Does anyone have a SMALL barn?

[dmalbone]

In our quest to get our very first house and barn built, we feel like we've scaled back further, and further, and further.... until finally we've come up with a 24x36 barn. It seems the bare minimum we can get by with. I'm looking everyone for color ideas and I keep seeing these huge, gorgeous barns and it's getting discouraging. Even a 30x40 is looking big compared to ours. We'll have 4 12x12 stalls with a 12' aisle in the middle. We have three horses now so the third stall will be storage for a few bales of hay and grain. We are planning to get another in a few years though, so we'll lose that space. If you have/had a small barn, did you run out of space? Do you have any good space-saving or money-saving tips? What about door sizes? The barn guy said "well, you have a 12' aisle so you'll want a 12' door. It just doesn't seem necessary to have a huge 12' slider at the end of each aisle when nothing will be going in or out except for an occasional horse and wheelbarrow. At least if we had smaller aisle doors I'd get a few feet of wall space for pitchforks, etc. We'll have dutch doors in all the stalls and hay will be separate so we won't need to back a huge truck in. I guess I'm just getting a little overwhelmed since I can't really find any smaller barns to look at. Javasmom... if you're out there, your blog has been my sole source of inspiration! We can't pull off a loft for storage though and ours isn't going to be nearly as fancy as yours! :D We are doing the same fencing though so I thought that was fun!

[manyspots]

My barn is exactly what you are describing. Below are the facebook album links (you don't have to be a member to view) of various stages of construction.

Due to our small lot (4 acres) we had to maximize what we built. So... we settled on the following:

* 24' x 36': It is technically 4 12 x 12 stalls with a 12' aisle way. We ran the aisle way the "short" direction in the barn so it is 12 x 24, plenty big to work with a horse. I use one of the 12 x 12 as my tack/grain room and the other houses hay. I do have a loft which I only fill in the fall for my winter hay. The rest of the year I buy 50 bales at a time and store ground level for my two full size geldings.

* There are dutch doors to the hallway and dutch doors out the back of the two turnout stalls. These stalls open directly to the paddock and the doors are left open 24/7. Door ways are 54" wide. I went extra big because of turnout. The hall doors are also dutch and 54" wide. My Fiance built the doors.

* Headroom in the barn is about 11' and walls do not go to the ceiling, with the exception of the tackroom.

* Metal roofing

* Horseguard tape fence

* Recycled conveyor belt (rubber) is the flooring throughout the barn. Underneath is a gravel base then sand on top.

* I did not do opening windows due to the barn being open all the time, instead I used the panels seen in indoor arenas and greenhouses. They let in a ton of light, block UV rays and are mounted high and out of reach. I used a recycled casement window that does open in my tackroom.

* Water and electric run to the barn.

I believe my barn is a perfect size, even if I do get a third horse. Although there are no intentions to add anything but a mini donk to the herd, we built big enough so I could. If you have any questions please let me know! Just remember go as efficient as possible.


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=178128&id=574555412&l=f8f0c12da2

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=192245&id=574555412&l=75712b8127

[goodhors]

Sorry, but you probably should figure in some extra length at the beginning. Doing the tiniest space, which is already packed full, is not going to be a good working barn for you.

For that 12ft doorway, your farrier can drive-in to work in bad weather. So can the vet. Even better if you put an extra 12ft length to make barn 36 x 36. Hay delivery is MUCH easier if the truck is BESIDE the stall you store it in, so you are not bucking bales thru a small door, then on into the stall. Grain delivery, you can back up to the grain area, just a short haul from truck to storage place. Wide aisle is a good feature, we love our 12ft aisle.

For fire escape, a clear aisle, with access of a big doorway, in or out at BOTH ends, is really not a good negotiating item. Trade away something else. Home made sliding doors, frame with sheet metal over, are not that much extra cost. We have two 6ft wide doors for the openings, gives me more options about opening or adjusting air flow. Not very heavy to move either. As finances improve, you could be driving thru the barn with a spreader to clean those stalls or a loaded Gator-type machine to spread bedding among the stalls. Tiny doors, even a 4ft one, is not big enough to use machines or drive thru the barn. Big doors open at both ends, helps cooling the barn with natural air flow. Keeps the ammonia smell from happening, summer or winter. Good air exchange helps prevent horse sickness.

