Horse Stall Dimensions: Minimum Size, Recommendations and Regulations in Switzerland

1. Legal basis: the Animal Welfare Ordinance (TSchV)

The governing rule is the Animal Welfare Ordinance (TSchV, SR 455.1), Art. 10: stalls and enclosures must meet the minimum requirements set out in Annexes 1–3. For horses (equids), that is Annex 1, Table 7. Compliance is monitored by the cantonal authority, typically led by the cantonal veterinary officer; the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) is the federal oversight body.

• Minimum requirement – the legal floor under the TSchV. Falling short of it is a breach of the law in force.
• Recommendation – an additional, optional planning margin, which this guide sets out in §7 as its own editorial judgement, not as a legal citation.

The figures in this article were checked against the version of the TSchV in force at the time of research (as of 1 February 2026, see Sources). If the ordinance changes, the values in this article will be updated (see update triggers).

2. Minimum dimensions by wither height

The table below shows the minimum floor area and minimum ceiling height for a single stall (or single-room group stall) across all six wither-height classes in the TSchV, plus a worked example for the minimum width under the rule "width ≥ 1.5 × wither height".

The last column is this guide's own worked example (1.5 × the class's upper value), not a separate TSchV figure – the ordinance itself only sets the area, the minimum height, and the 1.5-times-width rule; there is no separate minimum depth, which follows from area divided by width.

• Surcharge for mares with a foal: if the foal is older than two months, the area must be increased by at least 30%. This also applies to foaling stalls.
• Tolerance values: for some classes, the TSchV lists lower "tolerance values" for area and height. These apply only to installations that already existed on 1 September 2008 – a new build or new installation must always meet the full minimum in the table above, not the lower tolerance value.

3. Ceiling height: how tall does the stall need to be?

The minimum height in the table above (1.8–2.5 m depending on class) is the clear height in the space the horse actually occupies – measured up to the building's actual ceiling, not to the top edge of the stall partition. This is an important difference from the system height of a catalogue front wall or partition (for example 2.20 m for the Standard line): because these walls end in an open grille at the top, the usable airspace continues past the wall up to the stable's ceiling. A 2.20 m wall therefore does not automatically conflict with a TSchV minimum of 2.3 m for a larger horse class, as long as the actual room height above it is sufficient. This distinction is already established in our guide "Buying horse stalls in Switzerland" and is not reinvented here, only carried forward consistently.

4. Turnout area: movement beyond the stall

The stall alone does not cover a horse's need for movement. Art. 61 TSchV distinguishes between use (riding, work) and turnout: horses not used regularly need at least 2 hours of turnout per day; horses that are used need turnout on at least 2 days per week, at least 2 hours each time.

The TSchV also states a recommended, non-binding turnout area of 150 m² per animal (regardless of class). For a non-adjacent, reversibly weatherproof-equipped paddock, a cap of 800 m² applies even with 5 or more horses; for permanently accessible turnout in group housing, a surcharge of 75 m² per animal is recommended from the 6th animal onward. In extreme weather or ground conditions, turnout may exceptionally be given on a covered area (Art. 61 para. 3).

5. Indoor stall or outdoor stall: do different dimensions apply?

No. The TSchV does not set different minimum dimensions for indoor and outdoor stalls – the same Table 7 applies regardless of construction type. What differs is the practical implementation: for an outdoor stall, weather protection has to be built into the stall itself (its own roof); for an indoor stall, the building provides that function.

6. Ponies and Shetland ponies: separate rules?

No, there is no separate category. The TSchV scales continuously by wither height – a pony or Shetland pony simply falls into the "< 120 cm" class (5.5 m² area, 1.8 m height), with no distinct exemption rule. The catalogue reflects this with dedicated Mini and Shetland lines, sized specifically for this class (see §8).

7. Recommendation: beyond the legal minimum

The figures in §2 are a legal floor, not a planning target. Our recommendation – explicitly an editorial judgement, not an FSVO citation – is to plan a margin above the minimum when building new or renovating: more area makes mucking-out easier, reduces injury risk when larger horses get up and lie down, and creates a reserve in case a larger horse moves in later. We deliberately do not state a fixed percentage as an "official" figure here – any planning margin is an economic and structural trade-off, not an additional legal requirement.

8. From law to catalogue: matching stall lines by size

The table below maps the TSchV classes to the corresponding catalogue lines. Important: the line height is a system height (wall height), not the TSchV ceiling height from §3 – a comparison should be read only as orientation, not as a certificate of legal compliance, which depends on the actual height of the building.

For the largest outdoor-stall version (4×4 m = 16 m²), the available area clearly exceeds the legal minimum of 12 m² for the largest horse class – one example of how catalogue dimensions and legal minimums are two distinct figures, here in the horse's favour.

9. When your situation doesn't fit a standard size: custom sizing

The TSchV sets a floor, not a catalogue template. If your building, your number of horses, or your available space doesn't exactly match a standard width, a custom size with an in-between measurement is the usual way Swiss stables meet both the legal minimum and the actual size of their horses. That applies to individual in-between widths as well as to unusual floor plans with columns, chimney ducts, or angled walls.