@Simkie That’s awesome! I’ll plan to do that! That’s the one pen we have to walk them to, that is, cross through another pen to put them in it, so we’ll use it for the composted material. Thanks so much!
9x9 is unacceptable. Full stop. 12x12 is the minimum.
The barn I board at currently has both 12x12 and 12x10 stalls. My 16.1H TB and my 15.2H arab cross both do fine in the 12x10 stalls. My trainer believes in a lot of turn-out but this year has been really wet with lots of thunderstorms so they have been in more than normal. Both horses have been fine in that size. I do not think that 12x12 needs to be the minimum. Plus OP has said she has a large pony and a small horse. I do think that 9x9 is pretty small. 12x12 is nice but it is not a necessity especially for smaller horses/ponies.
The previous barn I was at the stall for the arab cross was more like 10x10.
In both barns they have big outside windows the horses can hang their heads out in nice weather.
In the 12x10 barn they have stall yokes so can hang their heads in the aisle. I think that helps expand the useable space for them.
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Interesting how different people’s expectations are! 9x9 is certainly too small, but a whole lot of horses live in a 10x10 without issues. A 10x12 is a fairly common size, too. 12x12 or larger is ideal :yes:
It’s always interesting to look at the total area, IMO. It’s kind of counter intuitive for most, I think, how quickly the actual area drops when you drop the dimensions! Like how going from 10x10 to 9x9 is a 20% decrease in space, or how 9x9 to 12x12 is nearly double…it “feels” like it should be different. Pesky math :lol:
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OP, before you build your drylot, I would question the neighbors about what happened to the property in the 2009 flood (and any subsequent flooding) because it would really suck to spend a ton of $$$ on footing, only to donate it some downstream farm/property (ask me how I know this)…
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@SonnysMom I’m so glad you mentioned that about about the outside windows and stall yokes. I felt instantly better. When we moved in there had really large stall gates, about 5’ tall. We took the stall gates and used them for a bridge crossing - much more suitable. Now we have stall guards there and we’re in a shedrow barn.
@DMK Oh no! The barn would have to flood first if coming from the creek and hopefully that hasn’t happened. As we’re on flood plain, I plan to use railroad ties as a border. Let’s hope that holds the gravel in. Thanks for posting.
I can promise you that when the creek rises to the bottom of the dressage mirrors, railroad ties will not help!
If you do have neighbors who have been there for a while, it will help to ask them how/where the water comes from. Unfortunately the phrase “flood plain” is not just a colorful description of the property!
@DMK OMGoodness! Or Crap!!! Wow! That must have been some flooding in your area. The creek has about a 10’ drop. We’re in the Atlanta area and when heavy storms from the hurricanes have hit, it’s come up about 18" total. The people before us said it came up to the banks, but never came over. We’ve asked several neighbors who have been here 25-50 years and no one knows. USDA told us the creek was so deep because the culvert under the roadway was too small and perched too high. This allowed the water to come through at a fast rate, but didn’t allow the sediment to come through the culvert slowing the water. After that water comes onto our property, we have the same sized culvert and it’s also perched too high! Unfortunately, this little creek doesn’t even have a name. I just know it’s really fast moving. I wish I knew all this stuff before we purchased the property. It’s been a nightmare at times - with the mortgage company, with the county, and wallet! Hoping you have the best of luck in the future!
Yes, you can use a manure spreader to spread dirt. It works really well. I would not use 9x9 stalls - way too small. How far apart are the barns. I would either enlarge the 9x9 stalls or build another 12x12 stall. Hay storage is always safer outside the stalled barn.
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yeah, that 2009 flood was insane. I didn’t lease the farm until after that, but I saw the pics (and boarded in the immediate area during that flood). That innocuous little ankle deep (also unnamed) creek which runs alongside the arena is the last of many creeks, headed downhill to a large swampy area about a half mile away. So it was the last stop on the flash flood express and crested over the 4 board fencing, the bridge fence and almost to the glass on the mirrors. And it was moving VERY fast. Plus it runs through a heavily wooded are so it is ALWAYS getting damned ( 
) up by nature. It only lasted an hour, but it took most of the footing with it. Ditto for two other arenas in the neighboring farms.
Since then it has come close a few times and once it swept some footing on the edges to the bottom part of the arena, but that was manageable, but it is doomed to be donated to the downstream swamp eventually (which is why it is my leased farm and not MY farm, that will be in Aiken in a few years).
But is sounds like your creek, while causing many headaches, will spare you from this particular headache!
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Seems really small to me. Our horses are 14H and 14.2H. Our stalls are 12x13.5 and 12x12. I can’t imagine smaller. Both horses also have free access to their runs which are 13 wide by 28 long.
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