Horse Keeping

by Amar M. Dalal
(Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India)

Before asking U the below questions let me thank U for the real handy information provided to me from your website.

The examples given like the way U used to give treat to your horses...it was really fun to know.

Secondly the chair that U put in the field for yourself and your horses were curious to know about it...

These are real lifetime experiences.


1. Should horses be tied in the barn?

Answer: Not really clear on what you mean. If you mean tied and left in the barn, then the answer is no. Never tie your horse up and just leave him. If something were to spook him, he could could injure himself.


2. Can 2 or 3 horses be kept untied together with sufficient room space in the barn...the reason for asking is that would they harm each other...like biting or kicking etc?

Answer: I will say from personal experience that I couldn't keep mine all together, in the same area. I have one mare that is very dominant and she hates my other mare. She will bite, kick and completely run her away. I don't even put them in stalls beside each other. So I would say that's probably not a good idea, because there is always a dominant horse.


3. How big should the barn be for an individual horse?

Answer: Do you mean barn or stall? A stall should be no smaller than 10x12. That will give a horse sufficient room to move around a little. The barn can be a big as you want it to be.

4. Is it good the allow more ground feeding the horse in the barn or should a stall be made?

Answer: Not really sure about this question either. If you are referring to being turned out on the pasture, then yes. It is best to have more turn out. It is a good idea to build stalls anyway. For feeding purposes or if one gets injured or sick he may have to be stalled for a couple of days. I recently built my new barn and put in 4 stalls. The only time that my horses are stalled is when they are sick, at feeding time or extreme cold. The rest of the time they are turned out to pasture.

Hope I answered all your questions correctly.