Skip to main content

Horse

Welfare Regulations

These requirements are enacted to help players adapt to standards that will be mandatory on SWE's release. These standards are not only representative of good welfare for horses, but could potentially be integrated as systems impacting horse health and happiness in the mod for future releases.


Building / Barn Principles

The following should always be considered for SWEM horses:

Doorways - 2B+ Wide and 4B+ tall
Walkways - 5B+ Wide and 5B+ tall (4.5 optional on edges for detailing if using stairs or slabs)
Secure - It is recommended:

  • All barn areas or property access routes have a secure gate to present escape.
  • Make walls or barriers tall enough to avoid escape, check perimeter for blocks they can use to jump over!
  • Avoid using scalable blocks that horses can hop over (unless 2B+): single blocks, glass pane, bars.
    • Non-scalable blocks are 1.5B and include walls and fences.

Horses cannot jump on troughs or feeders unless another block or high shavings level allows them to step up onto it.

Official SWEM servers do not recommend (SWE will not allow) the use of barrier blocks in building to secure escape points.


Food & Water

Horses should always have reasonable access to:

Water - As either a replenishing (infinite) water source or adequately filled water container (trough, barrel)
Food - As either forage (grazing on grass) or feed (quality bale, timothy, alfalfa or sweet feed)


Stalls

Stall requirements are implemented for welfare and safety of both horse and rider. A good sized stall allows a horse space to turn around in, lay down (future feature) and decreases the chances of them getting stuck in walls (small stalls). It allows space for a rider to provide unobstructed feed items, bedding and to safely interact with and manoeuvre a horse into and out of the stall. Too large stalls are discourages for realism as such stalls have poor thermal efficiency (retaining heat or cool) as well as being an inefficient use of space. One exception is foaling stalls that are normally very large but currently have no formal standards.

Fundamentals (Information)

Fundamentals - Stalls
Location Horses must always be housed above ground - underground stalls are never permitted as they prohibit fresh air and natural light.
Purpose A safe sheltered area with dry, comfortable footing and access to constant food and water.
Floorspace
The minimum required area (in blocks) which excludes walls and doorways.
Detail: Troughs, feeders, and shavings can be placed within the stall, they do not impact floorspace.
Width / Length A minimum of 5 blocks (Width x Length) of floorspace to comfortably allow turning, lying down, movement and animal handling.
Height Stalls should be 5 blocks in height at its lowest point (floor to ceiling)
Sunlight
Stalls should be well lit with an element of natural lighting (ie window, bars, half slabs) but be protected from most direct sunlight.
Detail: Skylights (roof windows) should be 15% or less of stall roof blocks - too much direct sunlight could overheat or sunburn a horse.
Occupancy
With the exception of foaling stalls, stalls are not intended for multiple occupancy unless two regulation stalls are merged and can be blocked off again if needed. 

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 INDEX
4 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Not permitted (too small/large)
5 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Not permitted (poor use of space)
6 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72
Permitted with a paddock (5x5+)
7 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84
Permitted
8 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 88 96
Recommended sizing
9 36 45 54 63 72 81 90 99 108
Foaling stall (Minimum recommended sizes)
10 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 Foaling stalls are for pregnant mares (V2) and mares with nursing foals. These stalls are expected to be larger than standard regulations for comfort and safety.
11 44 55 66 77 88 99 110 121 132
12 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144






Paddocks

Paddocks are small enclosed 'runs' attached to a stall, it can offer limited grazing space or just outdoor access with soft footing. 

Fundamentals (Information)

Fundamentals - Paddocks






Requirements
Paddocks are only required if the floorspace of a stall does not meet minimum requirements. Otherwise, it is an optional addition.






Purpose
A paddock is intended to extend the floorspace of a smaller (interior) stall and allow access to fresh air, grass and sunlight.







It is not intended for, or substitute to, turning a horse out into a pasture for grazing, exercise, and/or socialisation.







Floorspace
The minimum required area (in blocks) which excludes walls, fences and doorways.
Detail: Troughs and feeders can be placed within the paddock, they do not impact floorspace.
Access
If a stall requires a paddock to meet the minimum sizing requirements, horses should have constant access to both areas.







With shared paddocks, stalls must have a door to close off access to a stall if/when a horse is being fed or temporarily isolated.
Exception: Short periods of times for feeding, tacking up, awaiting exercise or turnout while owner/stable staff are online.







Sunlight
Paddocks should be uncovered from all but a 1 block wide roof overhang (if applicable).







Terrain
Terrain should be even, or with a gradual slope up/down 3 blocks. Does not necessarily have to be grass but must be soft terrain.







Security Fences/walls must be at least 1.5b (1 fence/wall/block) and ideally 2b+ (Double fence, single with a half fence on top, double block)
Privacy
Paddocks may be shared between stalls provided that the paddocks meet the size requirements of ALL stalls sharing access to it.







