Indoor barn or traditional stables?

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lauraxxx

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Looking into building my own stables, but does anyone know the approx price difference as a whole from concrete to completion between a barn and traditional outdoor stables?
It would be 4 stables, feed/tack room and hay store and I’m in Cheshire
Really torn on which I’d prefer and pros and cons for both but obviously price is the major factor! Have spoke to a few companies but prices vary drastically
 
lauraxxx said:
Looking into building my own stables, but does anyone know the approx price difference as a whole from concrete to completion between a barn and traditional outdoor stables?
It would be 4 stables, feed/tack room and hay store and I’m in Cheshire
Really torn on which I’d prefer and pros and cons for both but obviously price is the major factor! Have spoke to a few companies but prices vary drastically
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No advice other than to say how exciting!! If I had the choice I’d go for barn just because they are such useful things to have, you’d have the additional storage space plus they are just great for bad weather. But obviously depends on costs for you, if you can afford it I’d go for barn definitely!
 
I’ve heard barn set ups get a bit of a slagging here but my 2 old girls were so much happier when I moved them into our barn stables. One had been in her old stable for 17 years and I was worried about moving her but she was delighted. I think it felt very airy and roomy compared to the old stables they were in.

Can’t really help with price though as we put ours up pre covid and OH built the interior stables himself.
 
I considered a steel frame barn about 10 years ago...when the costs/quotes got close to 50k, which did not include internal concrete, I gave up and got six wooden stables/shelters on skids
 
We have barn stables because that's what was there when my parents bought their place.

The previous owner put up the shed then bought 5 internal Monarch stables 2nd hand.

We have 3 as stables, 1 as feed/tack room and dad nicked the final one as yet another toolshed at the bottom of the shed.

The shed is an earth floor. Concreting it, or even the stable half, has been looked into several times but it is very expensive. I think the shed is 40x60ft is that gives context.

Previous owner had heavy mats in the stables and I bought cheaper ones to make a walkway outside the stables and for inside the tackroon. We've got tarps down and pallets for hay and bedding.

The shed is clad with ventilated cladding on the long side but as much as possible doors get left open for for circulation. It is much easier having everything under one roof and being able to muck out, go between stables/feedroom/hay etc without getting soaked or blown away. Also means a dry place under cover for trimmer and vet etc.

So from a practical POV I'd pick barn with good ventilation. We've got a smaller door at the stable end and big double doors at the bottom.

I'll try to find pictures in case that helps.

So turns out I don't take pictures of the inside of the shed so these are the best I can do

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TPO said:
We have barn stables because that's what was there when my parents bought their place.

The previous owner put up the shed then bought 5 internal Monarch stables 2nd hand.

We have 3 as stables, 1 as feed/tack room and dad nicked the final one as yet another toolshed at the bottom of the shed.

The shed is an earth floor. Concreting it, or even the stable half, has been looked into several times but it is very expensive. I think the shed is 40x60ft is that gives context.

Previous owner had heavy mats in the stables and I bought cheaper ones to make a walkway outside the stables and for inside the tackroon. We've got tarps down and pallets for hay and bedding.

The shed is clad with ventilated cladding on the long side but as much as possible doors get left open for for circulation. It is much easier having everything under one roof and being able to muck out, go between stables/feedroom/hay etc without getting soaked or blown away. Also means a dry place under cover for trimmer and vet etc.

So from a practical POV I'd pick barn with good ventilation. We've got a smaller door at the stable end and big double doors at the bottom.

I'll try to find pictures in case that helps.

So turns out I don't take pictures of the inside of the shed so these are the best I can do

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That looks amazing! Do you find it smells of wee having a dirt floor or that the ground goes mud like under the mats? I’m on clay and have 3 messy wet mares! 🙈
 
lauraxxx said:
That looks amazing! Do you find it smells of wee having a dirt floor or that the ground goes mud like under the mats? I’m on clay and have 3 messy wet mares! 🙈
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No, surprisingly. Mums two are absolute mingers and wee for Scotland. If anything having earth under the mats helps as it soaks away. When I've used mats on concrete it's pooled under the mats

Bedding is mainly large flake shavings but have used chopped straw and nedz when they've been on offer. Of they were on straw I think it would smell.

They get mucked out fully every day so that helps. They have thick beds which probably helps too.

Fat Cob manages to lift the mats and get bedding under them. When we've lifted mats to scrape it out the ground under it has been really compacted.

I'm not 100% of our soil type. It's not as bad as clay but isn't sandy either. The fields get really muddy and waterlogged, although better now with new drainage and mudslabs. I'm not sure if maybe some type 1 was put down under the shed and compressed as the earth is quite stoney. The more I think about there more there are loose stones amongst the earth so it's not pure mud iykwim
 
you can do lots of things with a barn from living as a herd, in a pair, internal stabling, a couple of gated pens and lots more. You can have a central indoor tack up, trimming/shoeing area, back a hay trailer in to unload in the dry. Leave the entrance door open so they can wander in and out. With individual stables you can do nothing except put a horse in a stable.

barn every time.
 
