I'm Building a Barn

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Novel_tfarm

Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Spencer, Indiana
We have hired a contractor to build our barn. My father who is the NON-Horsey Person is "In Command" We have all miniature horses and I would like to be able to show him some "Mini" Barns..... Our barn is going to be a 60 x 60. Please tell me things you would do different, things you would like to add, Things that are a "MUST HAVE". If possible post your pics or send them to [email protected]...... Thanks everyone
 
hey i will try to get some pics tomorrow of my barn and post them but i can tell you one thing that has proven very handy in our barn. We made it to where we could have either 2,3, or 4 stalls at a time. We intentionally made plans for a four stall barn, but we made every other stall wall removeable, that way i could turn any stall into a birthing stall and it wouldnt matter. My step-dad made a slot so that we could just slide the pannels right out. we are now adding me a room up stairs(YAY) for foaling perposes. i want to be close when they go into labor so im turning a portion of my loft in to a living quarters...i've yet to have foals but the stalls have come in handy when someone gets sick or if two little ones would rather sleep together than alone
default_wub.png
:

Best of luck to ya on building.

Will
 
Do most people use " Panels" for stall dividers ??? I have seen one barn made entirely of Cattle panels. She said that way when she walked in the barn she could look down the aisle and "See" Everyone. But that worries me. Could they get "Cast" ? Put a leg through and break it..... I have also seen Solid wood dividers with Iron Slotted Stall doors so that the horse would not feel closed in. I'm thinking Electrical outlets at every stall with Frost free hydrants. We will be later adding living quarters onto one end or possible in the loft area. We are also "Pre-Wiring" for all video and audio componets. What type of flooring do you like ?? Our old barn had concrete floors and it was horrible.... I thinking like concrete in wash stall and tack area.....
 
im sry i used the wrong word, my "pannels" are solid and made of wood, no holes or nothing like that, it would be to risky on breaking a leg or something. I just didnt know what to call them

Will
 
We just built a new barn and used Priefert panels for dividers. The spaces in them are too small to kick through, let light and air circulate, and they can easily be taken out to enlarge a stall. The only negative I've found is that they can be really noisy if a horse kicks or paws at them. Especially in the middle of the night when you are sleeping 15' away LOL.

barn11--15-05023.jpg


barn11--15-05033.jpg


Two interior stall shots. I need to get new pictures, just hasn't been time to blink lately.

Jan
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My father who is the NON-Horsey Person is "In Command"

That could prove to be mistake #1

Hope they are willing to listen to horsey fok. It would help a lot I think.

If you've got an hour, feel free to browse my website and click on "diary of a barn'

www.BraveLittlePrancers.com
 
Here's our barn. Planned it myself, so it has all I've wanted in a barn We have no loft, but one side is used for hay storage and bedding. (thus no loading hay up to it, or climbing up to get it, or tossing it down) .Has a "pass-thru" in the middle that contains feed bins, brooms, wheelbarrels etc. More handy than having all this stuff at one end of the barn.

Part of the roof goes over a run-in where the horses can go in & out (happiest that way, I think). In the winter, we add solid panels to the run-in to make it more comfortable, but leave a section open so they can still go in & out. The run-in opens into the barn hall thru two dutch doors.

Also, but you can't see it in the pix, there's a "stallion" stall, that's taller sided than others. This has dutch doors that open into the run-in & the stud or "new kid" can meet the herd over the bottom door, that's mini "nose height." The pix with the carriage lights is on the opposite side from the run-in.

