Center Aisle Width

[skip99]

We are finalizing our barn plans and just waiting to hear back from the township on a couple of items. I’m a 100% sure of 2 - 10x12 stalls, 3 - 12x12 stalls, and 1 - 12 x12 tack/feed room. Both of the 10x12s will be next to 12x12s with removable dividers. Unfortunately we will not be able to do dutch doors as the location will not have any access or potential access to paddocks on the stall sides of the barn. Will do large swing out windows instead. I am trying to keep my width 34’ due to the location on the lot.

What is the general opinion on a 10ft aisle for a small private barn? I had a chance to visit a friend’s barn with a 12ft aisle, built by the same builder, and I could tell my young horse would be trying to turn around in the cross ties with that much space. I do not plan on keeping any trunks in the aisle, probably just collapsible blanket barns for stalls, a muck bucket at the end of the aisle, etc. I could also install tie rings in the stalls to straight tie in the stall as well. None of my service providers ever have to drive through the aisle (and have never done so at the barns I’ve been at in the area), and I think 10ft would still be plenty for our tractor to pull through if necessary (jd 2032r). Right now the barn I have does have a 12 ft aisle, but I’m probably operating in closer to 11ft because the inside has dutch doors and the beams stick into the aisle a bit. Thinking (way) down the line for resale, how many people would be turned off by a 10ft aisle ?

[Simkie]

Ten feet is fine. It can be a little tight if you store a lot of crap in the aisle.

I took my JD 2320 through the barn today, no problem. I can get my F-250 in, too. Don’t even need to fold down the mirrors if the barn door itself is 10’. My barn narrows to 8’ at the door…truck still fits. Tightly. With the mirrors in :lol:

A ten foot aisle is perfectly fine, though, especially for your personal barn that doesn’t get a lot of traffic.
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[goodhors]

We have a 12ft aisle, would not want anything narrower.Farrier and Vet can back in, work out of their trucks while we shut the doors on winter winds. They love saving steps while working. A loaded hay wagon fits in this larger aisle, easy throwing bales into the storage areas. No walking and carrying things. Same with unloading grain, drive in, stop beside the feed room door, so only 6-7 feet to put bags into cans. NICE when handling 10-12 bags of feed. I drive the tractor, Kubota L2600DT.and MF spreader thru when cleaning stalls, saving lots of steps with the muck cart.

Horses can be trained to stand in 12ft aisles, ours have all learned how, with work improving their training. 2-4-6-8–10yrs.

Yeah, a 10ft wide aisle would make me walk away from that barn.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I’d definitely prefer 12’ over 10’. Will 10’ work? Sure. But for the aisle, (I think) bigger is better. My aisle was already set in my 1900’s pole barn, so I didn’t get to pick its size. It’s just about 13’. I need every inch of that - Suburban with flatbed trailer loaded with 30+ bales of hay fits and you can easily walk along both sides of SUV and trailer with a bale of hay or shavings in a wheelbarrow. I’m grateful for the added space, as I’m not as spry or as small as I used to be! I’d be hard pressed to fit in a 10’ space with my Suburban, carrying a bale of hay, even if if I did manage to get the thing perfectly in the middle of the aisle and folded up the mirrors so I didn’t wing myself in the neck/head by accident.

[NorthernHunter]

Our barn aisle is 12’wide and it’s plenty of room… I wouldn’t be deterred by a 10’ wide aisle (especially for a private use barn as opposed to a busy boarding stable). We installed sliding stall doors to minimize any obstruction into the aisle and keep a muck tub in the back corner for brooms/pitchforks.

[Guilherme]

Go with 14’. You’ll be glad you did.

G.

[Hazelnut]

I have 12 foot aisle and it’s PLENTY of room because I have a tack/wash stall and ties in the stalls and a large work area. I think 10 feet would be fine in my barn with the number of horses and my set up. Do what works for you and your set up.

[LilyandBaron]

My barn came with a 9’ aisle. I’d love it if it were a bit bigger, but my horses are 15.3 and under, I don’t do trunks and stuff in the aisle, so no issues. I could get a utv in, but no need to drive through. So 10’ would be fine, though I don’t think it’s ever really bad to have more room.

[Zu_Zu]

[HR][/HR]
12’ minimum …14’ better !

for driving an ATV in with hay / bedding / grain
and
manure spreader
most of all
For Safety … IMHO

• routines change … additional equipment is added to make chores easier …a barn evolves … best make sure it can accommodate changes due to needs.

[Sugarbrook]

Our first barn had a 12 foot aisle way. Then we built a new barn with a 14 foot aisle. WOW what a difference that made. The entire barn looks different and all of the trucks and equipment can easily get down the lane. Its a no brainer…14 foot!!!

[2DogsFarm]

Another vote for a minimum of 12’

Consider resale as next owner may not use barn for horses or any type of livestock & wider will be more attractive.
Of course, if stalls get removed my point is moot.

I could harness my mini & hitch to his cart in my 12’ aisle, but Safety has me take him outside to hitch to the cart.

Curious how Drivers of horses & multiples - @goodhors for instance - feel about aisle width.

