Run in barn vs traditional stalls

[FraggleRock]

So my barn is being redone soon (yay!!) and originally the plan was just to make the stalls bigger, but things have changed…
My barn is 28’ wide by 32’ long, has a 10’ sliding door in the center of the front and back. There are two stalls on the left that are roughly 8 x 10.5 with an empty space of the same size at the front left. The right side has a similar set up, three roughly 8 x 10.5 areas, the front right is where the feed is and the hole to the hay loft. The middle “stall” is really suppose to be a tack room, and has a sliding door, the last stall on the right is a makeshift stall.
The original plan was to add a stall on the front left and make them all bigger, and a smaller stall on the back right for the mini. So that would give me three 10 x 10.5 stalls on the left and a 8 x 10.5 mini stall on the back right AND I would finally have my tack room!

This was all suppose to be done almost a year ago and a lot has changed since then both with my horses and overall life. Long story short I have less horses (one leaving in a week) and so the remaining horses are two retired STBs and one 38" mini. Now that I don’t need 4 stalls I have been back and forth with some new plans. I could still do three stalls on the left and just leave the back right side as empty/storage space. But I keep thinking that I would love to turn the back of the barn into a run in (10.5 x 28) for the three remaining horses. Then I could keep the left middle 10.5 x 8 stall, use the left front area for storage or make a second stall. These are easy going horses, I don’t worry about them sharing the space. My boyfriend thinks the horses will chew the barn apart, and hates the idea of not having regular stalls. I love the idea of attaching their paddock, and having them all able to come right into the barn. The horses do have a few trees in the main paddock and a 10 x 16 shelter which they share but is just as a back up, I think it would be great to give them extra shade in the summer (bugs/ humidity get bad) and great for winter as well. I don’t have water in the barn so i’m not worried about pipes freezing.
Will I regret doing an open concept/run in type barn? My horses don’t come in every night, just when its really bad out. I have zero concerns with locking any two in a 10.5 x 28 area, and putting the third in a stall. Really I no longer need a tack room (sold most of my tack and not riding any more), so I could even keep the mini in the tack room/stall shes in now if I truly needed to separate them.
Does anyone have a run in that goes right into the barn? love it hate it?

[danacat]

The only problem I see is that ALL you’ll have is basically two run-in sheds – the one outside and the one in the barn.

Not having stalls 'could ’ be a problem (as Bluey said) IF you need to isolate a horse for certain types of care. But other than that, a really nice ‘barn’ type of run-in shed (good for summer – good for winter) is a lot easier to clean - IMO - than traditional, individual stalls.

And…since you’re not riding anymore… and since your horses get on well together, I think the barn run-in shed type set up – nice big ‘indoor’ space with plenty of room – sounds great. Especially if it looks anything like the picture Bluey posted. Love it!

[moving_to_dc]

My last 3 properties have had run-in’s that lead into the barn. The stalls open directly into the run-in shelter roof. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The shelter allows the horses to “live out”, which IMO is the healthiest option for them. I have water and electricity under the shelter roof, so the tank & heater are right there, easy to monitor and clean.

I do make sure that every run-in I have had has WIDE open escape routes, not 4’ wide doors. I always want a minimum of 10’ wide opening, sometimes more than one, depending on the herd dynamics. You never know who is going to get snarky and how fast someone has to move away. You want an easy clear exit that 2 or 3 horses can pass thru at once, not a 4’ wide doorway that can be blocked by a single horse butt.

I have also hung gates so that I can turn the wide open area into temporary stalls in seconds.

[ChocoMare]

That’s what I’m planning in my future barn (hopefully Spring 2018). I’ll have two 12 X 14 run-in “stalls.” I want my horses out 24/7, which is what they do now, but with a better option to get out of the Georgia heat than I do now.

I’ll have it set up, tho, to close them off as needed.

[2DogsFarm]

My 36X36 pole barn was built with 2 12X12 stalls along one side w/Dutch doors that open to the sacrifice paddock & that in turn opens to pastures on either side.

