The Problem

Dangerous stall fronts. Most stall fronts have sliding doors with latches that protrude when the door is open. What’s bad about them is what happens if a horse rushes through a partially opened doorway. Sure, that may be a training issue with a dash of human error, but that’s small consolation when horse and/or human gets hurt. With a well-designed hinged door, if a frightened horse rushes through before it’s fully opened, he merely bumps it open, and there’s no protruding latch on which to get skewered. Most stall fronts have bars across the floor at the doorway, to strengthen the structure. Clanging a hoof on that bar on the way through is a common stimulus that can panic a high-strung horse and trigger the aforementioned wreck. And, most hinged stall doors are 4 ½ feet high, which is low enough that the average horse thinks he might be able to jump out if he had to. If he’s motivated (read frightened), he just might give it a try.

The Fix

My stall front is Innovative Equine Systems’ Rubicon design, which has an adjustable hinged door, 5-1/2 feet high, safety finger latches, and no floor bar needed because the front is plenty strong enough without it. The lumber is a high-density, tongue-and-groove polyethylene (like synthetic deck lumber, but thicker and stronger and more resistant to kick damage than wood); it’s available in a variety of colors, and it’s nonporous.

The Payoff

Greater safety, comfort, and appearance. My horses can interact with the world, like the naturally gregarious creatures they are, over the front’s closed door, but they have no thoughts about that closed door being a potential escape route. There’s nothing to clang a hoof in the doorway, so novice horse keepers have one less safety issue as they lead their charges in and out. The finger latches are absolutely fiddle proof by even the cleverest equine Houdinis, and they’re easily accessed by human fingers inside or outside the stall, for safe entry and exit without having to reach over a door or through bars. The polyethylene lumber is resilient and strong, for safety in the event of a stall kicker, and it’s non-porous, so it can be disinfected.

For more information about The Perfect Stall, please visit our Rubicon horse stall page.