# How bigs your barn?



## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

I was just wondering, how big is your barn? How many stalls do you have, and do you have a wash rack/tack room. Me and my husband REALLY need to get a floor plan done hopefully this week, but i can't decide on how big of a barn i want . I'm hoping to use it for training/boarding (and of course my own horses). Even if you just board, do you know how big there barn is? I was going to put in a tack room, but how many of you have wash rooms, do you feel there used enough to splurge for the extra expense of putting it in? I'm not looking for some kind of giant mansion horse barn lol. Just something big enough to accommodate what i want. Also does anybody have trails "on" there property (as in you own the land the trails on)? I was thinking about making a private trail out of our "forest" on the back of our property, but my husband thinks im nuts :lol:. Any help would be great, oh and feel free to post pictures of your set up, and what kind of fence you use . I know i have so many questions, but im just afraid of building it and then having regrets about this or that. :-|


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Mine is 6 stalls with room for 2 more. I use the extra space for feed and hay storage and the middle stall (I only have 5 horses) for junk.

I have 2 paddocks and a pasture, hoping to double the size of the pasture this summer. I also have a round pen that often ends up being rigged to make a 3rd paddock. I have a ring that is not yet fenced...

The barn has an overhang also and each paddock can go under the overhang. I also have 2 dutch doors that lead out into one of the paddocks and double doors on both ends of the barn.

I do not yet have a wash rack but plan to build an outside one.

I have a friend that boards and she alternates stalls so she has an 8 stall barn and can do 16 horses (half in day - half in night). Winter she blankets and has an outside shelter.


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

Hmm, are your pasture/paddocks next to each other or apart. I was thinking it might be better not to put them side by side incase i have boarders who bring in horses that need separated from the rest of the herd. Also i was thinking about putting doors on the back of the stalls and putting up a fence behind the barn wall. So they can go in and out of there stalls on there own? I havent met many people with this type of set-up so not sure how well it works.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I don't have boaders, just my own and a couple training horses in at a time. The stall barn has 10 - 12 x 12 stalls, small bay for tractor & equipment,small bay for hay storage (The bulk is in our hay barn, try to keep 25 bales or less in the barn...i have a major fear of barn fire) & tack room & wash rack. I use the wash rack a lot! I will take some pics when I'm out there later. When my gpa built it he had big metal piping put in the concrete and made a stock of sorts in the wash rack. It gets used for much more than bathing. It's wonderful for the vet to palpate & ultrasound mares, address wounds in a very easy to clean area, soak sore legs, and I always do sheath cleaning in there - if they think about kicking I can get out of the way safely. Our indoor is attached to the stall barn and we have 2 - 12 x 24 foaling stalls in the front corners. Lots/Pasture - I have a large outdoor/also serves as pony turn out for my daughter's pony who gets fat looking at grass. We have 2 large pastures we rotate for the herd, 1 gets used for mares & foals part of the year and 3 stud pastures. We have good ol' red brand horse fence around all of it with 1 strand of barb, the stud lots have 2 strands of tape hot wire at the top instead of barb. 

We have about 17ish acres of woods behind our pastures & barns that I ride in...haven't had to make any trails myself as the horses & deer have carved their own through the years. I would strongly suggest you convince the hubby to let you make trails, it's where I find my sanity and it's a great break from the monotony of daily arena riding for horse & rider


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> I don't have boaders, just my own and a couple training horses in at a time. The stall barn has 10 - 12 x 12 stalls, small bay for tractor & equipment,small bay for hay storage (The bulk is in our hay barn, try to keep 25 bales or less in the barn...i have a major fear of barn fire) & tack room & wash rack. I use the wash rack a lot! I will take some pics when I'm out there later. When my gpa built it he had big metal piping put in the concrete and made a stock of sorts in the wash rack. It gets used for much more than bathing. It's wonderful for the vet to palpate & ultrasound mares, address wounds in a very easy to clean area, soak sore legs, and I always do sheath cleaning in there - if they think about kicking I can get out of the way safely. Our indoor is attached to the stall barn and we have 2 - 12 x 24 foaling stalls in the front corners. Lots/Pasture - I have a large outdoor/also serves as pony turn out for my daughter's pony who gets fat looking at grass. We have 2 large pastures we rotate for the herd, 1 gets used for mares & foals part of the year and 3 stud pastures. We have good ol' red brand horse fence around all of it with 1 strand of barb, the stud lots have 2 strands of tape hot wire at the top instead of barb.
> 
> We have about 17ish acres of woods behind our pastures & barns that I ride in...haven't had to make any trails myself as the horses & deer have carved their own through the years. I would strongly suggest you convince the hubby to let you make trails, it's where I find my sanity and it's a great break from the monotony of daily arena riding for horse & rider


