I think all open between the stalls (by all open I mean like @sascha described) really depends on the animals being housed.
I own a mare that would spend endless energy tormenting the animals on either side if she was in a stall like that. Probably to the point of making them crazy and herself not happy either.
So stalls with all open bars inside is the same as paddocks that open to stalls with herd access - know your herd because this can go really bad.
I have corral panel stalls currently. With two friendly geldings, I haven’t had any issues. I can easily see where it would be an issue if I had more horses or less friendly horses. Or if the stalls were smaller. Mine are 15 wide and I feed in opposite corners to minimize any tussles at feed time. My horses will hang their heads over the dividing panels to be close to each other often.
I like the stalls with the privacy corners around feed tubs and then more open walls elsewhere.
With 12’ long division walls, the first 4’ wide x 8’ tall solid, the 8" wide bottom 4’ solid, is 4’ open in the middle enough for socializing, or better the whole 8’ wide top open for more airflow, but maybe too much for a horse that annoys or is annoyed by those across that barrier?
Hope that makes sense.
I bought my farm with the barn existing. Things I love:
*Tall ceiling (14’ high side, 10’ low side, single slope roof)
*16’ wide aisle. Personally even 12’ is too narrow for me, 16’ is probably the minimum I’d ever go
*Concrete aisle
*Water spigots at each field (PVC pipe, you can do that in Florida 
)
*Water heater in tack/feed room with utility sink
*Fields and barn are easily visible from my house
*We put in electrical outlets in the ceiling for stall fans
*Stall doors with yokes (they’re rarely in stalls but, it’s nice all the same)
Things I’d change:
*The water spigots at each field are in stupid locations
*The water pipes run to the spigots at each field are run INSIDE the fence line. Where they pace. And dig up the pipe. And break it.
*I’m still unsure about the shedrow. I like it, but I think if I could build a new barn I’d do center aisle. In 4.5 years there’s been only one time that there was an insane driving wind+rain that interrupted a farrier appointment by coming pretty far into the aisle
*Wood board fencing. Absolutely hate it.
*I’d like separate feed and tack rooms
*I currently use two stalls for hay storage, I’d like a bigger building for hay storage
*I’d love a cover to park my trailer under
*I’d prefer 12’x12’+ stalls, currently have 10’x12’
*Better field configuration
*Whoever built the barn, built it with the roof sloping down TO THE HIGHER GROUND SIDE. Dear God use your brain when configuring. I beg of you.
That roof sloping to the high side, I hope, has big gutters on it and good drainage around the structure where those discharge?
Something to consider, stall doors with any openings like windows or yokes?
Those are fine, you get to love horse’s heads sticking out, waiting on you.
The downside, the rare time a horse decides to boogie out of there.
I have seen such pictures of horses stuck in yokes and even feed doors in corners:
I’m going to assume that you are planning for a barn in a warm weather location because you mention mesh stall doors for ventilation. My barn is in coastal NE Massachusetts and we get weather that may make much of what I love irrelevant for you, but I’ll write a book anyway.
I looked at the old barns in my area, and they were oriented east/west, so that’s what we did, and there is generally a breeze through the barn in the summer. And there is a relatively solid face to the north, where our icy weather comes from.
Love the overall dimensions of my barn. The stall block has 11 stalls plus one half stall. Stalls are 13 foot square (except for half stall), and the exterior walls are insulated. Aisle is at least 12 feet. Walls between stalls are 5 feet high, front walls 4 to make it easy to peek in. Both have grillwork 3" on center so feet can’t get hung up. They are designed so that walls can be taken down if necessary. Sliding stall doors have yokes so horses can be friendly and get a view. Walls and doors are made of rough cut oak. Don’t bother with pine, which horses love to chew. Windows are 4x4 with hinged grillwork on the inside. They slide into pockets, and screens fit on the outside. End doors slide into pockets, and there are sliding screen doors too. There are GFI plugs up high in each stall for fans, and they all work off a single switch.
The stall block has an aisle off to the side that attaches to the old part of the barn (1904). This has a brick floor in the tacking up and wash stall areas (which are heated in the winter). Two tacking areas plus the wash stall can be used if several of us are going out at the same time. There’s hot water in wash stall which has perimeter drains that outflow through a dryer vent cover, which keeps cold air from coming in. The back wall of the area has kitchen casework from a house being renovated which gave us a counter, sink, and large drawers under the counter that hold everyone’s grooming stuff. Beyond that the tack room with a bathroom.
