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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
 
| We are in preperations to build a barn. I look around and see so many barns that are just used for storage. Would you rather do too much barn than not enough? My "everything I want" version is about $150k but I'd like to keep it around $100k. What are your must haves and what did you spend money on that you never use?
Dual purpose building, wife gets half of the bulding for her wood working business. Right now we are thinking 72' x 48'.
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
  
| Ours is I'm guessing 55x55. But we have 4 large runs and some on the ground hay storage (plus a new loft above the runs). There's an aisle in front of the runs and then our tacking up space and tack room.
It's been a work in progress, the main 24x40 barn was relocated from my inlaws up the road when they put up a new one. From there he added a lean to on each side and off one end. Last year we came off the other side of it with a 35x40 shop that we've concreted and plan to insulate and heat.
The whole under roof area footprint at its longest and widest would be 53x95 or so. It is not square though.
Someday I'll take pictures. We like it. |
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 Guys Just Wanna Have Fun
Posts: 5530
Location: OH | Mine is 40 x 160 and I cannot find a place to put the dang lawnmower. IMO---washrack = waste of space, build one outside. It is normally summer when ya spray off anyways. Lotsa water spigots---can never have too many.
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| In my opinion you can never have enough storage for equipment, I would at least build more overhangs than you think you need. We have a 40x 80 shop, 40' overhang that runs the length of it, hay barn the same size, all full of trailers and tractors, shredders, etc. I don't have a wash rack and have never missed it. When I built my current barn I made sure I had room for all the stuff that goes with owning horses. I have a decent size feed room 15 x 10, hay storage for a couple hundred bales and a 20 x 15 storage, 1/2 full of alfalfa, other 1/2 blankets and other horse junk. |
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt? |
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Guys Just Wanna Have Fun
Posts: 5530
Location: OH | Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 4:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt?
I put Tuff-R foam sheets down and metal roofing over top---it is nice but the dang birds have pecked away at it a bunch. Stalla are 10 wide by 12 deep and I got channels that the tongue and groove wood just slides down into to make my stall walls.
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 3:33 PM We are in preperations to build a barn. I look around and see so many barns that are just used for storage. Would you rather do too much barn than not enough? My "everything I want" version is about $150k but I'd like to keep it around $100k. What are your must haves and what did you spend money on that you never use?
Dual purpose building, wife gets half of the bulding for her wood working business. Right now we are thinking 72' x 48'.
we went with 100by 70 open on 75 then 25 with side for stalls 12x12 with with railing we had plenty of room tractor bushog trailers 2 of them hay about 150 bales we had 7 or 8 head plus i was a fan of leaving them out as much as weather permitted if icy they came up |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| Mighty Broke - 2017-06-19 4:43 PM Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 4:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt? I put Tuff-R foam sheets down and metal roofing over top---it is nice but the dang birds have pecked away at it a bunch. Stalla are 10 wide by 12 deep and I got channels that the tongue and groove wood just slides down into to make my stall walls.
even with chicken wire they get it |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I love my big stalls 15 x 15 out of 2 x 6. No help with insulation, my barn is open concept for the heat we have down here, we don't know what real winter is. |
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 3:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt?
I love my stickbuilt stalls, as they were so much more affordable than prefab but they also look good in my opinion. However with my next barn, I will have to do some more thinking on how I want to do them. At a previous barn that I worked for, they had prefabs and the dividers folded back if needed. So 2 12x12 stalls became 1 12x24 foaling stall. In your situation, as I think you have a stallion, I would think that this would be a great feature to have for mares and foals. Or for myself I would have used it when I've been rehabbing a horse, but I didn't have that option. Just something to consider. |
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| countrygirl2006 - 2017-06-20 12:06 PM Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 3:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt? I love my stickbuilt stalls, as they were so much more affordable than prefab but they also look good in my opinion. However with my next barn, I will have to do some more thinking on how I want to do them. At a previous barn that I worked for, they had prefabs and the dividers folded back if needed. So 2 12x12 stalls became 1 12x24 foaling stall. In your situation, as I think you have a stallion, I would think that this would be a great feature to have for mares and foals. Or for myself I would have used it when I've been rehabbing a horse, but I didn't have that option. Just something to consider.
