Horse Stalls

by Elaine Polny
(Palgrave, Ontario, Canada)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like standing in a horse stall for a few hours, a few days? Well, it could be compared to you sitting on the couch for a day and turning into a "couch potato", or a dolphin put in a bathtub! Confined, bored, unhealthy and unnatural.

In case you didn't know, horses that are housed in stalls for any extreme length of time will eventually become affected physically and emotionally. (And yes, over night is considered an extreme length, that's usually about 12 hours!)

No matter how clean you can keep your stall the amount of airborne particles from dust to bacteria are immense. Imagine having to breathe poor quality air for a long period of time. It wouldn't take long before your respiratory track would be affected. (That's why many horses who have been stalled have been diagnosed with COPD or heaves.)

Then there is the emotional part. Since horses are social creatures just like us humans, being separated, bored and confined is completely unnatural. Many people cannot be separated in a room for too long without needing the company of others. Notice what we do with our children as punishment...we send them to their rooms! With horses vices are born out of this kind of environment. From weaving side to side, cribbing and sometimes violent behaviors set in. You can witness this at any barn where the horses are kept inside even if it's just for the night. You will hear banging, kicking of walls, obsessive behaviors and see depression from some horses too.

Horse stalls were invented and are used for the sole convenience of people. No horse runs into a stall for safety and comfort. But because we humanize our domesticated horse, we treat them as we think we would like ourselves treated.

Take the horse stall challenge. I'll even give you a chair! Put one in a stall, close the door and let me know how long it takes before you want out!
P.S. I only lasted two minutes! :0)

Elaine Polny
Horses by Nature