# Barn stall set-up!



## txgirl (Jul 9, 2010)

I like stalls for each horse, never know when you will need to separate them for injuries, sickness or whatever. You could have gates as your walls, then you could leave them open for one large area or close them as needed to separate.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

We have 15 x 15 stalls and I will never go smaller. It has made a huge difference for us


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I'd make three stalls, but with the stall dividers that can be removed/swung back out of the way to open up the space. That allows you flexibility to have one big stall and one regular one, three stalls, or one large run-in. Recessed channels that 2x8's slide down into work really well and you simply remove the boards if you need to. Pipe livestock gates with mesh (often used around hogs) also are easily removed/swung back. I've used pipe gates/corral panels and lined them with plywood, too. 



The elevated dog tub may be super-handy for cleaning tack, blankets, etc. not to mention your pets. It's also a great selling point should you decide to resell the property. Any way you can take the wall out and have room for a wash area for horses and keep that tub?


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

SilverMaple said:


> The elevated dog tub may be super-handy for cleaning tack, blankets, etc. not to mention your pets. It's also a great selling point should you decide to resell the property. Any way you can take the wall out and have room for a wash area for horses and keep that tub?


Hmm, that's an interesting thought. I just wanted that tub GONE, but maybe it WOULD be useful for washing tack. I wouldn't have thought it would be a selling point, either. I'm sure I could take the wall out, it's just drywall I think.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

So...leave the tub if at all possible.
It allows you, yes *you* to shower off in the barn if needed for any reason...it is also the basis of a bathroom for you since it must be connected to sewer unless it drains out to the ground...something you _*must*_ know before any plans go further!

Stalls...would be built with *permanent walls *10'x10' and 10'x'11' sizes.
Your horses are not huge and with the ability to go outside to a attached run they will be out more than in.
You could easily erect a steel shelter roof system off the barn or free-standing so protection from rain and such but they don't have to be in stalls or have 24/7 access either.

Your pony may be a Houdini and for that reason solid secure walls not moveable or Houdini will figure out they move and be into major mischief.
I would also put wall-top partition pieces between them so feeding time no one is in anothers face aggravating them.
Cattle panels work really well to restrict but allow sight, smell and touch actually of noses but no teeth or aggressive behaviors toward each other and no stealing of each others food, supplements or medications.
I have 4' wide gates with a mesh bottom as my stall doors. You can also use 6' wide gates for stall doors but 4' is standard.

Mine completely fill a opening but allow light and air/breeze through yet keep in who needs in and out who needs out.
Stall walls made from 2"x6", 8" & 10" p/t planks will allow you to get the height you want, then I really would add that cattle panel on top so no climbing over walls...
If you really have a issue with a climber you can buy full doors from stall manufacturers or Dover Saddlery has some nice taller ones with closing yokes...you can also add a mesh stall guard that keeps in or out as needed faces, necks and bodies.

You can do sliding doors but _do not_ do them outdoors where ground freezes and heaves or you may get a horse stuck inside or out, possibly ripping the door off the track and those rollers need oiling and cleaning of the track to truly work well and not "stick."
Dutch doors to the outside do work and made correctly they will not be drafty or allow inclement weather in either...and they look pretty. 

Consider your tack room and feed room in the center of the barn not the end or you will be doing a lot of extra steps every single day.
Your wash stall needs offset wall or high overhead lighting so no drafts as this can also double as your emergent care area
A area near a outside door for the farrier to work and have cross-ties, with electric outlets.
Water bibs placed outside the barn on each exterior wall cause you just never know when you need to reach water and it is truly a pest to drag horses everywhere..
Inside thinking a frost-free hydrant needed.

Outlets too in areas that are outside where the horses can not touch them...and plan for enough power to power the trough heater in winter cold...
All power run through steel or heavy PVC conduit so not mice or rodent chewing of wires.