I really like the idea of having a couple stalls with the folding divider. Good recomendation. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Mine is 36x48 with 14' sidewalls an 11' deep horse porch down one side with walkout doors for every stall. Very open, insulated, big roof vents, and its soooo nice in the summer. I can close the big rollup doors on either end in the winter and block most of the wind. 5 stalls but 1 is double sized. We added a separate shed on the other side from the porch for equipment/trailer storage. I love my setup. The only thing I would change is to put a spigot inside--all my plumbing is outside. I could make do with less, more would be a luxury, what I have is just right for me. |
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 pressure dripper
Posts: 8699
Location: the end of the rainbow | Mine is a 36 x 36 mare motel with 24' runs off each stall. It's going to be 117* here today, we need shade & air flow, not insulation. Lol. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | willrodeo4food - 2017-06-20 12:38 PM
Mine is a 36 x 36 mare motel with 24' runs off each stall. It's going to be 117* here today, we need shade & air flow, not insulation. Lol.
Roof insulation keeps it cooler. |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | My newest barn is 36 x 60 with a an additional 12' shed on the south side that covers a portion of the 4 runs on that side. Sidewalls are 14' which makes a huge amount of difference in how hot the barn gets here in Okla. it is all steel construction, which was very cost effective for us as we were able to buy the uprights and rafters used. We have 5 12' x 12' stalls, 1 12' x 24' stall and a 12x12 tack room. I use one of the stalls as a feed room. The outside walls are lined with rough-cut 2" x 12" oak boards which are virtually indestructable. Stall fronts and dividers are Priefert. You can usually make a deal to get some discount on Priefers products when you buy in bulk. The bulk of my hay storage in in another barn that is 48 by 50 and also contains a couple of stalls and a drop side that we use as a run in shelter for the horses turned out in pasture. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Three 4 Luck - 2017-06-20 12:40 PM willrodeo4food - 2017-06-20 12:38 PM Mine is a 36 x 36 mare motel with 24' runs off each stall. It's going to be 117* here today, we need shade & air flow, not insulation. Lol. Roof insulation keeps it cooler.
I agree on the insulation! I asked for it in my barn and my husband noticed the difference so we pulled up the tin on his 4000 sq ft shop and put down large rolls of insulation. The impact was very significant. We live in the TX Hill Country so it gets plenty cold and oh so hot! We built the barn out of cinder block-can work in that on triple digit days, it stays cool. |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Whiteboy - 2017-06-20 12:15 PM countrygirl2006 - 2017-06-20 12:06 PM Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 3:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt? I love my stickbuilt stalls, as they were so much more affordable than prefab but they also look good in my opinion. However with my next barn, I will have to do some more thinking on how I want to do them. At a previous barn that I worked for, they had prefabs and the dividers folded back if needed. So 2 12x12 stalls became 1 12x24 foaling stall. In your situation, as I think you have a stallion, I would think that this would be a great feature to have for mares and foals. Or for myself I would have used it when I've been rehabbing a horse, but I didn't have that option. Just something to consider.
At a place I used to board, they had 4 stalls in the barn which could be converted to 2 foaling stalls. They just had 2x6s (maybe??) set in sliders as walls, that could be removed but just lifting the boards out one by one. I'm probably not describing it very well. Of course, I was taking a picture of my horse and not the barn but you can kinda see. Of course, they hand-made their own stalls.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| A sliding door going from the stall to the outside. I see alot of barns without and I think it would be nice to separate horses or close during winter. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | I would put a medication and bandage storage room near the treatment area. I hate having to walk back and forth to my tack room. Make sure your lights are cool and bright. Plenty of airflow, ROA is tough on horses that are stalled. If you need super ventilation in your area have a jack-knife wall put in. Lots of electric outlets and water at both ends and the middle. |
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 Champ
Posts: 19623
Location: Peg-Leg Julia Grimm | I would never have insulation put in a barn ever again without first putting chicken wire mesh so the birds can't pick at the insulation.
