Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

[RC] Barn design - Sharon Hahn

I have had a metal barn and a wood/metal combination barn.  The wood is more expensive, a lot of maintenance, and things don't stay as dry.  The all metal does get hotter, but you can partly remedy this if you have doors on both ends that can be left open in the summer.  Talk to people in your area about how best to vent the roof.

The one thing I would highly recommend when designing a barn is direct access from the pasture into the barn so you don't have to halter and lead horses back and forth.  That will save you a ton of time.  Also, try to keep the stall area separate from any area where you would keep shelves of stuff, pitchforks, tractors, etc. so you can safely let the horses in and out of their stalls without worrying about them getting into that stuff. 

Lighting:  I've had great luck with 8 foot fluorescent fixtures in the aisles.  They make the whole place very bright, and if you get the cold weather fixtures they even work when it's cold (Minnesota-tested!).  My previous barn had a transparent piece of plastic siding runnning in an approx. 12" strip around the whole top edge of the barn walls.  This was great for letting light in during the day.

Also consider how you will get hay into the barn.  Being able to drive the whole rack in there is a great option if the hay guy shows up, you're the only one home, and rain is on the way.

Have fun building your new barn!


--
Be Yourself @ mail.com!
Choose From 200+ Email Addresses
Get a Free Account at www.mail.com!