Lumber for stalls and wagon deck ?

[wannabeonetoo]

Just wondering what lumber species are recomended for building horse stalls and putting on the deck of an old wagon which will be used for hay and firewood ?? I have access to hickory and white ash.
 The wagon will be left outdoors.
 Thanks,
  Steve

[ADAMINMO]

Either one would be very weather resistant and good for trailer in my opinion. Not sure about the horse stall deal.

[Maineloggerkid]

If you could get some hemlock for the floor of your stalls, that works well. I have cut hemlock for people who needed floors in their stalls before. THe major benifit is that it soaks up "stuff" quite well.

[Ron Wenrich]

My understanding of horses in stalls is that they get bored and like to chew on things.  Hickory has a tendency to bow and twist, but if put up green and nailed into place, it should be OK.  The wood grain and hardness should make it a little harder for them to munch on it.

Hickory would be good for the wagon deck.  Ash has a tendency to split rather easily.  Hickory is less resistant to splitting.  Hickory is also stronger than ash.

[Chuck White]

Around here, the old timers used to use elm for horse stalls.

Not too sure on the wagon though.

[Dale Hatfield]

white oak first choice for a wagon that is gonna get left out.
Old timers round here claim that no horse would ever chew/eat their way out of cottonwood stall. Last part I have no clue about just what ive been told. maybe somebody will back me up. I can tell you that  They will eat Woak. They eat poplar like candy

[Kansas]

We cut a lot of cottonwood for horse stall walls. I have had one case of a customer reporting where the horses chewed on it, the rest haven't seem to have had any trouble.
If you dont have access to white oak for the wagon floor, either hickory or ash should work, provided you protect the wood. I dont know if its enviromentally correct, but if its just an old work trailer, used motor oil does well and the price is right.

[Gary_C]

I have heard the same thing about cottonwood. Reason the horses do not like cottonwood is that it tastes just as bad as it smells when you saw it.

White oak is the best rot resistant wood for trailer decks, but also the heaviest. Hickory and ash will work too, but will not last as long.

[underdog]

White Oak for trailer planks around here also.
Not sure what the oldsters used around the livestock.

[cheyenne]

The only thing i would say not to use is walnut boards or chips & shavings for bedding it'll make your hoarses sick. When they get bored they crib. Sometimes if they have a goat they won't crib.....Cheyenne

[SPIKER]

around these parts they used slippery elm, for stalls (part of the reason it was named SLIPPERY  ) others call it red elm.   around here most are dead/dieing from dutch elm.   I second white oak decking boards.   I was told (not sure if this is true, that hickory tends splinter more if the critters naw on it and can get into the gums.)  ash while durable inside I think is not as rot resistant as others.

Mark

[routestep]

Ditto white oak for the wagon. You might have to pre drill the planks green or dry.

The horses around here could only crib the top of the lower dutch door. They could get their teeth around it. They pretty much ignored the walls of the stalls.

[timberfaller390]

Horses that are cribbers will chew on anything even metal. It is a habit because they hang thier teeth on the board or whatever and suck air. For these horses a cribbing collar is about the only solution. If the horse is actually chewing out of bordom then giving him something to play with like one of the big plastic apples made for such or somthing as simple as a 2 liter coke bottle hung up by a strin should do the trick.

[crtreedude]

One thing we notice down here in Costa Rica is that horses will gnaw on things if they lack minerals - probably doesn't mean anything up there, but sometimes a horse will chew because they are lacking something in their diet.

[Thermodecking]

The best solution as price/performance+safety is thermo (450°F) treated ash. I have experienced this a lot for outdoor use. I never had chance to make horse chew-test yet, but I have some reasons to say it must be not attractive. Even termites touch the thermo treated wood as last option on the menu > <. The thermo ash is great deal for decking and wall cladding due to durability increased from class 5 to 1 (20-25 years in external use), so for stalls it also works out. Beside all this it's absolutely chemical free. I believe that ecological safety for horse makes even more sense for good owner.

[Kansas]

This is the first I have ever heard of this. I am curious, what is the cost of one of these chambers? What is the longevity compared to pressure treated lumber? Does this work on softwoods as well?

[Banjo picker]

Horses that are cribbers will chew on anything even metal. It is a habit because they hang thier teeth on the board or whatever and suck air. For these horses a cribbing collar is about the only solution.   

Bingo! These horses are actually adicts....They seem to get a high from gulping the air...Tim

[SwampDonkey]

Elm was used here on stalls, resists horse treading better than our other native woods. Other areas have other options of course with other species. People tend to use softwood here on wagon decks because they don't rot as fast. Although runners for sleds were usually hardwood and what I seen on sled we had was either maple or beech. Used in winter, put under cover in warm season. Some sleds where combination use though, put runners under for a sled or wheels under it to haul pitched hay and manure, feed from the mill.

[Thermodecking]

This is the first I have ever heard of this. I am curious, what is the cost of one of these chambers? What is the longevity compared to pressure treated lumber? Does this work on softwoods as well?

So, nice if you have to learn something new and good same time! I couldn't tell you the cost, but the price is $450,000 today for one with 2 mln BF annum capacity. We have durability class 1, so my best guess is the same longevity compared to PT. We don't poison the sugar in lumber, we destroy it by temperature. Yes, it works on softwood very well, the 90% of thermo treated wood in Europe is softwood.

[Banjo picker]

450,000

A little too salty to put behind the barn.   Tim

[Thermodecking]

  Thanks for making me laugh! I will charge you $0.8 per BF, would you ask for thermo lumber, not for equipment. That is excellent alternative to exotic imported wood - same performance with 40% less sodium.

[WAP Man]

Popular ( Aspen) is great for horse stalls and stall flooring. Would also work for your wagon decking .

[beenthere]

WAP Man

Seems only would be good if nothing else is available.

Be interested in how you come to this conclusion. 

[SwampDonkey]

Cause that's what he's got along the pasture. Just kidding, but where in the Maritimes isn't there aspen? 

[WAP Man]

WAP Man

Seems only would be good if nothing else is available.

Be interested in how you come to this conclusion. 

For stalls especially the floor I actually used it for my 2200lb draft horse " Big Jim "  RIP . It lasted a lot longer than spruce, I had it rough sawn , 4" in thick ness .
For truck/wagon flooring ... just what the oldtimers told me ....

[scsmith42]

One thing we notice down here in Costa Rica is that horses will gnaw on things if they lack minerals - probably doesn't mean anything up there, but sometimes a horse will chew because they are lacking something in their diet.

The Doc says the same thing - that cribbing is often caused by a mineral deficiency.

Some horses knaw on things from boredom too.  Giving them a "playtoy" is a good idea.

I've used oak, poplar, pine and cedar in our horse stalls.  They don't seem to prefer one over another in terms of chewing. 

[SwampDonkey]

For risk of ridicule by the local 'old timers' I wouldn't dare mention aspen for building material.