Stall walls made of plank boards stacked on edge inside a channel make a quick setup for stalls. They also provide an easy way to take the wall down to double the size of a stall. A sandwich board ties these boards together, preventing them from being pushed apart. Let me explain how a sandwich board can save your horse’s life.
When a horse lies down in a stall too close to a wall with his legs facing the wall, the horse may have difficulty getting back up on his feet. Horsemen call this “being cast.” If you are in the barn, you will hear the hooves loudly hit against the wood wall as they desperately scramble to get themselves upright. It is a sound of panic.
When the walls are constructed of boards that can shift up and down, a cast horse can catch the bottom of one board with a hind hoof. This happens when either the horse presses that board away from the others or they are already bowed and warped, leaving an edge to catch. All horses have the strength to raise the column of boards easily. As they do, a gap is created in the wall allowing this hind leg to go through. Once the hoof passes through the wall, it comes down on the leg trapping it. This is a guillotine effect, and the results are at best damaging to the leg. However, many of these happen at night, especially when the horse has been rolling from colic. The owner finds the horse dead in the morning with one leg trapped in the wall.
This is preventable, and the images here will show you examples of how some farms have accomplished this.
⬇︎ Click or tap on any image to fully open it. Swipe or click the arrow to move through the gallery. ⬇︎
Details of the bolt shaft cut level with the board and the nut and washer counter-sunk into the wood.This sandwich board system has good details. The top edge is beveled. Only 3 carriage bolts are used (good). The bolt shafts are cut level with the board and the nuts are counter-sunk into the wood making this end of the bolt safe against the horse.This sandwich board system has good details. The top edge is beveled. Only 3 carriage bolts are used (good). The bolt heads are pressed into the wood.Note the hoof marks on these boards and the slight bow in the boards. Because of the sandwich board (far left in this image), these boards have not separated.Stall wall with a sandwich board and the upper boards separated for ventilation. Carriage bolt heads do not need recessingSandwich metal plate on stall wallSandwich board is sprung and not doing its job. This is the problem with using nails and not bolts or lag screws.Double vertical boards keep these wall boards in alignment.Ribbed metal sandwich plates plus channel metal to protect the exposed board edges. These usually get rusted and chewed on. The sheet metal behind the water device prevents wood damage and makes easy cleaning of the area.A simple 2×4 applied with stove bolts. Note the beveled edges, the ventilation slats and looking through the openings, the opposing board – hence the name sandwich boards.Metal plate with recessed screw heads.Double sandwich boards, beveled top edge, recessed bolt heads and nuts.A ribbed metal sandwich plate protects the horse from screw heads but has exposed sharp edges at the top. Raising the top board would have covered these edges.Double sandwich boards with ventilation slats.A metal strip with 2 screws per board is effective and safe. Note the openings on the top half between the boards for viewing and ventilation.Rounded stove bolts and beveled edges of this hardwood sandwich board provide safety for the horse.
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Lag screws!!!!!