# Need advice on building a mini pony barn



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

A few questions and some assumptions with lack of information currently available...

So...minis, small horses.
I would put a thought of a stall 8'x8' for each.
3 minis x 8' = 24' long barn _minimum._
Storage of hay bales to sustain you through winter non-growing season, bad weather and to have on hand stores and not be paying premium $$ per bale...
I don't own minis so am unsure of how much they eat daily. I would think though space to store 20 bales as a minimum is mandatory. Easy access to those bales is priceless.
So, here are my thoughts...
24'x36' _minimum_ barn size for minis.That allows 3 stalls 8'x8' or two regular sized horse stalls 12'x12' box. 
That lines your one wall with stalls. 
Across the barn allows you hay storage and storage for all needed material handling things needing kept out of the weather. 
A safe wide aisle-way to use to work with and on the animals....
You want space to be able to work with the animal under a roof in inclement weather, to groom, to do hooves, to render vet care...to pet and enjoy!
36' gives you the ability to make careful planning for best utilization of under roof space.
If you ever consider the chance of full-sized horses though, now is the time to make considerations for them..not later!
Barn height needs to be minimum of 10' to the rafter so you can bring in a delivery truck for hay, a horse trailer backed up close to load or unload, a tractor or piece of equipment you need to do barn work...
I would _not _do smaller than 24'x36' and that is cutting close your choices of storage.
Horses take up a lot more space than you think and you never have enough room for "stuff" when finished moving in everything.

As for flooring I would _*not*_ do wood...
When a horse urinates on it it becomes saturated, stinks and gets slippery.
It rots over time and decays causing splintering that can impale a hoof, leg or body part that could be tragic in nature.
Concrete...fine. You need to bed your stalls adequately with shavings so urine is absorbed, cushioning to protect the joints and no abrasions if the animal lays down to rest.
Dirt...once it is stabilized it is fine. Time during dirt settling varies and you can use a lot of bedding as it will mix in. Depending on how wet your horses are, how much stall walking they do you may have to add dirt or re-level periodically.
My stalls are dirt base. I hardly use any shavings now that the floor has stabilized. I have natural drainage of urine, no stench as I clean and pick stalls daily than the normal horse smells. 
Haven't needed to add dirt yet and my horses are "home" for near 4 years now with daily in/out of their stalls and barn.
Some like mats over dirt, concrete or sub-base materials...
Regardless of what you make your stall base as, use shavings and bed the stalls with enough that the horse can lay down, pee or just hang out being a horse in their stall with their comfort in mind always.

So, bottom line is you build what you think you need, then add some extra space if you can afford it.
It is far easier to build larger than not have enough room, regret your size choice and now need to add-on and make it weather-tite and look nice in the process.
Regardless of minis or not, you as a adult need head room and the ability of the building to be a friendly working environment for you too. 
You also never know what tomorrow may toss your way and a "tweak" to the plan occurs. 
It _*is *_really nice to go with the flow and make it still work when that happens..or the deal to good to be true presents and you can grab it and go forth easily... :smile:

Plan carefully and don't "skimp" on the size if you don't need to.
It is amazing when you figure it all on paper, build it and then look 6 months later and go, "I wish I had done...".
_Don't wish, make yourself a reality of smiles not frowns..._
:runninghorse2:....
_jmo..._


----------



## mred (Jan 7, 2015)

I don't own mini's and agree with a bigger barn if you ever want to go to larger horses. But if you really want just mini's look at this site, Mulligans Run Farm Barn . It is a good idea for a small barn for mini's. I have a 40 x 60 metal carport type building like this one, but a lot larger. I like the idea of the wood siding.


----------



## bigz1983 (May 22, 2017)

Ok thanks for the advice


----------



## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

So much of your question has the answer "it depends". I have 3 minis and their barn is 15 x 10. One stall is 6x10, the other is 5 x 10 and then there's a 4 x 10 room on one end that we put hay in. 2 of the minis share the 5 x 10 stall at feeding time and that's plenty of room for both of them









but they are never shut in. All 3 of them cram in the small stall when they want to hang out in the barn, which is rarely, and why they don't go in the larger stall is beyond me. We could probably cram close to 20 bales into that room but a cat lives in there so we have to leave floor space for her to get in and out of her cat hole and for her food and water. However, we have another barn that the major portion of our hay is stored in and actually go through probably 100 bales a year for the 3 of them. They do not get pasture so they are fed hay year round. 

Like @horselovinguy said you're better off buying your hay during hay season and getting enough to last the year so you could not get by with going as small with your barn as we did. Also our minis are little (32 1/4" is my largest) so if you go with bigger ones, say for kids to ride or whatever, then they'll need more space and food. Then you'll also want space to store tack, grooming supplies and all those other things we accumulate for our horses. Again, we have another barn we keep all that kind of stuff in.


----------

