# What are your favorite features of your barn / stables?



## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

Barns come in many sizes and styles so I'm curious about what you love the most about your current or past barns and stables. Is it the general design, the floor mats, the feeders, the paddock, the fencing... what?! 

I'm in the process of looking for land and a barn design (that I can afford) so any thoughts or advice would be great! 

Thanks so much!


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

The barn that I have my horse at is an old cattle barn and it is not set up the best inside, alley ways are narrow but there are 5 stalls that are built for horses ( my father did this about 50 yrs ago).
The best part of the set up at my sister's place is that the horses have access to pasture, the pasture is divided so one can be closed off. the horses have access to a good run in at the back of the barn so they can come in at any time to get out of the weather, flies etc. This run in has doors on the south and north side so a nice cross breeze is available for hot weather or close the north door for more protection. For me this is very important as the horses can stay out most of the time but have good shelter and a stall in the barn if needed.


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## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

My tack room with the a/c window unit!


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## mkmurphy81 (May 8, 2015)

I want to hear everyone's ideas, too. I'll be building a barn in about a year and a half. Here's my current wish list:
1. ventilation! It's hot and humid around here.
2. barn in the pasture so I can just let the horses out instead of leading them individually to the pasture. (I plan on them being out most of the day.)
3. half wall on the front of the stalls so horses can put their heads over. I want kid-proof horses I can use for riding lessons, and I want nervous children to be able to touch and pet the horses before actually walking in the stalls.
4. lots of storage - there's no such thing as too much storage for tack, feed, etc.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

The barn I am at now isn't as nice as ones I have been at in the past, but I was very attracted to it because of the nice owners and low-key atmosphere.

I love having a covered arena, and all the stalls back up to runs so they can go outside in their little pen - But the runs have mats so they aren't going to get as terribly muddy as going out to a pasture.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I have a pole barn structure so I have great ventilation for my hot and humid at times climate.
My barn is 4 stalls...each one measures inside dimensions 12'x12' boxes, plus the same size for a feed/storage stall area.
I have solid plank lower walls and then have bars along the top half. The bars on top allow for nice neighbors and peace when horses are being fed or need kept in for any reason. They can give dirty looks but no touching or bickering going on. The stall doors are open on top, half doors, and situated that no two are next to each other that they can harass the neighbor horse...
My walls bottom to top measure 8 1/2 feet high, my barn height to the rafters is 12' then add the peak.
My feed stall is also the same design so it doesn't get to hot or muggy in it. This is where I also keep my wheelbarrow and muck fork, rakes and such. This stall holds 2 tons of hay easily stacked properly besides 3 large metal garbage cans for various feeds if I need. I have ample walk-around space even when filled to capacity with all "my goodies" inside.
In winter I put up heavy clear panels that allow light but stop that cold breeze making the barn warmer. 
I *do not *have electric in my barn, don't need it for cooling fans as I placed my barn so it always has a breeze come through.
I do have underground water and electric that mounts to and is protected by my plank fencing from a curious muzzle exploring.
The barn has a overhang {built more like shedrow} of 16 feet which allows the horses to come stand under the roof for weather protection of heat, rain or just to lie down and rest in the shade if they wish. The backside of my barn has a overhang of 4 feet so stays pretty dry inside.
Around the barn itself it is plank fenced..... dimensions of 330' x 200', grass in the paddock with the horses. I then also have pasture with additional 6 acres, so 2 fields of lush thick grass, 3 acres each. This is wire field fenced, no barb wire for me! Walk through gates 4' wide and then wide drive-through gates 12' wide in and out of every field connecting all together...makes it easy to move trucks & trailers, cut grass and do maintenance of fixing fence.There are no outside perimeter gates at all. You must drive through my driveway to access the barns and pasture space. 
I rotate the pastures before the grass gets growing well with spring rains, otherwise it would be a mess and dirt. If it rains horrible they get locked into the barn paddock area and preserve the pasture till drier.
I feed hay year round, more in winter than summer obviously, but always have some out for whoever wants it.
Horses also are fed feed every day, not much but enough so they know when I call them to come in they do...yes, a reward,.. but easier to reward than chase them if they want to be difficult.
I have water in each stall, a bucket. Then in each pasture area and the barn paddock is a large trough {rubber} with a automatic float valve so I know there is plentiful water. I dump and fill at least 2x a week so it isn't green and disgusting to drink from.

