Tell Me About Your Barns!

[Little Wolf Ranch]

OKAY PLANNING-THE-BARN TIME IS FINALLY HERE! 

With only 1.5 years left before we start building. . .we are wanting to get final plans together to get an estimate of the cost so we can prepare ourselves for the encounter with the bank for the loan. Several people in my family have used paying back the cost of a new barn on loans and that's what we plan on doing. I want to know ALOT about your barns and things you would love to have!

Please be sure to include DETAILS and MORE DETAILS 

1. number of stalls and size
2. height of stalls
3. does each horse have his/her own stall
4. number of foaling stalls and size
5. height of foaling stalls
6. size of tack room 
7. size of feed room
8. size of office
9. size of bathroom (a must have in my barn lol)
10. water buckets or automatic waterers
11. lighting system
12. fans on ceiling or individual stall fans
13. number of wash racks and size
14. number of grooming bays and size
15. any neat features you have or would like to have
16. anything else I didn't think of

FEEL FREE TO SHARE PICTURES! 

 

[little lady]

Owning Paint Horses all my life and just getting into miniatures I won't be of alot of help. But this is what I have learned so far over all these years. First try to make it as adaptable as possible so if you change your program(miniature to biggies or cattle or whatever) that you can change it with out a big ordeal and expense(we just learned this the hard way). My favorite thing about our barns are the Ridge lights,they let in so much natural light. Some say that they may not last long but both barns have them for ten years now and going strong. In this new remodel we have added an 8x10 feed/tack room combo and it seems to be working well but I think it is all about organization of space. That is all I can come up with now. Good Luck!!

 

[ruffian]

I just built my dream barn, and am still finishing it. It's 50 x 100 x 14, and SO FAR

is big enough. I went with miniature panels and gates for stalling. I currently have 14 stalls that are 8 x 8, but every one can be doubled by taking a few screws out. The panels are fastened to the barn uprights by steel pipe supports. I have cement in one end for my tack/feed room, wash area, and show office. I also have 4 ft cement runners in front of the first 4 stalls on both sides. I used the panels for an alley in front of the stalls as well as a round pen.

My best thing about my barn is that I have the clear vision panels 4' up from the bottom on both long sides the full length of the barn. It lets in so much light plus I can see what's going on outside. I didn't like that opaque off white panels - to me they look old and dirty from the time they are put up, plus you can't see through them and they don't let in enough light.

I have a man door at one end. I should have made that wider to fit my hay cart through. Should have put another hydrant at the opposite end of the barn. I will probably extend the cement on the side where the big door is so I can haul stuff on the cement. I put in 3' of sand, so it's kind of hard to push a wheelbarrow out that door.

I used a piece of 1 x 6 and pipe clamps to hook feeders to the bars. A bucket on a strap and we are set.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Wow - very nice! 

Now I mostly see sand everywhere - is that good to use in stalls for bedding? I would be worried about a pee flood. . .?

 

[~Dan]

No I would not sand in the stalls, it can easily cause sand colic when it gets ingested in feed. I would use clay floors with rubber mats and a nice thick bed of shavings or straw. I use shavings and its really fine, prescreened for dust, super absorbent I love it,Ill give you the brand tomorrow. Straw is more bulky, yet warm in the winter, can be slippery when wet and isnt the most absorbent. Ill try to get pics of my barn tomorrow.I wouldn't put in more than one wash rack indoors due to the fact you will probably find yourself using it less often than you plan to, however, if you add a door to the back it can be used as a vet and farrier as well. Unless the horses are young or mare and foal, I would let them have their own stalls just for privacy and knowing that they will get enough food. To cut down on price, I would use plywood in the stalls, I would use buckets in stead of water es, just because you cant gauge how much water the horses are drinking, the pipes may burst or freeze in the winter, and they do not always supply a constant supply of water, I would however, put sockets out side each stall for fans, heated buckets, clippers whatever, but make sure they each have a weatherproof cover on them. The feed room, I would put in a concrete floor to keep away rodents in the winter from burrowing under in the winter and make it large enough to store all your grain, possibly even with cabinets for supplements or meds. I would make the tack room as large as possible, both fro resale value, and if you ever add more horses etc. plus you don't want a crowded tack room, also, consider putting in a sink for washing and repaying of tack, as well as a bench that doubles as storage for blankets or misc. items by lifting up the cover. Well those are my two sense about barn building.

dan

 

[ruffian]

I have rubber mats in my stalls and shredded bedding on top. You just can't see it in the photos.

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

Here's our new mare barn, I don't have any of it once "finished"

It's 24' wide by 54' long, with an 8' lean to down one side.. The enclosed area on the right is my office, then we're enclosing the area on the left for hay storage.. Inside we have an 8' aisleway, 7 stalls down the right side, 6 down the left.. We made the dividers in every two stalls removable so we can open two smaller stalls into one larger stall.. Mats under each stall, outlets available at each stall for heated buckets in the winter, a window in the wall of the office overlooking the first two stalls on the left that I use as the main foaling stall..