Planning a barn

[Happy Valley]

I am planning to build a barn in the very near future. We have three mini yearlings now, but I plan on having maybe six in the future. I'd like to breed some and show some.

The basic plan so far is an open hallway with four stalls on each side and a 12' hallway in the center. Three of the four stalls on each side will be 8 x 8, with the two stalls on the end nearest the house done as an 8 x 12 finished room for night time foaling watches and an 8x 12 foaling stall, respectively. The foaling stall will be right across the hallway from the finished room. The wash station will be somewhere on the outside wall, I think. I'd like sliding doors perhaps at each end.

Are 8 x 8 stalls sufficient? Right now they have a run in shed and don't use it much, but I'd like to show and will need a place to keep them clean.

Can't figure out where the feed/supply room should be? Maybe in a corner of the sitting room? Take up another stall? Seperate building?

Do you all have concrete slabs for your barn floors? What do you put down for your horse's bedding? Do you have sealant on it? How do you keep it clean?

Any idea on the cost to build? I'm talking just a pole barn here, nothing fancy, tin roof and some sort of siding on the outside, inside for the stalls maybe 2 x 6 boards?

I have never planned any sort of building project before other than my run in shed and I want to to it right and hopefully not have anything to look back on and say "I wish I'd done this or that ..."

Does anyone have a pre-fab metal barn and do you like it?

Is your wash station inside or out? I was thinking about having the wash station outside on gravel for drainage and footing, but I've seen others inside.

There were a gazillion other questions in my mind when I sat down to compose this, and I'm sure that they will come back! I'll just reply to myself with more questions later!

Anyone want to post pics of your barn? I'd love to see what others have.

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

All I can add is... plan it bigger than what you really need, if you can. Good luck!

 

[MBennettp]

The plan it bigger than you need is certainly true. We are still in the process of adding on to our barn. We started out with 2-10x10 stalls that were completely enclosed on 3 sides and open on the other (like a run-in).

We are currently adding 4 more stalls and what we did is pole barn construction except we used pallets on the outside walls, we are putting tin outside the pallets and solid panels on the inside. With pallets, they are cheap (or free) and insulation slides right in the opening. We will have (if it is ever finished), 3 10x10 stalls on one side, the same on the other, and a 10 ft. alleyway. We made sure that we could add on easily by just adding to either end. We are putting 2 swinging doors on each end as well as both outside and inside doors on each stall. I figured that with the 2 doors on each end, I can leave the south end open if the wind is from the north and the north end open if the wind is from the south and if it is warm, I can leave both ends open.

I wish we had gone with 12x12 stalls but too late now.

Our feed is in another building which is close, hay is stored in another barn away from the horse barn but I can put a few bales in the feed shed.

I am terrified of fire and hay is the hardest fire to put out.

Mary

 

[evedex]

I agree, always build a bit more than you need...you won't be sorry.

Depending on the climate where you are, think about when you will use the wash stall. If it is only when it is warm weather, I would opt for outside...less hassle with drains (which do clog) etc. Our washstall is outside and we have never missed that it isn't usable in the winter months. If the gravel is a footing concern you can always put a small rubber mat over the area that the horse will stand on and the water can still drain into the gravel. I would suggest planning for a hot water tank...you won't be sorry, and if you can put in a water system that is easily usable all year round, it will be worth the cost.

Plan a lot of plugs. One at each pair of stalls and wherever you plan on grooming so you can plug in the clippers,etc. Put lots of light in the barn too. Don't be stuck late at night trying to see something that needs doctoring.

Also, think about the farrier and where he can park and work. This is something that is different for each set-up.

A phone is the next thing you should think about. A cordless might work, from the house, and then you just need to have a separate handset that stays in the barn. We love our headset phone since you can talk and have freedom to work with the horse. Great when the vet is advising you of what to do in an emergency (like at foaling time). Don't think you can carry a phone back and forth..you will never have it when you really need it!

I think your stall sizes are good. There are pros and cons to wall height between stalls. This depends on your horses...especially a mare with a foal. The lower the walls, the more air flow and this is good but if your horse is stressed by a neighbour, it is nice to be able to add a board or two to the wall.

Doors at each end of the stable are great...think about which way the wind blows so you can get good air circulation through the barn in the summer before you situate your barn. If you get a lot of snow in your area, sliding barn doors are a real pain but are great in the summer. Perhaps get a sliding door with a regular door cut into it for winter and bad weather access. Sliding stall doors are great room savers...just get the best rail system you can as the cheap ones start sticking and falling apart after a fairly short time.

Also, windows in each stall are really nice. I think horses like the light and on days when they are in they aren't standing in the dark or you aren't using Hydro to keep the lights on.

