Farm Layouts

[Little Wolf Ranch]

We are planning on building a new barn in the next year or so and we will probably be changing the total layout of the farm to better suit our needs, and our growing herds. We are located on 14 acres of land with two homes on it so about 10 acres of it will be to "horse use".

As of right now, we have 1 riding horse (QH gelding), 4 stallions and 5 pregnant mares. We are hoping to expand to about 20-30 head over the years with a nice breeding and showing program including foals, etc. We have one two 4 acre pastures, although there isn't much grass on it at one given time as it is kept very short. We also have three paddocks. . . .

1. one where my QH and herd sire (best friends since mini stallions birth, I know the risks of housing them together & have been for 5+ years so please don't go down that track
   
   this Mini stallion cannot live alone nor with another mini - he beats them up) live together where they have their own run in shed
2. one where all my three other miniature stallions live where they have their own paddock along with access to an adjoining part of my QH's & mini stallions stall which is their run-in shed
3. one where my mares & foals live and they have access to their own run-in shed and then I have a foaling barn with four foaling/sick horse/special needs/feeding time stalls

****ALL RUN-IN SHELTERS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO SMALLER STALLS AT FEEDING TIME SO EVERYONE GETS THEIR OWN SHARE OF FOOD****

I have MANY ideas running through my head. . .

• should I have a "stallion row barn" and then have a "foaling barn" and "show barn"?
• should I just have one bigger barn and house everyone there
• what horses specifically and truely need stall board and not be out?
• do you guys just bring them in for feedings and then turn out or do they spend the night?
• are your herd numbers based of the number of stalls in your barn that you have?

As of right now, they just "do their own thing" 24/7 and are only in seperate "stalls" come feeding time, unless they are expectant mothers that are a minimum of 260 days or so. I know weather impacts alot of factors, where I am at, it never gets below 15 degrees even in the worst of snow & ice storms here. In fact, we only have a maximum of two snowstorms here - and that's if we are LUCKY!

I would LOVE to see your farm layouts or just be able to hear what you have available or what your best ideas are!

Thanks guys & I appreciate the help in my barn planning!

 

[~Lisa~]

My horses are all stalled at night and in bad weather.They are turned out all day.

The thing I like best about my place (and sometimes least) is that everything is connected with the exception of one foaling stall

Meaning the foaling stalls/turn outs are seperate but I can open the stalls and they go into a big pen - inside that big pen is the barn. I can open the stalls in the barn and the horses can go straight into the arena (their daytime turn out) or the stallion pen next to the arena..

Once in the arena I can open a gate and they are out in the pasture.

If they were to get out of the arena on the other side it is a fenced in area with our hay barn and "backyard"

I love having everything lead to eachother there is no panic moment if a horse gets loose or if someone escapes their stalls at night.

However this also means if all places are in use for turn out it is a maze of gates lol

 

[Genie]

You can get an idea of our layout on the home page of our web site.

I know the barn of my dreams but since we are close to retirement from our horses we jut will not be doing that...unless we win the lottery.

We have an old bank barn that houses 30 horses easily.

At one end and the back you can see the roof that extends for the ladies to run under.

We have a 5 acre field that has about a thousand trees and provides shelter for the 5 horses that usually reside there until winter.

There are three paddocks with shelters and our three stallions have a small paddock each.

 

[RockRiverTiff]

Our main farm is on 160 acres, but less than half is used specifically for the minis. (We also have another farm down the road with a small herd of sheep, my retired QH mare and two extra pastures, but in recent years I've had more grass than horses and haven't needed them.) The main farm used to be a large cattle farm, so the old barn at the front is the old milking barn, then we have two 45x80 Morton barns. We've been on this property for 25+ years and it's still not ideal for the minis. We currently have seven pastures with shelters, eight runs and six permanent stalls, and I keep a stockpile of extra panels and gates so I can make extra stalls or divisions if needed. Most of the runs come fully into a barn (vs having just an overhang).

Every pasture and run has an automatic waterer, but when the weather gets especially cold we sometimes close the doors to their runs and put heated water buckets in the barn. That said, I've found given a choice even in the coldest of weather most of the horses still want to go outside and mosey around. The only horses that are stalled overnight are show horses, expecting mares and quarantined horses (either new or sick). We have two foaling stalls in the old barn that have channels that allow them to be split into four regular stalls, then we have four stalls at the back of the second barn plus a stretch of open space where I can put temporary stalls. I have the most open space in the third Morton, so that's where I work the horses in bad weather.

