Open stable,
group keeping,
active stable
Open stable, group keeping,
active stable
Horses are herd animals.
Food intake, movement and constant contact with conspecifics are still firmly anchored in the genes of our domesticated horses. Keeping horses in groups in active stables comes closest to their natural needs.
The “normal” horse owner spends 3 – 5 days a week at the stable with his horse. Full care by the farm is a prerequisite here. It is not only reassuring for the owner, but also important for the horse’s well-being to have contact with other horses of the same species and to be able to move around freely, make friends and maintain these friendships.
Food intake, movement and constant contact with conspecifics are still firmly anchored in the genes of our domesticated horses. Keeping horses in groups in active stables comes closest to their natural needs.
The “normal” horse owner spends 3 – 5 days a week at the stable with his horse. Full care by the farm is a prerequisite here. It is not only reassuring for the owner, but also important for the horse’s well-being to have contact with other horses of the same species and to be able to move around freely, make friends and maintain these friendships.
Open stable
More freedom of movement and choice for your horse.
More freedom of
movement and choice
for your horse.
An open stable is probably the most natural way of keeping horses. In the past, this concept of the simplest form of group stabling has developed considerably.
The open stable must be carefully planned so that it can be used all year round and also meets the legal requirements.
In addition to move in the fresh air, social contact and the opportunity to eat throughout the day, the open stable must also offer the horses opportunities to rest and retreat. The feeding area must be separated from the resting area so that the lower-ranking horses can also eat or rest in peace and quiet. The larger the herd, the more careful attention must be paid to this separation.
Open stabling is the basis from which other variants of group housing have developed over time.
Group keeping / Group stables
Don’t just think in boxes.
Group keeping is very suitable for keeping young horses. In summer they live in spacious pastures, in winter they move into the sheltered group stables. Here too, attention must be paid to the horse’s needs, especially with regards to sufficient exercise.
To this end, the group stable should have runs that can be used in all weathers. The size of the group stable must be adapted to the number of horses. 10 m² laying area per horse is the minimum.
Active stable
Movement promotion for healthy horses.
The active stable and the paddock trail have also developed from the original idea of keeping horses in open stables.
The difference here is that the horses have to walk certain distances to fulfil their most important needs such as eating, drinking and resting.
Transponder-controlled access to the concentrate and mineral feed stations and roughage stands is allocated to the horses. This enables individual and needs-oriented feeding in small quantities throughout the day.
The horses should also have access to a structured moving area, rolling and play areas with different floor coverings.
Resting/lying areas, roughage areas, concentrate and mineral feed stations as well as drinking troughs are spatially separated from each other in order to create an incentive to move via walkways and trails.
This means that the horses are out and about day and night in the indoor and outdoor areas and are therefore in constant social contact with their conspecifics.
Links: Aktivstall Grümer , Gut Ashege, Hit Aktivstall and Aktivstall Fischer.
Each of these types of stables should also have a few separate boxes to give sick horses the rest they need and keep infections to a minimum. It is also much easier to integrate new horses with an integration box.
Of course, this type of horse keeping also includes a functional area with a well-tempered tack room, sufficient grooming, washing and saddling areas, a feed room, blanket store with washing machine and dryer, hay and tack room and a stable.