OK...so the one thing I wish I had known to do when building....
The barn has a metal roof.
When it rains it is horrible noisy,_ for me_. No idea if the horses truly mind, but they are under cover if it is nasty out.
I wish I had put on the roof panels some type of insulation to cut the noise of rain pounding...deafening. That insulation may have made the barn a little cooler or warmer depending upon the season. I blanket so not a big deal for me either way...but the noise factor...._my ears hurt if caught out there for a long time during a torrential rain.:-(_

And if I had a different layout of house, barn and pasture.....
If I had any road frontage of my pasture the gates would be chained & padlocked closed on both sides around post & gate so no one could help themself to my horses. I've seen to many loose horses and livestock because someone forgot or someone opened a gate for a joke....no thanks!

Well, some ideas.

Enjoy designing your farm and barn-setting. :wink:


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

My barn is my retirement barn. The best part is that I did not go overboard and wrote a check for it:clap::clap:

I am equally as thrilled to have water, electric, a little kitchen counter area and an overhang on the run-in stall.

It is only 24 x 40 and while I do wish I could have had the 36 x 50 I wanted, I'm happy with the smaller barn. The extra money went to increase the size of Mr. WTW's workshop to work on everything and store the equipment


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Following this thread as I am in the process of building a barn and planning pastures/paddock, etc.

horselovinguy - that was an interesting description and thanks for the thoughts on the metal roof! I didn't think it would get THAT noisy! You got me thinking about insulation on the roof... probably a good idea to keep the barn warming in winter too. Thanks! And MsCuriosity, thanks for starting this thread which is of great interest to me!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Acadian...

When I had just the 2 horses and a new barn the barn roof would drip moisture on their backs in the winter.
Now with 4 horses...well, we have adapted the wind break some and honestly the horses are out roaming their barn pasture space more than in their stalls. Still some condensation drips....
I use turnout blankets and sheets so "drips" are a non-issue for me. :wink:

And yes, a very gentle rain sounds like a soothing waterfall.
Thunderstorm or torrential rain I can _not_ hear someone talking to me that is standing a few feet away...it can be that noisy.
Do look into something to deaden the sound...


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

As far as facilities go, I really appreciate a sink with hot and cold water. Also, a heated tack room for winter time.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

horselovinguy said:


> Acadian...
> 
> When I had just the 2 horses and a new barn the barn roof would drip moisture on their backs in the winter.
> Now with 4 horses...well, we have adapted the wind break some and honestly the horses are out roaming their barn pasture space more than in their stalls. Still some condensation drips....
> ...


So why the condensation? How else could it be avoided? I'd rather not blanket my horses (I would, however, on really bitterly cold days and we get lots of those here). Is it a ventilation issue? The insulation would stop the dripping and the noise, but the moisture issue wouldn't go away. Again, this is all really useful. Now I know to bring this up with my contractor. Maybe insulation with a moisture barrier like they use for basements? Condensation dripping from the roof is not something I would like to have!


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

I love how much ventilation my barn has. It is an old beef cattle barn and the set up kind of sucks, but I have to work with what I have.

I have 3 10x12 stalls on one side of my barn and once we rip the stanchions out of the other side of the barn we will convert another area into a 14x18 stall that can be used for foaling in the future, but will be my old mares stall in the mean time.

I love that my 3 stalls only have a half wall between them so the girls can all hang their heads into each others stalls when they are in. I have never had any problems with this set up, even with new horses. No fighting and I find even my old mare who doesn't like being inside enjoys this set up and doesn't have problems being inside with this set up as it doesn't have them feeling "trapped" inside.