I know I could come up with a lot more ideas, given time <G> Perhaps you should contact a few prefab stable builders in your area (web search might work) and see what options they offer....they just might have something you would never have thought of. Make sure you add all the structural parts to the barn that you might think you will ever need. Things that can be changed later can always be added easily but it is hard to change a door or a window.

Eve

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Make everything as big as you possibly can!! Also I would have the sleep area next to the foaling stall and I would have a minimum of 10 X 10 for foaling- 12 X 12 if possible. Mine is 20 X 18 but, as I always say, this is because it's left over from foaling Arabs, not because I planned it that way. HOWEVER I have NEVER regretted having it that big. If I were building a barn I would not choose to have stalls as small as 8 X 8- I would go for 10 X 10 if possible, but I also like the idea of a 12ft ailse way, you may have to juggle one against the other.

 

[Marty]

Go to my website and visit my "Diary of a Barn" page. It will give you an idea of cost figures and ideas too.

My stalls are 10 X 10. I tried the 8 X 8 but they weren't really big enough for my needs so we went bigger. I tell everyone that my barn is a "using" barn so I have to make things comfortable and serviceable for me. My horses stay inside a lot during any bad weather and I don't want them in little stalls. My walls are also removable too and I can make them way bigger anytime in less than 5 minutes. We worked on a budget so I opted not to have an indoor wash rack. It would take up another stall space and I rather would have more stalls so the washing area is outside. My tack room also is only 10 X 10 to save me again, stall space.

Location is very important. I can walk out my back door, walk 75 steps and be in my barn. It's built on a pad, 5 feet high and ditched very well all around so no water or mud problems there.

The barn is centrally loacated to all my 5 fields so it's easy to walk out either end about 15 feet and choose a field for turn outs.

I have two outlets for electricity on either end. It's plenty enough for me. I don't really need but one for clipping.

I have sliding doors on both ends.

Our stall floors are dirt with gravel on top and sand on top of that. Then bedding. It works perfectly.

I wish I had window for natural light when I have to close the barn doors. Jerry thinks I don't need them but he'll change his mind when he gets the electricity bill.

 

[Happy Valley]

I was wondering if 8 x 8 was big enough. I can still build 10 x 10 stalls and have my 12 ' hallway, too. This is just in the planning stages and I do want to build to meet future needs, as well as now. I don't plan on having a very large operation as I teach and don't have much free time during the school year. Summer and breaks are super, but they don't last all year!

The sleeping quarters could be next to the foaling stall no problem. That would be more convenient, wouldn't it? I could have a large window between so I could see and a door for easy entry.

I had just planned on using my cell phone. It is usually in my pocket. The only thing is reception. When I make my final decision on where the barn will be I'll have to check. Would you believe that on one side of my yard I get super reception, but on the other, one bar! Strange, eh? On top of the hill, very little, at the bottom, near the pond, great. Crazy.

Yep, hot water is a must, forgot to mention that in original post. I didn't really think too much about draining an inside wash room. We won't need to bathe much in cold weather. We don't get nearly the winters some of the forum members do. It's about 40 now and I think it's pretty cold! We only get one or two snows each year on average and they only stay on the ground a couple of days.

I didn't think about plug-ins. That was a great piece of information!

What about flooring? I was thinking about building the whole thing on a slab with porches at least on each end and maybe on one side. Marty is your hallway concrete? Wash rack?

I like the idea of elevating it to keep water out. Built on a pad, what does that mean?

I'd also like stalls to have doors both to the hallway and to the outside. Maybe Dutch style doors so we can open the top half in nice weather to provide a window and some breeze. It gets HOT and STEAMY here in July, August and most of September.

Thanks and please keep the information coming! I never realized what a wealth of information that the people on this board can provide until I started asking questions.

Edited because I didn't see Marty's post before I posted. Didn't want to sound dumb!

Stacye

 

[Aggravation Acres]

We had to build some stalls in a hurry, (had not planned on it but thing do come up unexpected, am now co-owning 2 mares with a friend of mine

)

We made 3 - 6X6 stalls and put the yearlings in. The stalls were big enough for the horses. But changed them into 2- 6 X9 stalls. Remember that in smaller stalls they just tramp the poop and pee all over the place and you have to clean them out more often (even with having the rubber mats). Since we made them larger we no longer have that problem.

We find that the smaller the stall the longer it takes to clean. In the larger ones it only takes 2 - 3 minutes to clean each day. And you want fun time. not cleaning time with your little guys.

Just something to think about.

Deb

 

[Magic]

What about flooring?  I was  thinking about building the whole thing on a slab with porches at least on each end and maybe on one side.  Marty is your hallway concrete?  Wash rack?
I like the idea of elevating it to keep water out.  Built on a pad, what does that mean?

