Just as you’d accessorize your living spaces at home, you’ll need to furnish your horse’s stall with basic equipment. If you keep your new horse at a boarding facility, the farm manager might provide some or all of these items. Otherwise, you’ll need to acquire them yourself. The great thing about much of this gear is it’s quite durable and will last a long time—if you have a horse that isn’t particularly hard on it. In addition to stall-cleaning equipment, here’s what you’ll need:
Two Flat-Back Water Buckets
Five-gallon (20-quart) plastic buckets (ideally, flat backed) are available in a variety of colors. If you haven’t designated a color for your horse, now is a good time to do it! Horses can pick up germs from each other from sharing equipment, so having matched buckets labeled with your name can help prevent mix-ups.
A Feed Bucket
Some people like a round rubber feed pan (generally a 3-gallon capacity) to set on the ground. After all, it’s most natural for a horse to be eating from the ground. But other owners prefer to hang or install a tub (about an 8-gallon capacity if it’s round with three metal loops) in a corner of the stall. Corner feeders with brass eyelets for installation are also available if you want a more ergonomic solution. Still other stalls, especially if they’re stall systems (not hand-built), have built-in feeders.
The important part with any setup is that the bucket or feeder doesn’t have any sharp or rough edges, you can clean it with soap and water and drain it easily, and it’s not hanging in such a way that your horse can stick a leg in it or otherwise injure himself. Some horses flip feed pans over while they’re eating, which isn’t a problem if your horse eats over a bare mat (more on mats in a bit), but it could be problematic if your horse is consuming bedding along with his spilled feed. Also, if your horse likes to poop in his feed pan or bucket, you’ll need to determine what type of bucket will be easiest for you to clean.
A Salt Block
Horses need access to salt, especially when it’s hot, to replenish sodium reserves. Again, personal preference plays a big role here. Stall-sized blocks are about 4 pounds (they look like bricks); some owners like to get plain (white) salt blocks and others a trace mineral salt (brown, and appropriate if they aren’t getting any feeds or supplements). Still other owners buy the Himalayan (pinkish orange) salt blocks on a rope, which do not provide minerals but are super easy to hang. The block type, though, you’ll need to put in its own pan (not in the feed bucket/pan) or install a salt block holder—one that doesn’t have sharp edges and will not rust. Manufacturers make several types in molded plastic. You might also grab a larger salt block and holder, which sits on the ground, for when the horse is turned out.
Mats
These can make stall cleaning easier—you won’t be digging a hole each time you remove your horse’s “wet spot” from the stall. They also are easier on the horse’s joints than concrete, pavement, or some dirt floors. Local farm supply stores often carry stock sizes you can piece together, some that interlock with one another. Just remember: Your goal is to keep fluid from seeping under the mats, which can turn into a problem, depending on how porous the material is beneath the mats.
Lime or Stall Refresher
Having a product you can sprinkle on the wet spots (after removing the bulk of the wet) to absorb the remaining moisture and quell the ammonia odor is essential for some horses or management situations. The odor control product Bye Bye Odor, for instance, eliminates ammonia smells in stalls and can also be used on smelly saddle pads, blankets, and muck buckets.
A Stall Front
Your stall probably already has a door, but if it isn’t the type that allows the horse to stick his head out and see what’s happening (whether inside the barn or out), you might opt to install a stall gate or guard. Most horses respect the metal stall gates designed to sit on hinges in the doorway, and a vinyl stall guard can create a similar effective visual barrier, but horses might test more temporary-looking types, such as a vinyl-coated chain or webbed cotton stall guards. Whatever style you choose, be sure it’s one the horse respects, testing it on days when you can hang out for a few hours and keep an eye on the horse. If you have doubts your horse will respect the barrier at night, close the more permanent stall door but also remove the stall guard so the horse won’t get hung up in it.
A Waterproof Stall Card
Be sure you post a card describing your horse’s breed/color/size/markings (including a photo can help) and his normal vital signs measurements, along with your and your veterinarian’s and farrier’s contact information in case of an emergency. You might include insurance information on the card, too. The card should be waterproof because there’s always the chance something will get dirty and/or wet in the barn and need to be wiped off/dried.
Final Considerations
If you’re setting up your horse’s stall in your own barn, generally anything goes. But if you’re boarding, recognize the farm might have its own policies for putting holes and hardware into the walls. Use existing holes or hardware whenever possible (and safe) and ask before installing anything.
