My current barn plan has a 12x14 wash stall and a feed room and tack room, both 12x12.
Is 14ft too wide for the wash stall? I’m wondering if I should make the take room wider instead?
I appreciate any feedback!
[QUOTE=diceuf;8123891]
My current barn plan has a 12x14 wash stall and a feed room and tack room, both 12x12.
Is 14ft too wide for the wash stall? I’m wondering if I should make the take room wider instead?
I appreciate any feedback![/QUOTE]
No, not really. Having room to move around the horse is a Good Thing.
That said, a bigger room allows the horse to move more and that means the handler must acclimate the horse to the space and teach them to stand quietly.
This a really a personal choice item. 
G.
I would want the bigger space to allow me to move around the horse, have more room to stand back if necessary, keep items away from horse a bit more, like a bucket or bottle of soap or something. I would want it big.
we have a 28ft by 28ft concrete pad and the horses still want to fall off the edge 
Mine is 12’ wide and 14 or 16 feet deep – I placed the crossties so that they are set back enough they will back into the wall so there is quite a bit of space in the front. I find this size works well – I would not want to go wider, myself, and I know some people prefer narrower so horses don’t move around too much. In most of the barns that I have boarded at, the wash rack has been stall size, so 12x12 and I think that works quite well, unless the space gets too cluttered with stuff (I keep mine pretty clutter free – don’t want to worry about legs in things).
I would probably be inclined to add some space to the tack room rather than have the wash rack 14’ wide, if it were mine. That is if I am understanding your question correctly and the 14’ is the width, and 12’ the depth.
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It the horse can make a complete turn around with cross tie, it is too wide for cross tie in my opinion. Having the cross tie lines across over the horse’s face is a very scary thing and is bound to have disaster. If the horse is an old pro, and doesn’t do this kind of silly thing, it is fine. Or just do straight tie. Far safer.
I vote for more room in the tack room. Tack rooms can never be big enough.
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[QUOTE=dotneko;8124056]
I vote for more room in the tack room. Tack rooms can never be big enough.[/QUOTE]
Isn’t that the truth, lol. Coming from the little dressing room in the trailer doubled as my tack room, to a “real” tack room of 10x16, I thought I would have more room than I ever needed. Well, how wrong I was.
once upon a time, I saw a series of pictures about a wash stall, with heavy metal railings off to the side to protect things like water heater, etc…not sure if it was in a magazine or regarding a book (what’s her name, horse keeping on small acreage author?)
What will have to be included in the stall.
The water heater could be in the wash stall, but - because manure happens - in case of a leak it would be better in the wash stall with a drain.
14 feet is too wide for a wash stall, 12 feet would be fine. Even 10 feet is fine. However, where it is nice to have a little extra room is at the front and at the back. If you could get 14 feet on the depth, that would be very nice. I’d definitely rather have the extra 2 feet in the tack room over the wash stall.
The extra space could potentially be used to store items, but horses being horses, and the fact that a wash stall is a very harsh environment with a lot of manure, dirt, and water splatter I think it is better to minimize what is stored. I would strongly prefer to NOT have a water heater in the stall with the horse being washed.
Put your extra space in your tack room where you need it. Train your horses to stand still when being washed.
My wash stall is 12 x 12 and plenty wide enough – even for my big Shire x’s and warmbloods. I built my barn and after years of use, and horses of all sizes, I wouldn’t want it bigger. I built a row of small shelves in the back corner, on an angle, to keep grooming supplies etc., which is handy to keep grooming boxes and other things off the floor. Nice and tidy.
My tack room is 12x14. As someone already said you can always use more space in the tack room.
Yes, it would be 14ft wide and 12ft deep. Changing the depth is not an option, so it’s just deciding on whether to take the 2 feet from it and add it to the tack room. There will be an indentical 12x14 space on the other end for grooming/storage or whatever.
I don’t want wasted space and it does seem like a 12x12 wash stall is plenty of room. I plan on installing an overhead hose.
[QUOTE=horsepoor;8124007]
Mine is 12’ wide and 14 or 16 feet deep – I placed the crossties so that they are set back enough they will back into the wall so there is quite a bit of space in the front. I find this size works well – I would not want to go wider, myself, and I know some people prefer narrower so horses don’t move around too much. In most of the barns that I have boarded at, the wash rack has been stall size, so 12x12 and I think that works quite well, unless the space gets too cluttered with stuff (I keep mine pretty clutter free – don’t want to worry about legs in things).
