Shed row barns in the cold--- any fixes?

[mvp]

The time has come for me to build a barn, yo. This will be in Aiken, SC so the building’s most important job is to keep horses cool and in-a-refuge from bugs. To me, that says “well-sited shed row.” But! They do have winter there and I’ll be out there working and riding in it. Does that mean “well-insulated, well-sited center aisle” barn? One build thinks so.

In the winterS, I have worked in shed row barns in Northern California and couldn’t imagine loving that during the winters I spent in Central NY. And so I was wondering about any usual fixes to the cold problem in a shed row barn. Here, I’m more worried about tacking up and the “slow” work, not while I’m just out there and active for things like mucking.

Have any of you guys test-driven these:

Those roll-down covers on the front side of a shed row that encloses it a bit? Think those old-school racing barns with a block of stalls in the middle and an “aisle” that encircles them. Ugly but effective at trapping heat?

A solarium in the wash stall? I’d just tack up there?

Any other ideas?

Thank you! I turn into a nasty bizatch in the cold, so help me to help you, LOL.

[AKB]

I have a shed row barn in northern Florida. It is block construction and has a 12’ overhang on the front and the back. It is a good barn, but is still not as cool as my friend’s center aisle block barn. I would build a block barn with 14’ overhangs on each side, and tall ceilings. There should be lots of ventilation from windows and doors. Build your barn to be storm resistant and cool, with ways to close it in bad ice and rain storms/hurricanes.

[Marla_100]

Central Florida here- I have 2 shedrow barns which I don’t use at all so take this with a grain. If I were to build a

new barn, it would definitely be a center aisle for heat or cold and bugs. When you’re in a center aisle style you’re

always out of the elements, not so with a shedrow. Shedrows, even here, are cold in winter and windy and when it

rains and is windy, not fun. Only advantage to shedrow, IMO, is initial cost. But darn, they’re just not as convenient

or cozy.

[Huntin_Pony]

I built a shed row barn with a half-wall on the outside and removable (or openable) windows above. The aisle is open on both ends with gates for the summer and doors for the winter. The stalls have windows at the back that open as well, so in the summer there’s 360-degree airflow and in the winter I can close it up.

The big windows (above the half-wall) face south and an unexpected bonus is solar heat in the winter when the sun is low. (No. Va latitude) It’s much cozier on sunny winter days than the adjacent center-aisle barn. The light is excellent all year round.

[Bluey]

If your idea of a building is to protect what is under it, a building open to the elements is not what you want.

Center aisle can be as good to cool and ventilate as you design it as any shedrow barn, plus you can close it for inclement weather, which is the purpose of any barn for most people.

Our old shedrow race training barn was shedrow in a U shape, tack and washroom closing the open end, but the middle was open to the elements.
Bad idea, it would rain and snow pile in there and, even with a big opening in the middle, no roof there and with a drain in the middle, be wet and damp in there much of the time.

We added tarp curtains on the end that was getting the most water and snow and that helped some, but also made that end of the barn even damper.

There are very few situations where a shedrow makes more sense, like where you just don’t have enough land for a wider barn.

Even mare motels, all they are is a roof over small pens, are made with a center aisle for working out of much of the weather feeding and handling horses.

Unless someone just likes shedrow barns for their own reasons, as far as being practical and keeping out of the weather, center aisle in any design makes more sense.

[Highflyer]

How big are you talking? I come from the land of dark, inconvenient, but solid and well-insulated bank barns, but for a 6-10 stall barn I might think about something like this https://www.horizonstructures.com/sites/default/files/u1555/10x40_shedrow_enclosed_10ft_overhang.jpg with the stalls down one side and just the wall on the other (and even put bigger windows in the wall side with shutters than can be closed when necessary and an overhang with doors opening out into paddocks on the other side.)