Wow it sounds like you guys have a great set up. I figured only 10 stalls as well, because im not sure how many boarders i want. I dont want my barn flooded with people, to me that just makes things hectic. But at the same time i'm worried if i dont make it bigger i'll regret it later on (not that you can add a 2nd barn, but that would be more expensive than just making a big barn all in one). I was also going to ask if anybody had stalls in there indoor arena, so thats helpful lol. How big is your indoor arena? I hear so many different things about how big an "average" arena is. It sounds like the wash rack will come in very handy


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

a side thought for you - if you can (seeing as you plan on having boarders) put in a bathroom in your barn. when i boarded horses it was something i had in the plans for a new barn because it would be sooooo much easier for boarders to not have to come in my house to use the bathroom. that's just me anyways.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Our indoor is 100 x 200. Its more than big enough for me. I'm usually alone, but have had 3 working at a time and we were all comfortable. The only complaint I have is the arena dust. Finally got the hubby to install overhead sprinklers last year and it makes a huge difference. Beats dragging the hose and spraying it down! Yes, definitely allow for expansion. We've done lots of updating over the years. Much more cost effective than building another barn!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

crimsonsky said:


> a side thought for you - if you can (seeing as you plan on having boarders) put in a bathroom in your barn. when i boarded horses it was something i had in the plans for a new barn because it would be sooooo much easier for boarders to not have to come in my house to use the bathroom. that's just me anyways.


I didn't think about that, i could probably just put a portable bathroom near the barn though. Since that would probably be a lot cheaper lol. But i'll look in to it incase our budget allows the extra expense. 100x200 sounds pretty reasonable, i was thinking of building the arena big enough for the case of if i want more stalls i can just put them in the arena. Do you put sand in your indoor? I've heard some people use like a clay? I didnt think about sprinkles, thanks for all the tips!


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

A bathroom is the one thing I wish had been planned for when my gpa built the barn ages ago. Ours unfortunately isn't close enough to hook into or septic, so we have an outhouse with a chemical\camping toilet. Cheaper than digging a new septic! 

I know when they filled the arena they did several layers of different types of dirt\sand. The top is a light sand that works up really easy with old box springs. I have a friend that just topped hers with crushed egg shells, I'm waiting to hear reviews on whether it helped with the dust. Even though they had been bleached there was a definite odor to it.
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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

crimsonsky said:


> a side thought for you - if you can (seeing as you plan on having boarders) put in a bathroom in your barn. when i boarded horses it was something i had in the plans for a new barn because it would be sooooo much easier for boarders to not have to come in my house to use the bathroom. that's just me anyways.


In the house?
I always just used a stall.



RylieHorses said:


> I didn't think about that, i could probably just put a portable bathroom near the barn though. Since that would probably be a lot cheaper lol.


You would be shocked how much renting a porta-potty is.



RylieHorses said:


> 100x200 sounds pretty reasonable, i was thinking of building the arena big enough for the case of if i want more stalls i can just put them in the arena. Do you put sand in your indoor? I've heard some people use like a clay? I didnt think about sprinkles, thanks for all the tips! :grin:


Making your riding area smaller when you add more horses to the mix does not sound like a practical way to go. Plus, the width of a free span building is what makes it expensive. You might not find it cost affective to pay for riding ring free span just to shoves stalls on the end of it.
Have you priced an indoor ring yet?

If you are asking about clay for footing in an indoor you need to contact someone who has experience doing ring footing. Clay is slippery when wet and hard as a rock when it is not wet. Not good footing. There is far more to indoor ring footing than just slapping down sand though.


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

Alwaysbehind said:


> In the house?
> I always just used a stall.
> 
> 
> ...


