Creating a stable area in a barn with scalping on the floor...

[Belacqua]

What the title says really! I have the opportunity to take on 2.5 acres of grazing and section of a barn (the rest of it partitioned by a wall and inaccessible as retained for owner's use). The land is old medieval strip fields so undulating but can get wet in winter, particularly at one end. I'd only have two on it and would rotate, but need the option of bringing in if the ground is too wet in winter. There's hard standing outside the barn, I'd be using part of it for storage and the rest as horsey accommodation.

The barn currently has stone/scalpings on the floor. What can I do to create a temporary surface; would matts be sufficient? and how could I partition into storage/stable it without having to do anything structural?

I think it's worth it, because at the yard I'm on at the moment I only have 0.7 acres to play with (for one pony, the second we'll be getting as a companion) and it also gets wet in winter, plus there are other restrictions (set by the other liveries, the owner is lovely) at the current yard that I could do without.

 

[cumbriamax]

Sounds a lovely set up. I would probably use mats on top of the scalpings with bedding on top. Although some people would probably just bed deeply on the scalpings as I imagine in theory they would give good drainage. If they have been down for some time, they could be compacted down enough to be almost like a hard floor. Only downside I can see is they would be harder to sweep than concrete. As for partitioning off I'm not sure, could you put a smallish strong but pony proof shed/container in part of the barn and loose house the two horses/ponies in the rest of the barn providing they get on well enough and there's enough space .

 

[Melody Grey]

I have deep- littered on earth and it worked really well, excellent drainage. Sweeping will be problematic and the floor was a bit uneven so I used mats infront of the bed. If the stones aren’t compacted, you might end up digging them up constantly, so might be worth using mats (or even grass mats to allow more drainage)?

 

[Belacqua]

Thanks both, yes I wondered if it might be a benefit for drainage. I'll get some mats over summer and experiment a bit. The idea about loose-housing with a separate shed set-up for the storage is also worth exploring. Next time I'm down I'll have a good look. I have a couple of months while the owner clears off his things so can stock up on a lot of electric fence and other things!

 

[PurBee]

I’d use mats on the stone floor tightly fitted together with wood pellet base for absorbing pee - if the stone is fairly compacted.

Pee will sit within the stone layer, not drain out well to the soil below, and end up stinking of ammonia causing you to have to deep-bed constantly just to ‘trap’ the smell.
Also when/if you leave you’d be handing back a pee smelling barn, using just the hardcore as a base. I did this in a temporary building and it wasnt long for ammonia to build-up.

Concrete , if not sealed, even absorbs pee to an extent but not all the way through and eventually dries out/neutralises the smell after washing/air-drying.

You could use pallets, screwed together, to create a partition area. They already are structural , 1 metre high, and quick and easy to fix together with long tek screws. Use thick OSB board screwed to the horse side of the pallets, to stiffen up the separation wall of pallets and give a safe ‘kick board’ if/when they kick it....rolling on the floor etc.
Without seeing the size and where you want to have a separate space i cant fully say how you should do it, but you may need to re-inforce the pallet wall if using quite a length of them.

If the separate space is for storage of tack/feed etc. then you could build a ‘pallet cube wall divide’ - again with OSB 13mm board screwed horse side for safety and stability. Arrange the pallets like shelves/cubes - giving you 1 metres block spaces for storing stuff within. If you construct cubes by screwing together pallets - youll also automatically create a strong structure.
Pallets can be bought for 3 quid each or got free from a building yard...so theyre a cheap temporary build material as they already are structurally built to take 1 tonne sitting on them, so arent flimsy.
Tek screws are long biting screws with a rubber washer - theyre the best for holding pallets together in my experience. I use this method all the time for throwing-up a quick shelter to store woodburner wood or anything i want to keep dry if stored outside. Pallets and tarps are useful for quick temporary shelters for storage!

 

[TPO]

Our shed/stables is an earth and type 1 type floor so I'm guessing similar flooring.

There are internal stables at one end and I've put mats in all the stables and a walkway at the front of the stables.

The hay is stored at the midway point and we out down plastic tarps. That way no hay is touching the ground and it doesnt ger damp.

The plan is to put a concrete floor in this year but it hasnt been too bad for the past 2 yrs

 

[cumbriamax]

I have also seen mobile stables inside a barn before, not sure of pros and cons of this set up but it's something I see at a place I very occasionally drive by. I think the mobile stables are probably to give protection to the horses from the weather though as it is an open fronted barn. Also probably an expensive option. Good luck with your new set up.

 

[HorseMaid]

Hi, similar set up to ours - rubber mats on the top of the scalpings, we paid someone to come and bang in a load of posts through the scalping and have made "stables" with post and rail separating them - they're big enough for that not to be a problem though. Has worked well and was pretty cost effective!