Stall Door Types: Pros and Cons

When you’re designing your stable, seemingly hundreds of tiny details become very large decisions. Stall doors are one of those decisions that can affect your daily life at the barn, whether it’s your business or your hobby. Sliding, Dutch, grills, yokes — what’s the best stall door for you?

Sliding doors (as shown in the French Hill Farm project) are popular in barns and often come in prefab stall kits. They take up less space because they don’t intrude on the barn aisle, making it easier to lead or cross-tie horses in the aisle. Because you […]

Where Should I Feed My Horse Hay?

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Hay nets, hay racks, hay feeders, hay bags, hay on the ground… it seems like the only thing we can agree on as equestrians is that horses need hay. The science of actually feeding that hay can get pretty complicated and pretty opinionated, pretty quickly! Some horsemen swear by hay nets, but others never really master the art of stuffing the flimsy things. Others prefer a trough feeder or a mat on the ground, saying that horses shouldn’t reach up for hay. And busy boarding stables often swear by hay racks, which allow for quick, efficient feeding by grooms […]

Keeping Senior Horses Happy

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Recently, the equestrian world saw a 37-year-old pony make headlines in the UK for winning a dressage competition. The judge told Scrumpy’s rider that the spunky pony looked like a four-year-old.

While not every horse is going to be fresh as a colt well into their golden years, it’s still possible to maintain the happiness and soundness of older horses with smart senior care.

First, know your horse. Memory is faulty, and so when senior horses go downhill gradually, losing condition and good health without the changes to their body being glaringly noticeable, horse […]

Time-Saving Tips for the Barn

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The equestrian lifestyle is not for those afraid of work. Whether you have a staff of grooms or you’re mucking out after work every day, there’s going to be a certain level of physical labor in your life as long as horses are involved. Sometimes, it seems like there’s too much horsekeeping being done to get any horse-enjoyment in! That’s when a few minutes saved on daily tasks can start to add up very quickly.

Strap Down the Scissors: Yes, you can break open a hay bale by using a piece of baling […]