04/07/2024
Let's talk about stalling horses.
I know the opinion it's not natural, often comes up.
I often see those making that comment, give a brief overview of their shelter setup.
A couple of pastures and loafing sheds,seem to be pretty standard for those that don't see stalls as natural for a horse.
I see comments like my horse will tear down a stall, my horse has to be with its buddies.
So for those horse owners, what happens.When your horse has an injury, colic surgery and has to be on stall rest?
I'm not talking about a solution as simple as, throwing up a couple of panels to make a temporary stall. I talking about how will your horse behave? Will it become fractious, kick walls, climb panels? Possibly causing another injury to itself or compounding the issue its on stall rest for?
If you can't answer this question no, you've got some work to do.
Practice separating from the herd, practice stalling. Figure out in advance if your horse needs stall lessons.
Imagine a horse with an abdominal incision from colic surgery trying to climb out of a stall. Or a horse with a tendon laceration sewn together beautifully have it fail, because the horse can't be stalled.
We are dealing with an injury that requires stall rest, we have been on the stall rest regimen for 11 days. It's not fun, for the horse or us. Especially knowing healing and rehab are dependent on so many factors. Stall rest is first and foremost.
Set yourself and your horse up for success , stalls have a purpose, get your horse used to a stall. You never know, when stalling may save you money, and your horse.