We currently have 21 minis, and I've got plenty of room to spare, but I find myself adjusting the layout of the horses every season and with every new horse. For example, in previous years I've kept all but one of the stallions in separate runs in the third barn (stud row, like you mentioned), but the boys we currently have don't neighbor well, so I've got one in a run in each barn plus the fourth (and most aggressive) in his own isolated paddock.

We're also looking at developing a property specifically for the minis, so I look forward to reading about everyone else's layouts.

 

[ruffian]

From my personal experience, have all the horses in one barn is much better than separate buildings. Before we built my new barn, I had one barn with 3 runs off the back and side, and 4 runs with small sheds. It was a pain the butt to feed in the winter. The first winter with the new barn had the mares/geldings there, and the studs in the old barn. Still a pain!

Now all are in the new barn. We've just finished the last of 5 double runs off one side. I have 4 stalls on the other side of the barn for stallions, and a 30 x 40 area in the middle for the "herd". My pasture is 8 acres cut in half. The stallion and broodmares goes out into one pasture with a shed row for shade/protection. The rest of the herd currently goes into the 2nd pasture. For winter the first pasture will be closed off. Thumper and 2 mares will go into the largest run. Then some geldings in the next run, and our young stud in the 3rd run with a barren mare for company. The next run will be for weaners. The rest of the mares will go into the last run and be able to go out into the main pasture.

For show season the runs will be used for the show horses where each can be fed individually.

A long rambling tale, but the main point is IMO one barn is much easier than 2 or more! LOL

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

We have SIX barns! Granted, they aren't super big, but it works for us.

Barn #1: big hay barn. It actually has eight large horse stalls in it, but we only use it to store hay in. Plus, it's in the mare field, so the mares use it as a shelter in bad weather. The hay is behind locked doors....

It is in a 5 acre field, used for the open mares and winter pasture for all mares.

Barn #2: Stallion barn. It has three large 14x14 stalls and three 10X8 stalls in it. It abuts a half acre paddock. The boys are turned out one at a time for 12 hours and rotate when they go out. They can access the aisleway to a certain point for shelter but can't harass their barn buddies.

Barn #3: Mare Barn. Used for heavily pregnant mares and after foaling up until weaning. Abuts a 1 acre field with trees. Four large stalls with a CC camera in the foaling boxes.

Barn #4: Show barn/quarantine barn. Has a tiny paddock attached that leads to a 1 acre paddock. Four stalls. Can isolate sickies in here if needed. This barn also has two small runs with shelters attached. Normally my show gelding is in one and Jane's cranky mare is in the other. She has to stay separate because she loses weigh really fast if kept in a pasture situation, and is too b*t**y to be in with the show mares.

Barn #5: gelding barn. More of a two stall shed, it's in a three acre field where the geldings and young colts live.

Barn #6: "Bert's barn". Bert being our old QH. This barn abuts two paddocks and one run. Bert lives in the back, the two Shetland geldings live in front, and a Shetland stallion lives in the run.

You can kinda see everything here: http://www.fieldofdreamsminihorses.com/texas.html

 

[Lizzie]

We always envy those of you with pasture. No pasture here unfortunately, in the mountains of S. California. However, when my daughter moved to this little farm, we thought it was designed really well. Everything is close at hand and the whole place is floodlighted at night if necessary. You can see it here, with an aerial view at the end.

http://harlequinfarmsgypsyhorses.com/OurFarm.html

Lizzie

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

Lizzie your Gypsy Vanner is gorgeous

WOW!!!!!

 

[JWC sr.]

We are working with 30 acres, two houses and an office on the place at this time and have tweaked things over the years in order to make it easier to manage the herd on a daily basis.

What we did that may be applicable to your set ups is as follows:

1. We have one main barn that is used for the foaling and show functions. It has 20 6 X 12 stalls that can be changed to 12 X 12 by removing a panel as needed. The panels are see thru panels so the ventilation and interaction between the horse is maintained, but they cannot reach thru the panels to nip or really hassle each other. The barn has a center concrete 12' aisle with clay bottoms in the stalls.

