If you are a horse lover, I am sure you will agree that horses need to be treated like one of the family.
No matter if you are building small horse barns or large ones, you want to put as much effort and time into building a home for your horse that is safe, comfortable, roomy and pleasant for your horse.
Building a good quality barn by spending a bit more money initially will actually save you money and time in the long run.
So what aspects should you really consider and not compromise on when building and planning? Barn Location Choose an area that has good drainage, has close connection to utilities and easy access for cars and your horse box.
Layout If you are going to be the one cleaning, feeding, grooming and looking after the stall then try to minimize work load by thinking carefully about your design.
If you are planning on building a new kitchen you would plan where you want to have each part to make cooking and cleaning more efficient.
Well the same goes for the barn.
Stall Size Don't compromise on size.
Allow at least 12'x12' for one stall and even bigger if you are to stable a mare and foal.
Tack Room It's always useful to have your tack right where you are grooming and getting ready to ride so if you can afford to, then add on a small room for all your tack.
If possible include a small window to allow for good ventilation.
Saddles and bridals are made of leather and prone to mildew so some ventilation and light will help prevent this.
Feed Room We like to keep our feeding room separate since the hay and meal gives off a lot of dust and just adds extra work to keep the tack clean.
But you are building a small horse barn so you might not have this luxury.
If you do build one room for both tack and feed then do your best to keep the feed on one side and your tack on the other.
Materials Treated lumber for the base of the stalls and the basic frame costs a bit more but will save you in the long run because the manure, horse urine and water from cleaning won't rot this area at all.
The rest of the barn can be built with plywood or rough cut 10'x12'.
Doors Avoid metal doors because they tend to be noisy when it's windy and especially if your horse head buts or kicks or plays with it.
Dutch doors seem to be a favorite and people like the idea of the horse sticking their head over the top of the bottom part of the door, but if you are going to be keeping your horses in their overnight, I would go for a full door on hinges.
Horse like their privacy too! Airflow Good airflow is a must.
Get some vent style windows, 2 by 2 or 2 by 4 feet and set them out of reach of the horses.
This lets the warm stale air move up and out.
If you are really in a hot area, you can install a roof exhaust fan.
They don't cost that much, probably about $150 or so.
Light If you want electric lights to the barn, set the lights at the back of each stall, high up and out of the way.
Windows will do a good job for letting in natural light and skylights even better.
Of course take into account the angle of the sun and if its going to let in ultra strong sunshine in at the hottest time of the day, put it in another place.
Floors I recommend you use 10 to 18 inch gravel on the stall floor.
Later we got some rubber matting and put that on top.
The edges of the stall had concrete so that water couldn't get in or out and to stop the horse from digging holes in the corner of the door.
If you have an aisle then consider concrete with asphalt over the top.
Asphalt is far less slippery.