Advice please - building your own yard from scratch

[gloster_image]

I've managed to secure a piece of land with planning permission for an equine property and the owner wants to make a rough plan of everything that will be needed (he's building it and is not horsey). I'm aiming to have 10stables, feed shed, tack room and hay barn, plus an outdoor arena, paddocks and somewhere for muck trailer to be parked. Also need to think about ground on yard and on the entrance leading up to it (baring in mind we'll have a tractor for the muck trailer) and what gates etc - every little detail. I'm researching into it but would really appreciate some personal opinions from those who have done this - what works and what doesnt? Materials, dimensions etc. Any advice/opinions/photos would be fab! xxxxx

 

[ajn1610]

Lucky you! I've never built from scratch so have no idea material wise but something I've found really useful is an open fronted covered area for farrier, vet, clipping, washing off etc. Just a thought. Very jealous of you getting to pick out fixtures and fittings that must be better than doing a wedding list!
We have just redone our arena and a load of ground work drains etc. We used clopf for the arena and it has gone down beautifully would recommend the guys we used if you are anywhere near me pm for their details.

 

[CBFan]

where to start!!
have the yard central to the fields to save time walking too and from...

build hay barn away from stables (in case of fire) but close enough so that you aren't walking miles back and forth... same with muck heap...

make sure drainage channels and drains are laid into concrete base for stables / yard prior to it setting (something that out y/o fails to do!!) try and get concrete sloping into said drainage channels!!

insulate water pipes and taps well and have drain under / near said taps...

easy access to light switches and electric points around the yard..

good overhang on stable block - or better still build them in a barn!!

hmmm its hard to be more specific without seeing the place...

 

[nijinsky]

Do you know exactly what the planning permission covers? That could help with the layout as sometimes they can be specific as to where things must go. Eg, my friend applied for planning for 6 stables, planning officer came round, why do you want 6 stables - er because I have 6 horses doh!! Anyway, they would only give her permission for 3 and they had to erected somewhere else, so you may be a little restricted on where you want what - I'd check that out first, of course, you may have already done that.

 

[reynold]

concrete block construction if possible to reduce fire risk
certainly concrete block for the tackroom with a thick steel door and no windows to help security
electric gates if possible to stop the 'door knockers' looking to suss out and then thieve

 

[Ezme]

I like american barn type yards, ok the outdoor ones look pretty and traditional but for practicality the barns a good. Saw a great one a few weeks ago, has a load of nice big looseboxes then at one end has a washing/ vet/ general usful area with four tall poles, enough to cross tie three horses (he's a team carraige driver so v usful) opposite is harness room and another room which i think has grooming kit, lotions and potions, feed, both have thier own thick lockable doors. Other end was an area for exersize vehicals but i thought it would be good for limited amounts of hay/bedding (not all of it for fire hazard and all) the corridor is has a roughend concret floor that slopes to the middle to a dranage channel. the boxes also have those spinning feed bows which are a time saver, put feeds in in the morning then spin em round when you want to feed. Theres a few ideas anyway!

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Plenty of hard standing and covered areas for grooming, farrier, hanging rugs to dry. Good drainange in gateways/possibly hard core to prevent poaching. Hot and cold running water in the tack room and plumbing for a large washing machine and my ultimate luxury would be a toilet with hot water for hand washing. I hate having to run indoors and take my boots of (or tip toe trying not top drop mud).

Sounds good fun

 

[amandaco2]

i like american barns with high ceilings and outdoor windows/doors for more air.
even better are ones with little pens outside each stable so if the weather is bad/they cant go in fields at least they can walk out the stable to stretch their legs!

 

[daisycrazy]

As people have already said! In no particular order:
- correct slopes and drainage
- put plenty of electricity through, not just enough to cover what you need, because you might want to put more lights up and run more powerful equipment and you're a bit stuck without enough electricity.
- have taps where you don't have to lug water around too far!
- somewhere to store any farm machinery - we have ended up buying our own equipment (vintage stuff can be very cheap, we have a little tractor, topper, harrow, muckspreader, trailer, roller) and means you can care for the ground at the right time. If you've got clay waiting for a local farmer to help can mean you never get on the ground at the right time.
- design the entrances to the yard so that a horse galloping back in (for whatever reason!) doesn't have to turn sharply on concrete, if possible. The nastiest accidents I've come across have happened when a horse has slipped on concrete.
- concrete comes in different types - a grippy one will be safest for horses. A big company may actually work out cheaper for preparing and laying your concrete base because they are more efficient and know their stuff. Paying a low price and ending up with a cheap base is a truly false economy.
- big stables (ours are 15' square) with extra high and wide doors and a high gable. Nothing worse than having doors that horses can bang their heads on - I can ride easily in and out of our stables without taking my knees or head off. Didn't cost much more.
- windows in the stables looking out of a different side of the stable to the door - our horses have all loved being able to stick their head out and watch everything.
- wooden stables definitely wear after 10 years, if you can use stone/brick/breezeblock then great - planning permission sometimes stipulates what materials you can use.
- our onduline roofing is looking a bit knackered after 10 years, get condensation, some drips and it is extremely flammable.
- make sure you have plenty of light coming into the stables and any outbuildings. Nothing worse in the winter than gloomy stables with little natural light and insufficient electric lighting.
- plenty of drainage and stone around gateways.
- use concrete instead of stone where possible because stone quickly turns to sludge after a few winters.
- if you're going to be jumping then a 20m by 40m arena is very restrictive. I manage fine but gridwork and small courses are tight (good practice I suppose!).
- shop around for prices - sourcing materials locally can make a huge difference to prices, and that goes for fencing, concrete, stables, stone, arena surface, digger drivers, etc!
- we have an ash and sand (and rubber) arena (Trackright?)which, because ash is self binding, doesn't need a membrane. Doesn't get deep and didn't cost the earth, though it does track. You can source ash, sand and rubber (and pretty much anything you care to think of) for less than you can get it through arena builders, particularly if you get a quote before you tell them you're horsey! Just make sure you research what grade of material is required for horse use so you know what to ask for.
- tarmac scrapings and telegraph poles, always useful, can be obtained for free with a bit of asking around and keeping your eyes open for local roadworks and pole replacement.
- I would love somewhere to hang my rugs! If you have space, don't forget a great big rug rack!
- yard/field gates - we use the ones with a strong metal grid on the bottom few bars to stop horses putting their feet through.
- position your stables and arena to protect them from the weather, you don't want bad weather blowing straight into the front of the stables.

