Box Stalls vs. Tie Stalls:
It’s believed that a roomy box stall with solid, protective walls is the best way to stall a horse. But Sue McDonnell, Ph.D., says what research indicates. A respected equine behaviorist, Dr. McDonnell has found that horses do as well, if not better, in tie stalls rather than box stalls where the box stall isolates the horse from contact with its neighbors.
“I have come to realize that the whole ‘private stall’ idea of horse housing is a people idea of great digs, and exactly opposite of what might be most comforting to horses,” she says.
In tracing the history of the use of box stalls, Dr. McDonnell learned that the first recommendations for box stalls occurred around the turn of the 20th century. She reports that, “A box or two away from the main bank of the stalls was recommended as a method of isolating diseased, transient animals. In texts of the time, veterinarians and horsemen noted that box stalls should be used sparingly, with the caution that horses kept in boxes away from their herd-mates are at greater risk of developing nervous habits and vices. This is certainly consistent with the results of studies of horses housed in group tie stalls.”
Based on those studies, she says, “Horses housed in tie stalls have had low rates of behavior such as weaving, cribbing, head tossing.”
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