Elite Equestrian july august 2018 issue

Updating Your Barn

Working with What You’ve Got

Sometimes building a new barn isn’t an option. Perhaps you purchased property with an existing barn and while the structure is sound and in good repair on the outside, the inside could use some help. Take a cue from popular HGTV design shows and renovate.

One of the most common problems with older barns is that they may come with 10’x10’ stalls. Many were built before the influx of Warmbloods and drafts and most of the horses were between 15hh-15.2hh. Today, most horse owners want at least a 12’x12’ stall. There are a couple of ways to handle making stalls bigger- or at least feel bigger.

1.

Start over. Take down all the inside stall fronts and partitions and reconfigure for the correct dimensions you want, whether 12’ x 12’ or even 12’ x 14’. You will end up losing a couple of stalls, but all the new stalls will be bigger.

2.

Combine. Take down the partition between every two stalls. This turns a 10’x10’ stall into a 10’ x 20’ stall – plenty of room for horses to move around, though not in a perfect square. Again, you’ll lose the number of stalls and each stall with have two doors – you may want to permanently close one on each stall to avoid confusion about leaving doors open. This is also a great way to turn any stall into a foaling stall with room for both the mare and foal.

3.

Think outside “the box.”Rather than reconfiguring the stalls, add paddocks to each stall – the larger the better. Even adding a 10’ x 10’ paddock can make any stall bigger with more room and more light. However, if possible, make the paddock as long as possible – while it may only be 10’ wide, make it 30’ or longer to give your horse plenty of room to walk around and socialize with his neighbors. Given a choice, most horses want to be outside, even in what we think is cold and wet weather, and will usually only come in at feeding time or at night. Adding a 10’ x 12’ overhang just outside the stall will give your horse extra protection from the elements when outside.

Create an illusion. There are

4. other ways to make a small stall at least feel bigger. Use stall fronts and partitions that let in light and air, like those made of mesh. European style stall fronts with low arc or yoke fronts allow horses to hang their head and give them more freedom and less boredom. Consider using stall partitions that are wood fill on the bottom, but have a metal grill in the upper section. When you want to keep your horse in from his paddock, consider using Dutch-door style paddock doors so he can still see outside. If paddock doors aren’t an option, adding a window can help.

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If you’ve decided to reconfigure your barn and make larger stalls, remember that this is also a good time to look at any other improvements you might want to make. Can you change the lighting or electrical wiring? Is now a good time to add automatic horse waters? Do you want to turn one of the smaller stalls into a grooming or wash stall? Do you still want the tack or feed rooms where they were originally located or does it make more sense to move it one way or the other?

Visit our Classic Equine Equipment website for great ideas on stall fronts, partitions and much more.

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www.classic-equine.com (800) 444-7430 sales@classic-equine.com

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Good Barn Design:

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The old adage “form follows function” is at the heart of every horse barn I design. First and foremost, before beginning any design work, I want to know about the horses, their people, and their daily or weekly activities.

Why?

Because a personal barn has different needs and considerations than a commercial barn and, among commercial barns, a boarding barn has somewhat less demanding requirements than an active training and showing facility.

The

Floor Plan

Above all, the safety and comfort of the horses is my priority, so there are some standards I try to incorporate into every barn: a) horses on outside walls for better access to natural light and ventilation; b) Dutch doors (not windows) for easy access in case of fire or other emergency; c) high finished ceilings to allow more natural light and ventilation, better appearance and far less maintenance (in a lofted barn, 11 ft); d) ventilation shafts to exhaust hot or damp air; e) use one wash stall for every five horses as a rule of thumb for a training/ show barn; f) locate the work area next to the arena whenever possible – the horses can get more rest in their stalls when there’s more separation, g) slip free flooring.

Also important: hay drops to each stall, cross aisles for better air flow, group all of the water in the same area, and a barn can never have too much storage.

The floor plan pictured illustrates a good floor plan for a boarding/training facility – the owner has three horses she actively shows, and there are several boarders who show at selected regional shows. This facility has three wash/groom stalls with recessed shelving and, when it’s not in use, the farrier/ vet/dentist stall serves as an additional grooming area. Note that this stall has a full access door, allowing trucks to back up to the building so the forge, medications and tools will be readily available, and there are cabinets for

vet supplies, counter space, a recessed sink, and storage under the high side of the staircase.

The ideal location for the tack room is directly across from the wash/groom stalls and, as a second choice, immediately next to them. The tack room shown is large enough to house the tack for the horses in the barn, while having enough space for a few lounge chairs. The room will also have a cabinetry on the end abutting the farrier/vet stall, providing space for clean storage, appliances and a tack cleaning area.

Designed for safety and comfort of the horses.

The laundry/mechanical room is large enough to house the washer and dryer, along with storage for clean towels, cottons and wraps and is conveniently located next to the wash/groom stalls. The room will house the electrical panel and the water heater ( I recommend tankless). We used a mini split system in this barn to supply climate control to the tack room, laundry, bathroom, office and grain room. Mini-split systems are also a good choice for heating and air conditioning in a barn, or radiant floor heat if the budget will permit.

The half bathroom in this barn is centrally located (recessed into a corner of the laundry/mechanical space) and opens directly to the aisle so no one has to go through one room to get to another.

The stalls in this barn are 14’ deep x 12’ wide to accommodate larger horses, and stalls 10 & 15 are 14’x14’. All of the stalls have hay drops, hinged feed doors and automatic waterers with consumption gauges. The stall mattresses save on shavings and labor, while keeping the barn smelling fresh and providing the horses with greater cushion and insulation from the ground. All the stalls have Dutch doors with large top-half windows; there are full-length yoked metal screens inside each door so they can be opened fully in the warmer months. For additional light and a nice architectural feature, this barn has large transom windows above each Dutch door.

Normally, stalls 10 & 15 would have been in “dead” corners, but by adding the blanket closets on the aisle corners, the stalls are moved over far enough to create space for a Dutch door. The two blanket closets will accommodate 36-38 hanging blankets, which keeps the clutter off the aisle, and they’re conveniently located for both ends of the stall aisle. The recessed trunk spaces along the front entry aisle hold 12 show trunks just inside the main door; they can be easily off-loaded, re-supplied and re-loaded into the trailer between shows. The walls above the trunks provide a nice display area.

More...

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The barn has 3 ft overhangs all around, which provide protection from rain, snow and summer sun; the front entry is recessed and well-protected from the elements. Just inside the main entry, the office is large enough for a desk and seating area, or for two desks, i.e. an owner and a trainer. Across the entry aisle, the grain room bins will keep all of the grain and supplements organized, with space left for extra bags, as well as space for hanging tools, wheelbarrows and feed carts.

The floor plan of a horse barn will determine how well it functions -- a good one will provide a more organized space, more convenience and will reduce labor, giving you more quality time to spend with the horses. Once my floor plan is designed, it’s fairly easy to give the exterior any appearance that’s needed to blend with existing buildings, the house, or whatever architectural look is preferred by the owner. But the floor plan is always the key to everything

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