For smaller I’d probably do a U or L shaped shedrow and be very aware which direction the open bits faced, and maybe have a sliding door that could be closed on your grooming/ wash area.
https://mdbarnmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/l-shaped-barn.jpg

[Jarpur]

Well, I have a shed row barn in a warmer climate (warmer winter than the Texas Panhandle or North Virginia, for sure) and this is a non-issue for me. I don’t like cold, which is why I live here. I grew up taking lessons, visiting, boarding at a succession of center aisle barns, for decades, and the first shed row I boarded at was a revelation to me (including an L-shaped one that was ever so superior to the center aisle next to it on the property). My husband agreed, wholeheartedly, so we didn’t hesitate to go that way when we built our barn. For us, it was the right decision.

My barn is situated to block the usual direction from whence come storms ( which is the NW here) and catch the customary SE breeze. In what we consider severe winter weather – or as we call it, the first week of February – I’ve fantasized about installing some of those roll-up clear curtains to get a kind of greenhouse/solarium effect going, but I’ve so far just waited it out.

I’ve had no issue caring for my horses properly in a shed row, nor in tacking up, although I don’t bathe them with shampoo that often and very rarely have to turn them out to a highly-polished professional standard (they look like someone cares but don’t have to be dazzling clean at all times). I can see why a professional might prefer different facilities, but one of the things I liked most about the couple of shedrow barns where I boarded was the lack of cross-ties (so no blocked aisles) and the fact that there was a wide aisle in front of each stall that wasn’t shared by a horse in an opposite stall.

For my barn, building a shedrow was not cheaper, considering the area under roof (we have a 12-foot wide aisle with an additional three-foot overhang for our small barn), but ventilation was of utmost importance to me in our climate, plus I really like looking out my house windows and being able to see my horses in their stalls (they pretty much use the barn as a run-in shed for meals and to avoid the heat of day).

Best wishes for your new barn, whatever you decide.

[Huntin_Pony]

Highflyer -

Your first link plus your suggestion of bigger windows is close to what I was describing. Here is a photo from just after my barn was completed (years ago).

[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:10238811}[/ATTACH]

The windows swing outward at the bottom or can be removed from top hinges entirely. I get enough ventilation by swinging them out and it helps keep rain out as well.

Big doors close off ends of barn aisle when needed.

[TCA_Arabians]

We have a 10-stall plus tack room shed row. Twelve foot overhangs on three sides. 8:1 pitch. The pitch is perfect for capturing summer breezes and snow slides right off. It’s sited south so the stalls capture warmth in winter. It’s solid steel which I highly recommend after decades of wood. You can pick colors. Doors on two sides of the stalls - front and rear. Each horse has its own corral off its stall and can go in and out at will.

If I had it to do over - I would have had the engineers figure out a way to do an overhang on the rear as well. Likely double center posts. I also would have had sliding covers for the feeder windows for those rare occasions when it rains sideways. The 8:1 pitch was important. The overhang is lovely to sit under in summer and you’re totally out of rain/snow when feeding. I agree with AKB.

[EventerAJ]

I love my shedrow barns in Ocala, two in an L shape; one barn with 4 stalls, the other with 2 stalls plus grooming stall and feed room. I have 12x12 stalls with a 7ft overhang aisle. The aisle may get wet in tropical storms with rain blowing sideways, but that’s rare. My tack and feed is in the east-facing shedrow barn, so it gets full morning sun and warms quickly on winter days. The barns were designed for maximum comfort in hot weather (most of the year here) with lots of airflow. Aiken definitely gets more winter than Ocala, but if you’re there in the summer a barn like mine would work well.

[Libby2563]

I did a compromise…enclosed shedrow. Stalls on one side, enclosed aisle out front. It’s a little more winter-y up here in MD but I’m very happy I didn’t just go with a shedrow, even in summer. It’s always nice to have a covered workspace. Layout and more pics here: https://thesmallhorsefarm.blogspot.c…nd-design.html
[ATTACH=JSON]{“alt”:“Click image for larger version Name: FullSizeRender.jpg Views: 1 Size: 18.5 KB ID: 10240272”,“data-align”:“none”,“data-attachmentid”:“10240272”,“data-size”:“full”}[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=JSON]{“alt”:“Click image for larger version Name: IMG_7778.JPG Views: 1 Size: 12.1 KB ID: 10240273”,“data-align”:“none”,“data-attachmentid”:“10240273”,“data-size”:“full”}[/ATTACH]

[Jarpur]

I will add that, when building our barn, I did specify a sliding door at one end of the barn (the SW). Normally, this panel is kept open, completely clearing the aisle (slid back along the side of the barn) but, in very heavy rain, we pull it out to partially close off that end of the aisle.