There is a separate room for feed and there’s some blanket storage in there as well (more kitchen casework). Remaining blankets are stored upstairs in the loft. The lockers for open feed are mouse proof. The barn cats patrol the unopened bags. They have cat doors to the basement and the hayloft, or any door that closes the barn up EXCEPT for exterior doors. Don’t want any uninvited visitors! And to assist in that, we put metal hardware cloth over all the soffit vents.
Huge hayloft overhead that covers the old and new part of the barn with stairs for access. Fits a year’s worth of hay and shavings, so no hunting around for those items in the winter. There’s a hay drop right outside the half stall, so that’s where the hay and shavings for the next few days are stored. Wheelbarrows fit under the stairs to get them out of the way, and there’s space for pitchforks, brooms and shovels right there. Opposite the wheelbarrow storage there’s a sliding door to a garage that the manure trailer backs into. So nice in a storm to be able to dump manure without going outside.
Building code required that we have a full foundation, and the barn site is on a slope (end to end) so the barn floor is off the grade much more at one end but we built an earthen ramp. The foundation is filled with 4 feet of crushed stone (aka gravel) so drainage is no problem. Below each hydrant is a removable drain so there’s access if needed. We also installed a fitting on each hydrant pipe to make it easier to take them apart for repair.
Stalls floors are mats over stone dust and have been great for 16 years (so far).
Barn aisle is concrete. Stable block ceiling is off white metal roofing over insulation. We power wash it once a year. Reflects light back into the barn keeping things bright.
Exterior of barn is Hardiplank. Love it. We painted it 16 years ago and it still doesn’t need a repaint, and looks really good.
We have hydrants at each end of the aisle and in the middle where there’s a side door out to the parking lot. Also exterior and interior plugs at the front, back and side doors. Useful for farriers and others.
We have good access for vets, farriers, large delivery trucks, snowplows, firetrucks, everything. And re: safety, the barn has hard wired Rate of Change Heat detectors. FYI smoke detectors are unreliable below 32 degrees and are a pain with dust and spiders in any event.
What I don’t like: we have to lead the horses to paddocks, but the typography and site conditions left no choice.
I wish the barn had a separate water meter so I could better control usage, but the town wouldn’t allow it.
There are two paddocks that we couldn’t set hydrants in because horses would’ve been able to reach them, but they are near enough that we can run hose. Paddock layout was set before we moved here and the ConsComm wouldn’t let us change it much Don’t like that. (We have electric to all the winter paddocks: useful for deicers.)
PS: If you decide to do dutch doors on the outside of the stalls, please make sure that you install hardware for opening them from the inside or outside in case of fire. And if you possibly can, invite the fire dept over for a walk through so they know where they can put horses and have an idea of the layout. We do a horse handling session for fire fighters every few years just to give them some familiarity. At the end, we have a participant walk through in full gear with a respirator so they can see how the (previously) docile horses react.
Here endeth the book.
Nope and nope.
I’ve DIYed some drainage and gutters since I bought it, but I need to have the gutters redone with much bigger ones.
Yes yes, someone always has something to say about stall doors with yokes. What I actually want are the curved Euro fronts - 
the horror. My horses come in for ~20 minutes to eat grain AM and PM. Horses always find a way to hurt themselves.
You can install your own private meter on the line to the barn.
I’m thinking about it!
Also you can add a meter anywhere on lines, to every automatic waterer, your plumber should know where to get them, they are cheap little gadgets.
We have one in our gasoline tank line, that is rated for all fluids.
Ours is a little one, but similar to this:
All 3 places I’ve been at constructed like this (2 large boarding/school stables and one small private barn) had no difficulties. That said, sometimes there needs to be shuffling of stalls when a new horse arrives, but that is ime quite minimal. Most recent was one who got a premium corner stall (they are a little bigger and more private) and had to be moved between 2 horses in order to settle in properly.
The oldest place I was at even had bars between the backs of the stalls. So, you’d walk in the barn and see through 3 rows of horses all the way to the back wall. Issues were rare, but, like I said above, occasionally there would need to be shuffling to make sure everyone was happy.
Yes! I can see almost all the pasture, and the barn, from the house. The barn is 250’ from the house, out our bedroom window, which has been VERY nice for the times I’ve had horses in overnight.
