# Building horse run in shed/stalls...



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Ok so we are finally going to build a run in shed/stall for my horse. It'll be about 12x12ft and will probably have a 16x12ft dry lot/pen attached for days when he cant go out into the pasture. I was wondering, how high should the ceiling be?


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## Northernstar (Jul 23, 2011)

12 ft. is the norm for a run-in - mine is 14 ft., only because Home Depot (where all of the materials were purchased), doesn't carry 14 ft. 4x4's to make a 12 footer... one tidbit of advice that I'm glad I went with - have the builder also install Styrofoam insulation inside the roof (1 fanfold pink bundle will do it), and when it's raining hard outside, that muffles the sound and makes it very calm and pleasant inside....good luck! 

*** Also, if you can, definitely make it a 3 1/2 sided run in which creates an awesome haven out of the weather - we could have a blizzard outside, and it's so calm in there, even with a full 7' opening in front. I just love mine, and so do my mares!!!


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

My run in shed is 16 ft deep and 40 ft long. It's about 12 ft high on the open side and goes back to 8 ft on the closed in back side. The slope keeps snow down to a minimum in the winter and allows rain run off in the summer. The open side faces south (our prevailing winds are from the northwest) - the horses use it mostly for bug relief in the summer and for sunning themselves in the winter. Once you get it up, you'll wonder how you ever managed without one.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

We want to have it 8 ft high at the back and 10 ft or so at the front.


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## Northernstar (Jul 23, 2011)

I would recommend 12' high in the front - 10' wouldn't seem to give much clearance...Mine is 14' in front (really wanted 12' but H Depot doesn't carry 14' posts & had to go w/16',- 2' underground) 14', slanted to 10', then 8', and as Chevaux has stated, the rain and snow run right off to the back. I have my horse fencing only 2' from the back of the shed, as a human can go behind if needed, but the horses can't. I got a lot of great ideas from an awesome book titled, "Horse Keeping On A Small Acreage" by Cherry Hill - it's found @ most libraries, or on Amazon for a few dollars - excellent advice in there


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

How tall is your horse, Horsecrazygirl? It may work at ten feet if you go with an average size horse. The two things with the lower slope are 1) if the horses get 'horsing around' which usually involves raising the head, even rearing, there is not a lot of clearance and 2) the snow may build up on the roof so you'll have to periodically clean it off to avoid stressing the structure with the weight of the snow.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

My first was 12 x 16 which gave me room for a 4' x12' feed bunk at the far end. For one horse the doorway was 4' wide. The building was n/s with the doorway on the s end. Several heavy overlapping tarps covered the opening which kept the flies out as it was nice and dark in there.


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## Northernstar (Jul 23, 2011)

Northernstar said:


> I would recommend 12' high in the front - 10' wouldn't seem to give much clearance...Mine is 14' in front (really wanted 12' but H Depot doesn't carry 14' posts & had to go w/16',- 2' underground) 14', slanted to 10', then 8', and as Chevaux has stated, the rain and snow run right off to the back. I have my horse fencing only 2' from the back of the shed, as a human can go behind if needed, but the horses can't. I got a lot of great ideas from an awesome book titled, "Horse Keeping On A Small Acreage" by Cherry Hill - it's found @ most libraries, or on Amazon for a few dollars - excellent advice in there


Major correction on my part - My run in is 14', down to 12', then 10' at the back....builder simply cut 4x4's to create the middle 12'.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

My dad wants to use 4x4 in posts for the run in. Is that ok or should they be larger??


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

4x4s would work in that size of shed. They would just need to be spaced closer together than if you were using the 6 inch size. I assume you're going to do a pole shed so you just need to make sure the 4x4s are treated so that they don't rot when they are in the ground. 

P.S. I said earlier my shed was 12 ft high at the open end - I measured it today and its 11 ft. Just an fyi as you were thinking you wanted to go with a 10 ft opening.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

for the height you will need to figure the angle you will need for snow to slide off . you could put osb ply wood down then some tin roofing so the snow would slide off the tin, but still have open access to the run and have the pen graded to drain away from the stall .


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

The rafters on my run-in were strapped then metal roofed. No OSB underneath altho it is noisy during a hard rain. The horses won't stay in then anyway, they move out into a open area to they can see all around.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Chevaux said:


> 4x4s would work in that size of shed. They would just need to be spaced closer together than if you were using the 6 inch size. I assume you're going to do a pole shed so you just need to make sure the 4x4s are treated so that they don't rot when they are in the ground.
> 
> P.S. I said earlier my shed was 12 ft high at the open end - I measured it today and its 11 ft. Just an fyi as you were thinking you wanted to go with a 10 ft opening.


Ok great! My dad didnt want to set the posts into the ground. he wants to use these instead;


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Yep, those would work.


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## RopingBW (Oct 4, 2013)

I am using Trees that we cut down as the corner post I am treating them but can I just set them in the holes and backfill or do I need concrete? The run in is 14ft long back wall and 10 wide!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Can you get treated railroad ties. The real ones, not the garden variety. What they call switch ties, the ones for the crossings are longer. I had a load of sand set down, set the ties on that then added the framing of 24" centers. I used rough cut so they were bigger than kiln dried 2x4's. The walls are 8' high plus some extra height from the ties. The frames were lag bolted to the ties. I used proper rafters or trusses (I'm not up on the terminology) because of the snow load they have to withstand.


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