Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Figured Out The Barn

I think I have finally settled on a barn design (taking my cue from Bill and hand-drawing it for you-LOL)...
I have waffled back and forth all of this time trying to decide if I wanted 'just' a barn or 'just' run-in shelters attached to corrals for the horses. I think with this design, I managed to incorporate the best of both options.

For the most part, I really prefer my horses to have as much room to move around as possible. Stalling them day after day is just not my thing. However, I really appreciated having nice stalls like we did when we boarded last winter.

This way, I'll have 6 stalls, a feed room and a tack room. The overhangs will be open to as large of corrals as space will allow on each side...
If by some chance I need more individual pens, I can always section off the overhang with panels. Of course, there is still the little 2-stall barn that came with the property as well. It still needs to be repaired, but will be a handy extra space when that is done.

The new barn will go to the east of the house where I did have my riding area. I decided it was easier to put it there and take enough space out of the pasture for a full-sized arena than try to keep my little riding area and fit buildings and pens around that. It's really surprising how little room there is to build on the 5 acres that makes up 'the yard'. The shop and house are set nicely in it, but thanks to the driveway, trees and the power lines, it has made deciding what to do a little bit difficult.

17 comments:

GunDiva said...

LT,
Your artwork is soooo much better than Bill's, though I miss the horse faces in the barn.

I love the layout; I may steal it when RCC and I finally buy some property.

ACountryCowgirl said...

SOOOOO very exciting. Can't wait to see it all:) I am sure it will look awesome!!!!

Vaquerogirl said...

What fun- deciding how you want YOUR own barn to be set up! Looks good so far!

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Looks like a very nice setup

in2paints said...

Looks like a great setup! I think the overhangs are a great idea and a good way to incorporate two ideas into one structure.

Can't wait to see when you start building! :)

Paint Girl said...

I love the layout and is similar to what I have drawn out myself! I have done that numerous times when we even were planning our run in sheds. We always draw them out first to get an idea of what it will look like.
Can't wait to see the finished product!

Crystal said...

Looks like a good plan. Something like I kinda want (but will have to wait) Nice to have a shelter outside as well as some stalls inside.

Funder said...

I like that a lot! Any ideas on construction - are you gonna get a steel building or just a steel roof or what?

Rising Rainbow said...

Funny how you can think you have enough land until you try figuring out where things will go. I want an arena so badly here but to be honest don't know where I can put it. Sounds to me like moving your riding area is a good plan.

Laura said...

Looks great! How nice to get to decide how you want things built, instead of trying to make another building work for you...

Are you going to put in hot/cold running water for bathing, etc.? I think if I were to build/renovate a barn it would have hot/cold water and hydrants everywhere so I wouldn't have to haul hoses everywhere...

Redneck Geologist said...

Be sure to incorporate a loft! The added space for hay/storage is a big plus. Good plan with nice roomy stalls.

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Funder-I would really like to have a barn put up by the same maker as where I boarded my horses last winter, but I cannot remember the name of the company. I have to go back and look at it again-LOL. It's like a pre-fab building and you can go as simple or as extravagant as you can afford.

Laura-I am still waffling a bit on whether to add an additional 10ft for a wash bay or not. I got to thinking that it might be handy to have a door going into the run-ins on either side to avoid having to lead horses out and around to get into the barn. If I do that, then I could turn one of the doorways into a wash bay. I remember one of the barns I worked at did that as access to the indoor arena and it worked well. Adding length is not that expensive, it's height and width that cost a lot. Regardless, I will have a hot water heater put in so there is hot water and the tack room will be heated and there will be more than one hydrant-LOL. Nothing drives me more nuts than a nice barn that has lousy access to water. What were those people thinking?

RG-No loft. I do not like storing hay in the barn. Call me old fashioned, I worry about fires. Besides our barn at the home ranch has a loft and it is a pain in the butt getting hay up there and down.

Unknown said...

Looks like a good plan to me!

cdncowgirl said...

That looks a lot like the "plans" I've thought of for myself (were I ever to build from scratch) My barn now isn't perfect but I don't mind at all (cuz we're on our own place! yes I've said it a thousand times lol)

The pre-fab type place, was it MD Barns? Those pre-fabs have a lot of advantages, including that most of them are made to be very fire resistant.

Just my opinion here but I don't like storing hay in a loft, not just for the fire aspect but also studies show that horses with hay in a loft have more breathing problems... then again if your horses are only inside for a limited time...

Looking forward to seeing the new place!

Oh and YES go with a wash rack. Its a good place to vet a horse too.

Allenspark Lodge said...

I was also going to suggest you add about 6 ft. to the length and put a runway between stalls 2-3 and 6-tack area, as access to the outside areas without having to go through a stall, which might or might not be occupied. I would also make sure at least 2 of the stalls had outside doors to make it easier to partition the corrals if needed (sick/injured, new babies, etc.).

Want a good laugh? The ranch we looked at to buy across the road from us, has a barn similar to this. They had the lineup of stalls and a run-in pen outside each stall. They just sort of forgot to put access doors to the run-ins. Never could figure out how they thought to use those pens, since they also did NOT have gates! Called themselves horse breeders.

Great barn; have fun with it.
Juanita

sue said...

Hey Brown eyes.. you are building my barn!!! that is almost exactly what we built and let me tell you.. you will LOVE it... we have six stalls, a tack/grain room that is the size of two stalls.. the leanto roof is over the stall doors and in new england, when you get four feet of snow, it's nice that it is kept away from the doors, our alley way is 12 feet wide (perfect for our drafts) and it's a walk thru barn with big doors on both ends.. great for hot summer nights.. we also have two big fans in the ceiling (think about those, they are wonderful).. if you would like to see pics of our barn they are all over my blog, but I would be happy to answer any questions about our design if you like.. best wishes, that is awesome!!!!

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

LMAO-Well I knew I wasn't original with this idea. Maybe it was seeing the pics of your barn that kept me thinking about it Sue. I know that I LOVE your barn.

Juanita-I do plan on putting gates on the corrals-LOL.

Where we are in Colorado gets both extremes-Hot and Cold and this place, if last year was any indication...we get the wind too. I'm trying to make sure I have amenities for both. Sue's fans sound like a good idea to incorporate.