You can build the bare shell of barn now, maybe put in removable stalls. If you plan to go to bigger barn later, this smaller building could be very handy later for other uses. Stalls you could take down and put up in another building, would save you time and money later on. Stall removal would open the small building to be totally usable. Big doors on barn would make it instantly easy for many uses like hay storage, machinery shed, workshop, you could even keep a trailer and truck under cover as well.

We have one small barn that came with the place, bigger doors only on one end, which makes it difficult to use.

Get the biggest amount of barn you can. There is never enough room. We figured our barn, 36 x 40, with a place for everything. Best advice we EVER got on that was to add at least 20% or double the footprint size. We laughed when we first heard it, but rethinking, DID add another 20ft on length. We use that extra footage ALL THE TIME. It would be impossible to function without it. Our horse needs changed from our original planning, so extra space has been wonderful to have. There is no room here, to put up another building, or to add on to the one we have.

Can horses make-do with a loafing shed instead of stalls for a bit? Maybe big tie stalls instead of box stalls, for a while, to save the cash? Even BIG tie stalls are only 6ft wide, with plenty of room to lay down. Less material to build them, than boxes.

You can do things better with a bit more floor space, never have enough with multiple animals anyway. Wall to wall stalls, is not going to work well for you, and you are planning more horses BEFORE you even have it built! Add on the extra footage now, it will give you the much needed storage space to work comfortably with hay, bedding, feed, horse clothing, wall space for tools. Maybe something on the house can wait, not finish a room you won't be using yet, for the money you will need.

[asanders]

My barn is 24 x 36 too.

I'm in FL, so I have 2 end walls, but the sides are both open. I have 3 stalls in one long side that open to a paddock and the other long side is open.

In the original plan, we were going to pour a pad in one corner and build a feed room in. We don't have an Ag exemption, so the barn had to meet the housing hurricaine code and all the concrete and extra wood and $$ went into footers, beams, and roof.

We ordered a nice sized pre-built shed with matching siding and metal roof, had that set next to the barn for tack/feed room, and I still have plenty of space in the open half of the barn to stach hay.

I would do it all the same way again :cool:

If you are in the North (everywhere from here), I'm sure you're wanting more walls, but as for your aisle and doors, I'd really think through the orientation of the barn, and see what you can come up with. great big doors are a PIA on a big barn, and I'd hate them on a small barn.

[Fairview Horse Center]

I have a large barn, but my slider doors are 8' (aisle is about 12' in one barn, and 9 - 10' in the other)

I would consider:
Makiing the barn 30 x 36, or even 30' x 32' with a smaller aisle

30' would allow you to make one side of the stalls 10x12 (3 of them)
The other side could have 2 12 x 12s, + a 6 x 12 for storage

I have had some 16.2h horses comfortably living in 10 x 11 stalls (1/2 time turnout)

[imissvixen]

I have a 32 x 36 barn. On one side two 12x12 stall with an 8x12 tack room, on the other side one 12x12 stall and a 20x 12 storage area. It has a 12 foot aisle. I love it. It is snug and cozy and very open. I got a high roof with no loft and I have skylights. It is a perfect size, easy to keep clean. I bought it from Horizon Structures who I highly recommend.

I have more than enough storage.

[dmalbone]

In a perfect world that would be fantastic, but it's just not gonna' happen... I completely understand the logic and that's great, but if it were possible I'd be doing it. It's not really already packed full. We're hoping to get another horse in a couple of years. That doesn't mean we will necessarily. I have a 12x12 space completely free for at least 2 or 3 years.

Like I said, we are not storing hay in the barn, therefore don't need a hay truck to pull in. I'm not talking about a 4' door... possibly 8'. I wouldn't consider that an inconvenience to pull the atv in with the small "hay wagon" behind it. (It's just a flat bed little garden cart that we've used at the other place to move 6 or so bales around on). We go through 1 bag of grain a month, so "grain delivery" isn't really an issue.

So don't worry... I'm not talking about a "people door" instead of a regular aisle door. I believe dutch doors in each stalls and an 8' or so aisle door at each end that all opens onto pasture is about as safe as you can get.