Horses have free access to stalls 24/7/365 - Dutch doors in back of stalls only get shut maybe once a year if we happen to have a blizzard that is blowing from the East.
Generally I find both geldings - currently 16h TWH & 13H Hackney - sharing one stall.
So, in effect, I have built them the world’s Fanciest Run-In.

They separate themselves - 1 to a stall - to be fed grain (2X daily) & I’ve never had an issue with fighting over a stall.
Same arrangement has worked for 3 sets of geldings over 13yrs,
Even the 17h TWH & 16H TB would share a stall.
Pictured here:

I am adding a mini this Spring & have built him a palatial 10X12 stall that does not have the rear exit.
I hope to add a small/half-height exit door to the back of that stall so he can get in but pony can’t.
If they don’t all get along I’ll be leading the mini in for feeding & turning him out again into the smaller field if they don’t play Nice.

My indoor is attached to the barn & I would like to add a gate so I could allow them access to that in bad weather w/o letting them play Jenga with the hay stacked on pallets across from the stalls.
They do this now when I give them access to the indoor from stalls as I muck.
Because, I have nothing better to do than restack bales they pull down… :rolleyes:

I do find it convenient to have stalls they can be confined to when I have vet or farrier coming.
And just to have them accustomed to being stalled.

[msbecky521]

@2DogsFarm

My 36X36 pole barn was built with 2 12X12 stalls along one side w/Dutch doors that open to the sacrifice paddock & that in turn opens to pastures on either side.

Horses have free access to stalls 24/7/365 - Dutch doors in back of stalls only get shut maybe once a year if we happen to have a blizzard that is blowing from the East.

This is my dream setup: stalls with dutch doors that open to the paddock. That way it’s the horses’ choice whether to be in or out unless the weather really turns evil. I have worked with both stall kept horses (with regular turnout) and 24/7 field kept horses (with run-in sheds), so I’ve seen the benefits and drawbacks of both scenarios. I think the hybrid idea you have built is really the best of both worlds! While access to a large run in area is essential for pasture kept horses, sometimes access to a stall is imperative when you have an ill or injured horse.

[betsyk]

My dream setup is something like you describe - an open area, in a barn or deep shed, protected from weather, where I could put the stock tank, have light, fans if needed, and a hay feeder. I could feed everyone without going out in the mud and I could clean it with a wheelbarrow without pushing it through the mud!! because the horses will use it as their all purpose room and it will attract a lot of manure (and pee) and will require a lot of regular cleaning. Think of how nice that would be in winter, to do everything from inside the barn!

[btswass]

We have a run in barn. I love that my horse can go in and out as he pleases. At the barn where he was boarded before we bought a farm he would jump out of his paddock and walk himself back to his stall…so it was really important he could go in his stall whenever he wanted. The barn was already built when we got there but if I had the choice I wouldn’t do it again. When it snows and rains it gets in the barn if the wind is blowing south. Also I have to use the third stall for cross ties which will become a problem if my husband gets a horse. I do have a feed room on one side and tack room on the other which is nice but no loft to store hay which means transporting it in small quantities from our big dairy barn on the other side of the property. Not a big deal but slight hassle. If I could redo the barn I would have a center isle with probably 3 stalls on one side and feed room/tack room/wash stall on the other and the stall side would have dutch doors that lead out to the paddock with an overhang to stand under. I do really love having a sacrifice paddock right in front of the barn that leads out to the two other paddocks. Its really handy to close up if I need or want to keep them in a small area.

[Texarkana]

I love the idea of a run-in barn and plan to do something similar myself one day.

However, I echo the need for at least two traditional stalls- one for a sick/injured horse and preferably one for a companion.

