A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals. There are many different types of stables in use today such as the American barn which is a large barn with a door each end and individual stalls inside or free standing stables with the classic top and bottom opening doors. The term "stable" is also used to describe a group of animals kept by one owner, regardless of housing or location.
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 can range widely in size, from a small building to house only one or two animals, to facilities used at agricultural shows or at race tracks, which can house hundreds of animals.
Read more about Stable: History, Horses, Other Uses
Famous quotes containing the word stable:
“And neigh like Boanerges—
Then—punctual as a Star
Stop—docile and omnipotent
At its own stable door—”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“This stable is a Prince’s court.
This crib His chair of state;
The beasts are parcel of His pomp,
The wooden dish His plate.”
—Robert Southwell (1561?–1595)
“My whole working philosophy is that the only stable happiness for mankind is that it shall live married in blessed union to woman-kind—intimacy, physical and psychical between a man and his wife. I wish to add that my state of bliss is by no means perfect.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)