I really don't think this concept is unheard of... I guess my post was great for helping me feel even more like crap about our limited finances. Sadly, it wasn't a "what should I be doing", but "this is all I CAN do and have to make due, anyone else in my situation".

[Fairview Horse Center]

I wouldn't allow a vet/farrier truck to pull into my barn. There is too much sawdust/hay around to have a fire hazzard like that inside. It has never been needed, but even with an 8' door, I could still drive my truck thru if I had to.

[dmalbone]

Thanks for all of the other tips. It's nice to hear there are some other small barn owners that are content. We're working out some details, but sadly this is a special where only particular sizes are on sale so they haven't been too accommodating as far as adding on here and there. We have been contemplating the 24x40 so we'll see.

[Fairview Horse Center]

This barn has an 8' aisle & doors. Still plenty wide enough for a bench. We turnout all horses thru that door.

[dmalbone]

My barn is exactly what you are describing. Below are the facebook album links (you don't have to be a member to view) of various stages of construction.


I love your barn! We have 4 acres as well (that's not laid out fantastically) so we're trying to make the best of it. I like your stalls. That's what we were planning on doing for ours. Two of our horses are minis so I want to keep things as open as possible.

[dmalbone]

This barn has an 8' aisle & doors. Still plenty wide enough for a bench. We turnout all horses thru that door.

Thanks! I think that seems plenty big to me.

[MistyBlue]

I have a 24x40...love it. It's perfect for me and I can comfortably fit 4 horses in it if I need to. (4 stall barn, only 2 horses right now) And I have plenty of room for feed and tack. I don't have a grooming or wash stall, but I never use those things anyways. I have a 12' wide aisle, but that's used for a run-in during the day more than anything else. I groom and tack outside in nice weather or in the stalls. But I always use the stalls for grooming and tacking...I put in tie rings and find that easier than cross ties and an aisle.

[dmalbone]

I have a 24x40...love it. It's perfect for me and I can comfortably fit 4 horses in it if I need to. (4 stall barn, only 2 horses right now) And I have plenty of room for feed and tack. I don't have a grooming or wash stall, but I never use those things anyways. I have a 12' wide aisle, but that's used for a run-in during the day more than anything else. I groom and tack outside in nice weather or in the stalls. But I always use the stalls for grooming and tacking...I put in tie rings and find that easier than cross ties and an aisle.

Thanks so much! Would you mind sharing how you're configured with your stalls? Our barn will be completely fenced around so we were probably going to use the aisle for a run-in also. I'm really interested how you have yours set up. It's about $600 more for us to upgrade from the 36' to 40'.

[crewgirl34]

You know, it doesn't matter how big of a barn you get, you will find a way to fill it ;) I've seen many small barns, and you will become quite creative in finding ways to maximize space. Just remember, it's your OWN barn. You are living a dream, and I am turning green with envy!
I don't know where you live, but I live in the land of ice and snow, and I will tell you sliders are a PITA in winter! The best doors I have seen on barns are either oversized human doors or garage door types. Hope that helps, and enjoy your new barn!

[imissvixen]

Don't feel like crap about your finances. Big barn means lots and lots more work. I can't keep up with the cobwebs in my smaller barn. Also there is no return on the investment so I recommend keeping it as low as possible.

[dmalbone]

Don't feel like crap about your finances. Big barn means lots and lots more work. I can't keep up with the cobwebs in my smaller barn. Also there is no return on the investment so I recommend keeping it as low as possible. Thanks for the encouragement! We have to keep it low to fit our first time homebuyers tax credit sitting in the bank. :D I guess we never really know what will happen. I have 2 minis and a big horse and would like to get another big horse. But who knows... maybe I won't, or maybe my two minis will end up going back home to live with their pals and I'll have 3 empty stalls, lol! Then I'd be cursing myself for not saving my money.

We have 8 horses right now between my mom and I. 6 minis and 2 full size. One of our big guys won't be with us much longer. :cry: The other big horse is mine. Two of the minis have always been his best buds and they hang out at the fence together so it was only natural that those two come with him to our house. My mom has already expressed that she's sad to see them go and they always have a home there. So maybe if Ice (my big guy) ends up with another big horse here they might be happier back home. So my point to that huge long story is... who knows what will happen!!!

