Horse Stable andRiding Arena

Design

A designer must understand basic horse behaviorfor proper design and construction of horse facili-ties. For designers familiar with farm constructionpractices, horses have traits that differ from otherlivestock species. People who have little previousexperience with horses or the planned activities ofthe farm should become familiar with basic horsebehavior and functional activities that are expectedat the site. Safe and sound designs respect horses’uniqueness and provide convenience and safety forboth horse and handler. This short chapter serves toprovide an overview of basic horse behavior traitsthat relate to horse facility construction.

FLIGHT OR FIGHT

Horses have highly developed senses of sight,smell, and hearing. They have a 340� range of visionthat makes them very sensitive to motion from al-most any direction.

A horse’s natural defense mechanism is the fight-or-flight instinct. Horses are generally nonaggres-sive, but when threatened, excited, impatient,scared, or in pain they will typically first try “flight”to escape by running away. Facilities that containhorses need to be sturdy and free of projections thatwould impale a panicked horse. If escape is not pos-sible, then horses might “fight” by kicking, striking,or biting. A horse’s reaction to a threat, real or per-ceived, is rapid and imparts high force on contact,so construction materials need to be sturdy and han-dler safety becomes important. Horses are wellknown for their apparently frantic behavior whenentangled in fencing materials or caught with a footbetween bars of the stall. Some horses patiently waitto be freed, but unfortunately most seem to strugglein an attempt at flight from the confining situation.

This flight-or-fight defense explains the excitablenature of the horse. The degree of excitability andnervousness varies among individuals and breedinglines. Properly designed handling facilities allow for

horse and handler safety while diminishing thehorses’ instinct or desire to escape by runningthrough or jumping over barriers. Some classes ofhorses, such as breeding stallions, can be naturallyaggressive and require specialized facility design toguard against horse or handler injury.

SOCIAL NEEDS

Horses are social creatures so most will try to joinother horses if they can (Fig. 1.1). Isolated horseslack the security of a group and often develop unde-sirable and possibly health-endangering behaviorsnot found when a number of horses live together.Horses in stalls quickly become bored, which leadsto stable stereotypies (often called “vices,” but thisimplies that these behaviors can be affected bytraining, which they cannot).

Stereotypies include the following:

• Wood chewing• Pawing or striking the ground or stall walls with a

front foot or repeated kicking out with a back foot • Weaving nervously by repeatedly shifting weight

from one front leg to the other• Pacing and circling the stall, headshaking• Placing the upper incisors on a solid object and

expanding the larynx, which results in the gulpingof air behavior known as cribbing (Fig. 1.2)

Horses housed individually are calmer if they canmaintain visual contact with other horses. If possi-ble, horses should be allowed to see other horsesand outside activities to decrease these stereotypiesand to reduce anxiety from being isolated (Fig. 1.3).

DOMINANCE ORDER

Horses kept in groups develop a dominance order.Each horse uses a combination of aggressive andsubmissive behaviors to place itself in the domi-nance order within the herd. Pastures and paddockswith corners and other small-enclosed areas that

1Horse Behavior Influence on Design

3

4 Horse Stable and Riding Arena Design

Figure 1.2. Stereotypic be-haviors (cribbing shownhere) can develop in horsesthat are kept in situationsthat deny normal horse be-havior.

Figure 1.1. Horses on pas-ture setting exhibit morenatural behavior of socialcontact and time spent eat-ing forages.

allow a dominant horse to trap a submissive one in-crease the frequency of injury.

In addition, feed, water, and shelter represent lim-iting resources and access to these are affected bythe dominance order.

A good horseman is observant of horse behaviorand temperament and can use these to advantage intraining and even housing. Grouping horses accord-ing to observed relationships at pasture can make

turnout, stabling, and trailering safer. Both peopleand horses can affect another horse’s movement byuse of the flight zone, much like a person’s “person-al space.” Once a person enters the flight zone, thehorse will move away. With training, the flight zonenormally decreases. The flight zone is used everyday when a person attempts to catch a horse in thefield or work the horse in a round pen. A dominanthorse may need only enter another horse’s flight

zone, without making apparent threats, to make themore submissive individual move away from food,water, or even a grazing spot.

STABLES AS A PLACE FOR FOOD,SECURITY, AND REST

Horses have a major preoccupation with food andsecurity. In a natural setting horses spend a consider-able portion of their day grazing than when in con-finement where feeding may be a short, regularlyscheduled event leaving considerable time to fillwith other activities. A stable area typically repre-sents an area for food and security. An excited horsemay reenter a burning barn because of this connec-tion between food and security.

Horses often rest or doze standing but will liedown for prolonged sleep. Sleeping patterns meanthat horses need a comfortable area to stand and liedown. Horses prefer bedding versus hard, bare

flooring. Horses need to get into lateral recumbencyin order to get their required daily REM sleep, or atleast be able to lie in sternal recumbency and leanagainst something to mimic lateral recumbency.This is pertinent to horses kept in tie stalls.

Designing facilities to account for horse behav-ior does not have to be complicated or expensive.Horses have flourished for ages on open grassyplains. Excellent horse husbandry can be achievedwith a paddock and simple shelter (the simple“shelter” may include natural things like densebush or tree stands). Facilities should promotesafety as well as the efficient care and handling ofhorses. Well-planned facilities allow for lower op-erational costs. Poorly planned or improperly con-structed facilities interfere with daily operations,increase costs such as labor and maintenance, andcompromise the safety and health of both horsesand people.

1 / Horse Behavior Influence on Design 5

Figure 1.3. Horses kept instable for prolonged periodsseem to benefit from beingable to see other horses andactivities around them.