I wish however I had more windows in the barn, I wish that I had running water inside my barn(hubby is fixing that this summer so I will have hot and cold water running in the barn). I also wish I had a special set up for blankets to hang and dry without being in the way(another thing hubby is fixing for me). I also wish I had better drainage outside of the barn so I didn't get so many wet spots(again my awesome hubby is working on this this summer as it drives him nuts as well lol). 

I'm lucky for the most part that the things I don't like will be fixed. Most of my things I hate are with the house lol.


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

Thanks so much for these responses... there's a lot to think on here!


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

It wasn't _my_ barn (or where my horses were boarded) but the barn I enjoyed working in most was a little eight-stall-and-tack-room number, and the best thing about it was the LIGHTS! Good lights are a must if you're going to be in the barn before dawn or after sunset.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Acadianartist said:


> So why the condensation? How else could it be avoided? I'd rather not blanket my horses (I would, however, on really bitterly cold days and we get lots of those here). Is it a ventilation issue? The insulation would stop the dripping and the noise, but the moisture issue wouldn't go away. Again, this is all really useful. Now I know to bring this up with my contractor. Maybe insulation with a moisture barrier like they use for basements? Condensation dripping from the roof is not something I would like to have!



_Sorry, just saw your post.._

I have no idea of why the condensation except that heat and humidity rises and gets trapped under any roof....guess it kind of "freezes" up there, it surely collects. 
Once the sun hits the roof and it starts to warm...drip, drip. 
It isn't like you soak the barn or horses backs by any means. It is a occasional drip that lands....
_You mention it gets bitterly cold where you are.... ever walk into the closed barn first thing in the morning.. a lot of body heat and humidity in the air you feel... that is the recipe for the drip, drip, drip in some barns during winter months..._
I could _not_ blanket, but my choice is to put that barrier on my horses backs. When my fields are covered in heavy, heavy white frost till 11:00 AM,....yea the animals are covered as they don't naturally grow thick coats for protection.

You can't get much more of a open barn plan than a pole barn. My walls are pretty much open and there are no actual enclosing exterior walls like most people envision a barn. Stall walls are solid planks 52" high, then all grill work on top so...open, open, open.

I've worked in a lot of barns.... barns with lofts, hay storage, apartment/living space....
They all had a drip issue just about in colder weather. Horses put off a lot of heat and humidity from breathing... and so it goes round and round. :wink:


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Where you have air and humidity, you will have condensation. Look at the dew point in the weather forecast. The higher the humidity, the higher the dew point, and once the temp drops to the dew point, you will have condensation.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Sorry, but I have a hard time buying that there is no way to avoid excessive condensation! I am in barns in the winter all the time and while I have seen one riding arena with a humidity problem that caused a lot of water to drop, none of the barns I'm in drip water on an ongoing basis. Of course there is humidity in barns, but surely well-planned ventilation could help solve the problem. This is not a criticism of anyone's barn - I just can't believe this is how it is and there's nothing you can do to avoid it.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

I have never had a condensation problem in my barn. My barn has great ventilation and nice high ceilings. Yes it may be cold in the winter but the horses are sheltered from the wind and snow.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Oh there is much you can do to prevent it....
Cupolas on roof tops, vents in indoor arenas roofs that bang in the wind....center roof caps, electric fans and open ends...
It only costs money to do some of those things.... sometimes many thousands more per "fix"...something I did _not_ have when I built nor did I know it would be a issue till after the job was done.
If I wanted to open my barn ends from the rafter line up it would probably "fix' the problem. 
What it would create though I am not wanting...possible wet feed storage area from driving wind and rain, loosening my roof panels or lifting my roof off the barn with the uplift..no thanks. I'll deal with the occasional drip, drip.....
Forget the unfinished look and ugly of looking at the reinforced roof rafters... nah!

