One of the major decisions that you will face when building or expanding your barn is selecting what style of horse stall you want. While there is plenty of variety between stall designs, stall doors come in just two styles – sliding and hinged. Unsure of which type of door is right for you? Here’s some information that might help in your decision!

Sliding Stall Doors

Sliding stalls doors are a popular option for many horse barns. Since doors do not swing outward into the barn aisle they provide a major space saving advantage.  For this reason, sliding stall doors are ideal for busy facilities where multiple horses are frequently coming and going. They are also ideal if you have a narrow barn aisle in your facility.

Sliding doors do have less aesthetic appeal than hinged doors. Sliding doors must be supported by an overhead track. While the overhead track isn’t as appealing as the open appearance of a hinged stall door, you need to weigh whether the space saved by a sliding stall door is worth it for your facility.

Hinged Stall Doors

Hinged stall doors will need room to swing outward. This means that your barn aisle must be fairly wide, especially if you have two rows of stalls directly across from each other. You will also want your barn aisle to be free of items like tack boxes so that you can easily navigate the aisle with a horse.

If you are considering installing hinged stall doors, carefully evaluate your barn aisle. The aisle needs to be level, since the bottom of the stall door may get stuck on uneven flooring. Ideally, you should build your stall so that there are at least a few inches of clearance between the bottom of the stall door and the flooring of the barn aisle. If your barn aisle is full of hills and ruts, a hinged stall door might not be the best choice for your barn.

Hinged doors are aesthetically pleasing, because they make it possible to have a more open stall plan than a sliding stall door will allow. Hinged stall doors can make for an elegant appearance and truly transform the atmosphere of your barn!

If you’re still unsure about which type of stall is right for your barn, please visit our website or contact Classic Equine Equipment.  We would be happy to talk about our stall designs in further detail.