Stable and field Setups

[Relic]

Well l'm going to say that any spaces in stall walls are a hazard and l'm only saying that because we've had a new foal who got a leg through the small space between 2 boards and was cast till we found her but it was to late to save her she was fine the night before so we don't know how long she was caught. Relic my daughters stallion also had a leg caught when he stood up to look over the top of the wall in the space between the wall and door and couldn't get down we found him hanging and had to pry the door of the hinges he was wetched so tight. The best thing l found for here was PUCK BOARD the stuff made for wash racks l love it it's smooth safe and washes down real nice and for me it's safe nothing to get hung up in or for the ones shown to rub out M/T's on which was a problem before as they'd stand by a board find a rough spot and rub for hours when stalled plus some of them started to chew holes in the back wall which l didn't like....myself l'm not a wood fan because l also believe some germs lerk in wood for a long time no matter how clean you are...everyone does what works for them

 

[Crystalbank]

All the comments and ideas on here are great and it really is a help.

Not only do I want to make a centralised area, but I also want to make some portable mini shelters to put out in the paddocks. Planning is very strict here and your not allowed a door on them etc so I do have to be very careful.

So would most of you say that stable/stall size for minis (not foaling) is adequate at 12x6? I already have a shelter thats built at 8ft wide by 12ft long so I'll keep that as one area. It's been useful to put my little foals in over the bad weather.

I like your ideas of dry areas with runs. I think this would be great for me over winter.

Here's a pic of two foals demonstrating the use of the shelter. Pink (one at the front) is the one I lost last week

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

My setup is currently under contruction but I will try to explain the best I can. . . .

I keep my horses in dry lot paddocks for a majority of the time due to grass not being that plentiful here at my place especially during the winter so I keep everyone in when I don't want them grazing in the pastures. I LOVE having them in paddocks 24/7 with access to private run-ins simply because they enjoy it and it makes everything a lot easier for me. So here is my paddock setups:

STALLIONS:

I have 3 stallions and each one has his own private dry lot paddock with a private lean-to shelter that is 6X6. I would say that each stallion has about 1/4 acre in his paddock including his shelter, private water tubs and each paddock is dirt but has a few trees for shading during the summer months.

MARES:

I currently have 1 yearling filly that will share a home when I get broodmares sometime soon when my riding horse sells. . .but anyways my setup for them is one large 1/2 acre dry lot paddock with their own 12X6 private run-in shelter that they will share together. Feeding time won't be a problem as I will have a way to split the stall into three sections (I will be using a two rubber chain dividers like you clip up to keep horses in their stalls when you want to leave the actual stall door open). I also have another shelter and paddock setup identical to the one for the mares that will be used for weanling babies and I can keep another 3 mares/fillies in there as well. I will split up the stall into three parts during feeding time as well if needed through the same method.

LARGE HORSE:

I also have one more paddock that has a 12X12 run-in shelter for my remaining Quarter Horse gelding - and he has his own private 1/2 acre dry lot paddock as well. He gets along well with the minis but I prefer to keep him away just incase he accidentally plays too rough - he could seriously hurt one of them.

My pastures are not the best but there are about 10 acres total and I have 3 pastures. . .I would say I have two 2.5 acre pastures and one 5 acre pasture and they all get rotated off and on from. Each pasture gets used for 4 days a week (each day another "group" of horses goes out for grazing) for 2-3 hours a day. The way I work it is all the stallions go out on Monday, half the mares go out on Tuesday, the other half of mares go out on Wednesday and then on Thursday my Quarter Horse can go out. Since all my stallions get along and play pretty - they are fine to turn out together. I've never had any cuts/scrapes/etc. or fighting (except usual play fighting) so they all get to go out and have a good run together.

I've found my setup works good for me, although I don't have an actual "barn" persay. . . .I plan on having one eventually when I get my own property but so long as I am still using my fathers land (and living there during college LOL) it will stay this way. My plans for the future is to have a true barn that has (16) 12X6 stalls and (2) 12X12 stalls and (1) 12X12 office/tack room and (1) 12X12 wash rack with hot and cold water.

Hope this helps!!

 

[Crystalbank]

When you guys say dry lot paddock - is that just a dirt paddock or does it have some kind of concrete or hardcore floor?

 

[Echo Acres]

We have several different kids of stalling areas for our horses. Mainly because we have added as we go and bought what was cheap, yet safe at the time. First of all we have a big horse manufactured stall. (because we still have 2 big horses). This stall is 10x24 because we did not put in the center divider and used it as a foaling stall. (again for the big guys) My minis are sometimes put in there when I need to rotate. It does not leave space between the boards, but there are small gaps. The stall is made that way so it allows the wood to expand and contract. Also there are areas around the frame, so I am not worried about air flow. We have the metal grates across the top except the back wall and 1 side wall that are solid. We did this to prevent drafts coming in from the doors because we have had babies in February and it is very cold here.

