An animal stall is an enclosure housing one or a few animals. Stalls for animals can often be found wherever animals are kept: a horse stable is often a purpose-built and permanent structure. A farmer's

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Alle ...

may be subdivided into animal stalls or

pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

s for cows and other

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

. Tie stalls are a type of stall where animals are tethered at the neck to their stall. It is mostly used in the dairy industry, although horses might also be stalled in tie stalls (often referred to as stands or straight stalls). Typical the barn has two rows of stalls, where the cow is tied up for resting, feeding, milking and watering. This type of housing is used in both regular and

organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

Horse care

horse care There are many aspects to horse management. Horses, ponies, mules, donkeys and other domesticated equids require attention from humans for optimal health and long life. Living environment Horses require both shelter from natural elements like ...

, the standard dimensions for a "loose box" (UK) or "box stall" (US) vary from to , depending on local cultural traditions, the breed of horse, gender, and any special needs.

Mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

s with foals often are kept in double stalls. Stallions, kept alone with less access to turnout, are also often given larger quarters.

Ponies A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

sometimes are kept in smaller box stalls, sometimes as small as , and

warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian spor ...

s or

draft horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...

s may need larger ones. Box stalls usually contain a layer of absorbent bedding such as straw or wood shavings and need to be cleaned daily. Depending on the environmental conditions and the needs of the horses, stalls may be cleaned multiple times a day - especially during winter seasons when turnout is limited, for show horses that receive meticulous grooming, or for horses recovering from injuries. Keeping stalls, paddocks, and pastures clean is one of the most important things to manage when considering the overall cleanliness and health (especially respiratory health) of horses. Prior to the late 20th century, the tie stall or standing stall was a more common housing for working horses that were taken out daily. Taking only half the size of a box stall, more animals could be housed in a single

or stable. Generally about or sometimes smaller, with a

manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...

in the front, usually to which the animal was tied, the design allowed the horse to lie down if the

lead rope A lead, lead line, lead rope (US) or head collar rope (UK), is used to lead an animal such as a horse. Usually, it is attached to a halter. The lead may be integral to the halter or, more often, separate. When separate, it is attached to t ...

was long enough, but not to turn around.

References

{{Authority control Horse management Livestock