I know many yards that will shut the top of stable doors when a horse is truly stressed in it. Is there any benefit to the horse when this is done???
Shutting Top Stable Door
- Thread starter NoviceNic
- Start date
it may stop the horse viewing what is outside the stable if that is what is making it stressed?
stop the horse from getting its front feet over the bottom door?
could be that the dark makes the horse relax somewhat?
personally I did it one day with Pickle as a kind of "punishment"?
he was rearing up in the stable and generally throwing a strop
I counted (out loud) to 3 and shut the top door, waited till he went quiet, opened it, he started again, counted again to 3 and shut the top door, waited till he went quiet, opened it again, he started again, I got as far as 2 counting and he got the message
stood there like a lamb as if he had never had a strop in the 1st place
i suppose it depends why the horse is upset in the 1st place?
stop the horse from getting its front feet over the bottom door?
could be that the dark makes the horse relax somewhat?
personally I did it one day with Pickle as a kind of "punishment"?
he was rearing up in the stable and generally throwing a strop
I counted (out loud) to 3 and shut the top door, waited till he went quiet, opened it, he started again, counted again to 3 and shut the top door, waited till he went quiet, opened it again, he started again, I got as far as 2 counting and he got the message
stood there like a lamb as if he had never had a strop in the 1st place
i suppose it depends why the horse is upset in the 1st place?
All day is bad....stops fresh air and is dark and manky.
I personally think it should never be shut unless it is only for a couple of mins while you were there.
If you want to stop them geting out or something get the bars, at least then they can see whats going on and can get frsh air.
I personally think it should never be shut unless it is only for a couple of mins while you were there.
If you want to stop them geting out or something get the bars, at least then they can see whats going on and can get frsh air.
hee hee, no not really, I used to have a chestnut Arab cross mare, I think she had OCD,See, you know Gemma better than you think!!
I used to skip out daily and full muckout once a week, I used to have to stand her at the door on full muckout day so she could see the fresh shavings
, one day I put a mineral lick up, ohhhh change you see 
I had to extract her legs from over the door another mare I had would go nuts when we took the pony out, so I used to have to shut the top door,
I wouldnt shut the top door all day, personally I would find what was causing the stress in the 1st place or find somewhere to turn the horse out to get rid of excess energy,
just realised that the pic in my avatar was taken about 30 seconds after my door shutting episode with Pickle
awww butter wouldnt melt, he does learn quick though
Just what I was going to ask Domane.... sounds like there's more to this question than a general 'query'...!
I don't think a top door should be shut at all except for in an emergency for a few minutes, or in the sort of way Tot's describes- as a 'training' session.
Nic, feel free to PM if you have a concern you'd rather not 'air' totally in public!
I don't think a top door should be shut at all except for in an emergency for a few minutes, or in the sort of way Tot's describes- as a 'training' session.
Nic, feel free to PM if you have a concern you'd rather not 'air' totally in public!
We use shutting the top door as an extreme where horses are not listening and are so upset going into the box with them would be dangerous. Never for long and we always stand outside in case of total panic.
I know it is used in some circles as a method to calm horses but I regard this in the same way as withholding water almost like sensory deprivation in the worse prison environments.
Generally if we feel the need to use it it is a last resort to stop the horse jumping out as it is so stressed by ashgort term stimulus, eg hunt passing
I know it is used in some circles as a method to calm horses but I regard this in the same way as withholding water almost like sensory deprivation in the worse prison environments.
Generally if we feel the need to use it it is a last resort to stop the horse jumping out as it is so stressed by ashgort term stimulus, eg hunt passing
echo eml - it'd have to be a very last resort. we've got grilles, like weaving grilles but with the V filled in (some removeable) that we use if the horse is going loopy or trying to jump out.
I remember hearing once that it used to be used with race horses and the like many moons ago, they would be kept in the dark and alone for a period before a big race, as this would make them extreamly over excitable when they were taken out, believed to help them run faster
I will shut a top door if a horse is likely to come over the door due to sometihng specific going on, or as a training method if going in the stable would be dangerous, but this would only be for minutes at a time.
I will shut a top door if a horse is likely to come over the door due to sometihng specific going on, or as a training method if going in the stable would be dangerous, but this would only be for minutes at a time.
I knew a horse had to be shut in for a week like this - he was all scrubbed for a show, and the owner turned him out with a hood on to stay clean. he got the hood stuck on a tree branch, struggled, and ripped his eyelid. He had to be kept in the dark, else the light would damage his eyes.
i wasnt around when it came to muck him out or feed etc, but he seemed calm enough.
i wasnt around when it came to muck him out or feed etc, but he seemed calm enough.
Topaz has a little building, with a door on each side, divided in the middle by a half door. One door leads into her stall, the other into a feed/equipment area which we keep closed at all times unless we're in there. We keep the door to her stall open so she can come and go as she pleases. When the weather is bad and she needs to go in, we put her in her stall and shut the door. We tried leaving the door to the feed area open so she could at least see out, but she freaks out and fusses when that door is open. When it's closed, and she's completly shut in, she's quiet as a lamb.
We used to have a nervous gelding at our yard and when the tractor used to drive up the yard to deliver hay he used to go crazy. His top door was shut whilst the tractor was there and he seemed a lot calmer.
Generally the top door should be open at all times. In fact I have removed all my top doors. Although horses should not be allowed to stand in a draught they should have access to fresh air and daylight. The only exception to this would be, for example, if there was a bonfire party close by, or other unusual event or if you are advised by the vet.
Horses are herd animals and need to be able to see and associate with others. If a stressed horse is shut up alone and possibly in the dark for considerable periods of time it is very likely that it will become even more stressed.
Obviously the situation might arise where for a good reason you might need to shut the top door for 10 or 15 minutes and this is a different issue as you will be opening up fairly quickly.
But how did he ever learn to be safe around tractors and heavy machinery if he was shut up every time any came near him? The person responsible was reinforcing his fear by doing this.
Over here, typically top doors are kept shut. A lot of places have full height sliding doors. They tend to have grills though, or not be completely solid, so there is airflow. (so, that's ok, then 
). It is not uncommon for a horse to live his entire life in an enclosed stall, with the door shut, inside a barn, with no turnout and never see daylight.
). It is not uncommon for a horse to live his entire life in an enclosed stall, with the door shut, inside a barn, with no turnout and never see daylight.I don't know, it's just the way they delt with it. Having the top door open, no matter who was there/what they did he was still terrified and was a danger to himself
saying that, he was fine on the road with passing tractors etc
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