Horse Barn Plans
About Horse Barn Plans
Like many horse owners, you may have all the design elements of your dream horse barn in your imagination, and the only thing left to do is to make them a reality. Translating your ideas into a blueprint that a builder can use is as easy as it sounds. Proper planning is necessary to come up with a horse barn that incorporates your vision and at the same time is efficient, safe, comfortable, easy to maintain, aesthetically pleasing and cost-effective.
| Some things like door sizes, post locations, framing, power and water distribution and ventilation need to be professionally assessed to ensure a horse barn that both horse and human will be happy with. An estimate can then be made, along with an estimated building schedule. |  |
Assessing the Site
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The first step in planning your horse barn is to evaluate your site and choose a proper location. It is best to build on solid and level ground that offers good natural drainage and enough surrounding area for either hay and manure storage or in case you wish to expand. |
It will also help if the area is easily accessible and close to your utilities. Once the location is chosen you should then determine the wind direction to orientate the barn accordingly to achieve proper circulation of air through the barn without it being directly in the wind, so that the horses inside are not exposed to excessive drafts.
Horse Barn Layout
Whether you are a horse breeder with a herd, a multidiscipline equestrian center, a competition rider or just a recreational rider with one horse, there are key considerations when planning your horse barn:
- Number of horses you have (and if you intend to acquire more)
- If there is a potential for breeding
- What type of materials are preferred for wall and roof construction
- Stall and tack room sizes and overall layout of spaces
- Door and window locations
- Ventilation
- Stall and aisle flooring choices
- Drainage for run-off, tack rooms and wash racks
- Lighting arrangements and styles
- Efficient food and water storage and distribution
- Stall cleaning and manure disposal
Horse Barn Size
| When considering the size of your horse barn it is advisable to build bigger barns rather than smaller barns. Horse barns constructed of wood, concrete and brick require more labor and usually take longer to build. |  |
For horse barns constructed of prefabricated materials, the best and least expensive way to go is to design the barn in 10’ increments—for example, 30' x 40' or 40' x 50'. This way, you will be able to have the large horse barn of your dreams for the same price as a post-and-beam barn.
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The horse barn’s height is determined by the highest framed opening, which is usually at the barn’s entrance. The eave of the building should be 2’ higher than that. Anywhere between 10’ and 14’ is the norm. To determine the pitch of the roof, one calculates the number of inches it rises vertically for every 12 inches it extends horizontally. This ratio can be modified, depending on the style of the barn. |
As for the interior, the recommended and most comfortable stall size for a full-size horse is at least 12’ x 14’ with a minimum height of 7’6”. Smaller stalls of 10’ x 10’ are appropriate for ponies. The aisles between the stalls are normally 12’ wide.
Having considered all these features and decided on your preferences you can now move ahead to plan the perfect horse barn plan for your site.