_So, my original thought of insulate the roof for quiet, heat retained or repelled depending upon season. _
Only barn I ever was in that _didn't _have a condensation issue had a angled roof, steeply angled with a open eave that let all the warmth out and cold inside 
It was actually drafty as the windows along the other side were down low so great roof air exchange... think a chicken coop construction look to it.... 150' long chicken coop, commercial style not a cutesy backyard thing for 10 chickens but a building large enough to house thousands of birds as commercial establishments do.
I guess if you have a barn roof of that steep a pitch it would also work...
Maybe a wood roof would also breathe better than my steel roof, but again...my roof was inexpensive and is absolutely perfect for my needs. 
Pole barns are not expensive to construct in the realm of barns...what it would cost to fix would cost more than my entire barn did to build.
For the few mornings of drip, drip....I'll deal with it. :wink:


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

My barn roof has a very steep angle. It isn't drafty though. And no condensation. Ive only been in one barn over all my years that had that issue and it didn't have proper ventilation and was poorly designed.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I saw a first Saturday. The door was pretty much the entire length of one end of the barn. Flipped a switch and the door raised using motors and a ratchet system. You could stop it wherever you wanted and it could create an overhang. Think how nice that would be on really hot days where you could open it enough to let the air move but still have the overhang block the sun. I guess it's a pretty expensive system though. I'm adding it to my list of things I'll have if I ever hit the lottery.


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## kiltsrhott (Mar 11, 2012)

I like our barn a lot.

Here's what I like:
- The hay loft opens to the stalls below so you can throw hay directly into the stalls without making a mess all over the aisles. Having no ceiling above the stalls helps with ventilation too.
- The stall floors are packed stone dust with fitted rubber mats on top. This surface drains, is easy to clean, and is much more forgiving than cement, but it doesn't get dug out like a dirt floor, and because the mats are fitted, they don't move, or lift out of place.
- Cement aisles. Our cement has not been slippery. It's just easy to clean, remains level, and is not dusty.
- Built-in saddle racks on the wall of the tack room. This makes for more vertical storage, and eliminates the crowd of awkward folding racks that were in a lot of the tack rooms where I boarded.
- Real stairs! I hate having to climb a ladder to get into the hay loft.
- Removable yolks in the stall doors, so the horses can have their heads out or be locked in.
- A row of lights on each side of the aisle instead of just one down the center. This makes it easier to see when grooming your horse after dark or before dawn.
- Our no-climb fences require minimal maintenance.
- Stone dust in high traffic areas keeps mud to a minimum.
- Smaller, stone dust paddocks are great for turnout to prevent overgrazing of pastures, and churning up mud in wet weather.
- We have an actual feed room with a door. This is great because you don't have to sacrifice a whole stall for feed storage or leave your feed somewhere where a loose horse might get into it.
- Feed holes in the stalls with corner feeders, so you can feed horses without having to go into the stall.

What I don't like:
- We are lacking storage for wheel barrows and pitch forks. We store that stuff in the wash stall and have to move it all every time we want to use the wash stall.
- There are only a few spigots, all close to the barn, so we have to drag huge lengths of hose all over the place to reach outdoor water troughs. Would be nice to have a few spigots out by far away turnouts.
- Buildings, gates, manure piles etc. are spread out. I'd arrange things a bit closer together for convenience and to save time not having to walk so far.
- Because things are spread out, there's a lot of lawn in between things. Too much mowing!
- We only have 1 run-in shed. Run-ins are great, because you can just leave your horses out whatever the weather. Right now we have to rush and bring the horses into the barn if storms roll in because they have inadequate shelter. Someday we hope to remedy this.
- We have very few trees, therefore not a lot of shade. This is another thing that I hope to fix soon.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

_*Your barn is gorgeous.... *_
Similar to the barn I grew up riding at... probably more luxurious and nicer amenities you have. 
Childs eyes make things more glorious than reality...in adults eyes...:shock:... this barn_* is *_beautiful!!

