WET horse stall?

Question

Ok first of all let me say that this is not my horse, I 'visit' him and do basic care for him (ex. refilling buckets, grooming him, ect)... I had originally gotten in contact with the owner to see if I could ride but it never got to that. So I just visit him, give him some company, and give some basic care... I am on otherwise good terms with the owner but communcation lacks.

I live in New England and we had HEAVY rain the last few days. I visit the horse usually a few times a week, weather-dependant... today I dropped by and his stall is a MESS. The owner normally doesn't clean it well, but it's at least relativley dry and she will clean it well about once a month (sad I know.) But it was very dirty to begin with and now is SOAKED, with a compleate 4-5 inch puddle in the middle.

I have considered reporting her to animal control for neglect before (other reasons as well but nothing major like starving h**e) but things always improve for a while. (see more)

Answer 1

i would contact animal control if that isn't an option, you're on the right track by mucking the stall and taking out the wet. after the wet is out, put down lime and if possible use sawdust as bedding. not only do you have to be concerned about thrush but with the hooves being long you should be concerned about the horse foundering. good luck! :)

Answer 2

I would call the humane society or animal control bc this needs to be taken care of and for the wet stall, just take a load of sawdust or pellets to soak it up

Answer 3

If you want to put in the effort then you can put dry shavings in the stall and allow them to soak up the standing water.  Remove, replace, repeat until the stall is relatively dry then add dry shavings for his bedding.  Get some Thrush Buster to treat his hooves, just in case.  Standing in wet mud or water can also cause abcesses and founder so this is very serious.  Who feeds the poor thing when you don't show up?  Are you saying the horse must stand and sleep in his own waste for a month before she is motivated to clean his stall?  It is sooo much easier to do it daily.  I don't know that if you reported it anything would come of it because of the unusual weather that can't be predicted...blah, blah, blah but it is a decision you will have to make for yourself.

Answer 4

If he has food, water, shelter & is in generally good health, AC isn't going to do anything.

If you've had heavy rains, its not totally her fault that its flooded. That can happen in older barns, where things have sunk below ground level over time.

Use the old bedding to sop up the water, bail it out if you have too. Its still going to be mushy, so you can over-fill it with bedding, which will soak up most of the mush & keep him fairly dry overnight. If you're wanting to keep this from happening again, tomorrow you take all of the shavings out and go to the local stone supplier. Buy a ton or 2 of crush & run. Its about $15 a ton, good deal if you have your own truck & don't need to pay to have it delivered.  Shovel it into the stall & tamp it down. If you pack it hard enough, you won't need mats, but mats would be a good thing.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I assume the water is coming in from the outside wall-floor joint?  And more rain is expected, so anything you put in there will most likely flood again?  I'm wondering if you could dig a ditch about a foot from the outside wall, fill it with gravel, and build up sort of a levy to redirect rain water away from the barn?  If there is no gutter, you could put one up to direct it to your ditch.  Of course, before doing all that be sure thats where the water is coming in.

Others have already given you ideas for inside of the stall.  The only thing I'd add is that until the source of the water is fixed, I'd avoid stall mats which are slippery if they get very wet.  A thick layering of straw would probably work best as a temporary fix until the whole stall can be dug out and drainage installed (layered rock, gravel, lime on top, and then stall mats).

I doubt that animal control would do anything more than issue a warning, if that.  So, an immediate fix is needed.  You could call around to area stables to seek out a good samaritan who would stable the horse while the situation is improved...it's worth a try...maybe someone has a run-in ...even a farmer rather than a stable?  Best of luck.

Answer 6

It honestly sounds like his owner doesn't or isn't able to properly care for the horse.  Of course, nothing is perfect and sometimes stalls do flood.  But it needs to be taken care of immediately, there is no quick fix.  His stall needs to be completely cleaned out.  Using pellets or shavings will help keep his stall dry.  If you think you should call animal control, you should.  They don't need to tell the owner who called.  It's better safe than sorry.

Answer 7

you could sweep it out into the aisle way and into a drain or the dirt. put a bunch of straw, shavings, whatever is used. then let it soak up a bit and remove the drenched bedding and replace it with new.

Answer 8

That happened to my friend's horse - a know-it-all turned on a hose to "clean the stall" and left it on for 20 minutes. My friend was away, so I moved her horse to a paddock temporarily.