2. Each breeding stallion has a pasture where he has a 3 sided shed and it houses them and at last 1 mare full time. Approx. 1 acre.

3. Then we have individual pastures for bred mares, weanling, yearling's (split by sex)& two year olds (split by sex) each with a 3 sided shed.

4. The entire pasture set up is connected to an alley way that goes all the way to the barn with cross gates, so that horses can be moved in a group for hoof trimming, ultra-sounding, checking teeth and other husbandry needs.

5. We have a quarantine barn with 6 stalls for new horses, injured horse or the like, that is used for over flow during foaling season as the mares get closer so they can be watched also.

The most important thing is the alley way for us as it makes it so much easier to work the horses and control them. make sure you leave the alley way large enough to handle turning around is whatever type vehicle you are using for daily drive by and inspection. `

Hope that helps if you are in the area you are welcome to come and look, the place is not a show place with MD barns or anything, but it is very functional and works well for us.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I have to just say I have really enjoyed seeing everyones farms!! The California one, with no grass, has been really well thought out, showing what can be done if the will is there!

I love them all.

One day I shall have a proper barn, instead of the shed row set up I have at the moment, I swear I shall.

I would have all the horse under one roof, if I had my say, I think it does them good to be in a sort of herd environment, even when stalled, and it helps the young ones to learn tolerance and to socialise.

 

[Relic]

l'm okay with our layout it works for me. l never wanted any of the 10 stallions to feel left out so that took a while to get right with seperate huts and paddocks. The way we have it they can see all the other stallions plus all the the mares and me sitting on the back deck but are still seperated from everything and can't cause trouble..

We did add a small 30x40 shed this year close to the front of the main barn it was suppose to be for foaling out mares but right now use it for trailer and cart storage freeing some room in the main barn for other things. l would love to have an indoor arena for training have the room but not the funds.

 

[Jill]

Nothing Fancy here, except some of the horses. Not to scale, but this shows how our horse area is set up:

 

[wcr]

I envy the people with pastures. I am on 3 1/2 acres with every square inch used. It was originally set up as a paint breeding/training/showing ranch that I have tweeked for the minis.

Whatever the set up you go for just remember a few things. Set it up to make it easy on yourself. The older I get the more I appreciate this aspect. I have stallion runs with 5ft panels with run ins for the stallions. My guys fight during breeding season so everyone is separated but go into pasture together in the fall. Everything is pretty much a straight shot from the hay barn and can feed right from the road that goes down the middle of the property. We time it since we work, and it takes us 7 minutes to feed all the horses.

Automatic watering troughs with one trough to service 2 paddocks has been a Godsend. We feed near them so can keep an eye to make sure there isn't any problems.

Probably the most important thing to remember is that you will never have enough paddocks. You start out with X number of horses and buy a few. Then you breed and get a few more. Oh, how about that new stallion you couldn't resist? Then you get into a showstring and space really becomes tight. Just keep these variables in mind, and even though you don't set it up at the beginning, have a master plan to expand as you grow.

 

[Sandee]

Aerial picture of our place is at the top of our website: http://miniacres.thenavarres.com/index.php

Total of only 5 acres. Everyone (all 4 of them) are in the one barn along with all the yard equipment, horse carts & equipment, and hubby's workshop. It's just a pole barn and we had put in the stalls ourselves. Hubby then had the aisle and the rest of the barn floor covered in cement (he thought it would "keep down the dust" ha, ha). Our dry lots are adjacent to the barn with a run-in shed that's split between the two.

Not exactly the best layout but it was the most acceptable when we were looking. Seems most of the places we looked at if the barn was really great the house was just short of a wreck and hubby wasn't liking it. He said the ____horses weren't going to live in a place better than his! LOL

 

[Lizzie]

I know what you mean Sandee. We looked at a ton of farms, when my daughter was moving. Some had wonderful houses, but their 'horse facilites', often consisted of a few fenced off areas with barbed wire and a small shelter or sometimes no shelter. Even though the property she purchased (shown earlier) was old, it had everything needed and had been kept in super nice condition. The one thing it lacked were trees, so my daughter has planted about 30 since that aerial shot was taken. It often seems so difficult, to find a decent house and nice horse facilites together - unless one wishes to spend a fortune of course.

Lizzie

 

[Miniv]

I was advised years ago by an old rancher, "You can never have enough gates".........I've learned he was right!