In my dreams something like that exists....in reality it is a long distance to what I can afford. :-(

So, I can continue to dream and make plans.... someday, someday..:wink:


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> I saw a first Saturday. The door was pretty much the entire length of one end of the barn. Flipped a switch and the door raised using motors and a ratchet system. You could stop it wherever you wanted and it could create an overhang. Think how nice that would be on really hot days where you could open it enough to let the air move but still have the overhang block the sun. I guess it's a pretty expensive system though. I'm adding it to my list of things I'll have if I ever hit the lottery.


That sounds pricey but awesome!



kiltsrhott said:


> I like our barn a lot.
> 
> Here's what I like:
> - The hay loft opens to the stalls below so you can throw hay directly into the stalls without making a mess all over the aisles. Having no ceiling above the stalls helps with ventilation too.
> ...


THANK-YOU, KiltRHott... this is exactly the helpful kind of response I was hoping for! And your barn is amazingly beautiful. I'm so glad you included pics.


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

NBEventer said:


> I have 3 10x12 stalls on one side of my barn and once we rip the stanchions out of the other side of the barn we will convert another area into a 14x18 stall that can be used for foaling in the future, but will be my old mares stall in the mean time.
> 
> I love that my 3 stalls only have a half wall between them so the girls can all hang their heads into each others stalls when they are in. I have never had any problems with this set up, even with new horses. No fighting and I find even my old mare who doesn't like being inside enjoys this set up and doesn't have problems being inside with this set up as it doesn't have them feeling "trapped" inside.
> 
> I wish however I had more windows in the barn, I wish that I had running water inside my barn(hubby is fixing that this summer so I will have hot and cold water running in the barn). I also wish I had a special set up for blankets to hang and dry without being in the way(another thing hubby is fixing for me). I also wish I had better drainage outside of the barn so I didn't get so many wet spots(again my awesome hubby is working on this this summer as it drives him nuts as well lol).


All great things to think on... thanks a ton, NBEventer.



horselovinguy said:


> Oh there is much you can do to prevent it....
> Cupolas on roof tops, vents in indoor arenas roofs that bang in the wind....center roof caps, electric fans and open ends...
> It only costs money to do some of those things....


Thanks for bringing up this important issue. I'm going to read more on it before I build. Very helpful...


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

gigem88 said:


> My tack room with the a/c window unit!


Haha - nice for summer breaks, huh?



Woodhaven said:


> The best part of the set up at my sister's place is that the horses have access to pasture, the pasture is divided so one can be closed off. the horses have access to a good run in at the back of the barn so they can come in at any time to get out of the weather, flies etc. This run in has doors on the south and north side so a nice cross breeze is available for hot weather or close the north door for more protection. For me this is very important as the horses can stay out most of the time but have good shelter and a stall in the barn if needed.


Very nice planning with the pasture access and division. I'll plan like this now... thanks!



SorrelHorse said:


> I love having a covered arena, and all the stalls back up to runs so they can go outside in their little pen - But the runs have mats so they aren't going to get as terribly muddy as going out to a pasture.


Sounds like a nice place to board!



walkinthewalk said:


> My barn is my retirement barn. The best part is that I did not go overboard and wrote a check for it:clap::clap:
> 
> I am equally as thrilled to have water, electric, a little kitchen counter area and an overhang on the run-in stall.
> 
> It is only 24 x 40 and while I do wish I could have had the 36 x 50 I wanted, I'm happy with the smaller barn. The extra money went to increase the size of Mr. WTW's workshop to work on everything and store the equipment


Wow, that IS a dream barn... no payments. And they say size isn't everything anyway. :wink:



Acadianartist said:


> Thanks! And MsCuriosity, thanks for starting this thread which is of great interest to me!


I'm glad it's helping more than just me!



TessaMay said:


> As far as facilities go, I really appreciate a sink with hot and cold water. Also, a heated tack room for winter time.


Got it, water, sink, and heat... check!


