One of the things we have learned about owning several horse facilities is that taking the time to plan out the design of your facility will save you time, maintenance and will help you be happier with your stable.
Build on High Ground
If you plan ahead when building your barn by placing it on high ground (or at least building up your area where your barn is if your property is flat), you can save yourself a lot of heartache and a messy cleanup from a flood in an usually wet season.
When I bought some acreage a few years ago there was a small barn and shed on the property. I remember looking at the location of the barn and thinking, “wow, it looks like it was built on the lowest spot in the pasture. I hope it doesn’t flood.” Well, it did. The first big rain and there was a stream running through that barn.
That first wet season on that property convinced me to build my new big barn on high ground. I found that spot drains well so even in the wettest winters the ground around my barn stays firm. A side benefit is that in the summer, I get a nice breeze most of the time being on a hill.
Many people are great at designing their dream barn, but don’t stop to think about the mundane things like developing an easy system to remove manure. If you have one horse it’s not a big deal, but when you start to have four, five, six or more horses, having a maintenance plan is critical.
We have owned a number of stables over the years and visited countless others. We started collecting good ideas and putting them into articles so others could benefit from lessons learned. This section of the site features articles to stimulate your thinking when you are building your new facility (or revamping your current one).
Horse Barn Articles
I’ve learned the hard way that you have to put a lot of thought upfront into building a barn. There is an art to picking the best site and designing the layout right from the start so that it reduces your maintenance requirements. Learn from our mistakes! These articles have great tips on things you want to consider when building your barn.
Horse Barn Site Considerations – Picking the perfect location for your barn
This article will get you thinking of where to place your barn on your property.
Horse Barn Ideas for Hot Climate
I live in Texas part of the year and anyone who has endured a Texas summer will tell you do whatever you can to build to have cooler barn. In this article, we identified a number of things you can do to make your barn more comfortable for both you and your horse.
Horse Barn Design, Layout and Planning Considerations
Horse Fencing Articles
Safe Horse Fence Considerations
Pros and Cons of Common Horse Farm Fence
Arena Articles
Considerations on Indoor Riding Arena Footing
Rules For Riding in an Indoor Arena
This section of the site is one we love so we will be expanding it and adding new content. Please check back with us and let us know if there are certain subjects you would like us to cover. Meanwhile, happy trails!