Last year I did the best thing ever. I have a fabulous barn I designed as a riff off my mid-century house. Having not had horses for eons I went the traditional route with four stalls, a tack room, and a huge hay/shavings room. Soon after the horses moved in I started fretting over whether they really wanted to be out or would they rather be in. So last year I had one window in a stall turned into a Dutch door, a partition taken out between it and the stall next to it, and two pieces of fencing/gates added so my two horses could get to the arena and then on out to their woodlot. As I work in my office I can see them come out to eat or nap in the sun or in the woods in the lake breeze, and go into their stall for a lay down nap or when storms come – or not. It’s wonderful!
Here’s the problem: The “vestibule”-- an odd-shaped area roughly the size of two stalls – between the barn and the arena gets muddy when we have a decent bit of rain. It was crusher run, but when the rain comes their hooves dig down into the red clay and make it a quagmire.
The first thought is of course concrete. I have a concrete aisle which is fine, but they have slipped on the sloping concrete drive as I lead them out to their pasture. And this would need to have somewhat of a slope to send water off. Sometimes there’s some shenanigans as my gelding tells my mare to skedaddle in or out so I don’t want to go with concrete.
A roof would do the trick but the area is shaped so weird, and I want to keep the tree there for afternoon shade for the barn and arena from the Georgia sun. Plus there’s no way to add roof there that will go with my super groovy cool barn.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Jodie, Harley, and Delight