I got talked into it in my stall barn but I refused in my arena. It does sweat a little bit when the weather is just right. But it's not enough to worry about vs the birds destroying the insulation. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | We're planning a barn, too. So, following your thread!
One thing I want to do is put in sky lights to save on electricity, so I don't have to run the lights during the day. Also, sprayed in insulation on the ceiling. Without it, you'll have to put up with condensation dripping everywhere on humid morning, which is a big problem here.
e.t.a. We're planning a 50 x 60. Three stalls, a tack room and space to park my trailer under the same roof.
Edited by Nita 2017-06-20 4:47 PM
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Humblebrag???????? |
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Veteran
Posts: 233
| Nita - 2017-06-20 4:36 PM
We're planning a barn, too. So, following your thread!
One thing I want to do is put in sky lights to save on electricity, so I don't have to run the lights during the day. Also, sprayed in insulation on the ceiling. Without it, you'll have to put up with condensation dripping everywhere on humid morning, which is a big problem here.
e.t.a. We're planning a 50 x 60. Three stalls, a tack room and space to park my trailer under the same roof.
The reason all the old (50+ years) show horse barns are dark is to keep flies to a minimum. Just saying. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | OregonBR - 2017-06-20 3:56 PM I would never have insulation put in a barn ever again without first putting chicken wire mesh so the birds can't pick at the insulation. I got talked into it in my stall barn but I refused in my arena. It does sweat a little bit when the weather is just right. But it's not enough to worry about vs the birds destroying the insulation.
The kind I have is a heat shield and birds have never messed with it. I do have barn cats tho. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 824
Location: Duvall, WA | Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 1:37 PM
Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt?
That's funny, my wash rack is one of my very favorite things! if I were building a barn I would never skip one, it is kind of a dream come true of mine to finally have a wash rack inside. I use it almost every day.
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Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | hannahbug - 2017-06-20 6:21 PM
Nita - 2017-06-20 4:36 PM
We're planning a barn, too. So, following your thread!
One thing I want to do is put in sky lights to save on electricity, so I don't have to run the lights during the day. Also, sprayed in insulation on the ceiling. Without it, you'll have to put up with condensation dripping everywhere on humid morning, which is a big problem here.
e.t.a. We're planning a 50 x 60. Three stalls, a tack room and space to park my trailer under the same roof.
The reason all the old (50+ years ) show horse barns are dark is to keep flies to a minimum. Just saying.
Thanks for the info. I didn't know that about the flies. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
Location: on the fine line between insanity and geniusness | Nita - 2017-06-20 9:18 PM
hannahbug - 2017-06-20 6:21 PM
Nita - 2017-06-20 4:36 PM
We're planning a barn, too. So, following your thread!
One thing I want to do is put in sky lights to save on electricity, so I don't have to run the lights during the day. Also, sprayed in insulation on the ceiling. Without it, you'll have to put up with condensation dripping everywhere on humid morning, which is a big problem here.
e.t.a. We're planning a 50 x 60. Three stalls, a tack room and space to park my trailer under the same roof.
The reason all the old (50+ years ) show horse barns are dark is to keep flies to a minimum. Just saying.
Thanks for the info. I didn't know that about the flies.
I've heard if you paint the roof light blue the flies will stay away?!
