Done correctly the blocks are held in place with rebar, then filled with poured concrete. There is no kicking and breaking a block.
If a horse is a stall kicker, it will get injured by the kicking.
Best find a way to manage it so it doesnāt kick.
Maybe keep horse in a different situation than a stall.
Or change neighbors until it has one it doesnāt feel like kicking.
Or add rubber mats to the walls of such a horseās stall.
I donāt think what you build a barn with should depend on that odd stall kicking horse, although preventing that is always good to manage for if possible.
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I am mostly considering my building materials for longevity, low maintenance, cost efficient, and its ability to withstand the elements- again longevity. Those sound pretty obvious, but considering the extreme heat and humidity from AL vs VA,and the storms/hurricanes are much more powerful. Probably the best consideration is the fact that I wont have to deal with massive amounts of snow and ice like the north east winters deliver.
My horses will live out as much as possible for their own well-being, and only come in during weather extremes, or for stall rest, hence my consideration for a smaller barn instead of a bigger barn and more stalls. I would rather have the pasture space and if needed erect shelters in the paddocks. Its not something I have seen much in AL, but observing how north/central FL does their turnout, Iāll liking build similar. Everything will be designed with creature comfort in mind, but Iām not going off the deep end in the stall set up since they will not be inside 23 hours a day like some upper level training & race barns. (maybe iām not being realistic with the heat tolerance of horses living in the south lol?)
I guess simply put I want to build a safe structure that is comfortable for the horses when they HAVE to be inside without breaking the bank with a $100k barn. I want it to be amatuer friendly, attractive, and welcoming for the clients and their horses I plan to cater to, without being a ābackyardā operation. AL is obviously not horse country like northern VA, so I have a lot of research and work to do finding the right resources. Considering all of your trips guys, thanks a million!
yes, the big If ā¦ might want to set up onsite cameras to record the construction ā¦ just last week here a newly built house that was construction on one of subdivided lots the face-wall of brick/stone just fell off into the yard ā¦ first thought I had was foundation failure and the veneered facade was put up without wall tiesā¦ oh, the wall ties were there for the inspector to seeā¦they were just not used which is something I have never seen as the work of putting up wall ties is the hammering them in placeā¦ lazy masons working on piece work just buzzed right on by the wall ties
This house is less than four years old so I suspect the attorneys for everyone will make some big bucks.
have you looked at tilt wall construction? The walls would be solid concrete.
ādone correctlyā pretty much covered it LOL
OP, Here is the contact information for Courteney Holland, the Equine Extension Specialist for the state of Alabama:
303B Upchurch Hall
Auburn Univ, AL 36849
334-844-1559
cem0022@auburn.edu
Courteney is married to a general contractor/builder and is very knowledgeable about barn building, especially here in the deep south. Drop her an email, and Iām sure sheād be more than happy to help you out!
Many years I did self care at a concrete block barn. It worked really well for us - it stayed cooler during the day in the summer and although it was hotter overnight we did night turn-out in the summer. It was block with poured concrete on the insides of the blocks. Anyway we had a tornado go across the property. The barn was unscathed ( lucky for me since I was hunkered down in the tackroom) but the guy that owned the property had a block garage next to the barn where he had his boats stored. This building did not have the concrete poured and those building collapsed on his boats when the tornado hit.
I wanted to do a block barn when I built my barn but it wasnāt in my budget with the other stuff I wanted in the barn.
I have high ceilings in my barn and open mesh stall fronts so I get good circulation but I wish the roof was insulated. It was supposed to have had ridge vents put in but that didnāt happen. If I win the lottery I will revisit that. All in all having very high ceilings and open stalls with dutch doors that go out to the pasture lets as much breeze through as we have here in the summertime. The sides of my stalls do not go up that high either. I wanted everything as open as possible since I am in there sweating cleaning stalls.
How do you attach a picture? I am not good at these things!
Mine are from LEE ( Lucas Equine). They have proven to be indestructible.
Oh, beautiful!
That really helps, do you find any you would like was different?
I worked off and on in a barn like @SusanOās barn. I loved being able to see all the way down a row and know what was up. All of the stall walls were mesh and the fronts were mesh, too. We did off and on have issues with horses who were bothered by the proximity of others at feeding time- they felt threatened by the visual of another horse only 12ā away from their bucket.
So, for horseās comfort, is better they have restricted view/access to other horses on their sides.
That the fronts are that open should still be ok?
We were thinking of making the sides, between stalls, solid the first 6ā for privacy when eating and the rest, ours will be 14ā, so 8ā be solid 4ā and above 3ā that 2x2 square mesh.
If we have a very aggressive horse, we can always hang a lighter rubber mat to close that upper mesh and make the division solid.
I hope the OP is getting enough ideas to get a start on what would work best for her barn.
We were thinking of making the sides, between stalls, solid the first 6ā for privacy when eating and the rest, ours will be 14ā, so 8ā be solid 4ā and above 3ā that 2x2 square mesh.
i think youāll be fine with this approach 
I think so, plus the stalls have outside runs where they can interact and fuss as much as they want, but without food to fight over as is in a stall, a different scenario, in horseās minds.
Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. Avoid metal roofs. As much clearance and pitch as you can afford to keep the warm air moving up and out of the barn Avoid metal anything. Ventilation and as big of an exhaust fan (the kind used in poultry houses) as you can afford. Try to put it somewhere where you get afternoon shade from the sun. Big airy open aisle if you must have a center aisle - raised center aisle. Otherwise, an open yard that again, is situated to protect from afternoon sun. Spend money on the excavation - drainage. Good, proper drainage everywhere.
And I planted willow oaks on the west and east side of the barn. I put gutters that ran into black plastic pipes that came out next to the trees. Everytime it rained it watered the trees and water is a limiting factor in tree growth. At about 15-16 years the willow oaks ( that grow fast for oaks) are about 30 feet high which helps shade the long sides of the barn.
I do have a 16 foot aisle. perfect for backing in the tractor and manure spreader. That gets air flowing too.