All paddocks should be at least 5 wide x 5 long, but depending on the size of your stall it may be that the width of the external wall varies. Example a 7 x 8 stall could have an 7 x 5 or an 8 x 5 paddock depending on which way the stall is rotated. 

As a general rule, we do not recommend paddocks be any larger than 3x the size of the stall, and some larger maximum paddocks do not result in an ideal shape.


Minimum Maximum
5 x 5 5 x 5 5 x 15
5 x 6 5 x 5 5 x 18 6 x 15
5 x 7  5 x 5 5 x 21 7 x 15
5 x 8 5 x 5  5 x 24 8 x 15

5 x 9

5 x 5 5 x 27 9 x 15
5 x 10 5 x 5 5 x 30 10 x 15
5 x 11 5 x 5 5 x 33 11 x 15
6 x 6 6 x 5 6 x 18
6 x 7 6 x 5 6 x 21 7 x 18 
6 x 8 6 x 5 6 x 24 8 x 18
6 x 9 6 x 5 6 x 27 9 x 18
6 x 10 6 x 5 6 x 30 10 x 18
6 x 11 6 x 5 6 x 33 11 x 18
7 x 7 7 x 5 7 x 21
7 x 8 7 x 5 7 x 24 8 x 21
7 x 9 7 x 5 7 x 27 8 x 21
7 x 10 7 x 5 7 x 30 8 x 21
7 x 11 7 x 5 7 x 33 8 x 21
8 x 8 8 x 5 8 x 24
8 x 9 8 x 5 8 x 27 9 x 24
8 x 10 8 x 5 8 x 30 10 x 24
8 x 11 8 x 5 8 x 33 11 x 24
9 x 9 9 x 5 9 x 27
9 x 10 9 x 5 9 x 30 10 x 27
9 x 11 9 x 5 9 x 33 11 x 27
10 x 10 10 x 5 10 x 30
10 x 11 10 x 5 10 x 33 11 x 30
11 x 11 11 x 5 11 x 33

Pastures

Pastures (by SWEM's definition) differ to paddocks as they are generally larger and intended for sustainable longer term grazing, exercise and solo or group turnout of several horses at a time. 

Pasture size regulations allows for adequate space (15x15) for each horse and sufficient grazing area to meet the daily nutritional needs of a horse (ableand to sustain a horse fully when out to pasture)pasture (225B).

Fundamentals (Information)

Fundamentals - Pastures






Purpose
A pasture is intended to turn a horse out into for passive exercise, socialising, and grazing.
It is not the same as a paddock adjacent to a stall - horses are moved to and from a pasture by a player.
Occupancy (As above) It should only accommodate as many horses as it can sustain the grazing of and shelter.
Grazing Area
It should have sufficient grazing to sustain the horse(s) within, even if additional food is provided.
Required 225 blocks per horse (~15x15), plus an additional 225 blocks per 10 horses.
Shelter
Boarding facilities MUST have compliant shelter (see below), but is optional yet highly recommended on private property.
Shelters should protect from the elements (sun, rain, wind, snow) and secure, dry footing. 
Shelter structures must be minimum 5b tall, 2 full walls (connected sides, one long, one short), and a 3x3 of space dedicated per horse.
Natural shelter (excluding boarding facilities) may be sufficient shelter for non-mod standards/weather, but may change.
Security
Paddocks should be checked for escape points (breaks in fences, or areas where the fence can be jumped).
Fences/walls must be at least 1.5b (1 fence/wall/block) and ideally 2b+ (Double fence, single with a half fence on top, double block)

Calculating Pasture Requirements

225B per horse + 225B additional per 10 horses.

To determine how large a pasture should be, divide the total blocks required, by a number you want one edge to be. Example:
2475B (10 horses) / 50 = 50 x 49.5 blocks

Pasture Size Chart
Number of horses Base requirement (225/h) 10+ horse add-on (225/10h) Total
1 225 0 225
2 450 0 450
3 675 0 675
4 900 0 900
5 1125 0 1125
6 1350 0 1350
7 1575 0 1575
8 1800 0 1800
9 2025 0 2025
10 2250 225 (1 x 225) 2475
11 2475 225 2700
12 2700 225 2925
13 2925 225 3150
14 3150 225 3375
15 3375 225 3600
16 3600 225 3825
17 3825 225 4050
18 4050 225 4275
19 4275 225 4500
20 4500 450 (2 x 225) 4725
21 4725 450 4950
22 4950 450 5175
23 5175 450 5400
24 5400 450 5625
25 5625 450 5850
26 5850 450 6075
27 6075 450 6300
28 6300 450 6525
29 6525 450 6750
30 6750 450 6975