Farm design and planning, arena and drylot

[SugarCubes]

Hi guys! I’ll be moving my horses home soon, and am trying to plan for the immediate future as well as long term. We are on 14 acres, about half is woods. The long-term plan is to clear a few of these wooded areas, one behind the barn to create a large dry lot, and another area for an indoor arena.

However, these plans are a couple of years away…as for right now, I have about an 8-10 acre pasture and am toying with the idea of having a 100x150 drylot/outdoor arena put in a corner of the pasture. It won’t quite be a ‘real’ outdoor arena, the base won’t be that thick, but will be a place to ride when the fields are too wet or whatever.

But, I also don’t want to put something there that I won’t want or use down the road. I do already have all of the rock and screenings, so it’s not going to cost me much to have built, and would solve my short term problems, but again, it’s not in the ideal location where I would put it if we already had the woods cleared!

I guess I’m struggling with the thought of building this now and then not having a purpose for it once the ‘real’ drylot and indoor are built. But, on the other hand having another drylot on the property probably wouldn’t be a bad thing…

[trubandloki]

@SugarCubes

But, on the other hand having another drylot on the property probably wouldn’t be a bad thing…

This was my thought the whole time i was reading your post.

You should have a dry lot now and you have the stuff to make it so make it. Down the road (which frequently ends up being lots more years than you thought it would be) when you clear the wooded area you will have two great places to stash horses when things are less than ideal.

[SugarCubes]

@trubandloki

This was my thought the whole time i was reading your post.

You should have a dry lot now and you have the stuff to make it so make it. Down the road (which frequently ends up being lots more years than you thought it would be) when you clear the wooded area you will have two great places to stash horses when things are less than ideal.

True. And you just gave me another idea, I can always put a run in shelter in the drylot down the road, since it’ll be connected to the pasture, and keep the horses OUT.

[trubandloki]

@SugarCubes

True. And you just gave me another idea, I can always put a run in shelter in the drylot down the road, since it’ll be connected to the pasture, and keep the horses OUT.

Yes.

Another great idea.

[rubygirl1968]

I don’t have a barn of my own but have worked at a couple and have decided that you can’t have too many dry lots. Lol

Well, you probably could if you only had 2 horses but that doesn’t seem to happen much.

They’re useful for Jenny Craig lots, keeping off pastures when monsoon season hits and layup for those that don’t do stalls well. Also for when pasture maintenance is occurring and you don’t need nosy helpers looking over your shoulder.

We’ve been missing our 2nd lot for over a year and can’t wait to be able to use it again.

[goodhors]

The Cherry Hill book about horse keeping on a few acres has a ton of information about laying out your property for convenience. Covers fence lines, waterlines and spigots, driveways to ease getting in and out, things you may never have considered. Though you would not use all the ideas, it may prevent having to redo stuff later.

We have driving horses, so being able to “drive-thru” all the areas is more helpful than needing to stop and back up a carriage with a young horse. Having a very solid driveway that will hold a delivery semi and allow it to turn around in front of the barn to exit, comes in handy. Also will support a 100,000 # fire truck if needed! Few folks consider making a driveway easy, hard surfaced, wide enough , straight, to get in emergency vehicle. While you and the pickup, 2H trailer get in fine, a massive firetruck just won’t fit up the rustic, curvy drive with fences tight to the drive edges.

[jawa]

Is it possible to orient the dry lot in your pasture so that you could subdivide the pasture for rotation with a separate gate for each subdivided paddock?

The run in in the dry lot would be a great added benefit.

[Simkie]

I’ve tried to use my arena as a dry lot, and it sucks. The horses paw to roll, or when they want to come in, and it leaves big holes in the footing. It’s an idea that looks good on paper, but really doesn’t work very well in practice.

[fourfillies]

I’d third doing the dry lot now. All the pasture, depending on how many horses and your climate might be too much grass parts of the year, as well as being able to keep them off but out of the barn when it’s too wet.

[SugarCubes]

@jawa

Is it possible to orient the dry lot in your pasture so that you could subdivide the pasture for rotation with a separate gate for each subdivided paddock?

The run in in the dry lot would be a great added benefit.

Oooh this is a great idea! Yes, totally doable with my layout too.

[Simkie]

FWIW, the best most awesome layout I’ve had was the barn with stalls that opened to covered individual runs, which opened to the sacrifice area, which opened to the various pastures. Horses could be in box stalls, or in stalls with runs, or in the sacrifice area with shelter available in the runs, or open access to any or a single pasture. And to move horses, all you had to do was open and close gates rather than halter and lead horses anywhere.

It was fabulous, and I would set up a property like that again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend something like that if you’re starting from scratch.

[TheJenners]

@rubygirl1968

I don’t have a barn of my own but have worked at a couple and have decided that you can’t have too many dry lots.

This

@jawa

Is it possible to orient the dry lot in your pasture so that you could subdivide the pasture for rotation with a separate gate for each subdivided paddock?

The run in in the dry lot would be a great added benefit.

And this.

Trust me. I have nine acres. I was moving from a boarding facility with the two donkeys and the two horses on a two acre paddock. So I did two one-acre paddocks for each gelding* and one 1/3 acre paddock attached to my barn for the donkeys 24/7 to share with one of the geldings, to get eaten down so they could be essentially drylotted. It wasn’t enough :lol: They are all obese and I’m dying while mowing paddocks that are shin high while the horses stare from the barn… I did go without an arena my first three years, it’s complete now but unfenced (posts in and nothing else) and I’m literally on the phone with Home Depot right now looking for the rest of my materials I ordered four weeks ago…

*initially was two paddocks, to rotate them both from one to the other, but one of the geldings was being a bully so I separated them, and even the first year I had to divide the 1/3 acre because the donkeys were so fat; you literally cannot have enough dry lot options. I currently have a senior gelding, a pony mare, and the two donkeys on the 1/3 acre and the pony mare is freakishly fat.

[SugarCubes]

@Simkie

FWIW, the best most awesome layout I’ve had was the barn with stalls that opened to covered individual runs, which opened to the sacrifice area, which opened to the various pastures. Horses could be in box stalls, or in stalls with runs, or in the sacrifice area with shelter available in the runs, or open access to any or a single pasture. And to move horses, all you had to do was open and close gates rather than halter and lead horses anywhere.

It was fabulous, and I would set up a property like that again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend something like that if you’re starting from scratch.

This is how my last property was set up, although I didn’t have a cover over my runs. It was SO convenient! Unfortunately, this barn was already built and it’s positioned too close to the property lines (right on the corner) to be able to attach runs or paddocks to it. Once we clear some of the woods behind the barn, there will be space for a dry lot that connects to the trail head leading down to the pastures, so that will be much easier than initially where I’ll be leading them a few hundred feet down the driveway to the pasture every day