Farm layout

[Raine Ranch Minis]

I would like some opinions on how to layout my farm. I have included a layout of the property. It is about 65 acres. We have two barns. One barn has six stalls and the other barn has two big horse stalls that can be made into four mini stalls. We all so are building a two horse mare motel. We are going to build a house in the red barn square so the barns need to be closer to that and not our current house location in the home square. Just play with this map and let me know what you come up with. Thank you so much for your input!!!!!!

:OKinteresting:yeah

Scroll down to see layout.

 

[Relic]

Nice layout have fun with it...you can go to our webpage and see our layout taken from the air..l like everyone to be within seeing hearing distance.We did fence of our dugout it was a hazzard to the minis getting stuck in mud around the edges then a deep drop if they went to far and a danger in winter if not fully frozen over and anyone wandered on it...

 

[Raine Ranch Minis]

Thank you for your response!!!! I got my barn figured out. I can't decide how big or where I want my fields.

LOL I don't know how many horses I want in a field. Soo many decisions!

LOL! How much space does one adult horse need min?

 

[Marty]

This is what I learned after over 40 years of owning horses:

1.The barn needs to be as close to the house as possible.

2.I hate having multiple barns, too much time is consumed running from one to the other for feeding and maintenence. I prefer all my horses in one main place.

3. Hay storage should not be in the main barn as its a fire hazzard.

4. Having too many gates to go through it a pain

5. Have your barn centrally located to all your turn out fields to save you leading in and out time.

6. Be sure your barn is built up high on a pad. Mine was built at 5 feet, left to rest for nearly a year, and settled at about 4 feet or so.

7. Be sure to ditch heavily all around it for drainage. Can you tell I'm from Florida the flooding most state I've ever seen?

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[targetsmom]

Just one thing to add after my 50 years with horses: I really like to have one fairly SMALL turnout area close to the barn. This can be used for sick or recuperating horses, or just used as a sacrifice or holding area. My set up is on only 7.5 acres and my turnouts get larger as they get farther from the barn. Yes, there are many gates, but I can also turn everyone out and juggle them around by simply opening and closing gates. Assuming they cooperate!!!

 

[MiLo Minis]

I can't do a diagram for you because I can't see your land but these are some suggestions to keep in mind. With 65 acres and only a dozen horses you can easily grow your own hay for the year in the area farthest from your house/barns. Even if you find a local farmer to work it for you it will save you a lot of money. I would as Marty suggests have a separate hay barn - less dust, better air quality in your horse barn, less chance of fire trapping your horses. I like to have multiple paddocks that I can rotate the horses through for less wear and tear on the grass and better parasite prevention (you leave the worm eggs behind to be killed by the sun) You need to have a small dry, grass free paddock for Minis as well. You will find in the winter, if you get snow where you are, that a good sized winter paddock close to the barn/power source, so that you can hook up a tank heater and won't have to carry feed far, is a really nice option. I also like all the horses in one barn for convenience but a separate barn for show horses is a good idea. They can be quarantined from the stay-at-homes that way.

 

[ruffian]

I agree with the 1 barn approach. I had 2 that were 300 ft apart and it was a royal pain.

I have separate stalls for the show horses. My barn had 8 runs off the one side. they can run all day and night if the weathers good, or be shut into individual stalls at night. In front of the barn I have a driving arena. It opens to the 5 acres field in the back for good workouts.

I have a secondary gate that encloses the whole barn. Then if someone gets out, the 2nd gate stops them.

You need a good flow. You don't want to work through a pasture to get to a pasture. I have that with one field now, and that will change come summer. Farm lanes also allow more room between pastures to keep stallions separated. Straight line from the house to the barn, without going through pastures or lots that have horses in frequently. I've always had my hay in my barn.

It's great that you have so much room to work with. Another way to do it is to make little to-scale cut outs and play with moving them around. House, barn, 10 acre field, 5 acre field, etc.

Have fun!

 

[Raine Ranch Minis]

Red is fenced in and Blue is not. The blue spots are ponds. There is a creek that runs in the middle of our land, but can't tell you where it is. Not in the fenced in area though. I will Post more pics in the morning.

 

[Riverrose28]

Hard for me to see where the barns are in relation to the house, but I have one suggestion, a circular driveway. We have the house and then the main barn is just accross the drive way. The driveway is important for getting your truck and trailer in & out and also for deliveries. I wish I had a separate hay barn, but it is in the loft in the main barn. We also have a show barn, separate from where the brood mares are to protect them from any thing we might bring home. You have a nice lot with plenty of room to work with, have fun!

 

[Raine Ranch Minis]

Ok The yellow dots are barns. The yellow dot with one black dot is our house. The barn we are using now is the one closes to the yellow dot with one black dot. The other yellow dot is our new barn and it is not done. It only has two stalls, the old barn has 7 potential stalls. The yellow with two black dots will be our new house. Hope this helps.

This is the front of our old barn. ^^^

This is our stalls in our old barn. ^^^^

Will add more Photos in the morning.