Selecting the Right Type of Wood Makes Building Horse Stalls Much Easier

For many folks, deciding on the type of wood to build your horse stalls with can be a problem. Oak was the most common type of wood used years ago because of it’s availablity and hardness.

Nowadays, white and yellow pine is the wood of choice. Pine can be used because the grill sections fit over the top edge of the wood, so the horse can’t easily “crib” or chew on the wood edges. If your horse has either of these habits, edge protectors can be purchased which cover all edges of the wood, stopping the horse from biting down. These are also known as anti-cribbing strips. Many people use the term cribbing to describe when a horse is chewing on the wood of the stall. Actually, wood chewing and cribbing are two different issues entirely. Wood chewing is exactly that term. This is normally caused by horses being pent-up in the stall for too long and they are bored. Cribbing is a habit some horses develop where the horse bites down on the wood edge and gulps in air. Some people believe this gives the horse a form of “high” and it can be destructive to your horse stalls.

Tongue and groove lumber is the best as the wood planks interlock with each other and produce a very strong wall. By using tongue and groove lumber, this will stop gaps from forming as the wood dries over time and shrinks, producing gaps between the boards.

We suggest the bottom board on the stall to be treated lumber as it will be the one subjected to manure and urine on the floor of the stall. Do not use treated lumber for the rest of the stall wall as the treating chemicals if ingested by the horse can cause large Vet bills due to making the horse sick. A good horse stall building guide is available which will help determine how many boards you will need for each horse stall front or side wall.

Make sure the wood you are using has been dried properly before starting to build your horse stalls. Wet wood will warp quickly and cause the stall doors to bind and walls will warp out of shape. This makes the stall door difficult to open or close.

The people at Country Manufacturing have over 30 years of experience with horse stalls and will gladly help you with your horse stall building project.