[Fairview Horse Center]

So my point to that huge long story is... who knows what will happen!!!

Yep. You could decide to take in a boarder that would pay for your horses' hay, and give you riding company. :winkgrin: :lol:

[dmalbone]

Yep. You could decide to take in a boarder that would pay for your horses' hay, and give you riding company. :winkgrin: :lol:

That would be Faaaantastic! :D

[Flash44]

My old barn was very small, no tack room. We used one stall for storage, and used a storage shed for tack. The tack stayed much cleaner since it wasn't in the barn, and we were able to padlock the shed.

[SLW]

I have a very small barn which we built ourself and have added on to twice. I would sell my oldest child to have a 12' wide aisle. Trust me, keep that width!!

If at all possible with the loan add a 10' or 12' overhang on one of the sides. You will find a zillion uses for it!

[Plumcreek]

**IF** your stalls have outside doors in case of fire, you can put the aisle side stall doors on two oposing stalls at the innner end of the stalls (4' door with grill, then 8' solid stall front) and use that 8 X 12' at one end of the aisle for an 8 X 12' tack or storage room, and still have 4 stalls. Your aisle would be 16' long, enough to tack one horse or shoe. You would want an operable window up above the end room for cross ventilation down the aisle.

[manyspots]

In all honesty, I love the size of my barn. I have boarded and worked in barns much bigger... no way. The work load needs to be easy for ME to do and work full time.

I do have a boarder, my best friend. We split work and she pays me enought to cover expenses (including part of the electric bill in the winter) each month.

My doors at each end of the barn are 8'. Because my aisle is only 24' I have no need to park a truck in it. It is big enough to get the future tractor in and that was all that mattered.

I will say... lots of lighting! I also found that because my walls don't go all the way up you get more bang for your buck with lighting. No shadowy areas!

[ShotenStar]

Twenty years ago, when we were first building our property, we were in the same boat and made the same decision: 24 x 38. In ours, the aisle is 10 ft wide and on the short axis. Two stalls are 12 x 12 while the tack/feed room and one stall are 12 x 16. This arrangement held us for many years. Then we started expanding .... first a tractor shed attached to one end, then adding a new tractor shed and making the old one into hay storage.

While in hind sight, I might make some different decisions now, I have never been unhappy with my barn. It is a nice size, with everything in easy reach. The changes I would make are things like its orientation to the prevailing winter winds and its location relative to the trailer turn-around / parking area.

*star*

[MistyBlue]

Yep, do remember you can always add to the barn with a lean-to or overhang, etc. I plan on adding onto my 24x40 barn just to add extra under roof storage. I swear a person could put up 3 indoor rings on their property and still not have enough storage, LOL! :winkgrin:
The addition we eventually do will probably be either for tractor parking or we'll find a hundred other uses for it.
But as the barn size stands now...it's really more than enough for everything equine. I am using the 2 empty stalls as storage now since I don't have the wall separating those 2 stalls up at this time. (because we all know if the wall is up and the stalls are ready, we put more horses in them whether we need more horses or not) But I have a separate area that's almost 20x12 not being used so if I did fill those 2 stals with horses I still have enough room for some hay (I don't store hay in the barn, just enough to feed), feed bins, extra bedding, tack, etc.
Floor plans help...there are *tons* of different ways to configure a 24x36 or different sized barn so you maximize the space. And remember, a smaller barn means less sweeping, decobwebbing, powerwashing, etc.

[MistyBlue]

I just made a fast floor plan of my barn if you want an idea of set up:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y172/MistyBlue5105/Ourbarn.jpg

[RedTahoe]

My barn is 34 x 40 so it's a small barn, and it has a hay loft.

It was originally set up as a four horse barn, and then there was a funky space in between the two stalls on both sides. The one space is "under the stairs" for the hayloft, and the other space we just kept to put empty buckets in. We remodeled it for three stalls (one is just storage of excess building material), and the other stall we converted (poured concrete, etc.) into a feed/tack room.

Each stall is 14 x 14.

[Javasmom]

In our quest to get our very first house and barn built, we feel like we've scaled back further, and further, and further.... Javasmom... if you're out there, your blog has been my sole source of inspiration! We can't pull off a loft for storage though and ours isn't going to be nearly as fancy as yours! :D We are doing the same fencing though so I thought that was fun!