Anyway, until the stall dries, keep the horse in the paddock during the day (as long as it's dry). Muck out the whole stall; get everything you can. To dry the puddles, spread fresh, dry bedding over the watery areas. Let it soak up the water for 5 minutes, then muck that out. If you don't have a mat, try to find anything that is a safe substitute. If you can't find anything, you'll have to deal. Spread fresh bedding over the stall how you normally would. Ask the owner to buy a mat or buy one yourself, so next time you're safe from the water. Keep extra bedding at hand just in case. Tell the owner that she needs to take better care of her horse or give it to someone who can. If the problems comtinue, tell animal control but keep an eye on the horse if they don't respond immediately

Answer 9

I'm not sure animal control will do anything about that, unfortunately.  I've always found that they don't do much unless the situation is pretty severe.

I would strip the stall, then put down some lime to help soak up some moisture and odors.  Then, if you can, put a layer of sand in there.  This will make the stall floor more even so moisture doesn't pool and will allow drainage so puddles don't form as easily.  Then put the regular bedding back on top of all that.  Use wood shavings if you can as they are more absorbent than many other bedding types.

Good for you for taking extra care of this horse since his owner doesn't seem to care all that much.  And good luck!

Answer 10

You need to take pictures. Take pictures of the horse, his feet, and the stall where he's being kept.

Call the ACO, provide the pictures to the ACO.

If the ACO doesn't follow up on the complain you need to call the Animal Welfare Board in your state.

You should send me an e-mail, this sounds very familiar to me. I'd like to know who you are talking about (I am also in NE)

Answer 11

Haha, what, do you go to Breezy Meadows? I would just do what every other person has said to do.

Answer 12

I understand your situation, at teh previous barn that I worked at, many times, the horses would break open their automatic water, and it would just pour water out all day, till we came that night, and saw what had happened. We had to just let the stall dry, we put fans on it, and mucked it out when we could. You just really have to let it dry, andwhen teh surface looks dry, take a pitch fork, and uncover the next few layers, whihc will prbably be still wet. It sucks I know because the horse won't get his stall, but thats the only way I know how to deal with it! good luck =D

Answer 13

call animal control. if it was me, id mop up the stall, call the farrier,and give him some nice hay!

Answer 14

Clean the stall as best you can and apply some stall powder to absorb any additional moisture.  Once the stall powder has had time to absorb the moisture, scoop it out if needed and put a thick layer of shavings down.  Cover that with a thick layer of straw if you are expecting more rain.

If you have any fence panels and if the barn will allow it, make a temporary stall in the aisle of the barn for this horse until the stall can be more thoroughly dried out.

Check the horse's feet for thrush and treat as needed, then call animal control.  If his feet are long and he is not being properly cared for, do something to help him get into a better facility!

Answer 15

Contact animal control and keep a watch

SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING

=)

Answer 16

Despite all one can do, sometimes this happens.  Here's what I do:

1.  Clean the stall.  Get as much of the water out that way as you can; the droppings and shavings will soak up a lot of it.

2.  Bail it out.  A feed scoop with a flat side, dumping the water into a bucket and then carrying it out to dump, works as well as anything.

3.  If it's a dirt floor, it's a problem!  You can put more dirt in, but it will turn to mud very quickly.  If you put dirt in and then a stall mat, where the horse stands will sink and you'll have the problem again.

I like to put clay down - dig below the topsoil and get the underclay.  In an emergency, you can use anything - dirt, shavings, even manure IF you do the next two steps as well.

4.  I then put a sheet of 3/4" treated plywood on top of the clay in the center of the stall.  This distributes the horse's weight so he doesn't make a new low spot.  Only use one, keeping it away from the sides, so he doesn't get a foot stuck.  If you want to do the whole stall, you have to make a frame for it and nail everythingdown solidly.  That's a big expensive job.

5.  If you can, put stall mats on top of the plywood.

6.  Bed it down well- use several bales of shavings.

NOTE:  This is intended as a TEMPORARY fix!  

Facilities and new homes for rescue horses are hard to come by right now.  I'd try to work with her if at all possible.

Answer 17

Unfortunately, I also think that Animal Control may not check in unless the horse is being starved or something.  

As for the stall,  Dirt is not a good flooring, in all honesty.  Wet dirt obviously=mud.  The best option, if you can do it, is to put down some limestone, pack it down, and put rubber mats on top to protect the floor from getting wet.  

I wouldn't put more topsoil down..you're only going to add mud. Do as much as you can without having to put down more dirt.  If have limestone and mats available, that's the best way to go.  See if you can put a fan on the stall to help dry it out.