Please give me any feedback you can think of on the proposed layout of my farmette.
The property used to be a farmette but is not currently being used that way. All the fencing is gone. There is a masonry block barn and a 3-sided shed. The dimensions of the barn do not work for stalls. The barn has cold water and electric with lights on the front and back. The 3-sided shed is too short and has nails coming through the room and therefore would not be suitable as a run-in shed.
I have limited funds and I am trying to be practical while laying out the farmette (i.e. minimize the amount of fencing, don’t run the water line a far distance, etc.)
Here is my planned layout…
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...utupload-1.png
I own 4 horses. I anticipate that the property will have between 3-5 geldings on it most of the time who are used to one another and used to living in herds about that size. The farmette is in South Jersey.
Most of the time the horses will come in to eat and then go right back out. They will only be locked in the stalls during the winter/bad weather. Most of the time, they will be out unless there’s a specific reason.
The total acreage of the property is 6 acres. I would estimate that the house, backyard, etc. sit on one full acre.
In terms of housing for the horses, I plan on putting a 5-stall shedrow barn down with 5 12x12 stalls in a line. It will be put on a flattened pad of gravel/stonedust with mats in the stalls. The stalls would have dutch doors in/out so they can be opened fully or only half opened to let the horses put their heads out. The 5 little boxes represents where I plan to locate the shedrow. The stalls would face out into the paddock. That way, the horses could come/go into their stalls for shelter was needed. My boyfriend who is less horsey will sometimes have to feed. This way, the horses can never “escape” because even if they get out of their stalls, they’re just in the paddock. The shedrow would form the back and one side of the paddock.
The tan line (mainly) represents fencing. I am planning to fence most of the back of the property into one paddock (roughly 100x 300). There will be a gate leading out of the paddock on the side near the barn and water supply.
Attached to the paddock will be the pasture, roughly 3 acres in size. This will be one big rectangle with no separation. It will be accessible through a gate leading out towards the barn and by a gate on the fencline it shares with the paddock. On most days, I will leave the fence between the pasture and the paddock open so the horses have free run of both areas and their stalls. When introducing a new horse or separating a horse, I will close the gate so the new horse can be in the paddock and they can acclimate over the fence.
A “down the line” project will be the addition of a run-in shed in the pasture.
I plan on locating the fence about one “tractor width” inside the property line and away from the road. That way I can mow around the edge of the pasture and also ride around the perimeter. Open to suggestion as to whether this is a waste of space and I should go right to the edge. On one side my neighbor has nice 3 board wood (I plan on using 3 board wood slip board fence) on the other, it’s saggy wire of some type.
The blue dot represents what will be a dual headed water hydrant run from the barn, underground, to the edge of the pasture. It should accommodate a water trough in both the paddock and the pasture, near their shared fenceline as well as a hose that reaches to the stalls to put water in the buckets in the stalls.
I anticipate, for bathing, I will have to put 2 stakes down outside near the barn and pull the hose out from there as a sort of makeshift “wash stall.” If I can afford to, I will put down a small pad of gravel with a matt on top. That might be a “later down the road? Project.
The brown solid square will be a manure pile. I also plan to haul manure in a dump trailer to a local landscaper/farmer. The gates will be wide enough to drive the dump trailer into the pasture so I can pick manure right onto it. I also plan to get/make a ramp so that when I pick stalls with a wheelbarrow, I can wheel it onto the dump trailer. 90% of the manure will leave the property, I will only keep a small pile for fertilization or to dump on at times when I cannot take manure to the landscaper.
The tractor will be parked in the 3 sided shed. I will also keep shavings in there along with pitchforks, wheelbarrows, etc. That is a fairly easy walk from the shed to the shedrow and to the gates to the paddock and pasture.
The barn is 28x30 with 2 stories. The first floor used to have stalls but the wood rotted and they’re gone. The aisle is 8 foot wide with garage doors on either side and one normal door in. I plan to leave the aisle clear and use it as cross ties for grooming, standing for the farrier, tacking, etc. That leaves a 10x30 space on each side. On one side, I plan to divide the area into thirds.
Eventually I’d actually partition them, but that again would be “down the line.” One third of this side would be a “feed room.” This would be the portion that has the hydrant in it already. Someone built a sort of work counter along the wall with a row of shelving. Feed would go in bins/garbage cans under the counter with meds and other supplies on the shelves and counter.
