# Permit for barn in Manitoba, Canada



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Hi baudelaire. I'm in Saskatchewan the province to the west of Manitoba. 

In general terms (as these things will vary from province to province), you want to check the zoning on your potential property first -- typically you will see it will be either something like country residential, agricultural, or commercial. Next, after finding out the property's zoning, find out what the property taxation schedule is like (that can be a deal breaker if it's at the commercial or equivalent category). Otherwise, it generally is not too complicated to build in Canada (the more rural the area the more it tends to be less regimented and regulated).

With regard to land zoning, if it's country residential (probably the most regulated in land zoning next to commercial), there's likely restrictions on how many animals (if any livestock) you can have, where buildings can be placed; buildings possibly inspected by building inspector; resulting higher taxes, etc. If it's agricultural, you will probably have to honour some set backs (where buildings are located in relation to the roads, shared boundaries) but will otherwise have a fairly easy time putting up your buildings; there may not be a requirement to have non residential buildings inspected at all and you probably won't be hit as hard with property taxes because of the improvements to the property you are making. If it's commercial, you will probably still be able to do what you have planned but it will be subject to more intense building inspections and you would likely see high property taxes as a result.

Size of property will affect zoning as well. Generally, 5 acres or less may be considered country residential while more than 5 acres will put you in an agricultural designation.

You had asked if barns or indoor arenas were considered agriculture -- the answer to that is that it will vary with each municipality/county. Once again in general terms, if you run a boarding operation you may be considered a commercial venture or perhaps a home based business of which either one will affect your taxes; if you're lucky you'll be considered agricultural which usually means less stringent taxation. If your barn and arena are just for you, you may be considered agricultural.

Most municipalities have web sites where you can get info on development in their areas -- what their zoning/development bylaws are, what their official community plan is, what forms/applications you will need to fill out, etc. It would be worthwhile checking those out in the places you think you might interested in moving to. Also, the bigger (as in more urbanized) municipalities will likely have a dedicated development officer or two whom you could email and ask questions of directly.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

P.S. Best of the luck with the move, OP, and keep us posted on your progress.


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## baudelaire (Sep 12, 2017)

Hi Chevaux, thank you so much for taking the time to reply - i really appreciate it and that's really valuable information 
My husband is from Saskatoon but he's got less of an idea about these things than me as he never had to do it before he moved back to the uk!
The main reason for the move is that we just cant afford land over here. We'd be looking for at least 10 acres so fingers crossed we will fall under agriculture zoning.

Can i ask please, how do you find the winters on the prairies with horses?
I've been reading some absolute horror stories on the net about horses being snowed in their barns, escaping fencing over drifts and having to follow a rope to get from house to barn :-O , but then also reading that places like Springfield, just outside Winnipeg, has one of the highest horse keeping rates per capita - so surely it cant be that bad?!

We do a little bit of everything, but I'm primarily a distance rider and love open spaces so the thought of disappearing for hours into that sky gives me goosebumps


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

You're quiet welcome to ask anytime, baudelaire.

Personally, I don't find the winters that bad but I've also had many years of constantly improving what I do to get through the winters. They will be cold and much colder than what you would expect to see in UK with the possible exception of the most northerly part (which I presume is on the northern Scottish coast). The cold is tolerable as long the wind is not strong because otherwise it can chill you through. So to counter that there's lots of good winter clothing around for both human and horse if needed. The horses should be able handle it quite nicely if they have shelter from the wind. I have a run in shed and wind break fencing in the corral by the barn where the horses can (and do) come and go as needed if they start feeling a little chilly. Typically, I do not start putting my horses in at night until the 'hard' part of winter (Jan/Feb) starts and if it's a milder winter I may not even put them every night at that time. 

Dealing with snow drifts does require a bit of planning and something to consider when you go looking at properties. Where I am the prevailing winds are from the north and northwest therefore we have our place set up so that the opening to the run in shed faces south; the garage door also faces south; the wind break fence protects the feeding area in corral from that direction, etc. Tree shelter belts are also quite valuable for protecting the yard from the wind and keeping the drifting snow out. My sister and her husband live in an old well established farm yard with excellent shelter belts and they hardly ever have to do any snow clearing of significance because of that -- I have high hopes our yard will eventually get that good as our trees continue to grow and we expand our shelter belt. 

You probably should have some mechanized equipment to deal with the snow clearing and drifting. At the very least a walk behind snow blower will do if you get a place with good shelter; at worst you might have to purchase a tractor with mounted snow thrower and bucket to keep your driveway and paths open. You won't have to use the equipment every day -- just those times after there's been a blow where the wind has carried in snow. As an fyi, we use a tractor mounted snow thrower and the average usage is three times a winter to keep our yard and driveway open. 

