Editing Stable

{{short description|Building for horses and other livestock}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{other uses|Stable (disambiguation)|Stability (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Horse stable - Middletown.jpg|thumb|Small stable for 4 horses]]
[[File:McKinney Stables of Empire City Farms Jan 10.jpg|thumb|Large stable for dozens of horses]]

A '''stable''' is a building in which [[working animal]]s are kept, especially [[horse]]s or [[oxen]].{{R|Price|p=200}}{{R|pickles|p=42}} The building is usually divided into [[Animal stall|stalls]], and may include storage for equipment and feed.

== Styles ==

There are many different types of stables in use today; the American-style stable called a [[barn]], for instance, is a large barn with a door at each end and individual stalls inside or free-standing stables with top and bottom-opening doors. The term "stable" is additionally utilised to denote a business or a collection of animals under the care of a single owner, irrespective of their housing or whereabouts.

A building with [[Animal stall#Tie stall|tie stalls]] is also known as stanchion or stall barn, where animals are tethered by the head or neck to their stall. It is mostly used in the [[Dairy|dairy cow industry]], but traditionally horses were also tied up.

The exterior design of a stable can vary widely based on climate, building materials, historical period and cultural styles of architecture. A wide range of building materials can be used, including [[masonry]] (bricks or stone), wood and steel. Stables range in size from a small building housing one or two animals to large facilities that house hundreds of animals.

<gallery class="center" mode="packed" caption="Layout styles">
File:Château de la Ferté de La Ferté-Saint-Aubin PM 13709.jpg|Typical early stable with a row of tie stalls and one box stall
File:Ecurie Hurlevent.jpg|Traditional exterior-door stalls built in a row and facing a courtyard
File:Pferdebox Roewer&Rueb.jpg|Freestanding stalls built inside a single large building
File:Paddock Image Roewer Rueb 02.jpg|Each stall has a small fenced turnout area; access to each stall is from inside the building
File:Austria-01113 - Mares and Foals (21463209278).jpg|Stable with an open layout and no individual stalls
</gallery>

== History ==

[[File:Lednice riding hall and stables, Lednice, Czech Republic 01.jpg|thumb|Stables and riding hall in Czech Republic]]
[[File:Eyam Hall stables.jpg|thumb|English two-story stone stables with exterior stone steps (use has been converted)]]
During the times when horses were the primary mode of transportation, European high society and royalty kept large stables of horses to pull carriages, ride, and breed. Many of these stables were elaborately constructed and still exist today.

In England, the stable was historically the second building constructed on a farm.{{r|pickles|p=7}} The world's oldest horse stables were discovered in the ancient city of [[Pi-Ramesses]] in [[Qantir]], in [[Ancient Egypt]], and were established by [[Ramesses II]] (c. 1304–1213 BC). These stables covered approximately 182,986 square feet, had floors sloped for drainage, and could contain about 480 horses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-horse-stables |title=Oldest horse stables |website=Guinness World Records|access-date= 2016-06-27 }}</ref>
Free-standing stables began to be built from the 16th century. They were well built and placed near the house because these animals were highly valued and carefully maintained. They were once vital to the economy and an indicator of their owners' position in the community. Relatively few examples survive of complete interiors (i.e. with stalls, mangers and feed racks) from the mid-19th century or earlier.{{r|pickles}}

Traditionally, stables in [[Great Britain]] had a [[hayloft]] on the upper floor and a pitching door at the front. Doors and windows were symmetrically arranged. Their interiors were divided into stalls and usually included a large stall for a [[Horse breeding|foaling]] [[mare]] or sick horse. The floors were cobbled (or, later, bricked) and featured drainage channels. An outside stone stairway constructed against the side of the building was common for reaching the upper level.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southhams.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3975&p=0|title=The Barn Guide by South Hams District Council|website=southhams.gov.uk|access-date=19 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714120125/http://www.southhams.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3975&p=0|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>{{r|pickles|p=7}}

== Other uses ==

The word ''stable'' is also used [[metonymy|metonymically]] to refer to the collection of horses that the building contains (for example, ''the college's stable includes a wide variety of breeds'') and even, by extension, [[metaphor]]ically to refer to a group of people—often (but not exclusively) athletes—trained, coached, supervised or managed by the same person or organisation. For example, art galleries typically refer to the artists they represent as their stable of artists. Analogously, car enthusiast magazines sometimes speak of collectible cars in this way, referring to the cars in a collector's stable.

Historically, the headquarters of a unit of [[cavalry]], not simply their horses' accommodation, was known as a "stable".

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Stables|lcfirst=yes}}
{{Wiktionary|stable}}
*[[Glossary of equestrian terms]]
*[[Horse management]]
*[[Livery stable]]
*[[Riding stable]]
*[[Pen (enclosure)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="pickles">{{Cite web |title=The Conversion of Traditional Farm Buildings: A guide to good practice |publisher=[[English Heritage]] |url=https://www.academia.edu/7822463/Conversion_of_traditional_farm_buildings?auto=download |first1=David |last1=Pickles |first2=Jeremy |last2=Lake}}</ref>

<ref name="Price">{{Cite book |last1=Price |first1=Steven D. |last2=Shiers |first2=Jessie |title=The Lyons Press Horseman's Dictionary |publisher=Lyons Press |location=Guilford, CT |year=2007 |edition=Revised |isbn=978-1-59921-036-0 |ol=8901304M}}</ref>

}}

{{Horse equipment|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Stables| ]]
[[Category:Agricultural buildings]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures used to confine animals]]
[[Category:Livestock]]
[[Category:Horse management]]