I'd also like stalls to have doors both to the hallway and to the outside.  Maybe Dutch style doors so we can open the top half in nice weather to provide a window and some breeze.  It gets HOT and STEAMY here in July, August and most of September. 

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"Built on a pad" means that you've had dirt of some kind brought in and built up the area where the barn is to go. You definitely don't want your barn flooding when it really rains-- you want the water to flow AWAY from it.

The barn we have now, we have a cement aisleway and dirt (leveled and compacted) under the stalls. On top of that we have heavy rubber mats. Now, we've not had any flooding from being low (ours is built up) but we HAVE had some flooding from our automatic waterers-- when the horses have pulled the plugs that are intended for helping to clean them (sigh). We've fixed those so they can't do it anymore. But with dirt under the rubber mats, even several inches of water quite quickly drains right out, through the cracks of the rubber mats, and that has been great. Dirt is also not as hard on horses' legs to stand on, and it should be cheaper than putting concrete in for the entire barn. Just an idea for you.

I also have doors to the outside from each stall, and I love them. I keep them open most of the time and the horses have plenty of fresh air and can go out and in as they please.

I agree with having the stalls bigger rather than smaller, for at least a couple of reasons; one, you may have younger horses (like foals being weaned, etc) that just don't want to be alone, so if you have bigger stalls you can keep two together; two, for foaling it's better to have larger stalls, I would think that 10 x 10 would be the minimum (JMO, since mine are 12 x 12, and tho I have used a 6 x 12 stall for foaling a time or two, the lack of room is not helpful). three, you may plan never to move but there could be a time when you do, and larger stalls that can be used by big horses are much better for resale value. We thought that we would NEVER move from here, this was our dream place, but things change, populations encroach upon previously rural areas, and before you know it, you're moving.

Good luck, and I know you will be happy with your new barn, with all the research you are puttting into it now.

 

[Happy Valley]

This will be a big project and purchase for me. I want to do it as best I can the first time with the fewest regrets later. I knew that the forum members would help with advice and "been there done that" stories.

"Built on a pad" means that you've had dirt of some kind brought in and built up the area where the barn is to go. You definitely don't want your barn flooding when it really rains-- you want the water to flow AWAY from it. 

Thought that was what built on a pad meant, just checking.

I am so excited about this! I never got to plan my own house, and this barn is really special to me!

Stacye

 

[brookhaven]

You might want to think about cameras as opposed to using space for a closed in room. Don't know how far your barn is from the house, but if you have cameras and some sort of foaling alert system, you might get more sleep and be warm! (I use Equipage and it lets me know when my mares are down, I check the camera and if need be, fly to the barn.) Plus it will cost a whole lot less and give you more room in the barn for stalls or tack room or whatever.

Insultate your roof and add roof vent at top. In hot weather this will keep the barn relatively cool and allow hot air to escape through the top.

My barn is 30x50. My stalls are 8 x 10 and plenty big for foaling. I also have a 10x16' stall which is great for weaning several at a time or if someone needs to be up for a while. Aisle is 10' and seems big enough.

 

[Marty]

We had a lot of bulldozing to do to prepare the location. We had to cut into the side of the mountain here to level a place up for the barn. We had to ditch like crazy with the bulldozers to be sure that any water running down the hills would not end up in the barn and route it away. That's why we built the pad up that high. We let it sit for quite a while to be sure it would settle and not wreck the concrete blocks. It settled about 5 inches over time.

I still have an extra pile of dirt. Want some?

You have to watch that reception too for cameras. When chooseing location, some cameras will not pick up more than 100 or 150 feet.

As far as the wash rack, no way am I washing horses in winter so didn't see tying up a good space inside for that. Every inch is worth money so I wasn't going to waste any space at all. The wash racks, Jerry has built for me before always worked out perfectly. He uses concrete for a pad, and ruffs it up with a broom is all. The puts a little slope in it so the water just runs right off the back or it and down the ground. No drains necessary. In other words, say the pad is facing North. That side for instance the pad will be say 5" high in the front (north side). Then he tapers it down as he goes and heads South. So by the time he's at the opposite end, where the water will run off, the concrete is only now about 2" high or less, nearly plush with the ground level.

My isleway is not concrete. It's nothing actually at the moment except some very hard packed dirt covered with my hay droppings. I leave them there and don't clean it up because I leave the pasture gates open so the horses can come in and out at will during the day and they vacumn it up for me very nicely. In the spring, I'll be adding a load of chat to the isleway. That's a mixture of crushed limestone with pea gravels crushed up and sand. I do not absolutely want a concrete isleway. Hate them.

You mentioned the "P" word, pond. I would be very careful to fence around that so that there is no way the horses can get to it. I think they are very dangerous to have around, draw extra bugs and snakes. I would not have the barn built anywhere around it. You'll never get rid of the extra bugs and you'll have snakes up in your barn. I have another farm in the valley, some 15 acres. It has a large pond and creek running throughout it. I wouldn't live there and build my farm there for that reason. I'll sell it to you.