Wow, thanks! I"m here!! I agree with everyone's comments so far, and I thought i would want a bigger barn, but I don't (not yet anyway). It is just more to take care of, clean and fill with stuff. I hope I don't get flamed for this but my aisle is only 10 feet and it's fine for me. Hey, we had a budget! As you probably know, it's 24x34 with a 12 foot overhang (that is the BEST) that we use for storage and wash rack. And, glad you are using the same fencing, we love it.

the blog is just the day to day now, but the very beginning is from breaking ground to getting the horses home.

http://javasbarn.blogspot.com/

[shakeytails]

Keep the 12' aisle, and the 12' door. I used to have a 10' aisle- it sucked. Getting a full pickup load of hay in was an adventure, nevermind a hay wagon.

[Watermark Farm]

We built a 36x36 barn --- a 5 stall with tackroom and 12' aisle. It was the most we could possibly afford at the time. It has been a wonderful barn (and yes, it seemed "small" compared to big barns).
I love the 12' aisle. Great for grooming on stormy days, and my farrier and vet can always work. LOVE the sliding doors. You can shut yourself in from wind and cold. I close and open them daily.
Now that my barn is 5 years old and needs paint again, I'm pretty happy it's small! Maintenence is easy with a small building.

[LisaB]

Hey, what do you guys think about this one?
http://www.horizonstructures.com/pdfs/Friesian%20-%2024x40%20RR.pdf

[dmalbone]

Hey, what do you guys think about this one?
http://www.horizonstructures.com/pdfs/Friesian%20-%2024x40%20RR.pdf

I LOVE that one. I looked at those, but I'm sure they're way out of my price range. Any idea how much that one is?

[manyspots]

That one is great... really maximizes space.

Cost really is a factor. Cut corners where you can, but never to compromise safety of course. Do you know anyone who mills lumber? Or a local college/university with a saw mill? You might be able to save on lumber costs that way if you were going to do it yourself or hire a local contractor. Which reminds me, check with local contractors and/or trade schools... you might save costs that way too!

[shakeytails]

That one is great... really maximizes space.

Cost really is a factor. Cut corners where you can, but never to compromise safety of course. Do you know anyone who mills lumber? Or a local college/university with a saw mill? You might be able to save on lumber costs that way if you were going to do it yourself or hire a local contractor. Which reminds me, check with local contractors and/or trade schools... you might save costs that way too!

Around here, rough cut lumber really isn't much cheaper. DH figured it out for a neighbor's barn, and the sawmill was only a couple hundred bucks cheaper than the lumberyard. It can also be a PIA to frame with as it's not always true to size, especially thickness. And if it's oak, a nail gun helps tremendously. It does have it's uses; my stall backs and dividers are rough-cut oak, and we used rough-cut for siding and lining on a shed we built (it's framed with dimension lumber). Rough-cut also makes for inexpensive board fence, as long as it's painted or otherwise preserved.

[yellow-horse]

I have a shedrow barn, i love it, 2 stalls open to the shed and hubby added an overhang, stalls open on both sides, one side to the paddock and one to the shed, the shed is enclosed on the ends and i added a stall to one end so it is L shaped,that stall doesn't open to the barn but does to the paddock, i have a gate on the end of that stall so i can take the horse out that uses it and just walk her into the barn, i have my tack and feed room and wash stall in the enclosed shed part, i don't store hay in the barn, i prefer the shedrow set up

[manyspots]

I agree rough cut has its drawbacks for sure. My barn was mostly milled on the property using true to measurement rough cut. So 2 x 4s were really 2" by 4". Some did twist and the structural posts had to have 6 months of drying time... but it did come out great. We weren't going for the finished look so it worked out well.

We DID buy the floor joists for the loft, the rafters, and the siding. That was not practical to do with rough cut on our time frame and with the precision we were looking for. We also laid plywood as my loft floor and the doors were all made with kiln dried lumber from the lumber yard.

