Loft tack rooms?

[Texarkana]

Forewarning: there is no real purpose to this thread except to satisfy my own curiosity.

I’m sitting here perusing pictures and blueprints for my “someday” barn. Partially fantasizing, partially being practical and thinking about what will truly work for me and my property. This barn isn’t getting built any time soon unless it starts raining money.

I was looking at some prefabs with a single tack/feed room and a full-sized staircase in the feed room leading up to the loft. I’ve worked in this style barn barn before. Which got me thinking, if you threw up some walls upstairs, you could make as large of a tack/storage room as you’d like.

Yet I’ve only seen loft tack rooms maybe a handful of times in all my years and have never actually utilized one.

Anyone have your tack room in the loft or board at a place with one? Do you like it? Is keeping tack upstairs a major deterrent?

[enjoytheride]

I think it’s better than not having a tack room at all.

[Foxglove]

To me the downside of a tack room upstairs is carrying saddles downstairs. I have recently gotten into the habit of putting my stock saddle in the back of the truck because it is easier than carrying it down ONE step from the trailer tack room to the ground, then lifting it on to the horse. I still carry my English saddles in the trailer, but they are smaller.

[LCDR]

I spent three years boarding at a barn with a second floor tack room. It was not pleasant. It took two or three round trips on the stairs to get down my saddle, bridle, helmet, grooming box, saddle pad, and all the other things I needed. Same at the end of the ride. I finally ended up carrying most of my riding stuff in the back of my SUV, and just used the upstairs for storage of things like a turnout blankets. Plus, trying to carry too much per trip downstairs came close to causing falls for me many times.

If you plan your future barn to accommodate any boarders, be absolutely sure that the stairs are constructed to local building codes. If someone does fall and is injured and the stairs are not code-compliant, you and your insurance company may not be happy.

[HPFarmette]

Since it’s an imaginary design anyway, put in a dumb waiter on a pulley system that goes up to the loft to move saddles etc. up and down.

[Simkie]

Loft storage is great for stuff you need to access not very often. It’s not awesome for stuff that you need all the time!

[Mallard]

My boarding barn had an upstairs tack room until very recently. Thankfully it is now downstairs.
It took me minimum of 2 trips to get my stuff downstairs. Usually 3.
And the same number of trips to get it all back upstairs.
The teenagers and 20-something riders didn’t seem to mind, but we seniors hated every single step.

[cutter99]

We bought a new farm in July. My barn is 3 stories, basically a modern day bank barn.

Top level holds a couple hundred small square bales with an enclosed hay drop to the bottom level.

Main floor comes of the driveway to the house and has a 3 bay garage, work bench, storage and a 10’ X 10’ enclosed room where the former owner kept her tack.

Bottom floor is ground level out the back of the building, leading out to turnouts, and has a run in and horse stalls. There is a ton of wasted room because of how the floor plan was laid out.

The former owner carried her western saddles up and down the steps with no railing for years. First thing we did was put up railings on all steps. I then moved all the tack I use down to the lowest level. I was still carrying feed pans up and down the steps twice a day, but recently moved them and the feed down there as well. I can secure them away from the horses having access and save myself carrying things up and down the stairs.

The former owners aged out of this property, and were only 10 years older than my husband and me. We are both very determined to be here as long as possible, so are trying very hard to keep that in mind as we make changes and improvements.

I don’t know if I would store tack I used daily upstairs, but could see things I was storing seasonally or long term. I keep spare tack, saddle pads, blankets, extra water heaters, etc. upstairs as I don’t need them daily. As I age I am trying to work smarter not harder, but more important as safely as possible!

[Scribbler]

My self board barn gives everyone a 12 foot square loft with a door you can lock above the 12 foot square stall as combined feed and tack. We have a trap door to drop hay down. We keep our saddles up there and most of our tack and blankets . But we each also have a triangular corner cupboard built into the stall where we keep grooming supplies, bridles, helmets, whatever. It works fine.

Tack and hay in the same space is messy.

