# Building a new barn



## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

Well, im in the process of building a barn. I was just wondering if anybody could give me some advice or tips, or anybody that also had there barn built. How is it designed, what are must have's, what kind of stalls/paddocks do you have? Also would you recommend building the indoor arena with the barn, or adding it later? I plan on using the barn for training horses/boarding plus of course my own horses. I've been going threw barn designs online, but i'd like to talk to people that have actually gone threw this before.


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## StrikinHigh (Jan 11, 2011)

I just got "done" building a barn. The barn isn't finished yet... but the plans are firm as to what it WILL be if it ever does get finished. We had a contractor build the "shell" of the barn and the rooms for the tack and feed rooms, but we are left to finish the inside of the barn by ourselves.

Cherry Hill has a book called Horse Housing that is very helpful. It goes through just about every detail of a barn you should consider. She also has a DVD called "Your Horse Barn" that essentially has the same content as Horse Housing. I borrowed the book from the library, but I bought the DVD. I have went back to it for reference several times in my planning process.

I drew out several, if not a hundred, different floor plans. You can use graph paper or do it digitally. Think about how you need to have the barn placed on your property, wind patterns, and water drainage (if you don't have the means to correct the terrain to fix poor drainage). After I decided on a floor plan, I actually built the barn in Google SketchUp, which allows you to "walk" around inside your buildings. 

If you are able to build an indoor arena with the barn, I don't see why you have to wait. It might be easier on your nerves to only have one project going on at a time. If the barn is built first, then you can see how the traffic flows in and out of the barn, and determine a good place for the indoor. If you want the indoor to be connected to the barn, it would probably be easiest to build them at the same time so there's not a problem with connecting the two buildings.

One thing I recommend... If at all possible, have a contractor or building crew finish the job. Chances are if you leave anything left to you to be finished (a large project - such as putting in stalls!), it may take a while. :?



Here is a link to the Horse Housing book: http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_books/Horse_Housing.htm
"Your Horse Barn" DVD: http://www.horsekeeping.com/videos/YourHorseBarn-DVD.htm
Chances are if MY library had the book, yours will too - or be able to get it on loan from another library, as mine did.


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

Thanks for the book reference, i'll check the library and see if i can get it threw them. If not i found the book on Amazon for 20 bucks . Were having a contractor build it, but we were debating to put in the stalls ourselves. My husband is going to do the concrete, his dad did construction so he knows some stuff. But the major construction will be left to a professional lol. I did want the indoor arena attached to the barn, some say it can be added later, but i didnt know if adding it later would be more expensive then just doing it now.


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## StrikinHigh (Jan 11, 2011)

I'm not sure about it being more expensive to add it on, but you might encounter a problem with appearance. Someone that knows what they are doing should be able to make it look nice, but you won't be able to tell until after it's done...

And you won't want to wait longer than necessary to be riding in that arena! :lol:

I'm not sure if you are looking into building the stalls yourself or just installing premade ones, but we purchased dutch doors from Woodstar Products. They are really nice, and we plan on getting their stalls too.

www.woodstarproducts.com

OH! And Woodstar is doing a special of free freight for the month of April!


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## Production Acres (Aug 26, 2009)

we service a lot of horse barns, and while many people don't care about anything more than the appearance of the barn, many other factors are much more important. *How easy is it to clean the stalls, can you get a big truck into the barn for transporting horses, shavings, hay*? * How will the barn be serviced*, can the farrier and the vet have good access. All major doors should be at least 10' tall and 10' wide. Who cares if the colors on the outside of the barn are in harmony with the color scheme of the horses halters! Make sure the trees are trimmed sufficiently such that the guy bringing you your hay doesn't knock the mirrors off his 50K dollar truck.


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## StrikinHigh (Jan 11, 2011)

Production Acres said:


> we service a lot of horse barns, and while many people don't care about anything more than the appearance of the barn, many other factors are much more important. *How easy is it to clean the stalls, can you get a big truck into the barn for transporting horses, shavings, hay*? * How will the barn be serviced*, can the farrier and the vet have good access. All major doors should be at least 10' tall and 10' wide. Who cares if the colors on the outside of the barn are in harmony with the color scheme of the horses halters! Make sure the trees are trimmed sufficiently such that the guy bringing you your hay doesn't knock the mirrors off his 50K dollar truck.


The book I mentioned addresses all of these concerns and more! I think it even has a couple of barn plans in it to give you a place to start.


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## RylieHorses (Apr 3, 2011)

StrikinHigh said:


> The book I mentioned addresses all of these concerns and more! I think it even has a couple of barn plans in it to give you a place to start.


I've been reading some small parts they have of the book posted online until i get it, should only be a few days. I did request a quote from menards, they do have some big barn plans (and you can do custom quotes). So i'm just waiting to here back .


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## EQ1 (Apr 8, 2011)

*that all depends*

How you want your barn depends on a lot of things! I've been in the horse business for 30 years and my husband builds barns. It depends on where you are on this planet...what country, what state...the weather does have an impact on your decision. It depends on what the intended use. How many horses. The property characteristics, your budget, the style of horse manangement, storage (what, where), equipment, and on and on. 

I don't know how much experience you have with horses or caring for them. If you have lots of experience that is good. If not, get someone with lots to help. Better to have a builder that has horses or is married to horses. Lots of builders can build you a pretty barn. Pretty is very nice, functional is better. One that will hold up to horses wear and tear and is designed to make your life simpler is better than pretty.

Take your time during this planning stage. Consider not just your needs now. But what they might be in the future. What if you want/need to sell later. What if right now you use bagged shavings, but 2 years from now you need to use bulk saw dust, or what if now you use small bales of hay but next year hay prices sky rocket and you need to get large bales for awhile.

Take your time with the planning stage.

Lots to think about! But it is fun! I've designed several barns for my husband's clients. I love doing it! It is the only time my husband and I can work together. He gets it since he is married to a horse business and helps out around the farm. so the planning part is important to him to get it right. Esp after living in barns that weren't planned well. 

did I mention to take your time with the planning?:wink:

Take pictures of the whole process from what your place looked like before through completion. It's fun to look back at the pictures. We usually do a picture story book that we give to all of our clients at completion. They really enjoy them.

I wish you luck! Have Fun! Find the right support people to surround yourself with and you will be fine!


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