Not long ago, did I read about a horse property that had a heated and air-conditioned stable AND indoor, or did I make that up?
My ideal barn would have a steam room and sauna and heated pool. (All for the humans, I mean.) Have you ever come across a set-up like that?
My horse has some questions about that heated and air conditioned stable. Provided that it’s not heated to more than about 40 degrees and that the air conditioning works great, he would like to submit an application to move there, along with his best friend. He feels this would be the ideal retirement. I have some questions about the ventilation, but presumably if one can afford to install an HVAC system in your entire barn, one can also install whole-barn industrial-grade air filters in each stall.
Of course, he would also probably like the heated pool.
When I was young I attended a show at a farm whose barn was immaculate and looked like it came out of an ad. It is now a beautiful wedding and event venue. I don’t really recall the interior of this building looking all that much different when it was the center of a working barn with stalls and a tack room: https://vignonmanorfarm.com/octagon/
I’ve only seen pictures, but the Wrigley Arabians in Geneva, IL had a jawdropper. Brass blanket bars & chandeliers in the aisle.
In person: St James Farm, Warrenville, IL - formerly owned by McCormicks - was gorgeous. Vintage brick pavers & stalls laid out in a circular design.
Close 2nd: Great American Clydesdales in Orland, IN.
I believe all the barns and indoor arenas at WEC Ocala are heated and air conditioned, right? If you’re looking for over-the-top horsey places, you don’t need to look much further than WEC.
Yes, it is fully enclosed and climate controlled, WEC North is also but think its just heat. Wouldn’t call it over the top decor wise though, quite functional and very well ventilated…but passages from rings to stabling areas can be a bit like navigating a Hamster Habitat. Horses seem to be very comfortable with it.
Note, it can be converted to exhibit halls, banquet/weddding space or other sport venues. Which is a smart idea. Lucrative too.
Far as over the top barns, have to give that to the Arabian community. Speaking of Wrigley’s, they had the best location for a beautiful estate with Spanish style barn nestled in oak dotted hills with stunning ocean views. Nothing like owning most of an island 26 miles off the coast of So Cal. Used to host movie stars and politicians too back in the day.
Outside of Mexico City, the architect Luis Barragan designed the San Cristobal stables, and it looks stunning. I can’t think of any other barns designed by modern architects. I wish I had been able to get there for a tour, I’m so curious if it’s actually functional as a barn as opposed to just a photo op.
This article has some pictures:
I used to live about 20 minutes from Great American Clydesdales. Their “showroom” barn was the stuff of my dreams growing up. As far as amenities I don’t even think it really had many, as all of their horses in work were kept in the barn across the street (which was not nearly as beautiful). It was gorgeous though.
Incidentally, I also lived very close to St James Farm in college. Never saw their stables though.
I came across this reddit post several years ago. You can see it’s a tack room - no idea where though. Not sure how practical it is, but it’s definitely a statement!
I can’t get past that pad laying on the floor-lol! Tackroom is certainly beautiful and looks like an awesome place to hang out but it’s practicality score is a fat zero
Hey, I’ve seen some pretty “artistic” beams at Lowes 
In the northern parts it’s not uncommon for the barn and indoor to be heated. It’s usually not what you would consider warm, maybe 35-40 degrees, but it’s much better than -30.
This isn’t so spectacular now, but growing up my dad had a friend who did team roping. His family built a 300’ heated indoor arena. At the time, it was one of the biggest arenas in the country. I’ve been to it, and it’s now a little sad (being 50+ years old) but i still think it’s impressive that they had it.
There’s this episode of the X Files with these “people” that build underground caves, and… yeah.
Yes. Our indoor is detached, but our barn is heated to 45 degrees year-round. I never thought I would consider that warm, but the ability to tack up/groom/bathe/do general barnwork without freezing your arse off is heavenly.
The first barn I rode at was a barn, indoor and house all in one. It wasn’t particularly extravagant, but it was very convenient. I remember being quite surprised when I realized that setup was more the exception than the norm!
Not over the top, but I once looked at a very normal farmette for rent with a crystal chandelier in the barn. Just a plain ol’ wooden 4 stall barn, gravel aisle… and a chandelier. Why?!? It wasn’t like it was converted for events or anything; it was a working horse barn.
I can see this done as Just Because. 
In my experience (50 years of it thank you) chandelier in the barn = cray cray
YMMV but it has been true in every single encounter I’ve had
There’s an Instagram account called Equine Residences that’s basically nothing but over the top barns.
I do love the Barragan one…
I once farm sat for a woman that had a 20 stall 40 acre barn for her 2 horses and goat. It was climate controlled. The stalls had an interesting wood floor under the mats. Fancy fixtures at every turn. The barn was arranged somewhat like a + with center aisle stalls arranged on two ends and lounge, tack, office, feed room, cross ties in the center and cross area. Fully landscaped foyer entry type areas in the center cross space. An apartment with balconies up top. The entire barn interior was decorated with original artwork. More museum than barn vibe. Her covered arena was finished with shiplap looking wood so none of the metal showed. Totally wild.
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