Suggestions on run-in shed wiring and flooring?

[Libby2563]

I recently had a 12’x36’ shed built in my new dry lot. I have been stalling my horses during the day in the summer and overnight in the winter, but I’m hoping that I can start keeping them out full-time (part of the time in the dry lot and part on grass, weather permitting). Two questions about finishing the shed:

1. I had electricity run to the shed when the dry lot was built. Next week someone is coming to wire the shed itself. Any suggestions on what to include? I’m thinking two jelly jar lights inside and one receptacle at each end for fans. I was also considering flood lights facing into the dry lot to help with cleaning the dry lot, haying, etc in the winter. I don’t know how often I would use them but I’d rather have more than I need than less.

2. What flooring do people like for sheds? I did read a lot of threads and articles on this but I’m still undecided. The shed is set on compacted crusher run covered with several inches of stone dust. The person who did the dry lot and shed base recommended mats. I’m not crazy about mats because I think they tend to get slippery when wet, especially in winter if water blows in and freezes. I would rather not do mats plus bedding because I know one horse will go out of his way to use the place as a toilet. They have a sand pile in the dry lot for napping and if the weather is truly miserable I will bring them into the barn.

Here’s a pic of the shed, with an inquisitive burrito and young horse checking out the new sand pile outside it. (If you’re wondering, they’re roped out of the shed until I can add finishing touches like chew guards.)

[StormyDay]

We are putting in a run in in just a few weeks!

1. we are doing can lights in ours. I won’t do ceiling fans because I find them to be a PITA, but I will have an outlet if I want to put a box fan up. One thing that is a MUST HAVE for me is I am putting in heat lamps in there. You get them at Walmart or lowes, and when they are turned on the area underneath is significantly warmer. I have these in my barn and love them. I may even splurge and buy the equine made expensive ones, because those really heat the area up and will melt snow and ice.
2. some people put sand down, some people just leave it with stone dust… I hate both options because it can get really dusty and I have an allergy prone horse. I will be either putting down roughed up concrete and then shavings over it, or putting in a wood floor with shavings over that. The wood floor drains really well so I will probably do that.
   Love the color of the shed!

[fordtraktor]

I fill mine with stone dust but raise it a few inches so it never gets boggy in there. Basically I would fill yours to the top of that wood bar and then slope an apron down as they go out.

I strongly prefer this to mats (slippery) and mats with bedding (expensive and turns into a mucky mess outside the shed where they track it in and out)

[ElementFarm]

Our Run in shed info below. It works great for us, but ymmv

Floor:
compacted clay-sand mixture with rubber matts on top. also a railroad tie around the entrance to minimize how much sand is dragged into the shed. Most of the horses don’t potty inside, but when they do it’s easy to pick out, and we sweep out the sand every 2 weeks or so. We do feed in there, and the clean rubber mats reduce the amount of hay wasted significantly. It gets damp when it rains hard and wind, but we haven’t had an issue with it getting slippery.

Lights:
A fluorescent ‘work light’ over each 12’ section (for us a total of 2, as shed is 20x24). Outlets at each corner inside to hang box fans in summer. 2 LED floodlights, one directed to the front to light up the paddock around the shed, and the other directed up the hill to light the path from the house and barn. One external outlet near gate so I can plug in power tools for construction projects, or music/speaker or video camera to use near ring, which is located near the shed.

here’s a not-very-good picture: you can’t see the lights, but you can see the railroad ties around the edge to keep so much dirt from being tracked into the shed. They also diverted horrible water/run off we got during the hurricane (which is why the surface looks orange, we needed 3 truckload of dirt to fill in all the damage caused by run off. But better than flooding. But I digress)

ETA: Libby, I just wanted to say I’m a long-time admirer of your Blog. I love your new drylot, and would love to hear the company and pricing for the grid system you used.

[Libby2563]

[QUOTE=ElementFarm;8910513]
ETA: Libby, I just wanted to say I’m a long-time admirer of your Blog. I love your new drylot, and would love to hear the company and pricing for the grid system you used.[/QUOTE]

Aww shucks, Element! That’s really nice to hear, thanks! I am going to find out about the grid today I hope so I’ll update the blog with the brand and price.

Thank you to all three of you for your advice! I’m meeting with the person who will be wiring it today and I think I have a good idea of what I want to do now. As far as the floor I think I’ll so what Fordtraktor suggested with the stonedust. Worst case, if I hate it, I can always compact that into a base and add mats later, right?

[Libby2563]

[QUOTE=StormyDay;8910394]
Love the color of the shed![/QUOTE]

Thanks! I actually thought it was going to be a bit darker and I freaked out a little when I saw it. It’s a bit too “seafoam” for my taste. But the horses don’t mind and at least it’s unique… Glad to hear everyone doesn’t have the same reaction I do!

[bdj]

I finally got electric run out to my barn last fall and I spent all winter feeling like I’d moved up in the world!

Get LED lights - they aren’t that much more expensive anymore, they last forever, they don’t care if it’s cold outside, and there’s no glass in them, so they’re safer. I have an exterior flood light on a motion sensor outside the barn on my most frequently used (by me, not the pony) barn entrance, and that’s been fantastic, too.

Flood lights into the dry lot are really nice to have - I don’t use mine often, but I’m very glad to have them.

Oh, and don’t forget outlets for heated water buckets, tubs or tank heaters. I have 2 outlets per stall in my barn, so in the summer, I can run a fan, and in the winter, I plug a heated water tub into that outlet. They’re also convenient if you need to plug in clippers or a hairdryer or a hot water kettle.

I don’t have any suggestions on the flooring - mine is just dirt/sand, and my pony thinks it’s the best place to roll… I do have a mat in one corner to feed hay on, though.

[Libby2563]

The shed is wired now and I’m so happy! I went with more or less my original plan, except three jelly lights (one on each end and one in the middle) and two double flood lights facing out into the dry lot. Here it is this morning, all lit up! The picture doesn’t quite show how well the floods work because, yaknow, it’s dark out and my iPhone can only do so much. But I think they will be super helpful for keeping the dry lot clean in the winter.

This morning I also had 10 tons of stonedust delivered and I’ll spend some quality FEL time this weekend spreading it in the shed. It cost less than $250, way more economical than the mats I was considering, and no bedding needed, yay! I may mix in a little bit of sand from my horse’s nap pile to keep it soft.

It’s funny the small things that excite me…