Yes i've done some pricing for indoor arena's, and it mostly depends who go threw. That's why we were debating to add it now or later. We found some nice barn kits for a decent price that were looking at now. But there arena's are pretty pricey. They have a 90x216 for 217k. Yes i realize footing has more to do with throwing in some sand, i was just curious as to what people use just to get some idea's of what works for people.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

No one uses just clay for arena footing!


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

Alwaysbehind said:


> No one uses just clay for arena footing!


I'm not exactly sure why your reacting so harshly to a simple question, i've heard of a type of clay being used. I didn't know if it was mixed or not, i figured maybe it helped with dust or something. But i get your point, i was just curious.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

There is a sand that has clay mixed in it. I forget what it is called. Some people even use blue stone dust which I don't particularly like. My arena is grass and I'm hoping to eventually make it sand.

My paddocks are attached to the barn and then you can send them out to the pasture straight from the paddock. One thought to consider is feeding time. In the summer I keep mine out 24/7 so I keep them seperated in smaller groups in order to make feeding easier on me. I was bringing them in to eat and then sending them back out but I've got myself a system down now that works. 

Pistol - Beauty - Riley - Blue - Sierra. In that order! And they have specific spots as well!


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

farmpony84 said:


> There is a sand that has clay mixed in it. I forget what it is called. Some people even use blue stone dust which I don't particularly like. My arena is grass and I'm hoping to eventually make it sand.
> 
> My paddocks are attached to the barn and then you can send them out to the pasture straight from the paddock. One thought to consider is feeding time. In the summer I keep mine out 24/7 so I keep them seperated in smaller groups in order to make feeding easier on me. I was bringing them in to eat and then sending them back out but I've got myself a system down now that works.
> 
> Pistol - Beauty - Riley - Blue - Sierra. In that order! And they have specific spots as well!


Ok thanks for the advice, i looked up using clay, and according to Cherry Hill's people can use clay to firm up footing thats to deep, and there's also a dirt mixture that is made up from clay. So maybe that's what i was hearing about. I think the safest bet is sand though lol


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

I was browsing around and found this site, what do you guys think of this set up? Each stall has its own little small corral? 

RCA Barn with Turnouts


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## nworkman82 (Jun 18, 2009)

Just wanted to throw in my two cents as a person that boards. And you mentioned you were planning on having boarders.

I board my horse at a very small facility, and it doesn't have a restroom on site! So I have to drive down the road to a gas station (yuck!). If you plan to board I would recommend having a small wash room (for people)... If you have space and can afford it a small shower stall would be something to make a boarder happy. I sometimes like to do some riding before work, or inbetween other appts during the day, and being able to cleanup without going home would be neato! (I'm also highly allergic to horses so I have to immediately shower if I don't want to swell up!) 

Unless you can afford hot water & heated stalls I've never seen the point of having a indoor wash area. My friend has a barn with a wash area and has never used it because the water and barn are unheated, so you still have to wait until warm weather to bathe the horses... And if it's warm enough for that... Its often easier to just do it out in the grass. That just my opinion though.

Also, at my barn we all share a tack room... But something I would like would be "horse size" lockers. A place to lock up my nice tack and maybe my purse while I'm there... I've seen them at other facilities.

So my advise to attract happy boarders...
1. Bathroom (may shower?)
2. Lockers

P.S. The atmosphere is the MOST important thing. I love the little "mom and pop" facility I'm at. If feels like it's "my barn in my backyard." So while I would like to see these improvements... I wouldn't move my horse in order to have them. So happy boarders comes with the "feeling" the barn gives them. My makes me feel at home, I like that. These are just ideas to ice the cake.


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

nworkman82 said:


> Just wanted to throw in my two cents as a person that boards. And you mentioned you were planning on having boarders.
> 
> I board my horse at a very small facility, and it doesn't have a restroom on site! So I have to drive down the road to a gas station (yuck!). If you plan to board I would recommend having a small wash room (for people)... If you have space and can afford it a small shower stall would be something to make a boarder happy. I sometimes like to do some riding before work, or inbetween other appts during the day, and being able to cleanup without going home would be neato! (I'm also highly allergic to horses so I have to immediately shower if I don't want to swell up!)
> 
> ...


I will certainly keep those tips in mind, i'm not sure if we will be able to afford to get hot water, i'd LOVE to have a heated barn and a viewing room for the indoor, but those are fantasy land dreams .