If someone wants to go with a center aisle barn in a warmer climate, I recommend (from experience boarding and visiting) a RCA (raised center aisle, with clerestory windows) barn with a high ceiling, an extra-wide aisle (16-18-20 up foot), and a cross-aisle, all features to improve ventilation.

[SonnysMom]

My old trainer has a center aisle barn but she also has stalls on the one outside wall under an overhang. She put in a half wall to partially block the weather and sun. I could see doing that and having removable custom plexiglass windows for the spaces that are taken out in the summer.

[Lucassb]

I am in GA and love my center aisle barn; I have a wide aisle, high ceilings, and installed yoke gates behind my dutch doors so that when they are open, I have insanely good cross ventilation while preserving the ability to keep things comfortable in winter. We don’t have long stretches of cold weather, but we do have a few months where we can have a lot of cold/icy rain and that is not a recipe for pleasant working conditions in January/February. If I close the dutch doors in bad weather I can regulate the airflow nicely using the big sliding doors on either end of the aisle so it doesn’t get stuffy at all … good ventilation was very important to me. (So was not freezing my rear end off or making my arthritis more painful than it already is; I wanted protection from weather for my comfort as well as the horses’.)

I have seen some really beautiful shed row barns here in the south but I have never worked in one that was comfortable in bad weather. Even a driving rain is a PITA in most of them. Take it for what it’s worth and good luck with your building project.

[mvp]

@Jarpur

If someone wants to go with a center aisle barn in a warmer climate, I recommend (from experience boarding and visiting) a RCA (raised center aisle, with clerestory windows) barn with a high ceiling, an extra-wide aisle (16-18-20 up foot), and a cross-aisle, all features to improve ventilation.

That sounds mighty wise. I think a clerestory would be beautiful and help light come in… but be expensive. I have seen people do ridge vents the length of the barn with clear deck roofing material up there. It’s pretty nice. I think a wide aisle has some downsides. What’s the narrowest aisle (not less than 12 or 14 feet) do you think would be effective?

I think I found some plans for a good center aisle barn and huntbox, so I’m leaning in that direction. I don’t yet know what my wallet thinks.

[tabula_rashah]

LOL the average winter temp in Aiken is in the 50’s- that is NOT winter or cold I’d be cautious you aren’t overheating your horses worrying about cold that isn’t

[mvp]

@tabula rashah

LOL the average winter temp in Aiken is in the 50’s- that is NOT winter or cold I’d be cautious you aren’t overheating your horses worrying about cold that isn’t

I hear you. I have been there in the winter, but not all winter yet.

[nycjumper]

@tabula rashah

LOL the average winter temp in Aiken is in the 50’s- that is NOT winter or cold I’d be cautious you aren’t overheating your horses worrying about cold that isn’t

It was cold enough to freeze hoses last year. Multiple times. Depends on the year is my experience 2 years in.

Our first year here, we were in a shedrow over the winter. It was ok for the horses but a PITA to work out of for the humans.

I much, much, much prefer a center aisle if you can swing it.

[Prime_Time_Rider]

I have property in the Tryon, NC area and looked at a shed row barn initially but dismissed the idea. First, after pricing both the shed row and center aisle barn, the shed row didn’t save me as much $ as I initially thought, especially if you add overhangs (I must IMO). Secondly, as others have pointed out, it’s not just an issue of cold, it’s an issue of driving rain. Envisioning myself out in the weather cleaning stalls or feeding was enough for me to decide that it was worth the extra $ for a raised center aisle barn. We have on in Texas, and if the barn is oriented correctly to take advantage of the prevailing breezes in the summer it stays fairly cool.

[pds]

My opinion is that does not get cold enough here in Aiken to even worry about it. the “winters” here are generally very mild. I wear shorts year round. Last winter was especially mild. I’ll qualify this by saying that I did spend 20+ years in Wisconsin with horses. Now it was cold in winter there!