How to build a horse stable
In order to provide the horses with the necessary conditions of detention, the first step is to take care of where exactly the animals will live. And if in the summer, many farmers use a simple shed with a manger for these purposes, then in winter there should be a stable for horses, unless we are talking about toy figures of shlays.
Horse stable
How to prepare for construction
The first and important stage, from which the construction of any stable begins, is the choice of a place. When answering the question of how to make a stable for horses, it is important to consider the following recommendations for choosing a site:
- it is better if the building stands on a hill;
- a residential building with a stable should not be located close, it is better to organize the building at a certain distance;
- areas with natural drainage and without organic inclusions are preferable to choose;
- the building must be protected from the winds, it is desirable to place the entrance to it in the east.
When we build a stable on our own, it is better to take logs with a diameter of 20-25 cm, a foam block, brick or adobe (straw-clay blocks, a popular building material in some regions of Russia and Ukraine) as material for the walls. In the latter case, the wall should be approximately 40 cm thick (2 bricks).
An adobe frame can also be used as a basis for a stable, if you then sheathe it with boards, and place a mixture of clay and sawdust in the resulting space. But this option is only suitable for warm climates.
But how to build a stone stable for a horse, it is better not to think about it: this material attracts dampness and has poor thermal insulation characteristics. The same can be said about the cinder block and the concrete block. There is a high probability that the animal, which is in such a house in winter, will be cold.
The total cost of building materials costs depends on how exactly the stable is made. The price is influenced by:
- The type of the main material from which the walls are made for the stable. For example, a wooden stable and a similar building made of foam blocks will cost different amounts.
- Dimensions of the home stable: the recommended height is not less than 280 cm, not more than 350 cm, the length and width are taken into account depending on the number of animals (for one horse - one stall).
- The number of windows and their sizes. It is important to take into account that for regions with cold winters, the frames must be doubled, and this is an additional cost.
- The size of the entrance door. It should be about 2 m in height, at least 1.5 in width, the shape of the jambs should be rounded. To prevent animals from injuring themselves when going out for a walk, the doors should open outward and be located on the leeward side. Do not do rapids in the stable.
If the area of the site permits, it is imperative to equip a corral for walking next to the stable. It is better to shield it with three parallel rows of metal pipes welded together. The total height of the fence should be approximately 2 m.Some farmers make a gross mistake by using a piece of barbed wire when building the paddock, not thinking that this material can severely injure the horses while walking.
Start of construction
Any capital beautiful stable with your own hands should begin with a foundation, the depth of which must be determined depending on what type and bearing capacity the soil has, how deeply the soil freezes and what material will be used for the construction of walls.
An ideal plot of land is considered, the groundwater of which lies below 1.2 m. If you build a stable on a different soil, there is a risk that the animals will develop hoof diseases.
Having built the foundation for the stable, it should be covered with any waterproofing layer. It can be asphalt, roofing felt, roofing felt or something else. After that, you can start laying out the walls. If brick was chosen as the main material, it is imperative to use a special building level to avoid skewing.
The next stage of construction is the laying of the roof. It should be made sloping, additionally equipped with an ebb and flow gutter, so that rainwater flows freely to the ground. If it is decided to make a gable roof, it must be borne in mind that the height of the cornices should exceed 2.4 m, the ridge - 4 m. The design of a gable roof should be carried out taking into account the fact that the minimum height of its lower edge is at least 3 m above ground level.
To build a ceiling, you will need several boards 5 cm thick. On them you need to apply a mixture of clay and sand 1: 1 in one layer, then over a layer of sawdust and earth. Each layer should be approximately 5 cm thick.
Natural ventilation of the stable can be ensured due to the small gap between the roof and the walls, it is advisable that the construction scheme be drawn up taking it into account.
A private stable should have a practical and safe roof, so it is best to make a roof sheathing made of wood or all the same brick. A more budgetary option is roofing or slate sheets. But cheap materials have a number of disadvantages, so if you only want good for your animals, do not skimp on the project and purchase high-quality raw materials, no matter how much it costs.
Making the floor in the stable
Further, the construction of the stable will consist in laying the floor with your own hands. It should be waterproof, durable and soft at the same time, heat-absorbing, resistant to disinfectant and not absorbing any foreign odors.
The above qualities are possessed by rubber, wooden board, clay concrete. It is allowed to lay a floor of brick, asphalt, peat and even earth. But there are a number of reasons why experts do not recommend using materials from the second group.
