A stable is a building which houses horses for any use other than display and research.

A stall is an individual part of the accommodation; the stable is the building that houses the horses. The term concerns their housing rather than a separate space used only to ride, train, or exercise them.

A barn has a broader agricultural function that can include storing crops and equipment or housing farm animals. A horse walker provides a guided exercise route. Neither agricultural storage alone nor an exercise machine provides the horse accommodation described by a stable.