By Sally Silverman

Select hardware that can be operated with one hand, so you can lead a horse or carry a bucket with the other. Photo courtesy of Blackburn Architects

The design of a barn impacts both the time and the money you spend to keep your horse happy and healthy. Whether you're building or redoing a small private setup or a large professional training operation, the following tips will help you create a better dynamic.

Building Placement
Situating a barn well affects working conditions in that building. The experts advise avoiding low-lying areas or those at the bottom of a hill, for example, because runoff from rain and snow will be a problem. Build downwind of any residential buildings to minimize the flies and odors. Orient the barn so it takes advantage of winter sun, avoids the hottest summer sun and catches summer winds for ventilation. Dennis Rusch, product manager for Morton Buildings, says that the location of roads, including service roads, should also be considered.

Architect John Blackburn advises choosing a builder who is experienced with equestrian facilities and is thus in tune with equine requirements, such as barn materials and safety issues. As he points out, "A good barn shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg, but a poorly-designed barn might cost you your horse." He begins by asking clients to complete a lengthy questionnaire before even starting a design. He wants to know how his clients spend their time in the barn.

Eileen F. Wheeler, author of Horse Stable and Riding Arena Design, agrees that thinking about where activities occur is an important first step. "I encourage people to create a diagram that outlines where they spend their time," she says. "That's where they should try to streamline. For example, most of us spend less time cleaning tack than feeding, so it makes sense to make feeding convenience a higher priority than the tack room."

Convenience and Storage
Well-planned storage can save time and supplies. Keeping feed, hay and bedding in the middle of the barn, especially in a large barn, means less travel distance. Blackburn likes to put all of the service areas--feed room, office, tack room, wash stall--in the middle in large barns (16 stalls or more). "We can close that area off with sliding doors and heat it, making it more comfortable for the workers," he explains.

With hay storage in particular, Wheeler warns against creating a system that makes you a victim of what she calls "the refrigerator concept"--what's in the back of the refrigerator never gets used and what's in the front does. By creating a storage area that opens both to the outside of the barn for stocking and to the inside for removing, there will be a constant rotation of hay. While it's quite convenient to store hay in a loft and drop it into the aisle, it is not only a fire hazard but adds to the barn's dust and allergen levels. Blackburn explains that if machinery is kept contiguous to the barn, it must be separated by a fire-rated wall.

Thinking ahead to everything you need in your barn and identifying a place for it will mean less clutter, which is a safety hazard. You will also save time if you don't have to hunt for items.

Ventilation
The experts agree that ventilation is probably the single most important consideration, but many times it is overlooked. "[There are] fancy barns that are beautiful but, when the windows and doors are closed, there is no fresh air," says Wheeler, adding that not only do horses have dusty bedding, they urinate and defecate on the floor, and thus have more need for fresh air in a barn than people do in their bedrooms.

Blackburn reminds us that horses in a barn can't respond to their natural instincts to get warm or cool off. With forethought, a barn can be built for good natural ventilation.

Wind moves most of the air in a stable, so every barn needs a minimum of two sets of openings throughout the horse-occupied area to allow air to enter and exit. For example, there can be openings or vents along the eaves (where the walls meet the roof) and along the ridgeline (highest part of the roof). During cold weather, the warmer, stale air inside rises and escapes through the upper openings.

Rusch tries to impress upon equestrian customers the need to ventilate for their horse's comfort, not their own. "We recommend Dutch doors or windows on the outside wall," he says. "Fans in the cupola on the ridgeline of the building pull out stale, moist air and pull in fresh air through the overhang or the windows." Multiple openings are needed for efficiency.

Stalls
Rusch says the most common stall is 12 feet square. "You want enough room for the horse to move around and get up and down comfortably," he explains. "If you super-size that space, you have increased maintenance, a need for more bedding and a bigger area to clean."