building your own stables - wish list....

[4whitesocks]

Have recently bought enough land to take my boy out of livery & bring him home which is rather daunting as I haven't kept a horse myself since I was a kid & got given out to for not mucking out often enough

Land is being sown with grass this week but it will be next summer before it will be ok for him to graze on...my question is this - if you were building stables for yourself what would be your 'must have' list of things and your 'nice to have if you can afford it'.....
I'm hoping to block build rather than buy wooden and have never built of been involve in building anything before so all and any advice would be welcome!

 

[Governor]

Must have -

Decent footing and ventilation in the stables, it makes mucking out so much easier. I'd probably opt for rubber matting and kickboards too.

Good level concrete or rubber covered walkways (preferably to the muckheap).

Hose and suitably placed tap so that you can reach water buckets in stables, and a wash down box/area without having loads of taps. With a decent wheel to tidy it up too.

Good drainage.

Big, secure tackroom.

Nice to have -

A box specifically for washing, with solarium if there was enough use to justify it and of course if funds allowed.

I've got a bit of a thing for hanging baskets on yards, can finnish off a tidy yard.

 

[maisie]

hot and cold running water
wash box
plumbing for washing machine
space for Tumble drier
Lots of room to hang rugs to dry.
Make sure there is good drainage in and around stables.......
Lots of storage for Hay and bedding (hay cheaper if you buy off the field in bulk)

 

[seaview]

We have just recently built our own and can I tell you no matter how much or what you put into it you will always think you should have done something differently!

Personally I built an indoor style barn with windows looking out and I thank my lucky stars everytime I am going up and its pouring, my dad even put roofs over their windows so they dont get their head wet when looking out.

Doors at both ends in my opinion in a barn is essential and although I argued about it at the time that I wouldnt have them I would put grills up as I am forever pushing horses away when they are tied up or cleaning up mess they have dropped outside their stables.

Good luck and have fun
Nat
x

 

[4whitesocks]

Hmm - thanks folks - hadn't considered the rug drying issue!! how thick am I - dunno if I will be able to afford anything as posh as a barn style - also am a bit restricted as to what I can build without planning permission so need to keep it small for now - was just thinking 2 12x12 stables plus 10x12 tack room/feedroom.....only have one Ned - plus will be borrowing small field ornament to keep him company so plan to divide one of stables for 11hh pony and keep bedding in there...
Think (hope) my farmer neighbour (who bought the land off) will let me buy hay off him, store with him and take as I need it....
Hmm now that I think about it I don't think that's gonna be enough for shavings/or straw (dunno what I'm going with) plus hay or haylage...plus hardfeed.....plus tack (maybe that can live in the garage?

 

[mrussell]

Full lining from roof to floor, misted plastic sunlights in every stable (not clear ones like I had ! doh!), 4 foot overhangs so you can shoe/tack up without getting totally soaked, a fully lined ceiling rather than just purlings with onduline as the onduline DOES sag after a few years. A window in the back of the stables (a must in hot summers). Brick built not wood (wood gets so hot in the summer) and a walk way thats atleast 10m wide so your horse can stand on the concrete while being groomed (and not half in the mud!).

 

[baybeejay01]

Don' forget to plan for space for a muckheap - away from the stables, away from the prevailing wind, plenty of room and room for the machinery that will have to remove it.

Good ventilation is everything, many other things can be added / removed / changed etc at a later date if necessary but good airflow can't.

Have just designed and built my own yard too and agree that there will always be something you would have done differently so my advice would be to take your time, run through in your mind every scenario in daily routine and also plan for the unexpected before building anything!

 

[4whitesocks]

Thanks folks - I think it's even harder when it's a really small set-up too - much easier when you have a bigger space to play with but the more space the stables take up the less paddock there is.....

Hmmm

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

Wow - I think about this a lot...

If I was on a budget I would go for an L-shape with concrete infront and an overhang. Easy to sweep clean and muck out in the rain. Nice big tack room with space to hang rugs out to dry and a tap with a hose that could reach EVERY stable. Muck heap would be far enough away not to make a mess but accessible via concrete or gravel (not through 8' of winter mud LOL)

In my perfect stabling I would have an American barn with windows at the back, rubber matting, concrete floors, automatic drinkers, those hay/corner manger things, hot and cold running water, solarium/wash room, rug drying room, plumbing for a washing machine, room in the center aisle to tie up horses whilst you muck out, a centre drainage channel that lead directly into a drain outside (and was wide enough to fit a broom/shovel ;-) )... I could keep going all day!

 

[Niamhy]

A big overhang so you can feed / tack up / much out without getting soaked!!! Good drainage for when you are trying to clean, a wash area with run off, so you dont have huge puddles when you wash your horsey.

A main light switch on the entrance or near to entrance, we have covered one so when you walk onto the yard you can switch this on and a few lights come on, saves you fumbling in the dark trying to unlock the tack room etc.

Outside plugs (we have covered ones again) very handy for clipping etc.

Cant think of anything else to add at the moment. Will have a think!