# Stall heights?



## fivewiseones (Oct 14, 2014)

I live in northeast NC but will be moving to up state NY next summer. I need to start designing my horse barn. I only have one horse and possibly will have one more. No more than two horses. I know the winters are much harder to deal with in NY. I have been advised to have a lower ceiling height to maximize the heat from the horses. Any thoughts and what height ceiling would you recommend in a horse barn? We will be building from the ground up.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Penn State publishes a number of good guides on all aspects of horse facility planning, including one on stall design: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ub033.pdf

They say 10-12 feet height is average, with 8 ft being an absolute minimum.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Low ceilings are a hazard, though they are still seen on older barns, mainly converted cow barns. Most new construction has a high roof for pitch in cold climates. I would insulate that main roof & the stall walls. That should be enough to make a difference.
Congratulations of building your own barn.


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## fivewiseones (Oct 14, 2014)

Thanks for taking the time to answer my concerns about stall heights. You all said what I was thinking. It is nice to have confirmation for your own thoughts. Since I have no experience with those kind of temps. I was not comfortable just using my brain! Thanks again for letting me use your brains. lol

Any other advice for building a small barn in up state NY?


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

install a thermo heating system in the floor. It will pay for itself on what you save in electric bills, blankets, and make you year round bathing wash rack much more friendly to you. I just had a friend, who had to gut her current barn and have one installed. When she ran the math she saved thousands of dollars within a few years. However, her mistake of not doing it right the first time, did cost a lot more. Carefully plan out your barn. NEVER, fall into "I can add it later" without careful evaluation, as many times its way more expensive and a bigger problem later.


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## Chevaurra (Aug 16, 2014)

I don't know what the weather is like in NY, but I live in Canada and I'm not doing any type of insulation on my barn. We've got vents on each side, no insulation, no heating whatsoever (except the water buckets, lol). My horse will be staying outside as much as possible, except during *really* bad snowstorms. She's allergic, so staying inside even one night is quite bad for her, with the dust. Barn insulation would make that worse. Plus, I don't want her to get used to being warm in the barn and then have no winter coat to be able to deal with the weather outside. She's an Arabian, so she doesn't grow much of a coat anyway. What she can grow, I want her to. XD She's been living in the same basic type of barn for a few years now, and as long as she's blanketed, she does fine inside and outside.

My barn though, we're storing the hay on the side facing into the wind, so we're hoping that will be some form of insulation against the cold on that side.

And the ceiling height, I think...I can't remember exactly what it is. At least 12', maybe 14?


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## RBuchele10 (Aug 19, 2014)

*Barn doors*

Congrats on building your barn! It's awesome that you have the opportunity to build it right the first time!

One thing you will most definitely have to deal with in upstate NY is SNOW. And lots of it. With that being said, keep in mind how you want to design your barn doors. Not "human doors" but doors that need to accommodate horses, tractors and the like. A good number of barns use large sliding doors that attach to the OUTSIDE of the facility. This is fine in the warmer months, but nothing is more miserable (and potentially hazardous) than a barn door being frozen to the ground or impeded by 2 feet of snow. 

I would suggest doors that open internally. Options such as garage doors or sliding doors that slide open on the inside of the barn will keep you from having to take a shovel to frozen snow and ice to your externally mounted doors. I know a few people that are upstate and have to keep this in mind for building airplane hangars.

Hopefully this helps!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

If you are building from "scratch" roof pitch is important for snow removal, heating and cooling of the barn year round. They also suffer from hurricanes and tornadoes so it is very important to be done right....
If designed right you can still have that sliding door but it slides inside the barn not to the outside...the track just is inside.
Cold, severe cold is also a issue...so not only think of large sliders but a walk through door for human access without a draft happening from a huge opening slider.
Ventilation is critical as summers upstate can be hot & humid, terribly so, as can the bugs.:-x
Look at some online web sites for some ideas from the builders in NYS....

Good luck and enjoy the planning.
:wink:


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