# Converting horse stalls to kennels, ideas/suggestions?



## Julie R. (Jan 13, 2003)

Has anyone here put kennel runs in a stable or barn? Looking for ideas/suggestions: I'm thinking of making 2 unused horse stalls in our center aisle stable into 4 kennel runs. One stall's been used as a kennel for years, but with just a 48" Xpen as a divider when needed. Mostly the dogs have been fine kenneled together, with few diggers or escape artists. They're also aired enough they don't do their business in it, so the existing floor has been OK--it's clay/bluestone with cedar shavings. But the stall isn't escape-proof for a determined dog, and a digger can crater it out pretty well, so I'm probably going to put stall mats in. I need at least one run that's an Alcatraz for male dogs when bitches are in season and/or for escape artists.

The stalls are adjacent, both are 12 x 12 with oak-lined kickboards that go up about 4 feet up the 6-foot walls, so actual interior dimensions are a bit less. We'd been pricing building materials to make dividers (well, have husband make them!) but in looking at prefab kennel sites, looks like it might be cheaper and easier to use prefab panels. We also want to be able to convert one or both back to horse stalls without too much trouble in case we ever get our main house rebuilt and rent this one out.

So I'm looking for feedback/suggestions about the panels. Any recommendations for cost cutting, considering they'll be inside and not exposed to weather? Also, can the prefab panels be set right on top of the mats, or need to be affixed to the floor? We could easily attach them to a back and side wall. My preference is not to put anything permanent in the stall flooring because we'd level the stalls and lay the mats end to end.

At least one run will need a top panel, doesn't need to be a weatherproof cover, but something to contain climbers/escape artists. I'm thinking wire for ventilation. Any suggestions from someone who's converted a farm building to kennel would be great! The stable is already well wired and has hot/cold water and a concrete center aisle.


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## WRL (Jan 4, 2003)

Hey Julie,

I tried the stall mat thing and had issues with the dog's feet. I don't know if the mats are abrasive or what exactly but I ended up with a bunch of limping, sore-footed dogs.

If you just want temporary flooring, I have used cement pavers (the ones that are 12 in x 12 in). They are heavy enough to keep the diggers from digging typically but yet allow drainage if they pee or spill their water. And you can always pull them up and reuse them elsewhere if you don't need them anymore. You can put either gravel or sand around them. You can also "gap" them whatever distance is convenient. I put mine about 1 1/2 in apart and had great drainage and no digging.

I would think, putting the prefab panels would be easiest and cheapest. With your stalls 12x12 ft, and most kennels being either 12 ft or 10 ft deep, I'd get the ones with 5 or 6 ft panels (take two panels per side) and then bracket them on the top and bottom (rather than panel side to panel side). That way you can shorten the runs to maybe 8 ft or 9 ft and you'll have room to fully open gates. IF you can find cheaper 8ft runs, then that would be the way to to.

I believe the AKC kennels are 4 ft x 8 ft. I have some of the Lucky Dog kennels and they are 5 ft by 10 ft. I have them in a lean-to part of my kennel building and shortened them like I said above. So now I have 5 ft by 8 ft runs. My "lean-to" is about 12 1/2 ft deep and that provides me enough space to carry dog food etc without it being a PITA.

Lee


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## sometimes a great notion (Apr 14, 2005)

I concur what lee said, get a couple akc kennels and put pavers down before you put the kennels on them. Be sure that you put the kennel sections on concrete pavers that put it a little higher than flush to the surface. It will make it easier to wash away poop and pee if you need to. I bought my pavers at Home Depot, they were $.87 a piece but 8x16 inches instead. They were very easy to setup as I had my old man do it for me. I have a 5 month old male gsd that is an agressive digger and it keeps him contained


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## Montview (Dec 20, 2007)

If you are looking for flooring that can't be pulled up or dug through, I would definitely recommend concrete... Large pavers as suggested at the very least, so a determined dog hopefully won't dislodge them. I also know some dogs that can easily scale kennel fences, so I would put a "roof" on.


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## RedDog (Apr 27, 2010)

I visited a rescue facility in NY where the horse stalls kept pairs/groups/individual dogs. It was an older barn and absolutely -beautiful- setup. They did not put kennels in the stalls, the wood went from the ceiling to floor other than windows (with grates). I don't remember what the floor was, I have a feeling it was either tile or concrete. It was all really well done.

The rubber stall mats are a pain to sanitize if you ever need to... to get those thoroughly clean can be a chore, esp the ones with a lot of texturing. 

There are a few companies making "paving stones" out of a rubberized product, supposedly easier on feet for horses (and the two legged employees). I've yet to hear of those used in kennel type setups.


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## Tollwest (Oct 22, 2008)

RedDog said:


> There are a few companies making "paving stones" out of a rubberized product, supposedly easier on feet for horses (and the two legged employees). I've yet to hear of those used in kennel type setups.


