# stables or 'barns'



## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

If your dad builds you all that....can he adopt me? 
I'm no help, but good luck


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

Wow! I have no other words. You are a lucky person that your dad would even consider doing that. Wow.
Do you have an aerial view of your farm? You can then take that, and put a clear sheet overtop and draw where you would like stuff. Where you would have to change anything such as removing trees or leveling land. 
Good luck convincing your dad!


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## jxclass19 (Feb 1, 2009)

I want to be adopted to!


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## horseoffire (Apr 7, 2009)

for stalls if you plan on getting more horses id say maybe 6 but you can always add on


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## RubaiyateBandit (Jan 25, 2009)

I just convinced my own parents to build me a stable, but I'm paying part of it and my plans aren't so extensive. 
My tips: 
-If you're on a limited budget, start off small: say, put in a pole building of the size you desire and an outdoor arena/paddock, then add on bit by bit, rather than have all of it go up at once.
-For the number of stalls, consider this: Are you going to start stabling your horses every night, or just as needed? Myself, I don't like the idea of sticking a horse in a box all night; I'm only putting up two stalls and a large enclosed run-in. If a horse gets hurt or needs to be isolated, I'll put that horse in a stall. If I need to contain all of them, they'll get shut in the run-in area. This plan also lowers costs (both in construction and the long run), and means less work. Something to think about.
If you're planning on stabling all your horses, probably just put in six stalls, and leave room for expansion.
-Stall size: Average horses are usually comfortable in 12x12 foot stalls. Larger breeds in 14x14. Just figure in enough room for your largest horse to comfortably lay down.
-When planning where to put the barn, consider access to water and electricity, as well as what will have to be done to put a building/arenas there. i.e. clearing forests/rocky terrain, leveling hills or building retaining walls, road access and room for a truck and trailer to turn around, water drainage, etc. Also, you'll need to consider a manure dump site... somewhere discreet, not only away from your home, but your neighbors' as well.
-I like sliding doors, myself, but I've heard complaints that they can be heavy and noisy. However, swinging doors can be kicked open more easily.
-If you look at companies such as Priefert, there are several modular stalls out there that can be bought and placed in your barn, with any option you could imagine. Even those windows.
-Make sure the main doors to the outside are big enough that you can walk out them with a horse on either side.
-For minimum ceiling height - 8ft to 11ft. Any lower than that and a rearing horse could hit it's head.
-I usually consider keeping feed and hay in a separate building to be a good idea... in the event of a barn fire, the first thing on your mind will be getting out the horses and you'll want your feed after the fire.
-For the main barn, consider having high ceilings, maybe even with fans in the roof peak. It helps with ventilation.
- If you go for an indoor arena, a possible, more cost effective option is to put up a ClearSpan building... this is basically a series of metal hoops with a strong fabric-type covering over it. It allows for natural lighting, and has less echoing.

Besides that, just pick up every horse magazine you can find and thumb through them for barn-related articles. Sometimes even an article about spring cleaning or barn improvements can be helpful. If you know any people who have a horse barn and/or arena, ask them what they like/dislike about their barn, and have a look around it if you can. You can pick up all sorts of helpful little things just by asking around.

Good luck. ^_^


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## ilovemyhorsies (Mar 9, 2008)

> If your dad builds you all that....can he adopt me?
> I'm no help, but good luck


hehe lol X)



> Wow! I have no other words. You are a lucky person that your dad would even consider doing that. Wow.
> Do you have an aerial view of your farm? You can then take that, and put a clear sheet overtop and draw where you would like stuff. Where you would have to change anything such as removing trees or leveling land.
> Good luck convincing your dad!


thats a pretty useful idea  thanks



> I want to be adopted to!


lol again 



> for stalls if you plan on getting more horses id say maybe 6 but you can always add on


thats a good point. thankyou 



> RubaiyateBandit


what you said was the most help thankyou


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## ilovemyhorsies (Mar 9, 2008)

THIS IS MUCH BETTER LOL > > i thought about it a little more so there is more detail 

i +think+ i know what i want inside and outside...

INSIDE + + + + +
- large airy stalls with sliding doors and shatterproof glass 
- wash bay
- tack room
- large office/rec room
- feed room
- bedding and tools room
- large spacious area for grooming/tacking up with space for 2 or 3 horses
- float garage
- main entrance and exit with sliding doors
- fully lit with energy efficient and horse safe globes and fittings
- running water (duh lol)
- im not sure how many stalls but i was thinking of 6 or possibly more..i have four horses now and i am planning to buy some more soon. also i could lease out the remaining stalls but idk

OUTSIDE + + + + +
- day yards with shed shelters
- a full cross country course across 2 large paddocks
- two big sharing paddocks large enough for 4 horses in each
- massive arena with (possibly pvc) white post and rail fencing and shed for jump storage ^ this is the show jumping arena + + fully floodlit + + not sure if to be fully covered...considering it
- large arena suitable for dressage (but larger than 60X40 or whatever it is  so that it can be used for other things)
- roomy round yard (debating covered or non covered..)
- long aisles for vehicles to travel and for galloping/really really fast cantering X)


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## ilovemyhorsies (Mar 9, 2008)

i did some searching...

sliding doors are safer and more convieniant than hinged doors, especially when opening onto an aisle.

open top (hinged) doors enhance stable ventilation and light. they allow horses to put their heads out in the fresh air which decreases respiratory problems


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

I just wanted to show you a couple pics of stalls at CARD. They seem to work well. Great ventilation, and the choice to block it off or open it, depending on the horse.


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## ilovemyhorsies (Mar 9, 2008)

thankyou for the pics 

hehe the paint is cute


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## ilovemyhorsies (Mar 9, 2008)

i contacted a few stable constructors and i got sent back a stable design from one of the companys...

i just tried uploading it but it exceeds the limit..


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## RubaiyateBandit (Jan 25, 2009)

You said you got a design back, so maybe this is a moot point, but as far as layout, think of it this way: You want to do the least work possible. Consider how many steps between stalls, tack rooms, wash racks, etc, and figure out a layout that will reduce that to a minimum. If you have the time and space, you could even draw up a rough layout on paper, measure it out in the place you want your barn, and spray paint or otherwise mark off the walls/partitions of your barn. Then go through the motions or, if you have a really patient horse, walk him/her through the motions of saddling, cleaning, mucking stalls, etc. That way, even before you start building or anything, you can figure out small things you may not like... i.e. the tack room is too far from where you'll be tacking up, or the aisleway is too narrow, etc. You can even go so far as to mark off the outdoor paddocks and whatnot if you want.
I'm not very good at visualizing sizes of things, and so doing this helped me out a little. ^^;


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