I would probably be inclined to add some space to the tack room rather than have the wash rack 14’ wide, if it were mine. That is if I am understanding your question correctly and the 14’ is the width, and 12’ the depth.[/QUOTE]
Feed room doesn’t need to be too large, but tack rooms can never be large enough.
Plenty of wash rooms are large at 8’ wide.
12’ deep is fine.
I would put the space in the tack room. Indeed, the wash stall would be plenty roomy IMHO at 10’ wide.
Pay attention to the slope so that the water will drain out and away from anywhere you want to walk, and consider that spray from the hose will go in all directions, so be strategic about doors and finishes in the vicinity.
For your grooming area that will be 12 x14, I’d either divide into two narrow stalls or build out the space so that there are cabinets into the extra 2’ that open into the grooming stall side. You’d want them to have doors, I think, not open shelves.
Feed room doesn’t need to be that big. My feed room is 6’ wide I think and 12’ deep. Wide enough to put 6 30 gallon metal garbage cans down one side and shelving on the other side.
Tack room, not matter how big is never ever large enough. I have more stuff in the house in the mud room and in closets in about 4 rooms of the house than could fit into 3 12’ X 12’ stalls PLUS my barn tack room. Well Ok, that’s not true now that I’ve sold MOST of my horse things last yr but I still fill 2 rooms in the barn that are 12’ X 12’ and some stuff still in a couple of closets in the house.
If it were me, I’d make the feed room and wash stall smaller and the tack room at least twice the size.
[QUOTE=msj;8124890]
Feed room doesn’t need to be that big. My feed room is 6’ wide I think and 12’ deep. Wide enough to put 6 30 gallon metal garbage cans down one side and shelving on the other side.
Tack room, not matter how big is never ever large enough. I have more stuff in the house in the mud room and in closets in about 4 rooms of the house than could fit into 3 12’ X 12’ stalls PLUS my barn tack room. Well Ok, that’s not true now that I’ve sold MOST of my horse things last yr but I still fill 2 rooms in the barn that are 12’ X 12’ and some stuff still in a couple of closets in the house.
If it were me, I’d make the feed room and wash stall smaller and the tack room at least twice the size.[/QUOTE]
That ^
If and when we ever get that far with our barn building, we keep having other come up, we have a depth of 14’ and will make the front 6’ x 7’ on one end the feed room, the back 6’ x 7’ behind it a half bath.
The tack room will be in the middle.
The wash stall, on the other side, is designed 14’ by 25’ and will have stocks in the middle, where horses can be tied to to groom, wash and tack up.
That is also our vet and farrier designated working area.
We had a similar setup in the old barn and it worked well for light traffic barns.
For heavy use, more than a couple people working there at once, I would want a designated wash room, separate from the grooming/tacking/farrier spaces.
Find mine to be plenty wide at 8’ x 12’, everything is at the back of the stall and horses never come close, IF they move they tend to move forward into the more open space. One of mine is a draft and I still feel I have plenty of room to move around her.
I went for the bigger tack room:D
I am doing mine 10’ because I think wider and they can get turned around. At least my clods of horses will. 12 is fine too if you have the space, but I would MUCH rather allocate that space to the tack room because you ALWAYS need more space in the tack room. Mine is 12 by 24, there are just 2 of us, and it is still crowded with stuff!
I would also keep the feed room on the small side because it honestly doesn’t need to be that big, 12 by 12 is entirely too large unless your operation is massive or you are storing hay in there too. I’d allocate some of that space to the tack room too. Or put in a BATHROOM in a corner of it. That is true luxury in a barn. Not having to trudge back to the house or pee in a stall.
Put my vote in for smaller wash rack and larger tack room. My wash rack is 12X12 which works fine with PLENTY of room around. My tack room in 12X24 and I could still use more space…and it is just me using the barn:)
I keep all horse related stuff in my tack room…tack, pharmacy, winter blanket storage, saddle pads, grooming equipment, etc. The only thing in the wash rack is scraper, bottle of shampoo and bottle of show sheen stored in a small bucket.
