Is a two stall barn a mistake? Would I regret not having a loft?

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=saultgirl;8454852]
Mine are mostly pasture ornaments this time of year but they live outside most of the time and only come in a few nights of the year, mostly when it’s raining and really muddy, just because I want them to have time to dry out a little bit.

They are rarely in the stalls for longer than 8-9 hours at a time.[/QUOTE]

Right.

My point was, a tie stall is not to have a horse standing there 24/7, for days on end, tied without a chance to do much other.
Not good confined without getting out loose in a stall, but definitely not in a tie stall.

In some of our barns, we had automatic waterers in the tie stalls, most others we didn’t and led horses five times a day to communal troughs, plus every time they were taken out for anything.
One of those times was around 2 am the night watchman would take all horses, one at the time, to the trough.

In many years, we never had a horse colic, so I guess that as part of our management worked well.

[jvanrens]

[QUOTE=Magicboy;8454078]
You tie your horses overnight? Really?[/QUOTE]

Unless things have changed since I’ve last been there, the horses used in the RCMP Musical Ride are in tie/standing stalls when they are in the barn.

Back to the OP, I’d build as big as I could afford to and try to have some sort of storage space overhead even if it’s not as big as a conventional loft just in case.

As for an indoor wash rack, heck yes! I’ve been in racing barns too long in a cold climate and have really come to appreciate them too much. I’m in a barn without one now and really miss it.

[Bluey]

In our race training barn, our wash stall was right by the tack room and had hot and cold water.
It was a couple steps up, so we had a ramp like vans have, with sides that folded to the middle to close it up.

We used it to train colts to load in vans and back out of it also.
We never had any horse fight to go in there, stand there to be bathed or back out.

We did teach them first to get baths outside, on a high line, where they could wiggle around, but not go anywhere and they learned to love baths.

You can see it here in this picture:

[allons-y]

here’s what i did

I had one horse. Built a 36x36 barn, 5 stalls, a tackroom, with hayloft. I regret the hayloft, shoulda left it open, this is the horribly hot MS gulfcoast. I have one stall for hay on pallets, another outbuilding for large quantities of hay. I bought another horse for companionship and plan for a pony or two for grandkids. I only have 7 acres so this is my self imposed limit on horses. I also have a small run in shed i use to feed hay in. I say build 5 or 6 stalls, its the most efficient.

[poltroon]

I started out with two horses, but the companion horse I brought in would freak out so badly when I took my mare out that I basically couldn’t ride. That horse went back home, but it’s definitely a risk and to leave one horse home for a long time when you’re leaving the property may not end up feeling like a good plan. I am keeping four now.

A larger barn will always make you smile. You might configure with two stalls and have the rest open for workspace and storage, and then built out later if need be. A covered, lit crosstie area on a matted surface is certainly a luxury. I use every bit of covered space on my property.

A wash stall is going to be important if you go to dressed to the nines megashows in winter or for boarding stables where there is a lot of traffic. For a single owner operation, it’s easy enough to have a gravel area or do each horse in a different spot on the grass. The caveat to what I just said would be that if you live in a place that winter is extremely serious, having unfreezable water and a drain indoors is going to be a much higher priority than it is for someone like me, where it might be cold and or freezing and or miserable but you can pretty much always make water flow and stand outside somehow in a first aid or other urgent situation.

[Bluey]

Found the drawings for a minimalist, two horse barn:

http://1screen.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/small-horse-barn-plans-free-barn-plans--2-stall-horse-barn---design-floor-plan.jpg

This one would give you all you need, the smallest footprint for two stalls and a tack/feed room and a working area under cover, at the least cost.

[furlong47]

@jvanrens;8455661

Unless things have changed since I’ve last been there, the horses used in the RCMP Musical Ride are in tie/standing stalls when they are in the barn.

Yes, the RCMP horses are for the most part in tie/standing stalls. They do have a handful of box stalls.

PA State police horses also have tie stalls, although they are in turnout most of the time.

[amt813]

Thank you all again! I really do appreciate everyone’s insight who has been through this.

I am limited to four horses for my property, so that would be the maximum number of stalls I would build.

[js]

Here is something else to at least give some thought to. Don’t build more than you can afford, be honest about budget and stick with it. Bringing horses home there are other things you will need in addition to the barn that will need to budget for. Consider how it will impact the value of your property. Once built you will need to have your tax assessor out to revalue your property, your property taxes could go up. Check on building permits and what is allowed or restricted as far as size, waste water, etc. Factor the cost of having someone come in and doing your site prep and or paying for a concrete slab.

We built a new barn just over a year ago. The basic barn (shell) was fairly inexpensive, it was everything else that drove the cost up. Start getting quotes now and putting pencil to paper on costs and what you can spend.

[TrailRides4Fun]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;8453969]
Horizon built my barn! Happy to answer any questions you have about them and their barns if you send a PM. There are some pics on my blog. I looked at their “Friesian” but chose to build a side-aisle barn (enclosed shedrow) with three 12x12 stalls and a 10x12 tack room. I only have two horses and my land could not support more, but I recommend having a third stall anyway. My third stall is divided in two, half for the mini-donkey who keeps the horses company (two horses only did not work out for me) and half for a week’s worth of hay, bedding, etc. Here is the layout of my barn, which works perfectly for me: http://thesmallhorsefarm.blogspot.com/2014/06/small-barn-layout-and-design.html

I don’t like lofts for the reasons mentioned by others…fire safety, ventilation, extra hassle. However, I was lucky to have a large existing garage on my property for hay storage.

I have an outdoor wash rack only: http://thesmallhorsefarm.blogspot.com/2014/08/outdoor-wash-rack-design.html. I don’t bathe in the winter and decided I could suffer outside if I need to hose a leg or something. For me, the extra expense and the hassle of drains were not worth it. YMMV. I did have the foundation guy slope the far end of the aisle towards a drain so I could conceivably hose a horse off there, but after watching what happens when it rains or when I pressure wash stalls, I don’t think he did that great a job and I doubt I’ll ever use it.[/QUOTE]

Super cute barn!!
Love the way this turned out :winkgrin:
Love my own pole barn too, but nice to see these Amish built barns,
set up so tastefully.
Great job!!

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8454217]
The amount of horses you have expands according to the amount of stalls available - a truth.[/QUOTE]

lol, yup. If you build it they will come. The same can be said with having a lot of fenced property.

[jvanrens]

[QUOTE=furlong47;8457718]
Yes, the RCMP horses are for the most part in tie/standing stalls. They do have a handful of box stalls.

PA State police horses also have tie stalls, although they are in turnout most of the time.[/QUOTE]

Looks like it hasn’t changed much since the last time I was there. I remember a couple of the older horses having the box stalls, but it’s been a long time. The RCMP have a nice amount of turn out and spend a good part of the day out judging from the times I’ve driven past there. They also go for hacks along the Rockcliffe Parkway. Quite the sight to see in the middle of a large city.