Overall size is about 50 x 60. Stalls are 8 x 12, with removable walls to make them bigger if need be.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, the yellow tags are fly repellent tags, NOT numbers. Oh my, our little sweeties are by no means numbers!

newbarnfront.jpg


barnfrom158.jpg


barninsidebest.jpg


f79c0506.jpg


runinhorses.jpg


f7ac0aef.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i really think that foaling stalls should be enclosed by solid walls. I know my mares like the privacy when they have a foal. I have seen other barns with the open stalls and the mares are constantly charging the mare in the next stall to say away from her foal. I think foaling mares feel more secure when they cant see other horses lookig at them
 
Maybe my mares are hussie's then, cause they really don't care. :lol:

I use cattle panels for stalls, main reason, my camera can see more stalls that way. See through the stall walls so to speak. But, just works for me.

Love all the photos of your barn. I need a new one sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad.
 
Little wee, your barn is just gorgeous, you did a great job on it.
default_smile.png


Our old foaling barn consisted of partially covered runs, and yes the mares did become very possessive once they foaled, and spent much of their time charging the mare next door. As a "Bandaid" fix one year, I took a new tarp, folded and stapled it over the entire fence in the stall - worked so well I left it there for years. Our new barn is very open with the priefert panels, so I may have to improvise again until I make a permanent change in one stall.

Jan
 
I still like our PVC railing half way up the stalls. Allows us to see in and them to see out and not feel so

isolated. We left them far enough apart for them to get their heads through . The plus side of that is they can stick their heads out and see everyting going on in the barn. Kids can pet them without having to go in to the stalls. The down side of that is they can get their heads out and and see everything going on in the barn.LOL :new_shocked: It allows them to sniff each other when we are leading other horses in the barn and they can nip at each other if we tie one to change tack or groom near anothers stall. If we had it to do over we would put the PVC closer together. But I still love it. Must have pleanty of tie rings, and lots of ventalition. We have lots of windows and doors so we can close up tight in bad weather and open up for great air flow. Good luck with your new barn and have lots of fun. OH I forgot with minis , always always leave room for adding on. :bgrin maryann

th_Bungipics047.jpg
th_May29399.jpg
th_toby.jpg
th_shelbydrivingscout2.jpg


th_Barn04.jpg
 
Last edited:
I dont have pictures of my barn but one thing I can add is plan ahead for where to locate your stall door. Our barn was a work in progress, still is actually. It was an old barn, pre 1900, and we basically gutted it except for supports and mini-sized it.

The mistake we made at first was placing the stall door in the middle of stalls. This made it hard to find a place to put the water bucket, the grain dish, the salt block holder, etc. Some of my stalls kinda have them whereever they will fit. As we progressed we thought these things through and made a wall long enough to hang these things in appropriate places rather than wherever they would fit.

I also have an electrical outlet at each stall. THis lets me plug in my bucket heaters and I still have one for whatever else I may need to plug in to attend to a horse in the stall. This means you have to have a big enough breaker panel and enough amps to do all this.

Also, have a light above each stall so you have good light in each and not one with decent light and two on either side with just shadow light. Trust me, there will be a dark night when you are out in the barn trying to care for a horse and it never fails, that horse is in the dark stall. LOL

We do have a loft, and our hay is up there. We created a slide-shute that we just drag and drop a bale at a time and it comes down to a nice bin. No mess with hay flying everywhere and much less hay loss than before when we would just drop it down onto the floor.

I have lots more suggestions but those will give you a few things to think about. Really smart to learn from others mistakes.
 
Oh yes, hhp's post reminded me: When you are planning your stalls, you also have to plan the direction in which your stall doors will open. We had to re-hang two by the opposite side because they originally opened right into the inside side of the outer barn walls! We had them re-hung to open into the barn hall, which also entailed moving the stall gate latches.....duh!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well I will just show the stall parts of our barn. We have a workshop attached to the barn. Inside the barn there is the alpaca area, and then my horse stall. The office is behind the stall area.

allstalls.jpg


these are all the stalls. My horse stall is at the end.

horsestall.jpg


My horses stall ((there is an outside attachment as well.)) Ignore the poop, this was before stall cleaning.

