Is padlocking necessary for my horses stall?

Question

Well my horse has gotten out of his stall a couple of times because he's chewed the wood off of the door so much that it is almost impossible to close. I've thought about moving my horse to another stall but I feel that all he's going to do is chew the wood off of that one too. I only leave him outside on the pasture of my aunt and uncles ranch for about 7 hours and then I put him away because I fear him getting loose. Should I start padlocking his stall so he can't get out or is it safe to just leave him out and let him roam?

Answer 1

Well if he is roaming in a well fenced field/paddock then its fine. Even if its a whole large area but its well fenced its fine. If your aunt and uncles ranch leads out onto a road or onto other peoples property or if he could get stuck in any drains etc then i would leave him in his stall or fence of part of an area for him. Horses are far better off out than in. If need be you could put a second bolt at the bottom of the stable door.

Chewing wooden door/stall is called cribbing btw =]

Answer 2

Well I personally would get him a cribbing collar so he doesn't chew on the door and do put a padlock on the door. Cribbing is bad for horses and can actually make them colic. It would not be safe to let him just roam around outside.