For horse hooves, an easy-to-lay, warm and soft adobe floor works well. It is easy to care for it, it is enough to lay bedding in a timely manner, remove manure and repair dents as they form.
To make an adobe floor in a stable for 3-4 horses with your own hands, you must:
- Level the ground well.
- Lay and carefully tamp the clay layer, its final thickness should be about 15 cm.
- Dry the floor. Evaporation of moisture will lead to cracking, this is a normal natural process. Carefully fill up all gaps with a clay-lime mixture and dry the floor well again.
- Cover a layer of clay with the same amount of sand and tamp well.
If you decide to make wooden floors in the stable, it is important to keep in mind that, perfectly retaining heat, this material, like a sponge, absorbs liquids, including horse urine. You can minimize the absorbent qualities that distinguish a wooden board by laying it very tightly so that there is not a single gap. If this work did not work out perfectly, all the gaps should be filled with clay.It is advisable to drown the logs in the ground or clay during the construction of such a floor.
The earthen option is considered the simplest and most economical, for the implementation of which it is necessary, after loosening the soil, mix it with straw, distribute it evenly throughout the stable and tamp it well. You need to take care of such a floor very carefully.
The first place among the possible types is occupied by rubber. If you build a stable conscientiously, it is better to choose it. This material has the best performance characteristics: it does not require any special maintenance, is non-slip and will never rot. The only drawback is the relatively expensive cost, but with such a stable the horses will feel as comfortable as possible.
You need to decide on the material for the floor before building the stable, but regardless of the choice, in order to avoid stagnation of horse urine in the stall, the floor of the stable must be done at an angle of 1-2 ° in the direction from the feeders to the aisle.
We equip the stable from the inside
Having built the main external elements of the stable, it is necessary to properly equip it inside. You need to start by dividing the space into sections. Horses in a stable must be kept in separate boxes - stalls (stalls). If there is only one animal on the farm, you do not need to rack your brains about this.
There are generally accepted standards that all stalls must comply with:
- Horses should be able to rears up so that the animals, when standing in full growth, do not bump their heads against the ceiling, so their house should be at least 2.5 m high.
- The stall area should be calculated based on the size of an adult horse, on average - 13-16 square meters. m. This is enough for the animal to feel as comfortable as possible. Even if he has a nightmare, accidentally twitching, the pet will not be crippled.
- The minimum dimensions of the doors and passage are as follows: width - 2.5 m, height - 1.2 m.
- The partitions between the compartments should be slightly shorter than the total height of the room: from the top - by 20 cm, from the bottom - by 30 cm.The wooden board is taken at least 2 cm thick.
- The walls inside the stable may have small gaps, but so that the animal's hoof does not accidentally crawl through them.
- Each stall should have its own light source in the form of a moisture-proof shade with a lamp. The structure should be suspended so that the horse in the stall does not injure his head against it, even when rearing up.
The room where the horses are kept must be well ventilated.
Having correctly distributed the free space, where all the norms have been taken into account, you can begin to install additional elements that ensure the comfortable keeping of animals.
- In winter, you can't do without central heating or at least heaters. It is desirable that a temperature of about 15 ° C is maintained in the room all year round, its sharp drops cause discomfort to the animals.
- Plumbing is optional, but this equipment will greatly simplify the job of grooming horses. As an alternative source of moisture, large containers of water should be installed in the room at the rate of 50 liters per adult per day. If you have equipped the stable with automatic drinkers, with the onset of cold weather, you need to ensure that they are heated so that the water in the system does not freeze.
- It is advisable to install the feeder near the lighted wall itself, so that it is more convenient to fill it. You should never sprinkle food on the floor if there is no desire for the horse to develop worms or develop tetanus.
Each project should include the costs of ammunition, levada, sennik, feed and other necessary components, without which it is impossible to build any stable.
If you forgot to leave a gap under the roof or were afraid to include it in the building plan, artificial ventilation must be installed in the stable. It can be either vertical or horizontal. To avoid drafts, it is better to combine both types when building a stable.In severe frosts, plug the ventilation openings with straw. This completes the construction of the stable.
The last thing to talk about is bedding. Regardless of how warm the floor is in the room, you cannot do without a good quality bedding. For this purpose, you can and should use straw, peat or a layer of sawdust. In order to further protect animals from injury, several straw rollers must be laid around the entire perimeter inside the stable. Replace the old bedding with a new one daily.
Now you know how to build a good stable and what materials you need to prepare for construction.