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## nworkman82 (Jun 18, 2009)

I don't see them as fantasy! It's brainstorming for future expansion! Keep those improvements in mind. While they may not happen.. they very well may! Wouldn't it be nice to have a barn plan that allows for additions! Otherwise you may have to tear down and startover! No one opens their small business and stays unchanged. Leave room for change. I'm excited for you!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

nworkman82 said:


> I don't see them as fantasy! It's brainstorming for future expansion! Keep those improvements in mind. While they may not happen.. they very well may! Wouldn't it be nice to have a barn plan that allows for additions! Otherwise you may have to tear down and startover! No one opens their small business and stays unchanged. Leave room for change. I'm excited for you!!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Thanks for the encouragement, if only my husband felt the same way lol. He wants to keep it as simple as possible :roll:. If i let him do the planning the'd have 3 ways and a little pasture. :lol:


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

Always plan for expansion! When we opened our little 10 acre, 6 stall barn in the fall of 2008 to boarders we NEVER figured we would have grown to a 62 acre facility putting up a 72'x300' indoor arena/barn.

A bathroom is a must! We are just putting ours in now. For the last 2 years we've told boarders they can use the one in the house.. 1/2 of them took us up on the offer.. and although I didn't mind, it sucked having to keep my house spotless! 

10 stalls is a good size especially if you will be cleaning those stalls by yourself which will happen even if you have hired help.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

PS.. your little girl is adorable! Good luck building and running a barn with small children. My son just turned 3 and it's been an adventure, that's for sure!!


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

starlinestables said:


> PS.. your little girl is adorable! Good luck building and running a barn with small children. My son just turned 3 and it's been an adventure, that's for sure!!


Thank you, i will def. be keeping room for expansion . I'm pretty sure were only going to start with a 10 or 12 stall barn, just to get us up and going. I dont want to take one more than i can handle so quick .


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## Maverick101 (Nov 8, 2009)

nworkman82 said:


> Unless you can afford hot water & heated stalls I've never seen the point of having a indoor wash area. My friend has a barn with a wash area and has never used it because the water and barn are unheated, so you still have to wait until warm weather to bathe the horses... And if it's warm enough for that... Its often easier to just do it out in the grass. That just my opinion though.


Actually a wash stall serves more then the purpose of bathing horses. 

My barn is heated, and I have hot water in the barn, but in winter I still don't use my wash stall to bath, as it still is too cold for bathing IMO, as w people coming and going through doors, it lets in a blast of cold air, and a wet horse even if in heated barn and w cooler on could get a chill....not to mention how long a furry horse takes to dry!!

But we still use our wash stall almost everyday for other things such as, washing and hosing off buckets and feed tubs, washing brushes, hosing off blankets.....its very handy to have, not just for bathing horses.


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## nworkman82 (Jun 18, 2009)

You make a great point about the wash room having multiple purposes! I bet in the winter months it's a life saver for keeping things tidy. I didn't even think about that!! But as a boarder I am spoiled.  I'll admit it! Another idea I had today as I was sitting in the laundry mat. Big washers for blankets and such. Man if I had unlimited money.... *sigh*
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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

^^^^ This is exactly why I don't have washers in my barn. It would last a month! EVERYone and their dog would use it and put their giant horse blankets in them. (like I did with my mom's washer and dryer hehe)


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

nworkman82 said:


> You make a great point about the wash room having multiple purposes! I bet in the winter months it's a life saver for keeping things tidy. I didn't even think about that!! But as a boarder I am spoiled.  I'll admit it! Another idea I had today as I was sitting in the laundry mat. Big washers for blankets and such. Man if I had unlimited money.... *sigh*
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


lol i think we'd all do some amazing things if we had the money


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## nworkman82 (Jun 18, 2009)

starlinestables said:


> ^^^^ This is exactly why I don't have washers in my barn. It would last a month! EVERYone and their dog would use it and put their giant horse blankets in them. (like I did with my mom's washer and dryer hehe)


Haha. I bet the owners of the laundry mat cringe when I roll in with big blankets full of dirt (and prolly poop) and stuff em into their washers! But at what they charge to do an oversized load! Geesh! One of the BIG laundry mat washers bought at an auction or going out of business sale would be soooo cool though.
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## nworkman82 (Jun 18, 2009)

This thread is dangerous. Haha. It's got me in fantasy mode. My fiance and I are building a house (the land has a nice horse barn already) and while he's planning the house. I'm talking nonstop about fencing... Stolen laundry mat washers... Roundpens etc. He always has to bring me back on task. I'm redoodling my plans with the ^^^ padlock feature... Shouldn't I doodle his last name with mine? I think that's what I am suppose to do... I'm odd.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

^Too funny! The laundromat lady here is already giving me the stink eye before I get out of my truck lol! 

