Another maybe-things-will-work-out offer on a property has me dreamin’ and schemin’ again. This one has a gutted pole barn. The bones are good, needing just minor repairs. It is basically a clean slate.
The barn is 20’ x 26’ with wide doors centered on both short sides. There is a small overhang on one short side. Not my ideal size, but for the time being, I would need to work with what’s there. A new barn won’t be in the budget initially if this all works out.
I would need at least 2 stalls, a place for the farrier/vet to work, and storage space for a small amount of hay/feed/tack/bedding. The bulk of hay storage will be in a separate storage shed.
Option A: split the barn roughly in half, placing two 10’x12’ stalls in the “front” so they open to the outside on the same side as the short overhang. I would also place stall doors opening into the barn. Possibly frame out a small tack/feed room, but leave the bulk of the space open for multi-purpose storage/grooming space. The biggest con I see is that with the addition of kickboards, the stalls will probably be more like 9’-and-changex12’, which is kind of tight for my TB and WB. But a pro would be the stalls could double as free access shelter with some creative planning (I won’t let them just run in and out of regular stalls after an incident so I’m thinking swing wall/gate between the stalls that could be opened and closed easily).
Option B: place two 10’x12’ stalls along the long side. That would leave me with about an 8’ wide aisle along the entire length of the barn and another ~6’x12’ space for feed/tack. I could account for the width of the kickboards so I wouldn’t lose internal stall space. But there wouldn’t be an easy way to offer free access to the stalls, so I’d need additional shelter. I’d also have less storage space, though I could store a few bales along the aisle.
Option C: something I have yet to consider.
How would you use the space?