It is true that snow drifts can build up and pack to the point that a horse could walk over them. The chance of that happening all depends on the right amount of snow, wind from the right direction and the right location coming together. It has happened a couple of times at our place before the trees got bigger and the wind fencing was put in. However, I have a half dozen or so portable corral panels available for this purpose so that if that does happen it's a simple fix to pop them on top of the drifted over fence area to create a barrier (they're removed once the spring melt happens).

I have heard about the rope tied from house to barn thing as well. I think it came about when the land was first settled for farming and people were putting up buildings on the bald prairie -- there would have been nothing to stop the snow from drifting for miles even and they certainly wouldn't have had electric lights or the snazzy flashlights we have now for navigating between buildings.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Keeping horses in the winter is surprising easy, because, wait for it, you will hear this a lot "It's a dry cold"

In all honesty fall and spring are the worse times, when the weather is wet, and you are liable to get big storms of wet snow, that is the only time I rug my old girl. Once we are safely into winter proper, I do keep an eye on her, but they manage really well. I have had many horses since we have been here, and only rugged one all winter, because she needed it, she didn't like growing a winter coat, it ruined her sleek lines...I do though Choose to blanket Fergie because it makes turn out after riding so much easier, get her as dry as I can, then rug her up and throw her out.

As long as the horses have some sort of shelter, man made or other, they seem happy, BUT I do feed ad lib hay all winter, because they burn so many calories keeping warm. When you are buying make sure the place has a working hot bowl, or budget for putting one in, they are a Godsend, when they work, and a total pain when they throw a wobbly. At the end of our second winter here we had to go back to the North of Scotland in January for a funeral. When we left Canada it was -28*C when we got to Orkney it was 4*C...and felt a LOT colder than Canada....


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## baudelaire (Sep 12, 2017)

great advice - thank you both!
i'm really not sure what my youngster will make of it, lol, he was sickly as a foal so has been a bit pampered and wants to come in unless it's sunny. he's gonna have a bit of a culture shock :-D


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hi baudelaire! I'm not in the Prairies, but rather, in the Maritimes, where our cold is often a wet one. And I agree - a dry cold is not so bad as a wet one. Though - 37C is cold whether it's wet or dry. The wind is bad too. 

We get a lot of snow. The worst is snow, followed by freezing rain, followed by rain. The whole thing becomes a wet, sloppy mess. And then it freezes solid. But I think this is a more eastern phenomenon which you hopefully won't have to deal with. Still, expect to have to keep sand to sprinkle over icy areas of your paddock/yard.

We have a tractor with a snowblower attachment. We use it after every storm, so once or twice a week on average (yes, we have a lot of storms here). We clear the house driveway, the barn driveway, a path from the house to the barn, and once in a while, the winter paddock. Keeping it free of deep snow has been very good in allowing the horses to get some exercise, and creates a wall of snow taller than the fence so that they're kept in. I've never had them climb over a fence for that reason. We also ride in the paddock in the winter, right over the packed snow (we don't have an indoor). Avoid the blades that just push the snow around. You will soon end up with mounds of snow and a driveway that just keeps shrinking. 

Winter in Canada requires a lot of planning. When you put in your fencing, you have to think about this. For two horses, we have two pasture areas (this allows for rotation) of about 1.5 and 2.5 acres each. These are fenced in with electric wire. We have a paddock with a top board to keep the horses in when the snow gets deep (wire tends to get pulled down by snow). This is their winter paddock. You have to consider drainage in the winter paddock because as @Golden Horse points out, spring, and sometimes fall, can be a real mess. Ideally, land that slopes slightly is best because then the melting snow can drain away. You'll want the winter paddock to be near or adjacent to the barn (mine is adjacent, and I have dutch doors so it's easy to let the horses out and they can go back into their stalls for shelter at any time). In fact, everything should be fairly close by because you'll have to dig out/ blow out paths to get everywhere. Some winters are worse than others of course. 

I've never had a need to tie a rope from the house to the barn, and I have been out in pretty bad blizzards where footprints would disappear under the blowing snow within minutes. We have motion-sensor lights on both ends of the barn that turn on when I get close, and two large dusk to dawn lights that stay on all night in front of the house and barn, so I can find my way easily with a flashlight. 

Manure disposal is something to think about. Once the snow comes, it will be hard to take it very far, but whatever spot you pick, that's where it will stay until spring because it will freeze solid. So it will be a big pile by spring! And you will need a tractor to move it then, once the ground firms up. That can take a while. 

I also have a gelding who is a bit of a wimp. He is blanketed all winter. You'll likely want to purchase some winter blankets for your horses - pay attention to the weight since they all have different levels of warmth. My wimpy gelding - who coughs when it gets really cold - also has a blanket liner to wear under his winter blanket, and this year I bought him a neck piece in the hopes of keeping his throat warmer. Both my horses are brought in at night when the temperatures start to get cold. However, most horses adapt just fine to winter, as long as they have shelter. They will grow a thick coat, and be just fine. My gelding is just "special".  

And you'll need heated water buckets or a heating element to put in the water trough of course. 