My barn is also fully insullated.

I did also want dutch doors at first, but they were not feasible. They'd end up saggging. Even the best construction, they can be a royal pain in the rearend. The only time I am closing up my barn is during very cold weather. Heavy winds or rains don't get inside. In the spring, summer and fall, the doors will be wide open all the time. Love the cross breeze and it's healthy ventilation.

We also have a full loft which I hate but Jerry insisted we need it for storage and eventually a little office nook or sitting room. There's a big thing up there that goes around and keeps the heat drawn out and sucked up. Some kind of venting thingy.

I would never advise anyone to keep hay in a loft for safety/fire reasons. I think hay should be stored in another building away from the main barn. I also do not have any un necessary electricity going on such as refridgerators, microwaves etc. things like that which I can do without because I do worry about fires all the time.

I also hate tin roofs and wouldn't have one of those either. Noisey and lightening loves them. Been there, done that.

My tack room is not finished. It will be fully insullated also and have a concrete floor and be drywalled and loaded with shelf space and a counter top and stool. My feed cans will fit under the counter. I really dont waste any space. Like I said, space costs money and I don't have any of that to waste either.

 

[Happy Valley]

Marty I LOVED your webpage. Did you do it yourself or do you hire someone to do it? You certainly a creative and crafty one, arent you? Viewing yours gave me lots of ideas for mine, if I ever get around to it. I don't know much about cyber-anything.

Back to the barn...

I'm going back and forth about the flooring. Can't decide. Using layered dirt/gravel/sand sounds like a good option. Less slippery. I was thinking about concrete for ease of cleaning, but it may not be as easy as I think if the horses are allowed in the hallway at their leisure. How easy are the rubber mats to keep clean? Does the liquid just run through to drain away and the solids get picked up? Smell? I know someone addressed that but in skimming back through I could't locate it. Will look again.

The pond will not be accessable to the horses. We have a family cabin and use the pond (almost a lake) for recreation and we won't need to have the horses in it. The levee end is REALLY deep, too, and dangerous for anything that falls in it.

I've been thinking about cameras, too. That is something else that will have to be decided. I like the idea of having a finished room. Several farms I visited when looking at horses had a room for sitting and taking care of paperwork, sort of like an office. I thought that was convenient. BUT honestly, I don't know if I NEED it,and I don't want to waste space or money. I ask myself if I'd spend enough time in it to merit building it, and I am not sure yet what the answer is.

Thanks so much,

Stacye

 

[Becky]

I have 8 X 8 stalls in my barn and love them! They work quite well for 34" and under horses. If you have taller ones, then I would consider bigger stalls. My foaling barn also has 8 X 8 stalls and though, if I were starting from scratch I would make them larger, 8 x 8 has worked well here without a problem.

My show barn is fully concreted and there are rubber mats in each stall. Shavings over the mats.

I have a heated/air conditioned groom room which I love! Clipping and grooming is done at one end and bathing at the other. There is a 40 gal water heater for bathing horses. They definitely prefer baths with hot water!

My stalls are all metal in the show barn. Easy to clean and disinfect. They have bars on the front and expanded metal 'windows' between the stalls so the horses can see and be next to another. They like that!

I also have a small bathroom (was supposed to have been an office, but ended up too small!) which I find very handy for myself as well as visitors.

Good luck with your new barn!

 

[Magic]

  How easy are the rubber mats to keep clean?  Does the liquid just  run through to drain away and the solids get picked up?  Smell?  I know someone addressed that but in skimming back through I could't locate it.  Will look again.

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I've found that the rubber mats keep my stalls much cleaner than the dirt floors. There is very little urine that isn't absorbed by bedding (these aren't big horses with big bladders, lol) and yes it just would seep away thru the cracks or evaporate. You can hose down the stall and even disinfect, with rubber mats.

They are expensive though, so maybe just put them in one stall to start with if you can, and see how much you like them and if it would be worth it to you to do them all. Some people, like me, LOVE them and wouldn't want to do without them, but others don't care one way or the other, so it's just a personal choice.

Oh, and it's a good idea to put a lightning rod on your barn, then you wouldn't have to worry about lightning strikes and fire from that.

 

[bevann]

I would not build exclusively for Miniatures.This limits your potential buyers if you ever have to move and sell your place.Plan your barn so that it could be used for full size horses or something else without too much problem.Bigger stalls are better than smaller.I had a friend who built a center aisle barn that was only 24 feet wide with 8 foot stalls on each side.He had an awful time selling his place-not enough potential real estate Mini buyers.Build so you can add on later.good luck with your project.