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 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | make sure your center aisle is wide enough for a tractor and have a drain in wash area and slant.. from center to outter.. i had a Mortan barn built love it.. and had porch with cement on outside of stalls with dutch doors so I could sit out there .. tack room drywalled.. hot water heater .. seperate feed room totally drywalled enclosed so rodents stay out.. with a sink fridge etc for medicine and carrots..high ceilings for air flow and end doors you can shut for bad weather.. doors are sliding so not to be a pain..stalls 16 by 16 loved the room.. auto waterers are good but you cant monitor water intake but also have plenty of electric plugs up high so horses cant chew the fan cords.. |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| I'd poop a ring around myself to have some of the barns you guys have!  |
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Veteran
Posts: 146
| We have a 36x48 4 stall barn, all stalls on one side, 12' center aisle, 12x16 tack room and a 12x21' feed room with a small area as a sitting area just off it on one end. Tack room and feed room are drywalled with fire proof and water proof drywall, T&G on the ceiling; exterior is T&G like the stalls. The barn has 16' overhang off both sides, making the paddocks covered and make covered equipment parking on the other side. All stalls have interior and exterior doors. My biggest complaint is the ceiling/rafter height is so tall I can't clean it, even with one of the duster's and all the extensions for it. We spent about $70,000. In retrospect, I wouldn't spend that kind of money again on a barn again. It is a pretty barn with a lot of bells and whistles but has very little resale value for our area. If you are getting many years of use out of it, great investment, if only a few years, might be something to rethink. |
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Veteran
Posts: 146
| We have a 36x48 4 stall barn, all stalls on one side, 12' center aisle, 12x16 tack room and a 12x21' feed room with a small area as a sitting area just off it on one end. Tack room and feed room are drywalled with fire proof and water proof drywall, T&G on the ceiling; T&G on the wall to the aisle like the stalls. The barn has 16' overhang off both sides, making the paddocks covered and make covered equipment parking on the other side. All stalls have interior and exterior doors. My biggest complaint is the ceiling/rafter height is so tall I can't clean it, even with one of the duster's and all the extensions for it. I also wish we had a 6' porch off the front and back so center aisle doors could be left open when its raining.
We spent about $70,000. In retrospect, I wouldn't spend that kind of money again on a barn again. It is a pretty barn with a lot of bells and whistles but has very little resale value for our area. If you are getting many years of use out of it, great investment, if only a few years, might be something to rethink if you think you would be moving and selling in the near future.
Edited by 4Horse 2017-06-21 9:14 AM
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 Popped
Posts: 20421
Location: LuluLand~along I64 Indiana | Whiteboy - 2017-06-20 1:15 PM countrygirl2006 - 2017-06-20 12:06 PM Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 3:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt? I love my stickbuilt stalls, as they were so much more affordable than prefab but they also look good in my opinion. However with my next barn, I will have to do some more thinking on how I want to do them. At a previous barn that I worked for, they had prefabs and the dividers folded back if needed. So 2 12x12 stalls became 1 12x24 foaling stall. In your situation, as I think you have a stallion, I would think that this would be a great feature to have for mares and foals. Or for myself I would have used it when I've been rehabbing a horse, but I didn't have that option. Just something to consider.
i did use pre fab fronts on our stalls. i like the feed door access they provide and they have held up well.
Plan for fan placement for airflow. We have a large fan hanging from the rafters to push air thru the barn and then individual stall fans to circulate air into the stalls. the big fan we just winch up to the rafter behind it to store in the winter. Also the outlets for the fans double as outlets for heated buckets in the winter. Always put covers over the outlets in the barns to keep the mud daubbers from filling up the holes.
I would definately reccomend insulation on the celing at least. it helps keep my barn warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
i would prioritize airflow over misters for cooling horses. also our barn was built on a rise and has a slight drop to the outside. Never had any issues with water getting in from heavy rains and keeps the stalls dryer.
lululand = southern indiana highs mid 90-100 and lows 10-0 are the extremes we hit here.
ETA i almost forgot my favorite feature. we have our barn laid out east to west. my eastern doors are 1/2 plexiglass and built like windows. I love them. they let in so much natural light that most of the year i dont need lights in the barn.
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 Veteran
Posts: 206
Location: Downsouth | Mine is 42 x 42. Nothing impressive but all I need since I only have one horse. 2- 14 x 14 stalls on one side, with hay stall in between them, 14' hall and open on the other side. This is my favorite part.... I had a 10 x 12 metal building that I was going to put beside the barn, which I was already dreading it being there. When the guy came to move it, we figured out that it would roll under the open side so it now sits in the barn, across from hay stall. It was already insulated so it has made the perfect tack/feed room. |
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| NipntuckLR - 2017-06-20 9:03 PM Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 1:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt? That's funny, my wash rack is one of my very favorite things! if I were building a barn I would never skip one, it is kind of a dream come true of mine to finally have a wash rack inside. I use it almost every day.