In terms of building, we are on 13 acres in the country and had no issues building our barn last year. There were distances we had to respect in terms of barn placement in relation to wells (everyone has their own well here), property lines, and watercourses, but otherwise, it wasn't a big deal to get the permit from the rural planning commission. If you do build (as opposed to finding a property that already has a barn on it), your contractor should be able to help you get all the necessary permits. 

Good luck, and keep us updated on the move!


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## baudelaire (Sep 12, 2017)

Thank you so much Acadianartist!
Must confess i hadnt even considered freezing poop - definitely something to plan for, lol.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

baudelaire said:


> Thank you so much Acadianartist!
> Must confess i hadnt even considered freezing poop - definitely something to plan for, lol.


Yes, it makes for a rather messy spring clean up! I try to keep the paddock picked clean throughout the winter so I don't end up with two feet deep of manure by spring! And to dispose of it, I came up with a system using my kids' saucer sled since wheelbarrows don't move so well in deep snow. I load up the muck bucket, place on the sled, shove it off to the manure pile, which is conveniently downhill from the barn, and voilà! Keeping a path to the pile shoveled is a pain though. Here's a pic when the snow got pretty deep. Hopefully you won't have this much snow in Manitoba! 

There's a video of me pushing the muck bucket on the saucer on the first page of this old thread: http://www.horseforum.com/member-journals/having-horse-cold-snowy-climate-745714/ There may be some useful things in there for you too!


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## baudelaire (Sep 12, 2017)

mg:
thank you for the link to the other thread!


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

manitoban here. ability to have horses varys a lot by municipality - some areas really don't care as long as you don't **** off the neighbours, others are very strict. Be careful buying in Springfield, they have been changing the zoning a lot and lots of horse properties have had their permmited animal units cut drastically - the current owners may be gandfathered in, you may not necessarily be, so make any zoning variances passing a condition of any property offer (few lovely farms set up for 20 ish horses now only zoned for 3 once they change ownership).
Winter isn't too bad once you get used to the cold (-40 c isn't unusual) - water is the big challenge, make sure any lines are deep or trace heated. 
Snow drifts can turn pretty hard so a good tractor and blower are necessary - you may only use it 3 times a winter but there is no other way to deal with it, you'll need a tractor for hay anyways - big rounds or squares are more common and a lot cheaper than small squares
the horses tend to adapt well - cold, dry and sunny is pretty easy for them, I had more issues with mine in Ontario with just below freezing and sleet/wet snow 
some nice people in the distance riding crowd here
happy to anwser any other Manitoba questions as best I can


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## baudelaire (Sep 12, 2017)

Thank you Sherian!
Springfield is the area around Birds Hill Park right? I've found old newspaper articles online about the RM wanting to change the zoning rules and horse people were really worried :-(


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

yes it is, make sure you have a good real estate agent and call the municipality and check. The big thing is the number of animals permited (animal units) - a horse is 1.3 units I believe. I d I remember correctly the 10 - 20 acre places we were looking at were zoned for 2 - 4 horses. Not sure on the building permits for indoor arenas, probably just some setbacks and building code standards to meet. When we moved here from Ontario in 2012 we gave up on Springfield as I had 10 horses, so hard to find a property large enough to meet the animal units that we could afford. Ended up south of Winnipeg instead. BHP is nice to ride in, good trails, and lots of competitions of all disciplines held there, I just trailer in. If you want acres of wide open country to ride in you'll want to look elsewhere - Springfield is fairly built up.


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## baudelaire (Sep 12, 2017)

Sherian said:


> yes it is, make sure you have a good real estate agent and call the municipality and check. The big thing is the number of animals permited (animal units) - a horse is 1.3 units I believe. I d I remember correctly the 10 - 20 acre places we were looking at were zoned for 2 - 4 horses. Not sure on the building permits for indoor arenas, probably just some setbacks and building code standards to meet. When we moved here from Ontario in 2012 we gave up on Springfield as I had 10 horses, so hard to find a property large enough to meet the animal units that we could afford. Ended up south of Winnipeg instead. BHP is nice to ride in, good trails, and lots of competitions of all disciplines held there, I just trailer in. If you want acres of wide open country to ride in you'll want to look elsewhere - Springfield is fairly built up.


Funnily enough, i've been looking South! The main reason for the move is so we can afford enough land to have lots (i've got 3 now and thats not nearly enough, lol) - so buying somewhere that will only let us have 2 or 3 defeats the purpose 
Thanks!


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

we are zoned for 10 horses on 40 acres, can apply for a variance to have more (the don't **** off your neighbours part is important for this), are about 10 mins south of Winnipeg so good for hubbys commute.


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## baudelaire (Sep 12, 2017)

Sherian said:


> we are zoned for 10 horses on 40 acres, can apply for a variance to have more (the don't **** off your neighbours part is important for this), are about 10 mins south of Winnipeg so good for hubbys commute.


Sounds lovely, i'm very jealous! :thumbsup:


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