[dmalbone]

I have a shedrow barn, i love it, 2 stalls open to the shed and hubby added an overhang, stalls open on both sides, one side to the paddock and one to the shed, the shed is enclosed on the ends and i added a stall to one end so it is L shaped,that stall doesn't open to the barn but does to the paddock, i have a gate on the end of that stall so i can take the horse out that uses it and just walk her into the barn, i have my tack and feed room and wash stall in the enclosed shed part, i don't store hay in the barn, i prefer the shedrow set up I've always thought shedrows are so neat, but I wouldn't do that to myself in Indiana. Guess I'm too selfish! :lol: I at least like the protection of a barn to clean stalls in 10 degree winter weather!

[nightsong]

Since money's so tight, why go with a barn (and stalls to clean) at all? Statistics show horses are considerably healthier and happier with a run-in shed. Just be sure it's oriented properly for your weather -- don't want the only open side to face the direction all the wind and rain come from...

[manyspots]

The weather was why I didn't do a shed row either. Northeast winters are brutal and I knew I would be frustrated without a work space that was completed protected from the elements. Not just for working with the horses, but for me as well. I do not lock my guys in and their stalls doors are open 24/7 but because the barn is position with the prevailing winds hitting the back corner and away from the stalls, it stays weather free inside. A friend of mine did do a shed row... PITA. Snow inside the stalls, no place for you or them to get out of the weather. It might be better if she had an overhang, but a stall style barn was a better bang for the buck for me.

[MistyBlue]

I considered a shedrow too...I'm in CT and although the price was awesome...the less site prep was awesome and the buildings I found were awesome...I couldn't imagine that even an overhang would help with some of our winter weather. I didn't want to be shoving a wheelbarrow around outside cleaning stalls in winter or in pouring rain. Or having to shut all all half doors in bad weather and having each horse confined to a tiny blind box.
But...considering that they are economical...and easy to put up, I'm still considering one for my far wooded paddock in the future. It would make a nice run in if I had my horses out there or a great quarantine spot for new horses coming in or even extra storage when not habited by horses.

[AnotherRound]

I considered a shedrow too...I'm in CT and although the price was awesome...the less site prep was awesome and the buildings I found were awesome...I couldn't imagine that even an overhang would help with some of our winter weather. I didn't want to be shoving a wheelbarrow around outside cleaning stalls in winter or in pouring rain. Or having to shut all all half doors in bad weather and having each horse confined to a tiny blind box.
But...considering that they are economical...and easy to put up, I'm still considering one for my far wooded paddock in the future. It would make a nice run in if I had my horses out there or a great quarantine spot for new horses coming in or even extra storage when not habited by horses.

I agree with Misty. There's just too many needs for me not met with a run in shed or shedrow barn. I need a cement aisle out of the rain and weather for good care and stress free attention on the cross ties without distractions, I need indoor rooms where I can work on feed and tack, and storage where I can have my tools and equipment handy and dry.

I had a shedrow with three stalls, two for horses and one for grain and tack, once, and I really didn't like keeping my grain in the same room with the tack. Besides not enough space, it invited critters into the tack room to chew leather. Also, because the doors were to the outside, the horses had alllllll day long to spend working on getting that grain room door open. Even unsuccessful, they wrecked the hardware plenty. (yes, they had forage and access to their stalls). So on pouring down rainy days, they didn't get groomed or worked on, as my only place to do that was out in the open.

Just a thought.

[pj]

I guess my post was great for helping me feel even more like crap about our limited finances. Sadly, it wasn't a "what should I be doing", but "this is all I CAN do and have to make due, anyone else in my situation".

OK..your barn is fancy compared to mine!! My dh built mine about thirty five years ago and he would..not...listen..to...me. He had no horse experience and as far as I'm concerned the barn he built is completely unusable for horses. He built one large stall, one that a horse had to go into the large one and turn SHARPLY to the right to get into. A loft which it would be h#ll to load hay into. A tack room on the side. Since then we have built two 12 x 12 stalls on the front of the old barn. I use the tackroom which is on the side and the two newer stalls. We've put three shed row stalls behind this barn and one is used as a feed room and one as hay storage. We've put a large metal house at the end of the property to store the yearly hay.
Goats use the part of the barn that HE designed. YOUR barn sounds like heaven to me.
I agree that you don't need the twelve ft. doors if you are sure you won't be driving any equipment in but that actually would be lovely with our hot weather.
Enjoy your barn. It sounds nice.

