# Am I The Only One?



## Lucara (Apr 5, 2008)

I HATE wooden barns. Am I the only one? Everytime I see a wooden barn, all I can think about is wood rot, chewed off doors, and the uncleanable walls.

My end goal in life to eventually open an equine rescue. To me, wood does not seem like a smart idea in a barn. When I worked at Dixie, they had wood stalls. They were nearly impossible to get clean when you fed mash or someone had diarrhea. They got cracked when kicked and the horses were constantly chewing on anything they could get their mouths on. 
Plus, if there were a small fire in a barn, wouldn't wood be an even worse idea? 

Also..I HATE wooden doors. I've been looking at these. YES they would be significantly more expensive BUT, they're easy to clean, allow for more air flow. Granted your barn would look more like the county jail, I like them.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

All products have a good and a bad side I say.

Block walls are solid and can be easy to clean (and can be hard to clean if not coated with something) but they are hard and do more damage to the horse if they kick them.

Metal looks nice when it goes in and wipes down easy but does rust when it gets dings in its coating, and it WILL get dings in its coating. Metal also bends when kicked and then has to be replaced to be straight again. 

Etc, etc.

No barn product is perfect.


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

wood does less damage to the horse if they kick...


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## foreignmusic (Mar 7, 2010)

I like wood : )


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

The barn I have my horse at is a wood barn. It's fine I guess. Although my horse who has recently taken to kicking his stall has cracked a few boards, it's manageable. When/If I have my own barn it wouldn't be wood, but it's just personal preference.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Lucara said:


> I HATE wooden barns. Am I the only one? Everytime I see a wooden barn, all I can think about is wood rot, chewed off doors, and the uncleanable walls.
> 
> My end goal in life to eventually open an equine rescue. To me, wood does not seem like a smart idea in a barn. When I worked at Dixie, they had wood stalls. They were nearly impossible to get clean when you fed mash or someone had diarrhea. They got cracked when kicked and the horses were constantly chewing on anything they could get their mouths on.
> Plus, if there were a small fire in a barn, wouldn't wood be an even worse idea?
> ...


Wood power washes nicely.

Our neighbor was able to get blocks from a construction site for his barn. It's very cold in the barn. If the horse kicks or rubs, the horse gets marked up. His barn also reeks.

The stall doors you have photos of - VERY noisy if you have a horse that likes to paw or run it's teeth over things.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

Cedar shouldn't rot at any significant rate... Granted it's expensive. You can also prevent rot by putting very deep (5') overhangs on the roof. That's what they do with Scandinavian log houses. It's ideal for passive solar heating/cooling too. As for stalls well the best thing for the horses is not to be stalled at all, but I do like the ones you showed. 

Even if it does rot, wood is still way better for the environment than concrete or metal, if you care about that.


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## Beau Baby (Oct 28, 2008)

the only barn i like that you pointed out is the last one and that's only because it's light and pretty. wood in my opinion is the best. maybe i'm a bit biased because all the farms i've ridden or worked at are wooden. they are fairly easy to clean, do less harm to horses and in my opinion are prettier{some}. If you don't want horses chewing on the wood make sure there are no gaps between the wall panels and put metal over the parts on the door the horse can chew.


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## Rebelappy (Dec 22, 2008)

I have Been n Several barns with my boys Cinder block, wood, metal , all the above they all have pros and cons i how ever have noticed that one of our super nice barns around here that charge alot money for there way nice set up heated arena the works .. stalls always reck it totally turns me off everytime i show there. they have an older barn with wooden stalls and it doesnt seem to have nearly the smell though chew marks are evident .
In my experience with wood it really just depends on the set up one of the other ones that i have stayed at several times over the years has it so the wood slides in as units makes it nice if you have stallions or even a horse cast in a stall to get them freed up quickly


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## shesinthebarn (Aug 1, 2009)

I just pressure wash the wood as needed. It seems to clean up fine. As for chewing, if all edges are covered properly in metal stripping, it's not so much of an issue.
Other products are nice however as you can get them in different colours and it makes for a light and airy feeling barn. 
Oh, I have to second the one response who said that those mesh type stalls are loud and messy. I worked at a place for 3 years that had those. Some of the horses find it terrible amusing to rake their teeth over it over and over. If you feed a mash, it gets stuch in the little holes and makes a heck of a mess. But they do look nice and add great air flow.


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## ptvintage (Feb 12, 2010)

I second the noisiness. I worked at a barn that had those grates, and everyday when it was time to be fed, all the way down the aisle you'd hear the horses running their teeth on the grate.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I like the look of an old wooden barn with cobble stone base. Just something about it aesthetically that is pretty. For practicality I prefer a steel or aluminum barn. Our run in shed is galvanized with wood on the walls where the horses are. I was fearful of them kicking through the metal too. 
I see a beautiful old barn like this falling down and it makes me want to cry


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