I am posting this while waiting for the vet to arrive for a horse with a possible (minor) fractured leg. I can’t even fathom how bad my day would have been if I didn’t have somewhere to easily confine her immediately. :no:

[FraggleRock]

Wow, so many of you have such great set ups!
I would definitely have at least the one other stall, my older mare gets fed a lot of feed and so is separated to eat 3x a day. I would definitely be locking them in once in a while, but could easily put the big mare in the stall and the gelding and mini (gelding looooves the mini) in the run in area if I did that design.
Things I haven’t thought about until now… My barn has a dirt/gravel floor and although the back door does open to a slight slope I worry about it becoming a huge mess. Excessive rain is a real problem every spring and fall, mud is enemy #1. Also the manure pile is behind the barn and I would have to go out this way no matter what although I suppose that only means adding another gate it’s still something to think about.

There are 4 posts/beams in the barn which is why the stalls were originally built the smaller sizes. Barn is being redone all in wood ( have a pile of it sitting out in my yard waiting for this) but I think I 100% will need to get those metal coverings for the tops of the stalls. Not sure if they could be also put on the back door as well, maybe that would solve the fear of the horses eating the barn. They have hay 24/7 but older mare is a chewer when locked in, and unfortunately they all take turns chewing on the current shelter for no reason other than being bored sometimes.
Oh also the current shelter is getting older and I’m not sure how much longer it has months maybe years but I just think it’s one more thing to replace eventually.

[costco_muffins]

My horses have lived for 2 years outside in the PNW with only a run in shed attached to a drylot with summer access to a pasture. They are show hunters and love it. When we needed to confine one or both, we used 2x4s and made a makeshift stall in no time (it just took a drill to get in or out…)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDgabm_NtQo/?taken-by=sharkeyfarm

We are in the process of building a 36x36 barn with attached 12x36 shedrow overhang on one side, and the first question EVERYONE asks is “How many stalls?!? Aren’t you excited to finally have stalls??!” I laugh and tell them that my horses will be living under the shedrow. The stalls will be reserved for only a few days a year of horrifying weather and/or layups. Mostly they will be used for hay and for grooming as well.

[costco_muffins]

Oh, to combat the mud, we installed 12’ of hoofgrid. So worth the money and has held up amazingly during this “atmospheric river” of a winter.

[stb]

I have a 2 stall center aisle barn with both stalls on the same side, tack room on the other. The stalls have Dutch doors that open out into a 1/2 acre dry lot, which in turn opens onto other pastures. My two geldings are very compatible, so they have 24/7 access to their stalls. I’ve only closed them in for severe weather, and that doesn’t happen very often. I do think it is important to have separate areas for feeding.

In a perfect world, I would have a large run in as well. I do think a run in is safer as it’s harder to get boxed in. For this reason I did not allow my boys free access to their stalls until they had lived together for several months and I felt comfortable that there wouldn’t be any major tiffs. I do love the fact that my horses have shelter whenever they want it.
Last night we had a thunderstorm with hail and I could just roll over and go back to sleep because I knew the boys could seek shelter.

[FraggleRock]

Yeah the idea of multiple horses having access to individual run in stalls sounds like asking for a horse to get pinned!
and no hoofgrid or anything like that is going to happen, I’m no longer working so cost is an concern. Unfortunately it is looking more and more like this won’t work because of the slope of the land and the likelyness​ that it will end up a giant mud pit
But I’m going to keep brainstorming for now anyways!

[SonnysMom]

A friend of mine has a bank barn with the aisle towards the earth side of the barn. You can access the 3 stalls from the aisle. The stalls also open out into the pasture under an overhang.
However she has taken the center divider out from between two of the stalls so that it is one bigger stall with 2 doors. She leaves both doors open to it and they horses can use it as a run-in. When the vet is coming she can lock one in the small stall and one in the double stall. It works out well. She has gravel under the overhang and a bit beyond that to keep it from being muddy. She picks the manure from the gravel daily.
Since she only has 2 horses nobody can get trapped in the big stall as there is always a doorway that isn’t blocked by the other horse.
She normally keeps the small stall closed.