I had to spray off a few colts last winter and I was wishing I had an indoor wash rack, but I also wonder if it worth the cost to really need it 2 or 3 time a year. |
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| For those of you who store hay in the barn, does the fire potential worry you?? |
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Veteran
Posts: 206
Location: Downsouth | Whiteboy - 2017-06-21 10:19 AM
For those of you who store hay in the barn, does the fire potential worry you??
No, but the snake potential does.  |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 915
Location: SE KS | Whiteboy - 2017-06-20 12:15 PM
countrygirl2006 - 2017-06-20 12:06 PM Whiteboy - 2017-06-19 3:37 PM Good to know on the wash rack. Weather wise we are rarely over 100^ in the summer and rarely colder than 0^ in the winter. What about insulation in the barn?? What about stall dividers, Pre-fab or stickbuilt? I love my stickbuilt stalls, as they were so much more affordable than prefab but they also look good in my opinion. However with my next barn, I will have to do some more thinking on how I want to do them. At a previous barn that I worked for, they had prefabs and the dividers folded back if needed. So 2 12x12 stalls became 1 12x24 foaling stall. In your situation, as I think you have a stallion, I would think that this would be a great feature to have for mares and foals. Or for myself I would have used it when I've been rehabbing a horse, but I didn't have that option. Just something to consider.
I have a folding divider door in my stalls, love them!!! They work great!!!
My husband is a welder, my stall doors are full length of stall & are heavy made "chain Link" (my dad was in the military & they dismantled the insides of a storage bldg that had "cages" in it!!!) that he welded to a frame work, we live in KS my barn sits North & South, which helps to keep it cooler than an east & west barn!
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Doggy Diaper Designer
Posts: 2322
Location: WI | How much barn do you need...?
None.
I survive with a couple three sided sheds.
That said I'd sure like one, lol. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | being in florida i would never store hay in my barn .. |
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Expert
Posts: 1586
Location: west of East Texas | I love my washrack. Probably my favorite part. That and the feed room see me everyday. It's my washrack, my doctoring spot, my hitching post, my saddling spot (which my daughter and I fight over because that's where we both want to park our horse. It is in the space of a stall, right next to the feed room, and in the middle of barn. The barn is a center alley, all stalls on one side, stall/feed/wash/stall/hay on the other, overhangs on three sides (should have done the 4th also) for trailer, tractors, equipment. The washrack is open on the alley side (with pipe gate for keeping horses in the alley) and the exterior wall side (12ft sliding door if I want to shut it up, always stays open though) so it serves as another entrance into the barn and as a pass-through from the horse trailer parking. We never unload the trailer anymore. The rear tack of the horse trailer is right there at the wash rack. We can also load/unload horses while completely under cover. My stall dividers are the 2x12 tongue and groove that slides in the channels. I've never taken them out on purpose but one of my mares has....
? I would add electric outlets at every other stall, water faucet at every four, lights outside - on EVERY side, and more ways to open up for ventilation. I want to go back and make the higher part of the walls like doors so I could open them in the summer and close them in the winter. I added two six foot gates across the front of the ally, inside the sliding door. In the summer I keep the sliding door open and use the gates. During the winter I use the sliding door and the gates fold back against the stalls or just stay fastened.
? How much do you really need? For you or your horses? My horses are way less in love with my barn than I am. They tolerate it long enough to eat but then they want right back out. I need all the barn I have. They need none of it. |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| Whiteboy - 2017-06-21 10:19 AM For those of you who store hay in the barn, does the fire potential worry you??
No but my stalls don't have back walls on them and open to 50' runs with gates at the back so they would not be trapped in the stall and if I were home I could let them out the back gate. |
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 Witty Enough
Posts: 2954
Location: CTX | I would love to see some pics of all these great barns! Right now we have a loafing shed with panels, but eventually we want to build a "proper" barn with tack/feed room, wash rack (yes with hot and cold water) and so on. |
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How much barn do you really need??