The next area on that side would be the “tack room” and the third (which is where the people door is) would have blankets and other longer-term storage. All along the back wall of this area are hooks. There is also a floor to ceiling set of shelves on the 10 foot wall next to the people door. My eventual plan would be to drill through the concrete floor in the middle 3rd, put up partitions, and turn this middle section into a wash stall. VERY long term plan.
On the other sise of the aisle, there is a matching 10x30 space. This area has the stairs to the loft and behind the stairs is a wood stove (why, I have no idea?) so the useable floorspace is probably more like 10x25. At least to start, I plan to use this entirely for square hay bales stacked on top of pallets and to store a car that can be used to bring hay from the barn to the pasture/paddock. I plan to store additional hay up in the loft. There is a door on the front and back of the loft to throw hay up/down. There is no dropdown door from the loft to the barn but eventually I’d add one.
In terms of an area to ride, there is a flat grassy area in front of the barn that is roughly 130 feet by 160 feet. In the beginning, I’d either just ride in the open or mark out the area with small stakes/chains or dressage borders. Eventually, I’d like to fence it so it could also double as a makeshift paddock. Eventually I’d also like to bring electric from the barn to the ring and have a light or two on a post so I can ride at night. Eventually eventually… maybe footing. But that’s a long term thing.
Another long term addition would be a gravel or asphalt driveway directly to the barn with a bit of extra space at the end as a turn around and to park the trailer. Also long term.
Short term plans are the shedrow, fencing paddock/pasture, and water. Next on the list would be fence riding area and add lights. Next would be driveway to barn. Last would be wash stall inside barn.
Does this plan/layout seem feasible? Any giant glaring errors that I am missing? Ways to save money by re-designing things? Better layout that you see? Advice? Should I add another gate to the paddock that’s close to the back of the house, so I don’t have to walk out of the house and all the way around to the side near the barn to get into the paddock? Is my idea of a margin around the pasture/paddock a good idea or a waste of space. I also forgot to add in the drawing but do realize I need a gate into the riding area. Any thoughts appreciated.
The property used to be a farmette but is not currently being used that way. All the fencing is gone. There is a masonry block barn and a 3-sided shed. The dimensions of the barn do not work for stalls. The barn has cold water and electric with lights on the front and back. The 3-sided shed is too short and has nails coming through the room and therefore would not be suitable as a run-in shed.
I have limited funds and I am trying to be practical while laying out the farmette (i.e. minimize the amount of fencing, don’t run the water line a far distance, etc.)
Here is my planned layout…
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...utupload-1.png
I own 4 horses. I anticipate that the property will have between 3-5 geldings on it most of the time who are used to one another and used to living in herds about that size. The farmette is in South Jersey.
Most of the time the horses will come in to eat and then go right back out. They will only be locked in the stalls during the winter/bad weather. Most of the time, they will be out unless there’s a specific reason.
The total acreage of the property is 6 acres. I would estimate that the house, backyard, etc. sit on one full acre.
In terms of housing for the horses, I plan on putting a 5-stall shedrow barn down with 5 12x12 stalls in a line. It will be put on a flattened pad of gravel/stonedust with mats in the stalls. The stalls would have dutch doors in/out so they can be opened fully or only half opened to let the horses put their heads out. The 5 little boxes represents where I plan to locate the shedrow. The stalls would face out into the paddock. That way, the horses could come/go into their stalls for shelter was needed. My boyfriend who is less horsey will sometimes have to feed. This way, the horses can never “escape” because even if they get out of their stalls, they’re just in the paddock. The shedrow would form the back and one side of the paddock.
The tan line (mainly) represents fencing. I am planning to fence most of the back of the property into one paddock (roughly 100x 300). There will be a gate leading out of the paddock on the side near the barn and water supply.
Attached to the paddock will be the pasture, roughly 3 acres in size. This will be one big rectangle with no separation. It will be accessible through a gate leading out towards the barn and by a gate on the fencline it shares with the paddock. On most days, I will leave the fence between the pasture and the paddock open so the horses have free run of both areas and their stalls. When introducing a new horse or separating a horse, I will close the gate so the new horse can be in the paddock and they can acclimate over the fence.
