Building a barn

[Bays4days]

I know this topic has been posted many times, but it is 2025 and things have changed!

I am buying a 50 acre hay field and plan to build a barn .
I’d love to get ideas and rough costs.
I’m in New England
Barn:
Concrete barn, 10 euro style stalls with drains, 2 horse wash stall, grain room, climate controlled tack room with a bathroom, hayloft .

Fields: What is most cost effective for materials?

Indoor: probably won’t happen for a while, but what does a basic one go for?

What are things you love about your barn? Don’t love? Wish you added or done differently?

[NaturallyHappy]

I just got a quote for a pole barn…$22.00 per square foot. That doesn’t include any dirt work. And tariffs will change it quickly, per the contractor. I’m sure this isn’t the detailed information you’d like, but it is a jumping off point.

[NancyM]

LOL we’ve done this. Except it’s 160 acres. Congratulations… it’s a great plan.

We didn’t build stalls, as in a “regular” barn with an aisle, with stalls like what we USED to have. We built a hay barn (for hay), with run in sheds on each side. We are “semi arid” here, and have no mud issues (except just a bit, for a while, right NOW). The sheds open up onto pasture on each side. We no longer buy sawdust, horses sleep outside year round, in the shed if they want to, or under the trees (their favourate spot). I do a bit of manure picking inside the shed, but all manure that goes onto the field just gets harrowed in the spring, and grows grass like crazy in the summer. We rotate horses elsewhere throughout the summer months, and graze the second crop in the hayfield in early winter. Horses all live together, and get along well. In our climate, the “coldest” place for a horse to be is in a stall. Living together, outdoors, gives horses the ability to MOVE, to run together, play, and warm up. Feet stay strong, thick walls (all TB horses). I no longer have to shoe anybody to ride or show. The change in feet has been an amazement, with the change in living conditions. Also, in our area (and in other areas too), horses alone in a stall are prime targets for cougar attacks. Horses are safer outdoors, together. Foals (I had a stallion here too) are kept in the center of the herd, and all horses look after them. The instinct is still there. All horses eat free feed hay, with a TM mineral block. This makes horse keeping easy, and affordable. In summer, the ones I ride move down to paddocks by the arena. They get turned out at night, to graze around the arena and driveway.
The arena is a Coverall, now known as “Spanmaster”. It’s excellent. Bright inside, with no lighting. Our local company WAS the original “Coverall”. They were outstanding to deal with. On time, on budget, very skilled, very FAST. Steel frame building, tarp cover. It’s a building that is able to be moved. The same company will come back, and take it down, pack it onto a trailer and move it for you (for a price). But that means that you can sell it to someone else, or take it with you if you move. And it’s still cheaper than building a stick frame arena.

I no longer clean a number of stalls and paddocks daily. I no longer buy hay. I no longer have frozen water in the barn. I no longer have to push a load of wet manure up a steep ramp to dump it in the bin that costs a huge amount to have dumped regularly. I no longer have to buy sawdust for bedding. I no longer have to “redo” ruined footing in paddocks. I no longer have to hire barn help so that we get just a BIT of a break sometimes. I no longer have horses cast in stalls and paddocks. We found that horses and fences/barriers don’t mix well, and are often the cause of injury or issues. So we removed them.
Want to see? “Cordova Farm” on facebook.

[2DogsFarm]

I’m doing a Micro version of your setup.
3 - horse, pony & mini - on roughly 4ac that includes a 36X36 pole barn with 60X120 indoor attached.
Stalls open to the drylot that surrounds the front of the barn:

Drylot opens to pastures either side.
Horses use stalls as run-ins, often all 3 in one:

They spend more time Out than In in all weather.
Evidenced by the # of piles I pick from stalls each day - maybe 2 or 3 piles 2 or 3 times a day for each of the 12X12s, mini’s 10X12 rarely has any manure, he generally bunks with the horse.
They come in on their own for grain, separating into “their” stalls.
Mini is my assistant, helping with hay distribution & supervising my mixing grain:

My only advice would be to locate your frostfree hydrant inside the barn. No heat tape needed (on advice from a plumber) heatlamp on the base only when we get Sub-Zero temps for a stretch.
I have heated buckets in the stalls, but horses prefer the trough (50gal foodgrade barrel) just outside the barn. Unless they’re hanging in a stall, then that bucket gets used.

Any pricing I could quote is 20yrs old, not relevant today.

[luvmyhackney]

Dirt work and concrete work are too variable to go by others experiences.

I was quoted similar as above with a bluestone flooring and minimal electrical installed.

[Mcl1]

I can’t help on the barn side of things but in terms of pastures and turnouts:

• Automatic waterers - now that I have them I don’t know how I lived without them, and the horses seem to really enjoy the cool fresh water in the summer.

• If you ever plan on leaving them out for feeding time, having catch pens or designated feeding areas within the pastures to separate them is really helpful.