Loads more stuff - if I think of anything useful I'll post again!!

 

[MillionDollar]

Fantastic!!!!! Congrats

I don't know if you knew, but I've just finished my yard. PM me if you ever need any advice

Where abouts is the yard going to be?

We used hardcore with road plainings on top for the drive, works well and is cheap. Make sure your drainage in the arena is fab. I would go for an American barn type stabling, then everything is under one roof. Also if you can stretch to getting a horse walker (and get PP) get one! I don't know how I managed before.

Here's some pics from my yard, so if you want to know about anything just PM me

Road plainings are everywhere...

Oh also, on my stables I have the swivel mangers, try to get these for yours too, they're really useful...

All of the stables from IAE Equestrian, fab company, henryhorn used them too. They are made of recycled platic MUCH better than wood in many mnay ways!

Hope that helps

 

[BBs]

I still want to move to your yard lol

 

[spaniel]

Make access to your muck heap and the entrances and exits to fields as wide and as level as you can. Bear in mind that at some point you will have a tractor and trailer possibly stacked high with hay or straw to manouvre around the yard. Keep an eye on overhangs on the corners of your stable blocks and make sure you can avoid them with high sided vehicles.

A big thing to consider, although its not very sexy, is drainage, its well worth getting an expert in to assess the plot before you think about submitting plans. get this sorted early on and you will have fewer issues once you have buildings, concrete and surfaces down. Also check the general prevailing wind, you can often suss this straight away by looking at the tress around your plot and seeing which way they tend to lean!

In all things groundwork dont cut costs or corners, mistakes are very hard to rectify later on.

 

[Bossanova]

Are you going to be providing full livery?

Because if thats going to be the business that you're running, 10 stables isnt a great number. 1 person cant do 10 horses on their own and 10 is too few to warrant a member of staff to help you....... I'd go for 8 or 14 ideally

 

[gloster_image]

Yep just been rethinking and i'm going for 8stables though i will ideally only take on 2 or 3 full liveries
Thanks for all the tips and advice guys its all getting written down - keep it coming!

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Acouple of other tips ( we are building our currently with most of the previous suggestions included phew!)...

....invest money in proper heavy duty drain covers for the central drainage channels ie not the ones which clip in and ping out again and are thin metal, I think they are lethal. The proper ones look like thick bronzey grey metal, are about an inch thick and will take a tractor going over them. Theyre not cheap but I reckon the standard ones are a real hazard.

Also, if the site isnt quite level, think about how to use it to your advantage, we didnt have a single level place so have had to do a lot of heavy work to build a level site, but the advantage is that the yard at the front of the stables ( mini barn) has a railway sleeper mahoosive fence and then theres a drop of about a metre (hence the railway sleepers to stop horsies tripping over the edge). This means we can park muck trailer in front of it and simply wheel out the wheelbarrows and tip them in, no climbing required! We couldnt dig in to make the land level as its solid granite and water table!!!

 

[PeanutButterDragon]

One of the things I loved about my cousins last yard was that there were windows in the stable walls for horses to peep through. Had a massive tackroom with fantastic wooden saddle racks and shelving - visually that looked so homely and welcoming. There was also a room leading off tack room that was about 14x12 that had an old dining room table and chairs in it along with a mini kitchen in the corner - one medium sized wall unit and a base unit with worktop next to a sink. Was really nice as all the horse owners gradually filled the cupboard with mugs, brought a kettle along etc. It helped make her yard a really friendly one as there was a place for the owners to sit and have a cuppa after tending to the horses

 

[PeanutButterDragon]

Claire!!! Your yard looks fab!!!! The pics didnt load at first but now they've appeared I'm green with envy lol - it's beautiful!!

 

[irishdraught]

Daft question and I apologise if it has been answered elsewhere - does the planning permission apply for business use or just private??

When I applied for pp for 6 stables, the planners were convinced that I was a business and couldn't understand why anyone would have 6 horses unless they were a business. I had to justify it big style. If you are taking liveries, you will have to make sure you have pp for business use.

 

[gloster_image]

All that has been/is being sorted by the man i'm undergoing all this with (who owns the land) - i'm lucky enough right now just to have to design the yard

 

[xspiralx]

Gosh, I thought you were at uni! No idea you were opening a yard, I can't imagine trying to run a business.

Is the landowner building it for you for free??

Good luck, it all sounds exciting - have you got anyone experienced to help you set up or are you striking out by yourself?