A “down the line” project will be the addition of a run-in shed in the pasture.
I plan on locating the fence about one “tractor width” inside the property line and away from the road. That way I can mow around the edge of the pasture and also ride around the perimeter. Open to suggestion as to whether this is a waste of space and I should go right to the edge. On one side my neighbor has nice 3 board wood (I plan on using 3 board wood slip board fence) on the other, it’s saggy wire of some type.
The blue dot represents what will be a dual headed water hydrant run from the barn, underground, to the edge of the pasture. It should accommodate a water trough in both the paddock and the pasture, near their shared fenceline as well as a hose that reaches to the stalls to put water in the buckets in the stalls.
I anticipate, for bathing, I will have to put 2 stakes down outside near the barn and pull the hose out from there as a sort of makeshift “wash stall.” If I can afford to, I will put down a small pad of gravel with a matt on top. That might be a “later down the road? Project.
The brown solid square will be a manure pile. I also plan to haul manure in a dump trailer to a local landscaper/farmer. The gates will be wide enough to drive the dump trailer into the pasture so I can pick manure right onto it. I also plan to get/make a ramp so that when I pick stalls with a wheelbarrow, I can wheel it onto the dump trailer. 90% of the manure will leave the property, I will only keep a small pile for fertilization or to dump on at times when I cannot take manure to the landscaper.
The tractor will be parked in the 3 sided shed. I will also keep shavings in there along with pitchforks, wheelbarrows, etc. That is a fairly easy walk from the shed to the shedrow and to the gates to the paddock and pasture.
The barn is 28x30 with 2 stories. The first floor used to have stalls but the wood rotted and they’re gone. The aisle is 8 foot wide with garage doors on either side and one normal door in. I plan to leave the aisle clear and use it as cross ties for grooming, standing for the farrier, tacking, etc. That leaves a 10x30 space on each side. On one side, I plan to divide the area into thirds.
Eventually I’d actually partition them, but that again would be “down the line.” One third of this side would be a “feed room.” This would be the portion that has the hydrant in it already. Someone built a sort of work counter along the wall with a row of shelving. Feed would go in bins/garbage cans under the counter with meds and other supplies on the shelves and counter.
The next area on that side would be the “tack room” and the third (which is where the people door is) would have blankets and other longer-term storage. All along the back wall of this area are hooks. There is also a floor to ceiling set of shelves on the 10 foot wall next to the people door. My eventual plan would be to drill through the concrete floor in the middle 3rd, put up partitions, and turn this middle section into a wash stall. VERY long term plan.
On the other sise of the aisle, there is a matching 10x30 space. This area has the stairs to the loft and behind the stairs is a wood stove (why, I have no idea?) so the useable floorspace is probably more like 10x25. At least to start, I plan to use this entirely for square hay bales stacked on top of pallets and to store a car that can be used to bring hay from the barn to the pasture/paddock. I plan to store additional hay up in the loft. There is a door on the front and back of the loft to throw hay up/down. There is no dropdown door from the loft to the barn but eventually I’d add one.
In terms of an area to ride, there is a flat grassy area in front of the barn that is roughly 130 feet by 160 feet. In the beginning, I’d either just ride in the open or mark out the area with small stakes/chains or dressage borders. Eventually, I’d like to fence it so it could also double as a makeshift paddock. Eventually I’d also like to bring electric from the barn to the ring and have a light or two on a post so I can ride at night. Eventually eventually… maybe footing. But that’s a long term thing.
Another long term addition would be a gravel or asphalt driveway directly to the barn with a bit of extra space at the end as a turn around and to park the trailer. Also long term.
Short term plans are the shedrow, fencing paddock/pasture, and water. Next on the list would be fence riding area and add lights. Next would be driveway to barn. Last would be wash stall inside barn.
Does this plan/layout seem feasible? Any giant glaring errors that I am missing? Ways to save money by re-designing things? Better layout that you see? Advice? Should I add another gate to the paddock that’s close to the back of the house, so I don’t have to walk out of the house and all the way around to the side near the barn to get into the paddock? Is my idea of a margin around the pasture/paddock a good idea or a waste of space. I also forgot to add in the drawing but do realize I need a gate into the riding area. Any thoughts appreciated.
Hay CART in the barn.
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