Featured Article (March 2005)

Factors to Consider Before Building Your Barn

The daily activities on horse farms vary according to a farm’s primary function, be it breeding, training, or public use. Though each farm requires specialized facilities, the basic goals of facility design and construction are similar. Facilities should promote safety as well as the efficient care and handling of horses. Well-planned facilities allow for lower operational costs and overall increased efficiency of facilities. Poorly planned or improperly constructed facilities interfere with daily operations, increase costs such as labor and maintenance and compromise the safety and health of both horses and people. The following are offered for your consideration when planning your new barn or remodeling:

Site Planning

Questions that need to be answered are:

Will semi-trailers trucks be on the site delivering hay or bedding, or removing manure?

Will multiple trucks with trailers be on-site at the same time?

How much parking is needed?

Location

Odors from large-scale equine operations can often be detected one-half mile down wind.

Locate horse facilities at least 200 feet from the family living area.

Entrance drive – consider that fast moving vehicles need time and distance to avoid a slower moving horse trailer exiting/entering the site. An important factor is that vehicles moving at 60 mph cover 88 feet every second. A practical way to evaluate the visibility of oncoming cars is to the drive on the road and try to determine safe visibility, stopping and acceleration distances.

Shelterbelts

Shelterbelts are strategically planed rows of trees and shrubs used to diminish wind effects on humans, horses, plants, and property. Shelterbelts provide many benefits:

Reduced snowdrifts problems, area beautification and privacy, reduced noise levels, reduced energy use for heating and cooling buildings, reduced wind damage, filters out blowing soil and dust from nearby fields.

Exterior Lighting

Exterior lighting aids general safety and security. One should consider the ease of bulb replacement, problems with bugs and birds (nesting), broken glass contamination, shadows, line of sight fixture glare, and unwanted light.

Stable

The type of structure selected depends on the amount of land available, the type of operation, climate, amount of capital available and the owner’s preference. Locate buildings to take advantage of existing conditions and provide economical use of labor in feeding cleaning and maintenance.

Safety

Protect both humans and horses from unnecessary risk with good design and construction. Eliminate sharp projections and slick footings. To minimize the risk of being kicked, feed and water horses without walking behind them. Provide enough space to allow safe passage of horse and handler though doors, gates and alleys.

Environmental Control

Obtain data on prevailing wind direction and velocity and use this information to properly orient buildings.

Good Ventilation

Poor moisture, temperature and draft control are major problems in stables. Ventilation minimizes moisture buildup and aids in odor removal while not allowing drafts. Three design features can be incorporated into a stable’s design to help facilitate air distribution: (1) using open grill work and gaps in stall walls, (2) eliminating the ceiling or having sloped ceilings, (3) eliminating overhead storage.

Fire Risk

Precautions can prevent losses and may reduce insurance premiums. Special stable design features include installing fire alarm and suppression systems and using fire resistant materials and fire retarding paints and sprays.

Construction and maintenance cost

Select materials and construction type for durability, ease of maintenance, cost, aesthetic value to help in advertising the facility, influence on family, and intangible values such as pride and satisfaction. Top quality may be the most economical in the long run.

Flexibility

Assume that remodeling will take place in the future to take advantage of technological advancements, meet changing needs, or convert cheaply and easily for other uses, such as cabins, garages or storage buildings. Remodeling will typically increase the property’s resale value. Some people such as suburbanites and renters do not need or are not looking for fancy buildings. The answer for these people could be using a simple portable barn.

Attractiveness

Aesthetic value is achieved by a structure with good proportions in harmony with its surroundings and fulfilling its function. Good design is not achieved by fads, frills, or highly ornamental features. Good design enhances sale value.

Labor Efficiency

Three quarters of horse chores are manual, so labor saving is desirable especially for large operations. Design to minimize drudgery and reduce labor. Plan compact facilities that allow for efficient chore routines. Place highest priorities on daily chores: feeding, watering, cleaning and bedding stalls, grooming, exercising, turning out and bringing in.

Clear distance from the floor to the ceiling

The minimum distance from the floor to the underside of roof or ceiling framing is 8 feet for a horse and 14 feet for a horse and rider. Low ceilings interfere with ventilation, make the barn dark, and are a safety hazard for people and horses. Common ceiling heights are 9 to 10 feet for stall barns and 14 to 15 feet for riding areas.

Horse Facilities Handbook

an outstanding one-stop source for relevant and detailed information on all aspects of building a new horse facility, is filled with the latest facts about planning and constructing facilities for all phases of equine breeding, care and control. It is authored by Cooperative Extension engineers from Iowa State, Kansas State, and Pennsylvania State Universities and the state equine specialist at Oklahoma State University. Additional contributions are provided by engineers, animal scientists, and equine specialists at universities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan, and Virginia.

Topics in Horse Facilities Handbook include site planning, stables, paddocks, outdoor facilities, arenas, training facilities, breeding facilities, environmental control, manure management, bulk feed and bedding storage, fencing, utilities, fire protection and emergency response planning. An easy-to-use format, full-color photographs, tables, references for further reading, and a detailed index with two-color insets and bulleted lists make important facts and figures easily accessible. The Horse Facilities Handbook is available from MWPS for $35 plus shipping and handling. Order on line at www.mwpshq.org, e-mail at mwps@iastate.edu, phone at 800-562-3618.