• I am a bit afraid to weigh in on fencing because I swear someone has had some horrific injury occur with every type of fencing out there…but my place had welded pipe fencing as shown below when I moved in and we have been very happy with it so far. We priced out expanding it recently and it was pretty reasonable (I’d have to look up what we estimated per foot) material wise, the materials are all byproducts of the oil industry.
  

  

[SLW]

If you are in New England talk to a native about the best way to situate your barn to allow for blowing snow and drifts. You can build the nicest barn in America but if situated wrong you’ll have a 8’ snowdrift keeping you out. We made sure to have one electric overhead garage door so we could get inside if ice or snow made the big sliders useless. If we thought we would loose power during a winter weather event we would make the garage door able to open manually.

I love natural light in a barn. Allow funds for great stall windows!

[LakeEffect]

I built a barn last summer, quite a bit smaller than your specs but in a higher cost of living area in the Midwest. My guess for your barn specs is $250k, the same if not more for your indoor (could be significantly more). Fencing at its very lowest might be $10/linear foot; I did non-climb with a top board.

[EventingSaddlebred]

It’s really going to depend on how much extra you add on to it. I have a quote for a 48x42 and the shell is 76.5k by the time you add in the dirt work, concrete, wash rack, tack room build out, electrical, water, stalls etc it’s about 190k. Obviously there are location dependent factors that can change prices.

[LCDR]

Imagine you are your farrier or vet. Think about how much lighting they would want to make their tasks easier. Then double it. I actually recently tripled mine, and my farrier now can work at night in my center aisle during the winter. He talks about some of the show barns with chandeliers where he has clients, and it’s either shoe in the aisles by braille, or take the horses outside in the sun.

Another recommendation I have is to have wifi access in the barn. If you have to bury ethernet cable during construction, do it. It will make things go much smoother if you want to add a security system with cameras. Plus, I spend so much time in my barn it is nice to have a television to keep up with what’s happening in the world.

And hot water and enough electrical outlets so extension cords are not ever necessary for things like heated water buckets in the stalls and the vet’s xray machine.

[Demerara_Stables]

@LCDR

Imagine you are your farrier or vet. Think about how much lighting they would want to make their tasks easier. Then double it. I actually recently tripled mine, and my farrier now can work at night in my center aisle during the winter. He talks about some of the show barns with chandeliers where he has clients, and it’s either shoe in the aisles by braille, or take the horses outside in the sun.

I’ll second this. Lighting is SO important. I designed every little detail of my barn and spent easily 5x longer picking out lighting than anything else. If you can swing it, install multiple types of lights for different occasions. My stalls have warm, dimmable lights for night check (the horses don’t want to be blinded at 11pm) or a little bit of working light, and they also have what I call surgery lights (you can probably do surgery by them), that are actually gas station lights. My aisleway has warm lights that are just enough to move around and work but not see a ton of detail, but when you turn on the wash stall LEDs and the stall lights, everything becomes super bright.

[SharonA1]

If building in the Boston metrowest area, budget well over $500,00 for an indoor of any respectable size, and perhaps closer to $1M depending on size and site work. Plan on stonedust footing in paddocks/high traffic area, may or may not need some sort of grid to hold the stonedust in, to help with drainage and reduce mud. Find good lighting for cold dark winter nights, and put lights to sides of aisle, rather than in center of aisle, so you can easily see legs and feet. I love swing-out water buckets in the stall doors, if budget allows, and mesh stall doors for more ventilation. Plan for good-sized stalls, even if one’s own horses might be smaller and expected to be out all the time. Just for me personally, I don’t find drains in each stall to be of value, because if the bedding is good, the stalls don’t get stinky and I would find the drains to be an unnecessary expense/just something for the contractor to mess up (I apologize to any competent contractors reading this). And stalls open to individual paddocks, with overhangs so horses can have shelter if out of their stalls. If your topography allows, a “manure stall,” that is dug out below the level of the barn so you can just tip the muck buckets into the bed of a manure cart that is parked underneath. Then you just drive the manure cart away when it’s full. I have seen one that had a garage door to close off the “manure stall,” minimizing the smell and flies. It was a Thing of Beauty! For interior stall door latches, I think I like the Lucas Equine gravity latches, but latches are such a personal thing. Congratulations on the farm! It will be wonderful.

[clanter]

@SharonA1

perhaps closer to $1M depending on size and site work.

I am not sure a million would be even enough these days as I watched my city spend two million dollars just for a sidewalk of about 4,000 feet.

The first thing I would check before even designing a proposed arena/barn complex would be just what are the site restrictions imposed by the state or local authorities.

Over twenty years ago a person building a new training facility in Pennsylvania had to stop construction on the indoor after the state informed him that he needed to provide a culvert under the arena to provide for the flow of surface water. The added cost was a few hundred thousand dollars to an already expensive project.