I have an entire notebook of doodles  Eventually, one by one doodles become the honey-do list....after 10 years my hubby just shakes his head when he sees me sketching horse stuff
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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_I fourth (fifth?) the bathroom idea. Although I do not have my own horse, I still go to the barn straight from work for lessons sometimes, and use the bathroom to change in. I also normally have to pee before or after a lesson, and would be ok to pee in a stall...but there are too many people there all the time to do it comfortably._

_My barn has an enclosed yard, so the horses are turned out and in according to paddock, and go out(and in) on there own, with someone going to open/close the paddock gates, and someone opening/closing stall doors. It makes it go a lot quicker, but it is a rather large barn._

_Lockers are a nice touch if you can afford to do them, and they really dont have to be huge. _

_You dont have to have a heated barn by the way. If you insulate it well enough and the correct way, it should stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer._


_Just as a sidenote....you should price out the cost of a barn kit versus the price of buying the supplies. It could be possible that one over the other could be cheaper._


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

VelvetsAB said:


> _I fourth (fifth?) the bathroom idea. Although I do not have my own horse, I still go to the barn straight from work for lessons sometimes, and use the bathroom to change in. I also normally have to pee before or after a lesson, and would be ok to pee in a stall...but there are too many people there all the time to do it comfortably._
> 
> _My barn has an enclosed yard, so the horses are turned out and in according to paddock, and go out(and in) on there own, with someone going to open/close the paddock gates, and someone opening/closing stall doors. It makes it go a lot quicker, but it is a rather large barn._
> 
> ...


Well i'm not exactly sure how to go about making a supplies list that the barn would need to be built. My father-in-law will probably be able to do that though, i'll have to talk to him. We have looked at BIY kits though, they seem decently cheap .


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## nworkman82 (Jun 18, 2009)

If you got a big chain store like Menards etc you can buy plans that give you a supplies list. You can also buy barn plans online and they come with supply lists. You in turn can take that supply list to other lumber yards for quotes. Also, the economy is bad and alot of contractors
are looking for work (at least in my area). Get your list and ask a couple contractors to quote it out with their discounts/connections. Go with the best deal (if he's not froggy, of course).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RodeoLoco (Mar 11, 2011)

We have a 20 foot by 30 foot barn, with 5 standing stalls, three cattle head holds and an empty stall we use for a storage area. Our stall "walls" for our mares (which have been chewed down) are 3 feet, one stall has a manger, our geldings wall is ceiling high. We have a wood storage area on the side, and a cattle barn connected.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

My barn is 36x100 feet. No stalls, but I have panels set up for 5 runs that are each 10x30 and I have room for 5 more if I were to really need them. I have an enclosed tack room that is 13x13 and the rest of the barn is open inside. I also vote for a bathroom if you are going to be having students or boarders around. With it just being my family at my barn, it's pretty easy to just tell folks you're going around the side of the tack room to visit the little girl's room, though I prefer to walk to the house when I can.

For what I do and what I need, though, the open floor plan is so much more practical. I can move the panels around to make a pen wherever I need it and however big, there is even room to set up a small round pen inside for limited riding in inclimate weather. I have plenty of room for hay storage and I can pull in a vehicle if I need to during a hail storm.


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

nworkman82 said:


> If you got a big chain store like Menards etc you can buy plans that give you a supplies list. You can also buy barn plans online and they come with supply lists. You in turn can take that supply list to other lumber yards for quotes. Also, the economy is bad and alot of contractors
> are looking for work (at least in my area). Get your list and ask a couple contractors to quote it out with their discounts/connections. Go with the best deal (if he's not froggy, of course).
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Hmm i didn't know mernards had pole barn plans, i wonder if they will have any plans the size i need them. I'm just not sure how to go about planning the indoor arena, because i'm not sure if thats something would be a BIY job?..


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