A place to park the bucket-loader tractor {if you don't have one you'll be getting one soon} inside, _out of the weather_ so in bad or winter weather it can plow you out of the barn and give the horses a place to roam in turnout sacrifice areas..make the tractor 4x4, you'll use that feature often.
Make your aisle 10' or wider so trucks of most any size can get inside as needed for deliveries...
A wider aisle also allows you to bring truck and trailer inside in case of threat of severe weather for protection..
Remember no matter how you divide the land to give gate access for walk through with a horse {6'} and to drive equipment through {16'}, seriously go wider with gates so when you need to have delivered large truck loads of sand/dirt and materials they fit and not rub or take down fence posts...
I also would position gates so no backing up needs done or minimally as twisting and turning wheels on large trucks rips your ground apart quickly and it is far easier and safer to drive through if possible.
The barn...I would make it a drive through so you could have a million uses for it...of course you need rafter height of 10' or higher to pull through.
Depending upon the hobbies of tenants it might not be a horse barn but configured correctly it could be used for a boat storage area...another option and rental option some would be interested in.
I would _not_ allow it to be used for any kind of truck/car business or maintenance shop as solvents can be combustible and leave a terrible odor unpleasant to smell for animals and humans for years to come.
You don't need the DEC visiting your place and fining for illegal spillage..:frown_color:

Those are the things I would be trying to utilize since they exist already some of them and making changes that will work and not need to be done again as it is expensive to rehab a barn and lands...do it once and do it right the first time = not needing "fixes" again.
Just some ideas...
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

@horselovinguy thank you so much! SOOOO many good ideas there, I'll be reading and re-reading.

I will seriously consider leaving the tub, now that I have two votes for it. I do have to say, though, that it does just drain straight outside the barn (does not connect to the septic system). I really wanted to be able to put in a bathroom, as there is also an upstairs loft that's been converted to a studio, and I thought it would be nice to be able to just hang out there and not have to leave to use the bathroom, but it would mean at the least laying a line from the barn to the house (to connect to the house septic) so that probably won't happen.


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## MissLulu (Feb 3, 2019)

I'll give another vote for keeping the tub. (Says the woman who cleaned a fly mask in a dishpan in the kitchen a couple of days ago.)


Also keep in mind what you want to do in the future. If you think you might put in a bathroom and you are moving around walls anyway you can get a plumber to get all the necessary lines put in for a future bathroom. 



Another random thought. Your septic tank and drain field should not have heavy equipment driving over that area so keep that in mind when planning the layout of your property.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

As e design is there is a lot of wasted space with the aisle as wide as it is. 

The aisle I had was six feet and plenty wide enough for me to lead three horses out or to clip or bath them in. So, I would close up one set of doors and have a six feet aisle which would enable you to make the stables a more sensible size. I would have a doorway at the end of the aisle built into the existing door. 

I would have stables down one side as 12 x 15' leaving a 10 ft at the end which can be used as a tack store or wash/farrier area. I would make the other two stalls bigger too. 
Did you know that outside a 15.2 horse rising from laying down takes 16 feet of space? They can and do adapt but naturally they take longer to rise. 

On the other side you can have your feed area and small store. 

I would never have two horses in an enclosed area together unless it was absolutely necessary. 

I would have solid walls up to 4' and then vertical rails over that. If they are stables they do not need to scratch and interact with each other. 

I raised the young horses in loose barns, they had plenty of room. When I was pushed for help I put the brood mares in pairs, in a loose barn. 30' x 30' and ended up with kicks and bites. I did solve this by having 1 and 3 in the packing order together and 2 and 4 as none challenged each other.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

If you narrow the aisle, don't go narrower than 8 feet wide. Being able to drive a small tractor down it, or get a truck backed inside during miserable weather for the farrier or vet is something you will appreciate when you need it. And while it's morbid, a horse that passes away in a stall with a narrow aisle is a lot harder to get out than one where you can get a tractor in to help move the body.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Yes, I get Foxhunter's point about the aisle, but I would like to be able to drive into the barn. The way it's set up, it's a pass-through barn with a gravel driveway that goes from the street, through the barn, and then connects to the driveway to the house (which also has another entrance). So it makes a nice loop, meaning I don't have to back up at all! I like the idea of being able to drive in and load / unload in there, and to store a tractor, maybe. I like that it makes a loop with the rest of the driveway. So I'm going to keep that the way it is. Of course, it means that the stalls can't be more than 10 feet on one side, but I'm hoping since my guys are fairly small and the stalls will just be run-ins, that they won't mind. Overall the way it's set up is quite nice; the original owner did a good job with the layout. I'm happy to not have to worry about building a barn myself.


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