I did the internet search for the BO when I met her in 1999. I started as a volunteer for the therapeutic riding program. We are in southern Maine. She purchased a farm, 75-80 acres with a house and a small pole barn for hay storage. It had been farmed since 1863. She got it for $110,000. She was going to keep it as a farm, not develop it so the owners took her offer.
Looking for buildings was interesting. We had to pay attention to local zoning codes. Snow load is important.in New England so if you are looking at buildings manufactured elsewhere you may have to add that to plans. She couldnāt afford a Morton. She got a plan for a wood pole barn from New Hampshire, $450,000, no stalls, no anything.
She finally chose a metal building, 120x200 feet. Indoor was 80x200, which she insisted on from the start. She wanted an attached barn. It runs down the long side so itās 40x200 with 20 stalls. She ordered it with the roof insulated to cut down on condensation. She had them insulate the walls in same areas also. There are skylights in the arena and barn, plus the panels under the eaves (forgot the name) for more natural light. Manufacturer is in upstate New York around Penn Yan.
I moved to a new place a year ago. When I left what needed to be done was a deep cleaning starting with the stalls. The building didnāt have any problems like rust. She had sliding doors installed but replaced the one into the indoor with a garage-style door which worked better. You could get a large truck or ambulance through that door. I recall it was around $210,000, building only. She paid the mortgage off in 15 years. She figured out that she needed 14 stalls to break even. A lot of us have sweat equity putting in stalls and more. My initials are in the base for the footings. The Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals has been a refuge for horses for 150 years, privately funded. They built a huge indoor with a large office and meeting spaces in the front. They looked at everything in the area and picked the same company. They use a local contractor to erect it.