That’s why we went with Horseguard tape. We paid to have the posts put in, and then put up the tape ourselves. It looks nice and holds up VERY well, as in, it looks brand new 16 years later, barring the tape in shaded places that have moss or lichen growing on them. The insulators are the biggest replacement issue. There are some of the original insulators still up (mostly in the shaded areas), but the original ones did get more brittle with sun exposure over time, and on their own, that was fine, but at some point it didn’t take much contact (deer coming in and out) to break them. The newer ones seem much more sun-durable, and are easier to use anyway. Replacing tape rarely has required a new strand, just re-stretch and go. Easy, inexpensive.
I’ve got that same issue with the electric rope fences, those insulators keep breaking. I totally forgot about Horseguard though, thanks! Hoping to redo most/all of my fencing in the next 2-3 years (and get rid of all wood boards!)
I board, but have some thoughts:
someone mentioned stalls with wood wall divider that can be removed to make big stall. My barn has a couple of these, and they are also good for the occasional horse that doesn’t like to be social. Had a TB who loved group turnout but did not like to have a neighbor when in. He was happiest with the solid wall.
Yokes/aisle openings good but having a way to close is also good. My otherwise saintly stallion would try to bite passing horses when his is open. So it stays shut.
Tack cleaning: we do not have anywhere to easily clean tack. I profess to being lax at this generally but would be better if there was a space set up w/ small sink and place to hang bridle/rack for saddle.
A wall somewhere with attachments to hang sheets/blankets during those seasons where clothing needed that may come in wet, dirty.
Yes! I was at one place for a couple of winters and the tack room was set up with loads of space, heat, hot and cold in a large sink, and convenient bridle and saddle racks for cleaning. My tack got wiped down every day. Love my current barn but the tack rooms are a bit crowded and the sinks have been removed.
Which brings me to another wish list item - hot and cold water in the feed room. Perhaps in a floor/janitor sink so that buckets wouldn’t have to be hoisted. Alternatively a length of tubing/hose from a normal utility sink to reach buckets at the floor, but, a floor sink would contain any overflow that might happen
Thanks Bluey. My plumber was telling me $600 apiece minimum. There’s an apartment in the barn building, but I think the plumbing is set up separately from the stable.
There are 7 living units on the property. I have sub electric meters such that I can tell how much power each apartment uses and charge the tenants. I’m going to look into the meters you’ve suggested to see if I can do that with water. It would help identify if there were any leaks and would encourage tenants to conserve.
I am probably saying something you already know but just in case someone else has not thought of it - makes sure you are installing a meter that is designed to be used in a potable water installation.
Things I like
Barn attached to garage, so I can get into the barn without going outside.
All pastures inter-connected, and connected to the paddock around the barn, so I don’t need to lead horses in and out, and only need one water trough, next to barn.
Stalls have Dutch doors both opening into the aisle, and out into the paddock (I HATE sliding doors on stalls). Walls are solid to about 4 ft, with bars above to about 8 ft.
Big (at least 10 foot) overhang where the stall doors open into the paddock.
Hot and cold running water (another advantage of the barn being attached to the house) in the tack/deed room (with sink) and wash stall. Also a frost free hydrant outside each end of the barn, one for the water trough.
LOTS of lights and lots of electric outlets (set at 4 ft ) (having a few more at ceiling height sounds like a good idea too).
Concrete (brushed) in the whole barn (stalls, aisles, wash stall and, most importantly feed/tack room) (wash stall, and all stalls, have a real drain).
Concrete-board (HardiBoard) siding (though it does shatter if a horse gives it a solid kick).
Hayloft above barn, with a big barn door for deliveries, a real staircase, and a trap door to drop the hay down (though if I were doing it over, I would have the trapdoor in the end stall that I use as a “hay stall” instead of the aisle)
Main barn door opens to the driveway, so easy access for vet, farrier, and feed delivery.
my 12 ft wide aisle is ample.
I like my 3-board wood fence.
Things I don’t like
The barn was supposed to have gutters, but it didn’t happen, so I have to maintain a swale to drain the runoff from the roof. (I should just get gutters installed, but I need to get a round tuit)
Need better drainage around the barn, so all the rain runs AWAY from the barn.
The end stalls had glass windows, protected by a wire mesh, but the horses leaned against them, and “popped” them out. Now replaced with plexiglass (or something similar).
I have fallen out of love with wood board fencing. I used to think of it as the gold standard in fencing… NO MORE. I was literally out there with a hammer and nails at 5am today. While it is pretty to looks at, the weather rots and warps the wood. The boards need regular maintenance even without “help” from the horses. Then for whatever reason my horses have managed to hurt themselves on this beautiful looking 3 board fence more than they have hurt themselves on anything, and I’ve had some sketchy fencing over the years.
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