Most horses enjoy living outside all year round, provided they have adequate food, water, and shelter provision. Therefore, many people ask us why they need to bother stabling their horses at all, let alone during the night. However, stabling your horse during the night is one of the best things you can do for your horse. Providing your horse with appropriate stabling solutions from our building range is beneficial in numerous ways, including:
- Helps a horse recover from illness
- Protection from the elements
- Constant access to water
- Warmth and comfortable bedding
- Safety
- Company of other horses
If youâve never considered stabling your horse at night, there are many reasons why itâs so important and how it can improve the health of your horse.
Why Stabling for Horses is Needed
Horses are all different, so some may prefer stabling more than others. However, whatever your horse likes, or dislikes are, stabling is a requirement â particularly during the night. Horses need stables during the night to protect them from bad weather such as rain and snow. All horses need some protection from the weather and a professionally built stable can offer just that. Bring your horse in from outside and let him enjoy the warmth and comfort of a well-built stable.
Stabling During the Night Provides Balance
As weâve discussed in previous blog posts, stabling horses for long periods of time can have a number of negative effects on your horseâs health. Horses really benefit from several hours of freedom every day, preferably spent outside in a field. Stabling at night and turning your horse outside during the day provides all the benefits of stables without many of the disadvantages.
Stabling Keeps Your Horse Safe
One of the main reasons for stabling horses during the night is to keep him safe and healthy. People believe that stabling their horses at night provides the greatest safety and comfort for the animal. Not only does a stabled horse remain clean and accessible when you want to ride, but there is also a significantly reduced risk of injury.
Horse’s Need a Good Nightâs Sleep
It is a common misconception that horses arenât affected by sleep deprivation. Most horses require at least four hours of sleep every 24 hours. If a horse misses out on sleep for several days in a row, he can suffer from extreme exhaustion and may even end up collapsing. When stabling your horse at night, to ensure they get the proper amount of sleep they need, it is important to carry out the following:
Turn Off All the Lights
Horses who are used to sleeping outside at night while be easily stressed by brightly lit stalls and likely unable to sleep. Although horses can eventually adapt to brighter conditions, if they are kept under artificial lights for extended periods of time, they may experience sleep deprivation amongst other problems.
Provide Plenty of Bedding
Helping horses get a good nightâs sleep can be made significantly easier when the horse is provided with ample bedding. While straw makes for a soft place to lie down, it does become damp and mouldy if not changed regularly enough. So, a bedding alternative we like to use in stables is rubber matting. This fantastic material is easy to clean and comfortable for your horse.
Keep the Stables Quiet
Horses tend to be very light sleepers, so to help them get a good nightâs sleep in the stable, it is best to keep the barn as quiet as possible. If you canât achieve absolute silence in your stables, it may be worth considering the use of white noise or easy-listening music turned down low.
Stable Horses Together at Night
Horses are herd animals and love to socialise with others. Horses tend to sleep better when they are surrounded by other horses, just as they would be if they were left out in the pasture. If possible, stable horses in adjoining stalls so they donât get lonely at night. However, be sure to put horses near to one another that get along, otherwise they may bicker and keep the whole barn awake late into the night.
Stables We Provide for Horses
We understand the benefits of stabling for horses, here at Prime Stables, and we know that finding the best stables for your horses is important. Ensuring your horse has an appropriate space to rest during the night can help them feel safe, secure, and protected.
At Prime Stables, we know that every horse requires something different from a stable and thatâs why we offer a bespoke approach stable installation. This allows our team to provide the very best stables for your horse. We are proud to supply and install a variety of stable types for our customers, including:
- Stable blocks
- Mobile field shelters
- Mobile stables
- American barns
- Internal stablesContact us today to discuss the stable requirements for your horse. We are passionate about providing stables designed specifically for your horseâs needs so that he can be comfortably stabled during the night.
Contact Us Today
If this article provided useful information about night stabling for horses and left you with additional questions, please reach out to our experts at Prime Stables. As a leading builder of horse stables and facilities, we also invite inquiries from those looking to add new overnight housing tailored to their horses’ needs. Contact our team on with any questions or requests for a custom stabling solution from Prime Stables.
