Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

braiding horses in stalls

From: Nancy

Dear Jessica, I was recently at a big horse show and noticed that some riders were braiding their horses in the stalls instead of putting the horses on crossties in the aisles. It seemed to me that this was very unsafe, because a horse could buck or kick and injure a person who was in the stall and couldn't get away. It was only the riders who were with one particular trainer who were doing this. Everyone else was using the aisles for braiding. What do you think about this practice?

Nancy

Hi Nancy! You've asked an interesting question. Yes, it's true that someone braiding a horse in a stall might get hurt, but I can think of several good reasons for braiding in stalls instead of in barn aisles. For one thing, some horses don't crosstie, and wouldn't be safe crosstied in the aisles.For another thing, at a busy show, a stall is likely to be much quieter than a barn aisle. And finally, braiding usually takes quite a bit of time, sometimes three-quarters of an hour or longer, and that is a LONG time to ask a horse to stand on a hard surface such as concrete or cement. If the stalls are small and the aisles are wide and padded with rubber mats, I would probably prefer to braid in the aisle -- but if the aisles have no mats, and if they are busy aisles with horses being led up and down them, I would prefer to braid a horse in its stall.

Jessica

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