[Mango20]

10’ is just fine for a private barn. That’s what I have - the building is 34x48 with 12’ stalls, so that leaves a 10’ aisle. I don’t store anything in the aisle since the horses can come in to the stall area whenever they want. It’s wide enough to drive my full size pickup through, if needed. I generally don’t, but I’ve done it several times when unloading things, and just had to watch the sides. I have cross ties in there, and there’s more than enough room to work around the horse, and for the horse to make a u-turn to get in them. I’d say 10’ would be too narrow in a boarding barn or other situation where a lot might be going on in the aisles, but it’s worked out just fine for my home barn for 4 horses.

[mmeqcenter]

I agree that wider is better. I would be very unhappy with a 10’ aisle, myself, even without the couple of boarders I have. I have a shedrow barn in Florida (bought a property, didn’t build anything) and my “aisle” in front of the stalls is 16’. I can’t imagine having to live with it being any narrower. If I ever get to build my own barn in the future, I definitely will not be going less than 16’.

[Lucassb]

My aisle is 12’ and I wouldn’t want it narrower, given a choice. If everything else were perfect, would I live with a 10’ aisle? I guess I might, but it wouldn’t be my preference, that is for sure.

[SusanO]

I had them build my barn aisle 14 feet. OK - so I don’t back up the spreader and tractor that well and need the space. But it allows me to park the tractor and spreader in the aisle and there is enough room on each side to lead a horse into and out of the barn safely. I don’t like to park my equipment out in the rain and I don’t have storage elsewhere that doesn’t have something else parked in it. Plus I can clean stalls right into the spreader. You never think when you get started out how much equipment you are going to need.

[Spyder]

When I built my small barn I was on a tight budget. I have a 10’ aisle. While I would have loved to have a broad boulevard for an aisle, I can still get all but the biggest tractor in there with loader & manure spreader, and my truck when it needs to be there. I have 4-12x12 stalls, 1-10x12 stall, tack room, feed room, small utility area to house some junk and hot & cold water faucet in the aisle to bathe the horses outside. It’s snug but very workable.

[goodhors]

@2DogsFarm

Another vote for a minimum of 12’

Consider resale as next owner may not use barn for horses or any type of livestock & wider will be more attractive.
Of course, if stalls get removed my point is moot.

I could harness my mini & hitch to his cart in my 12’ aisle, but Safety has me take him outside to hitch to the cart.

Curious how Drivers of horses & multiples - @goodhors for instance - feel about aisle width.

2Dogs, we hitch and unhitch in our 12ft aisle. We feel it is a pretty safe way of doing things, especially with Pairs and Fours. There are usually only 2 of us working with them, no hired grooms. Horses are accessible from all directions. They are cross-tied in Pairs, allowing us to work around them putting on or removing harness, bridling and running reins back to the carriage. They are firmly restrained. We do not totally remove halters until Driver is seated, ready to go. Horses know they are not going anyplace until he gives the prepatory command, ANNDDD, (they gather themselves up) then, Walk ON, to start off TOGETHER! Sometimes they stand there a while, “just because he can!”, before setting out. Patience is a virtue in a Driving horse! Ha ha

Usual daily, 4-wheeled carriage is about 49 inches wide for the Single, Pairs and Fours, while Single horse 2-Wheeler is wider. So that means Paired horses CAN move close together if needed, we will have a good 4ft space outside them to get around in.

I love our 12ft aisle. We had to “make-do” in previous barns, always a pain with skinny aisles. We built it with the wide aisle on purpose. That was even before we got into driving horses. I keep the aisle free of clutter all the time, nothing to get snagged on or damage in a “naked” aisle.

[clanter]

@goodhors

I keep the aisle free of clutter all the time, nothing to get snagged on or damage in a “naked” aisle.

nothing to do with aisle width but often photos are posted of stall fronts that have a bottom rear door catch to hold a sliding door in place when fully opened… if this was an industrial setting we would be required to have that catch mounted at the top. By top mounting there is no chance of anything such as a long lead getting snagged under the catch.

As Goodhors posted it is best to keep an aisle clear of hazards

[Bluey]

@clanter

nothing to do with aisle width but often photos are posted of stall fronts that have a bottom rear door catch to hold a sliding door in place when fully opened… if this was an industrial setting we would be required to have that catch mounted at the top. By top mounting there is no chance of anything such as a long lead getting snagged under the catch.

As Goodhors posted it is best to keep an aisle clear of hazards

I think that sliding doors need something at the bottom to hold them tight.
The latch in the middle is not enough because they don’t have a hinge on the other side, like hinged doors do, to keep the door more firmly in that opening.
Without that bottom being held in a sliding door, a horse is more apt to stick a foot thru if it is rolling around or getting up and pushes against it without that.

[skip99]

Thanks all! I am going to try to go with the 12 ft aisle. We are working in a very limited space (I can only have 34ft E-W and 36ft N-S ) and my alternative site for the barn involves cutting into a hill, adding a retaining wall to a hill for a driveway ($$) and losing pasture space in addition to the extra excavation work. To go with the 12ft aisle I have to change the orientation of the barn so the aisle will run E-W, which means no dutch doors into the dry lot, but it was only 2 stalls that would have had that anyway. We do have a large garage with a specific spot for the tractor, though my spreader does stay outside.

And @goodhors - my husband said “why don’t you just train her to stand better” :lol:. It’s a work in progress, she just had the opportunity to learn some bad habits at other facilities with very wide (16’+) aisles with low set x-ties so I switched to straight tying her for a while. She has been much better at my current barn with the higher set x-ties and growing up a bit mentally has probably helped, too.