# ~ brick stables vs timber stables, cost etc?



## shiresrus123 (5 January 2009)

im looking at getting stables, but have an 18hh baby shire who has discovered what a front leg can do.  He is able to bring down a monty roberts style steel pen of 15kg steel sheets quite easily with a bit of leaning and kicking.

Although the stable company say he wouldnt damage 18mm kickboard with timber, i think he would, so am wondering about brick stables instead.

Has anyone had brick one put in, if so how much and for what kind of design?  Or, does anyone have a shire/draft who kick in a timber that can cope?


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## black_horse (5 January 2009)

i would recommend brick as it is very sturdy....or let him live out and save yourself some money ^^


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## *hic* (5 January 2009)

My 16.3 Shire X TB mare has kicked through the heavy stockboarding in two Redmire stables now. She also injured her stifle badly in the process. tbh I would be terrified of putting her in a brick or block stable thinking of the injuries she could manage to do herself, I currently only use her stable as a shelter for her and she has free range on the yard.

For all my other horses though I prefer the brick stables that were built some hundred years ago. They seem warmer in winter and cooler in summer.


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## Patches (5 January 2009)

Our brick built shippon has been converted into stables. 

Like Jemima says, ours are warm in winter and cool in summer. I have friends who are struggling in this cold snap with water buckets freezing etc. Our auto water drinkers and taps are all still running, and have been even when it was -7 outside.


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## shiresrus123 (5 January 2009)

thanks very much for your replies

he doesnt do it to be naughty, quite the opposite, he seems to just want to be by the back door all the time lol and worries about missing anything happening in the kitchen without him!

he is fine to be confined and begs to go to his stable when its coming to bedtime, but living out all yr round wudnt be possible as the weather up here in the hill is atrocious, and im a softy who likes to see them all tucked up warm and dry (his mates behave but theyre a tight knit group) but kicks at food time, or to see what happens.

im leaning still towards brick, even more so now from the above, but wonder how much that wud cost? also, do any companies do them or would a builder and architect be the way to go?


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## jackessex (5 January 2009)

i had a friend who had a horse that spent all night kicking door,so the livery yard owner hung up some kind of prickly branches possibly horthorn and it worked a treat.i would be more inclined to just stop him leaning/kicking,it might be worth a try!!!


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## china (5 January 2009)

i have brick ones. and there great. mine that i rent our old tho. but nowadays its harder to get planning for brick stables as they dont blend with the natural surroundings like wood ones. you can get brick stables tho with like a wooden outer. i would expect abit more expensive but atleast u would get brick if you fancied it. 
but brick is my personal preference lol. no more treating wood and chewing wood etc lol


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## ESH (5 January 2009)

I have a 17.2 IDxTB and wooden stables. He has broken the kickboards a number of times, by kicking and leaning against them over time.  We replaced the kick board and put rubber wall matting on and so far so good, except when he got very naughty (I think he may have been cold one night) and kick out above the kick boards and made a window in the back of the stables.


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## Donkeymad (5 January 2009)

My OH spent many years working on a Shire stud and says that you really do need a brick built stable.


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## LM59 (5 January 2009)

I also have a 18hh+ shire who can occasionally be a bit handy with his front legs- never malicious though. He seems to test if something can be easily removed- and will do anything to get to a person for some fuss! We decided to have our new stables built in block for just this reason. 

He has been no problem at all with the block, and I would recommend that you go for brick or block if your budget allows. It also means that you have everything slightly larger to accommodate the size, height etc. We designed the barn to suit our purposes, and it has been brilliant- he hasn't damaged it or himself.


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## palomino698 (5 January 2009)

Brick or breezeblock, definitely.


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## shiresrus123 (6 January 2009)

thanks very much for your help, brick it is, any companies or is it builder/architect job?


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