I was going to get some of these for my new puppy run I am putting in...but after looking at them in person I realized they are a lot softer rubber than the stall mats, very flexible...and I don't think they would withstand a lot of canine abuse I could only picture my pups using them as expensive rubber tug toys


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## John Montenieri (Jul 6, 2009)

We've got a 4 stall barn, with 2 stalls on either side of hay storage which has four walls with 2 half doors on either side plus a large entry door in the front. The hay storage area is about 16' wide and about 14' long. Our property slopes down towards the back of the barn. We removed the back wall, dug out 6' plus the width of the hay barn. Then we put in 3 chain link runs that are 5' wide and 16' long (6' outside and 10' inside) within the hay shed. The whole area is somewhat open with half door access to the runs. I also decided to put down chain link on the floor covered with 3/8" gravel (~ 6" deep). I also put down railroad ties to keep the gravel from migrating out of the runs. In addition I used rubber mat flooring for horse trailers for a section of the run near the door. The good news is the gravel is relatively cheap. The bad news not as easy to clean if need be. The chain link buried under the gravel keeps my little excavator from digging to china. I use bleach to clean areas when needed and my dogs tend not to go in the runs. Only when they aren't feeling well do I need to clean. They are in the shade in the summer and out of the direct wind and blowing snow in the winter. Plus they are not visible from the street so no one can mess with them unless they go into the building. Inexpensive way to go, just lots of elbow grease.


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## Julie R. (Jan 13, 2003)

Thanks for the suggestions. This is what the stable looks like from the outside, I think it's about 36 x 36' with 3 stalls down one side and two plus the tack/feed room on the other.







The Interior of stable below: the 'dog stall' is on the left and the one to the right (with all the junk) is the one we want to put 2 more runs in; one or both would have a climb-proof top.







and We need to redo this floor anyway to make it dig proof. It has one stall mat by the door that worked pretty well in a dig spot,









but my original idea was to remove the mat, level the clay/bluestone base, tamp it down then lay down some hardware cloth and nail it to the sides of the stalls going up about a foot with a board on top of it to cover the ends, and then tamp another layer of bluestone/clay over the wire to prevent digging and also varmint tunnels under the side of the barn. (Husband doesnt' like that idea...too much labor!) Has anyone tried that?

This is what all the stalls look like inside:









This one happens to be occupied by a horse that's a digger and gnawer; the one we wanted to turn into 2 more runs has already had the floor redone but we never finished it since it's a junk holder now; it's got crush & run gravel but still needs something over top of that, either mats, or clay/bluestone and some kind of wire/hardware cloth for digging. In either case I'd probably continue to use cedar bedding, for pups and for the occasional adult that has an accident.

I appreciate the feedback on the mats not being ideal; wonder if they'd be OK with a layer of cedar chips over them? I'd planned to get some of the cot/kurunda type beds in each run for the dogs to lie on. We don't want to concrete the floors; too much trouble to convert back to a stall if we move.

I've looked at the AKC panels and they'd make a good size for dividing into two 6 x 8 pens while still leaving room to open doors and even use the 4 x 12 front of the stall for an extra dog in a pinch. We nixed the idea of cutting the walls to make indoor/outdoor runs because the barn's on a hill and we already did extensive drainage to fix a flooding problem on that side of the stable. You can see it in the top photo on the left side of the stable, we dug a trench around that side to divert the water that runs down the hill.


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## WRL (Jan 4, 2003)

I tried the shavings on the mats. Problem just got worse.

Hardware cloth buried. Tried that and it was a disaster. The persistent dogs manage to get "humps" of it up and "unthreaded" and its a huge pain after that. 

I eventually did cattle/hog panels under the gravel. They didn't dig them up but they are a pain in the arse to deal with.

When I went to the pavers, issues with the digging (wire) and feet issues went away.

WRL


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## Tim Thomas (Jan 31, 2008)

I did pretty much what you're wanting to do...I too have a raised center isle Barnmaster barn (40 x 40). I am using one of the foaling stalls (12 x 16) in the manner you're suggesting...rubber mats over clay with shavings. I had read others suggestions of concrete squares, and like you, didn't want to extend the extra effort and cost unless absolutely necessary. I'd prefer to completely concrete the floor, but don't plan on being here much longer...I hate to dedicate in to a kennel when I'm really set up for horse property. As long as I air the dogs often enough (morning, afternoon, evening), they don't use the stall. So far, no digging. My next home will have proper kennels, but for now this is what I did....I had a friend weld panels out of 2 x 2 square tubing and hog wire (the 2' x 4' type) and divided it this way.... 

2 6x6 to the right as you enter the 4' stall door

1 6x8 to the left as you enter the 4' stall door

1 4x10 at the back of the stall attaching to the rt rear 6x6

if that makes any sense....I tried to attach a drawing with no luck....too many kb's.


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