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## Alex West (Jun 17, 2015)

I agree with many of you on this thread that ventilation is vitally important. I do find thathorselovingguy's comment interesting as I have never had rain noise problems so have never factored that in.

If we weren't talking about facilities and were talking about aesthetics and if money were no object, I'd simply love a large barn with a clock tower like this one


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

That's a simple, nice looking horse barn! 



Alex West said:


> I agree with many of you on this thread that ventilation is vitally important. I do find thathorselovingguy's comment interesting as I have never had rain noise problems so have never factored that in.
> 
> If we weren't talking about facilities and were talking about aesthetics and if money were no object, I'd simply love a large barn with a clock tower like this one


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

If you go with a barn from a company that builds barns, go visit some of their jobs in your area that are 5-10 years old.

Those owners can give you ideas of what they like and what they don't. All too often I come across builders that can build something that looks great in a picture, but the function isn't there.

As far as condensation: open some doors/windows. For our horses the barn is to provide a dry/comfortable place to lay down out of the wind/snow. But, we only blanket when it's below 0,F so ours grow nice winter coats and therefore are quite comfortable in the barn at 20 degrees even if we humans are not


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

tim62988 said:


> If you go with a barn from a company that builds barns, go visit some of their jobs in your area that are 5-10 years old.
> 
> Those owners can give you ideas of what they like and what they don't. All too often I come across builders that can build something that looks great in a picture, but the function isn't there.
> 
> As far as condensation: open some doors/windows. For our horses the barn is to provide a dry/comfortable place to lay down out of the wind/snow. But, we only blanket when it's below 0,F so ours grow nice winter coats and therefore are quite comfortable in the barn at 20 degrees even if we humans are not


I plan on avoiding blankets unless absolutely necessary so I'm interested in your post. We also live with more or less the same climate. 

But doesn't the water freeze in the barn if it's so cold in there?


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

Acadianartist said:


> I plan on avoiding blankets unless absolutely necessary so I'm interested in your post. We also live with more or less the same climate.
> 
> But doesn't the water freeze in the barn if it's so cold in there?


Good Point:

my absolute FAVORITE feature of the barn, heated water buckets & a heated cord around the water spigot 

we also have a submersible tank heater for the outdoor tub so horses are never without water


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

tim62988 said:


> Good Point:
> 
> my absolute FAVORITE feature of the barn, heated water buckets & a heated cord around the water spigot
> 
> we also have a submersible tank heater for the outdoor tub so horses are never without water


That makes a lot of sense... but wouldn't it drive your heating bill through the roof? 

A while ago I found a great post in here about insulating your water trough... here's a link that was shared: Build a Solar Stock Tank - DIY - MOTHER EARTH NEWS

If you live in a cold climate, this makes a lot of sense. We went for months last winter dealing with extreme cold for extended periods of time (-35 celcius and colder). My neighbor told me their water heaters are the single biggest horse expense in the winter (they just stick them in buckets outside so imagine the heat loss!).


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

the bucket heaters run on a thermostat so actually not a lot of difference in the electric bill.

what one could do would be leave the spigot plugged in all the time, then empty whichever pail isn't currently being used and unplug that heater.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I love the loft that holds up to 500 bales and the stairs that somebody put in. HATE those "fireman's ladders"!
I also love the shelter adjacent to the barn.


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

These replies have been amazing for helping me figure out some needs for the horse barn, before I build it. Thanks, everyone. 

The search for land is still going, btw. Either I'm too darn picky or there's not much in my preferred area (N.CA or S. OR) that meets my needs (that's still affordable). I've seen a few with existing barns but am actually trying to hold out for land without one so I'll get exactly the barn I want. haha (sigh)


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## Kay Armstrong (Jun 28, 2015)

Not sure if we are allowed to suggest companies here but I'll give it a shot. 

Barnpros.com

So many different choices and size options. Hope to use them for my dream barn.


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

Kay Armstrong said:


> So many different choices and size options. Hope to use them for my dream barn.