As for OP building a concrete barn, they may want to check a tilt wall building

[Limitless]

@SharonA1

And stalls open to individual paddocks, with overhangs so horses can have shelter if out of their stalls.

This would be the thing I would highlight most. All my vets agree that turnout/movement is the best thing going so having stalls open directly to some kind of dry lot(s) is recommended by me personally. And not having to lead in/turnout horses is a huge time saver. Have the dry lots then funnel into your grass turnouts.

[PaddockWood]

@Limitless

This would be the thing I would highlight most. All my vets agree that turnout/movement is the best thing going so having stalls open directly to some kind of dry lot(s) is recommended by me personally. And not having to lead in/turnout horses is a huge time saver. Have the dry lots then funnel into your grass turnouts.

I’ll second this. My vets have commented and complimented me on my design and set up. I have 5 stalls and if I had to do it all over again, I’d put in movable walls and open it all up - one big run in. But the end stall which I keep for hay prep - I feed out of bags hung low to the ground - all mine are barefoot.

I have a 60’ lean - 12’ out (and to do that over would take my lean out 15’ which does mean more bracing for wind) and would do that all the way with 10 stalls or wrap it around your barn. My stalls open up to a huge dry lot that opens up to 5 turnouts. I wish I’d put in a surfaced track system to start but didn’t and regret it. Planning that later this year. A surfaced track system comes in handy for IR, PPID, PSSM and just plain a fat horse that needs to move more and be off grass or much less grass.

I did coated wire for fencing and love it. Just had a huge big ass tree come down on it and it held great. Yes, stretched it but it bounced right back.

Do driveways all around your barn, a wide aisle and yes auto waterers. I did the big stainless steel Nelson’s and muzzles fit in them great.

And yes, build that barn UP on a pad and get your drainage right. That is huge. Having no mud is a gift from your excavator. Well, no gift because it sure does cost $$$.

Keep your horses mostly turned out and moving as much as they want and you increase their chance of health and better fitness. Better lungs, muscle, tendons, mental health etc.

[PaddockWood]

@NancyM

Want to see? “Cordova Farm” on facebook.

Your plan and design sound AMAZING! I went to FB to check it out but you don’t have that updated or shown yet right?

[Smiles]

A family member just put up a steal 30/60 poll barn. The poured concrete slab that was around $20k for the leveling/material/work. The barn itself to build was 25k. It took them 8 months to finally get it put up because they live in the Northwoods. So around 50k when it was all said and done. I suspect higher now with all the tariffs on lumber/steel/aluminum. I add another 10-15k to that price.

[Demerara_Stables]

@SharonA1

For interior stall door latches, I think I like the Lucas Equine gravity latches, but latches are such a personal thing.

I have five stalls and a wash rack with exterior and interior doors with gravity latches from Lucas and I will never go back to other latches again. They just make so much sense, are so easy (you just pull the stall door shut and they latch on their own) and there are no parts to gouge a horse or stick out anywhere. Simply a genius invention.

https://youtu.be/sOgx3uwHto8

[Willesdon]

Some elements to consider:

Access: for emergency vehicles, for large delivery vehicles, for horse trailers, adequate space to turn round, space to store vehicles.

Ventilation: the better the ventilation the healthier the horses.

Drainage: sloping floors, accessible drains, safe disposal of dirty water/fluids. There might be tight local rules to protect waterways.

Light: as much as possible for working in the stalls, for vets and farriers, for dark winter evenings. Electric supply or green generation such as solar on the roof.

Muck disposal: consider the not inconsiderable amount of muck horses produce all year round. How to move it out of stalls, where it is stored, how it is disposed off.

Clean water supply: not just for horses but for laundry, for general cleaning - and importantly disposal of waste water. Consider water stewardship and collecting rainwater and grey water.

Storage: not just hay and feed stuff but endless amounts of stuff associated with horses. Dry, airy, well lit, well organized. Space for wheelbarrow, space for wet rugs…

Fencing: look at modern materials that are safer for the animals and require less maintenance.

Aspect: learn from local farm buildings about the best aspect for doors and windows for sunlight and protection from bad weather.

Consider climate change as extreme weather events are becoming more common.

Consider using recycled materials as much as possible.

Maybe obvious, but put the barn close to the main road access point so as to preserve as much graze and turnout as possible.

[NancyM]

LOL I don’t do much with actual promotion with the page. Can’t be bothered. Since Covid mostly. Finding an insured coach to come and do riding clinics here in the sticks has been difficult… someone who can teach a variety of riders, some green, some old, some young, some in western tack AND school me on whatever horse I have going. Haven’t been able to get enough riders to make it worth someone’s while often. I’ll see if I can find a picture of the hay barn and shed etc. I have one somewhere. I’ll see if I can get it to go here. I’m hopeless with computers etc.