue for themselves, I was wondering if you could do that. If they can currently see over when they crane their necks they might decide it isn't necessary to climb up on something though. If you try it I would think a simple plywood box with padded edges and a non-slip surface would work. The only thing I would worry about if they spent a lot of time doing that was the health of their lower backs and hips. Horses are not mountain goats....

Leia