We have our hay delivered by men with hay elevators. I can get 2 tons in my loft.

[OverandOnward]

Just me: While I do get the potential space benefits, due to the impact of life, I will not be going up and down a staircase to a tack room.

If that’s what the barn owner wants and is comfortable with then of course it’s fine for them.

I would keep in mind that if a board barn is being considered, a staircase to the tack room, or a staircase to anything that boarders will need every time they come out, will put some limitations on who will board there. That may not matter if everyone in the barn has all their joints and knees and backs just right.

[2DogsFarm]

I built my barn w/attached indoor without a loft by design.
There’s plenty room to put a loft over the indoor - rafters are at 14’, roof is sloped to center at least 8’ in the middle. Next owner can put in flooring & a loft if they want.
For my use, not having to go up/down stairs for anything is my preference.
I keep 3 (horse, pony, mini) in the barn, store my year’s worth of hay (300 45-50# small squares) stacked on pallets across from the stalls.
No tack room, saddles & harness kept on holders on the wall next to the hay. Feed in cans next to tack, with a cobbled-together table for mixing.
Mini pillaging stacked hay:
(stalls behind him)

[Gardenhorse]

I leased a horse at a barn with a loft tack room. It was great to have plenty of space, but as others have said, lugging everything up and down the stairs gets old. At the least, make sure the staircase is wide and safe.

[horsepoor]

I boarded where there were lockers in the “loft” area above the stalls. The lockers were used by the individual boarders not with the trainer (who had a ground floor tack room). The stairs were in the middle of the barn, open so the stalls right there had a great view of people going up and down the stairs.That was an eye opening experience for some horses, including my youngster that turned inside out the first time he saw someone loaded up with tack, groom box, and dressage whip, coming down the stairs. It took him a long time to get over it, and me as well (it happened while I was tacking him up in the stall and we both got hurt). Some of the horses also really hated hearing the noise “upstairs” but most got used to it.

I would not want to board where I had to schlep stuff up and down stairs these days. Getting too old to enjoy that! Having seasonal storage would be ok (not needing daily access).

[Bluey]

One big two story high western barn in KS had a large tack room in the corner of the aisle right by the washroom, about the middle of the long side and a staircase and a large tackroom above the bottom one.
They used the bottom tack room for daily and training tack and the top to store and for show tack.
It was a pain to cart show tack down to the trailer and after shows from the trailer to the top, but it was kept cleaner and safer up there.
No matter what barn or house, always remember that age and any injury or disability at any age will make stairs and second floor anything not such a smart idea for any other than storage.

[JB]

Outside of logistics issues, things higher up are warmer than things lower, and if you’re also humid, that can be murder on leather. You’d also need some extra ventilation and/or dehumidifying up there

I’d much rather plan for daily use things of any sort, tack or not, to be kept on the main level. Reserve the loft for maybe storing seasonal items, and if it’s horse clothing of any sort, it has to be rodent-proof as well

[SusanO]

And raccoon proof. Amazing how they can chew their way into areas.

[Simkie]

Hopefully not jinxing myself, but I have zero issues with pests in the loft. No mice, no rats, definitely no raccoons. Access is pretty limited–interior stairs in the barn, and no nearby trees to make exterior access easier. The exterior loft doors are always kept closed.

[Texarkana]

A reminder, this was just a question of curiosity.

What I’m gathering from firsthand experiences is it mostly sucks for daily use. And I can see that: having to go up stairs every time you need a brush or fly spray would be super annoying.

[TheJenners]

@Texarkana

I was looking at some prefabs with a single tack/feed room and a full-sized staircase in the feed room leading up to the loft. I’ve worked in this style barn barn before.

I’ve never seen this before, please link!

[Texarkana]

@TheJenners

@Texarkana

I was looking at some prefabs with a single tack/feed room and a full-sized staircase in the feed room leading up to the loft. I’ve worked in this style barn barn before.

I’ve never seen this before, please link!

BP09-Plan-Preview.pdf