[HowDoYouLikeMeNow]

In our quest to get our very first house and barn built, we feel like we've scaled back further, and further, and further.... until finally we've come up with a 24x36 barn. It seems the bare minimum we can get by with. I'm looking everyone for color ideas and I keep seeing these huge, gorgeous barns and it's getting discouraging. Even a 30x40 is looking big compared to ours. We'll have 4 12x12 stalls with a 12' aisle in the middle. We have three horses now so the third stall will be storage for a few bales of hay and grain. We are planning to get another in a few years though, so we'll lose that space. If you have/had a small barn, did you run out of space? Do you have any good space-saving or money-saving tips? What about door sizes? The barn guy said "well, you have a 12' aisle so you'll want a 12' door. It just doesn't seem necessary to have a huge 12' slider at the end of each aisle when nothing will be going in or out except for an occasional horse and wheelbarrow. At least if we had smaller aisle doors I'd get a few feet of wall space for pitchforks, etc. We'll have dutch doors in all the stalls and hay will be separate so we won't need to back a huge truck in. I guess I'm just getting a little overwhelmed since I can't really find any smaller barns to look at. Javasmom... if you're out there, your blog has been my sole source of inspiration! We can't pull off a loft for storage though and ours isn't going to be nearly as fancy as yours! :D We are doing the same fencing though so I thought that was fun!

I have a barn very similar to yours, 4 stalls, 1 used for hay storage. We have plenty of room in the barn. Technically, I don't own it, but I take care of it morning and night, 7 days a week. The owners their arnt really horse people, so we take care of their horses. There seems to be plenty of room, even when they store a lot of their stuff in there. We have 3 stalls on one side of the barn and across fromthem we have a tack room which leads up to the hay loft, where the people store their stuff. We seem to have plenty of room for both hay and their stuff. We have 4 horses there and we only use 1 stall (wood floor, with metal swing door that goes right out to the alleyway, then a wood, swinging door to the outside. For the doors, we have small garage doors on each end, which seem to work well against wind and the horses can't open it if they wanted to. We put up a bungee cord net thing at the end that leads to the driveway and out. Then we can open it if we want for good ventilation and then the horses won't get out. On the other end to the enclosed paddock, we have 2 small gates that make the exit and entrance to inside the barn and outside in the paddock. The owners painted it mainly a tan, gray color (I'm not sure what it's called) and a brick reddish color.

[katarine]

I have a shedrow barn that's 22' wide and 56' long. The 'hall' is 10' wide, so it's a 12X12 tack and feed room, then 2, 12X12 stalls, then a 12X 20' pad of concrete we use for parking the Mule, storing some hay, etc. We also have a loft over the tack room and one stall, it's TALL, LOL, comically tall, but we can get a holatta hay up there. We built it ourselves and it took a while, we made some mistakes, but I love my silly barn.

I only have enough stalls for two and that's fine with me, mine are out 24X7 unless illness or whatnot dictates stalling...in which case I've got a babysitter stall, too :)


If I could do it over I'd have a barn with a hall- It's BRIGHT in the barn on summer days, and full on hot. I miss the shade and relative coolness of a dirt halled barn in the summer.

I really like the fp that was posted above, I think that's slick and that 12 x 20 'hall' would be a nice shady hanging out/grooming area, shoeing area, etc. Situate so you like the view from a folding chair with a cold beer in hand ;)

Congratulations on your pending barn raising :)

[NCSaddleFitter]

My barn is 24x24. Tiny, sure, but lots of thought and a great builder have built me the perfect small barn. I had planned on a shedrow with extra length for hay storage and tack, but I quickly learned that you can build UP for way less money than you can build OUT. By putting a good sized loft over the barn, I am able to have two 12x12 stalls, an 8x12 enclosed tack room and a 12x16 concrete grooming area. The design requires Dutch doors, but I can't stand sliding doors anyway.

If I ever wanted to add on I could, but I don't ever plan to.

[Ammie Dressage]

NCSaddleFitter - your place sounds wonderful. Could you post pics?