We built a 6 foot high wall to cut our barn in half for the horses. It is made of 2x6 boards. We did leave gaps for air flow and so that the horses could see. I believe they are 2 inches apart. I would not recommend this! It is a big enough gap that they can chew on it, and have had to replace boards. If leaving a gap I would only do 1 inch at the most, maybe only 1/2 inch. We also have stalls that are made out of gates or panels on each side. All of these have worked well. For shelter for the ones that are not in the barn we use port-a-huts. We have one larger one that is I think 8x14 and then we have the small ones for each horse. These are 4.5x7.5. We ordered the doors to put on them, but didn't like that it was pitch black in there. So we cut 1/4 of the door off and put bars across. This allowed light, and airflow, but we lock each horse in to each their grain. Works great! Also they may look small, but we have had 4 minis come out of 1 little hut. They are steel, but don't get hot in the summer and stay pretty warm in the winter. They also have an air vent on the back. I don't have a picture of one of ours with the door altered so that I can post it on here. If anyone is interested they can email me. Here is a picture of one off of the site.

Right now I am facing the fact of moving and I am very glad that I can take these shelters with me. It is going to make it a lot easier to set up again.

Also I prefer our show minis to be on dry lots. It is just too hard to keep their weight where you want it when they are on pasture.

Whitetailsminis- How tall are your stalls? The only issue I could see is that for me I would want them taller. Some of our stalls are similiar and I have had some try and jump over the top, or reach over and bite another one.

 

[Relic]

We only have one it's dirt no blade of grass or weed would ever show up there without getting attacked...

 

[Basketmiss]

We just finished 4 stallion fields and a new maternity field closer to our barns within the last two weeks. Last year we walked those pregnant mares a mile from the field to the barns - harder on us probably than the horses though. LOL
Rather than build a separate building for each pasture - we built one building 12x16 and put it in the center of the divided fence and then installed boards on the inside to split the building. That way, we're building one building but it serves 2 separate pastures. For our 4 stallion pastures, we have two buildings at each division of the fence/pasture so there is actually a 12x8 half on each side for both pastures. All of our buildings are standard horse size - not mini - keeping in mind resale if ever we wanted to sell as an equestrian (or even cattle) farm.

Because we use high tinsel fencing (this was argued in separate post but works beautifully for us for years) - I didn't want electric wires where I'd be going in/out the building with the horse - just as a safety precaution - so I installed a section of board fence where the fence divides at the front of the building. This also allows them to nuzzle and touch eachother without electric and a place to hang their feed buckets at feeding time. The large gates are drive-thru gates so tractors & equipment can get into each pasture. I didn't catch him fast enough though as I would have preferred them in the back of the buildings so they didn't stick out so much LOL.

Our barn isn't quite finished yet but I added that also.

How big is your barn? I really like it and my hubby was asking hte measurements-how many stalls , etc?

The pictures below should help explain the above and are are during the construction phase but they are the most recent I have on hand:

this is our ongoing project:

 

[EAD Minis]

I just took new pictures of my place the other day

Its a little gloomy and depressing looking as everything is dethawing right now and theres no green

.

Its a 3 stall barn, all stalls are designed to be able to put up and take down at any time. They are kind of like a puzzle.

Right now I only have two up, I have two little lofts for hay which each hold about, 5 bales at a time. A cabinet for holding sprays, brushes which also has a compartment underneath for shavings, grain etc. My drylot, which has a special type of gravel which makes it so there is ABSOLUTLY NO MUD!! Oh its such a blessing.

And I rent a neighbours feild for grass

Stall Fronts

Inside Stalls

Dry Lot

The Barn (excuse the white bag out front, was garbage day and was in the middle of taking it to the road

Up above the stalls is a shelf, which I put trophies on, and the ribbons are hanging on a board above that.

The only thing I would recomend is to watch where you put the doors. I realize now that if we would have put even one of the doors in a different place we could have used the space better and to make sure it is raised off the ground a bit. My old barn used to flood in the stalls during fall and spring .Such a horrible experience and I couldnt stand to see my poor guys standing in wet. I woud put bale after bale of shavings in there just so they could stay dry. Very expensive, unhealthy and upseting thing to have to deal with twice a year.

 

[Crystalbank]

What a fab little barn!

Did you have to put anything down before you put the gravel down?