Yeah, a while back I requested info from them... definitely 'dream barn' pricing. :neutral: Still, very nice designs!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

I can't remember whether or I posted or not.... (Also, I board so it's not /my/ barn, but...)
I love the automatic fly spray system. There are like... zero flies, it's fantastic. <3

EDIT--Best of luck with your search !


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## Hammersmith Farms (Jun 22, 2014)

*Outdoor wash station/outdoor shower*

On Cape Cod everyone has an outdoor shower for the humans. Used for the summer after returning from the beach, but most locals use them April-November. I recently saw an outdoor shower aka washing stall for horses. What an awesome idea we're definitely adding one.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

I love that the inside of my barn is behind my stalls and my stalls are in an open run in. I also have an electrical outlet above each stall so I can use fans and heaters easily. Also helps if the vet needs to use anything at their stall. I have a cross tie area in front of the stalls and will be making one inside the barn for this winter. 

I have 3 run in sheds (including the one the stalls are in) that have their own paddocks so they can be out in whatever the weather without destroying the fields. I also have the hay storage barn at the other end of the property away from the barn and only keep enough for a week in the barn. This reduces the fire risk 

All of my pastures/paddocks and the riding ring are connected also so there's no need to walk a horse outside of the fence line. To me that's important because people pay no attention to the speed limit on my road.


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## dawnandduke2002 (Sep 28, 2015)

*100+ Year Barn*

Hoo boy, be ready for probably a page about what I love about my barn. Now, the caption says 100+ year old barn. And yes, it is over 100 years old. My great-great-grandpa Otto built it when he traveled over with his mum, siblings, and dad from Prussia, Germany, still it's own country then. Anyways, it is very old and I'm constantly finding surprises. My family has always loved horses, so much that a back in the old days someone of my relation got killed trying to help a sickly horse (he got kicked in the head and there were no docs). It has four big stalls, with wooden beams supporting the roof. The other half of the barn is clear, space to be turned into more stalls, feeding rooms... etc. I haven't decided on what to do with it, yet, so why don't you help me out and give me some ideas! There is also a cow milking stall, which is vacant as of right now, and I'm not sure what I'll do with that either, since a horse can't fit and I don't have a milk cow. There is also a fairly large tack room, with stairs leading up to the hay loft beside it. Now, I have a small paddock leading out from stall #1, a small pasture that has many trees surrounding it, and a big feedlot/pasture that I keep my horses in. Overtime I've seen many new barns that were freshly built, but they have stunk with the reek of newness, if that makes sense. My barn is old, has character, personality, and many memories. It was used as a horse barn, calving barn... etc. Many bottle calves have been raised here, horses have lived here, people have worked here, and life has blossomed right here in this barn.


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

Well, I have only been with our barn since May, and it's the first barn I've been in regularly since I was a kid. However, here are my favorite things:

Concrete aisles that are always swept clean. You could sit down on them and not get dirty.

Well-cleaned stalls that do not smell. 

A glassed-off viewing room (to the indoor) with chairs, a desk, and a refrigerator. 

A large indoor arena.

A large outdoor arena.

A wash area.

A laundry area with a toilet (toilets are a big deal, no?)

A tack room with ample room for everyone's things.

It's heated.

My favorite: it's full of happy horses!


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## HarleyWood (Oct 14, 2011)

I have a 56 by 54 pole barn, as of right now i have 4 stalls on the far end, and hay at the other with a big door for a tractor to get into. i have a 12 by 12 tack/feed room on the wall with the hay that has a walk through door and a small window. we are adding a lean-to off the small walk through door that will be 14 by 64 to store hay and a 14 by 16-18 foot tack room/ feed room in the front to get the hay and tack out of the barn and the stalls will be taken out this fall or in the spring so i have the whole barn to ride in. 

we are building a large leanto outside for them to go into, we will be spliting the lean to in half and making it to two different pastures, so i can feed my easy keeper with out the other two trying to eat his food. but making sure we can open it up to let them all use both pastures.


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