[enjoytheride]

Myself and two other women built this barn last summer, unfortunatly I don't have any finished pictures on my computer. The hardest part was lifting the rafters but we did that with a few rafters. There was a 12 X 12 shed there that we blew out and extended. I think the entire barn and all the fencing cost about $5,000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20892581@N04/3557610027/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20892581@N04/3557611917/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20892581@N04/3558422658/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20892581@N04/3558424676/

[ponygirl]

I have a shedrow that I just really like. It's a 24x72ft 5 stall barn. Stalls are 12x12. Tackroom is 12x16. I use 1 stall for hay storage until we either build or buy a building. At the end of my barn we have a large "porch" which is 12x24 that I'm using for tractor/golf cart storage. It's always much cooler in the barn than outside. Good Florida barn!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/94098385@N00/3558950939/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94098385@N00/3558950949/

[MistyBlue]

That's a nice shedrow Ponygirl. A big one!

I also like your kitchen cabinets. :winkgrin:

[KrazyTBMare]

My barn was here when we bought the property (only thing on site). It is 50'x20' with 3 10x10 stalls, a 10x10 feed/tack room, and then an open 10x10 area that connects to the rest of the aisle.

It had dirt floors and run ins attached but we poured concrete, took out the run ins, built half walls so the runin doors are now windows, and just recently enclosed the end of the aisle and made the 3rd stall a 10x20. We also enclosed the other end that was just open to make a room for storing hay (hay was in 3rd stall but now have 3rd horse). Right now the end hay room just has 3 walls around it with a gate towards the aisle. Eventually we are going to close it in and finish the walls but that will come with time (and money).

I would PERFER 12x12 stalls but this is what was here so this is what I deal with. Im in the middle of deciding what I want to do with the paddocks that are attached directly to the barn but for now it works.

I dont have any recent pics but here are pics from last year before we added on the end enclosures.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r186/krazytbmare1/Barn/2007-06-09016.jpg

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r186/krazytbmare1/Barn/2007-06-09023.jpg

This shows the beginning of the end stall being put on
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r186/krazytbmare1/Barn/2008-04-24007.jpg

ponygirl, BTW I want to add a lean to type dealie to my shedrow barn as well. Do you mind taking up close pics of it, esp where the roof meets the barn? Do you have issues with any rain leaking at the seams? Thanks!

[MistyBlue]

KrazyTBMare...that's a neat set up. 3 horse stalls, tack room and an extra open stall for the spouse? :winkgrin:

[KrazyTBMare]

ROFL Yes, it does have its advantages! ;)

[Just My Style]

I probably have the smallest barn around here and it suits us fine. It is a 24X24. I have one completed stall, a 12X12 overhang and a 12X24 storage area for tack and hay. I leave the stall open like a run in. Between that and the overhang, it provides enough shelter for my two. I think I would have liked a little bigger, but it is designed so that I can add on in any direction. It was better for me to do something small than nothing at all. He is my builders virtual drawing of it. Mine is painted red with white trim. It has a cupola and a running horse weathervane. If I do say so myself, it is the cutest little barn I have ever seen.

http://www.bentleyhorsebarns.com/HollyS.html

[ponygirl]

That's a nice shedrow Ponygirl. A big one!

I also like your kitchen cabinets. :winkgrin:

ROFL. Thanks :)

[Amchara]

Some really nice barns are shown here!

My barn is an interesting case. It's a multi use barn, horses and some tractor/farm stuff (someday, in a different time and place in my life, these things will be separate). The horse portion is approximately 19x26ft, you can think of it as divided as divided in thirds the long the way. The middle portion is two stalls, and on one side of the stalls is a sheltered tunnel. On the other side is an open space, one side being used for hay storage (I keep duct tape on the floor marking where horses can reach for the hay guys) and the opposite side a feed/tack room. You can get pretty creative!

So, when your first walk into my barn and face straight ahead:

The view over your left shoulder: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v692/Shurrayah/Barns/?action=view&current=Picture004.jpg

What you see in front of you (No, the horses don't go through those, and now I have stall guards) http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v692/Shurrayah/Barns/?action=view&current=Picture005.jpg

Over your right shoulder:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v692/Shurrayah/Barns/?action=view&current=Picture003.jpg

So, not the most awesome, but it works.