Then this is all of the houseide of our barn. Normally the doors are open, but it was a REALLY cold day.

barn.jpg
 
I wanted to add that there are some things about my barn that I don't like, such as that stupid loft. But Jerry insisted that we needed storage for other things. I'll never put any hay up in it. I use another storage shed for hay storage that is away from the barn because I worry terribly about barn fires.

I'd also appreciate a couple of windows! I'm still fighting for those. There is still plenty of air flow through the barn with the doors open, but I'd still like some blasted windows! I like natural light. He doesn't see the need, but he will once he starts getting the electric bills for the lights I have on all the time,. hehe. I"m bad.

As far as the stall sizes, I do have Holly and Timmy in a 10 X 10 which does seem to be enough for a while. But then, I also am getting double pee and double poop causing me to be stripping that stall way too often, so it's either time to wean, or open up the stall and double the size.
default_wub.png
:
 
A "must have" for all horse barns is sufficient air flow, or ventilation. It's natural to want to have the horses be cozy, but they NEED plenty of air exchange for their respiratory health. So you want to have doors and/or windows to let air in (yes even when it's really cold out, they still need air) or open areas, like up near the roof in a raised-center-aisle barn, for example. The more air the better.

Another thing that I insist on is stall doors that the horses can see out of. They don't want to be stuck in a stall with no way to see other horses or what is going on around them. Consider ease of use too, before the barn is built-- will you be able to feed the horses from the aisleways or will you have to go into each stall to feed? How difficult and time consuming is your watering system? I personally would hate to be without automatic waterers, they are such a time saver! If that isn't financially feasible, then at least heated buckets if you live in a climate where the water will freeze, will save you a lot of work and worry.

oh, and if there is ANY chance that the inside of your barn could become flooded with a heavy rainstorm or melting snow, etc, do be sure to put fill dirt down before building your barn. You'll be glad you did!!
 
I still like our PVC railing half way up the stalls. Allows us to see in and them to see out and not feel so

isolated. We left them far enough apart for them to get their heads through . The plus side of that is they can stick their heads out and see everyting going on in the barn. Kids can pet them without having to go in to the stalls. The down side of that is they can get their heads out and and see everything going on in the barn.LOL :new_shocked: It allows them to sniff each other when we are leading other horses in the barn and they can nip at each other if we tie one to change tack or groom near anothers stall. If we had it to do over we would put the PVC closer together. But I still love it. Must have pleanty of tie rings, and lots of ventalition. We have lots of windows and doors so we can close up tight in bad weather and open up for great air flow. Good luck with your new barn and have lots of fun. OH I forgot with minis , always always leave room for adding on. :bgrin maryann

th_Bungipics047.jpg
th_May29399.jpg
th_toby.jpg
th_shelbydrivingscout2.jpg


th_Barn04.jpg
I love MaryAnn and Jim's barn...esspecially the half walls and the pvc railing. I don't have to pick my kids up so they can see the horses in the stalls. My favorite thing about their barn is the aisle, nice and wide and foam footing (I thought it was to keep the dust down, until Jim told me the reall reason for it).
 
I'd also appreciate a couple of windows! I'm still fighting for those. There is still plenty of air flow through the barn with the doors open, but I'd still like some blasted windows! I like natural light. He doesn't see the need, but he will once he starts getting the electric bills for the lights I have on all the time
Yes, I'm big on windows too. :bgrin Of course it doesn't get so cold here - or at least not so often - we alternated windows and dutch doors across the back of the stalls. Easy to close up the doors when it's cold, but allows access to runs and lots of air and light when it's not. The windows are just openings that we cover with a piece of plexiglass in the winter. I've only had one oops there - I had a stallion in one night, and a gelding he didn't like out behind the barn. He stood up and banged on that plexi till it cracked, so I have to pay attention to who goes next to him. Otherwise great though because it still lets in light with no wind. Marty, our electric bills here are going to be killer anyway, so I'm glad I have natural light. Every little bit helps!

Jan
 

Latest posts

Back
Top