Can I just say that I detest those massive sliding doors that some yards have in their barns. They are really hard on your shoulder joints and the chance of getting yourself or your horse trapped is not worth the risk. Standard traditional hinged doors are far safer and nicer to deal with.
 
dreamcometrue said:
Can I just say that I detest those massive sliding doors that some yards have in their barns. They are really hard on your shoulder joints and the chance of getting yourself or your horse trapped is not worth the risk. Standard traditional hinged doors are far safer and nicer to deal with.
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That's not my experience. Our sliding doors all open and close easily and I can't see any risk of getting "trapped".
 
I’ve just put up stables and made the decision for traditional outdoor stables because
A) my horse had asthma and it’s better for his breathing
B) most likely to get planning permission
C) they sat better in the location

I do like a nice roomy barn though
 
Having been in both, I prefer the barn setup mostly because it allows the horses to see each other, as well as being nicer for humans in awful weather. I'm in a 3-sided barn and there's good air flow though it still is quite dusty and dark.
 
If you're doing barn stables you need plenty of natural light and air flow. I hate dark indoor stables. If you can put outside opening window doors in even better.
 
Hi
I am currently building design 1 and almost built design 2. Both cost c.22K amd the groundworks plus two hardstanding areas was about 20k, including the fact that I live on perpetually wet ground. No stables per se as I use a track system, however, both buildings are effectively 4 stable size. Add 5k for the planning and change of use if needed, rhe new BNG rules will cost you. Add 5 k for gates, rails electrics etc. I am broke, consider this very carefully!!
 

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Not sure on cost for either these days as our barn was already there when we bought but I would guess that the cost of a barn as opposed to traditional timber stables would be far greater due to the cost of steels etc. As long as well ventilated, a barn is much better for making a convenient and flexible set up. My barn has 8 stables, a stock with solarium over, a wash/tie up bay, feed room and rug storage. We can fit several large bales in there in the winter so is really convenient. We have open sides above the large gates at the entrance of the barn as well as windows along the sides so its very airy. You might be tempted with a barn to make it all closed up for warmth but ventilation is key.
 
I have what I consider to be the best of both worlds. :)

28' x 17' shed.
Split into 2 14' x 14' stables, with just a scaffold pole dividing them.
The doors are set back 3', giving a good overhang. The outer wall at each side goes to the roof, creating a storage area outside each stable.
The interior front walls are about 8' high, and the stable doors only have the bottom half, giving loads of light and airflow from the front.
The rear walls have large openings, giving more light and air, and are the right height for horses to be able to put their heads out.
So each stable ends up with only 1 full height complete wall, and because they are divided by a scaffold pole, they feel bigger than 14' x 14'. The horses can groom each other easily. No way would it suit a livery yard, but for a closed herd it works really well.
 
I work in construction and worked out the pro rata of a concrete quote to our 40x60ft shed. It worked out at £16k for 200mm thickness. That was a quote from a Groundwork contractor who was also doing other work on site so quote was competitive, it would cost a lot more for a private client. That was also just a level brush finish. For the stable sections at least you'd want a graduation, and probably a drainage channel [& drainage] and you'd want a level but rougher finish for grip. So at least 20k. That's a lot of money for not much concrete!
 
marmalade76 said:
No idea about costs but my experience is that horses prefer traditional stables.
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I'm not sure if that's true. My horse is from Canada and we have barns. Horses are able to be for more 'social' vs a stable set up and I have always had the feeling he feels more lonely here in a stable set up, even if he could see across the way. I also find them to be far warmer and more comfortable in winter. A barn would be my preference by miles
 
lynz88 said:
I'm not sure if that's true. My horse is from Canada and we have barns. Horses are able to be for more 'social' vs a stable set up and I have always had the feeling he feels more lonely here in a stable set up, even if he could see across the way. I also find them to be far warmer and more comfortable in winter. A barn would be my preference by miles
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Your stable might be cold and lonely but mine is brick built and toastie with a grill through to the next stable, much like those found in barn stables.
 
dreamcometrue said:
Can I just say that I detest those massive sliding doors that some yards have in their barns. They are really hard on your shoulder joints and the chance of getting yourself or your horse trapped is not worth the risk. Standard traditional hinged doors are far safer and nicer to deal with.
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I agree with @TPO That’s also not my experience, you must have had an isolated issue.

We’ve now had two enormous barns with four big sliding doors on each, providing they’re hung correctly, they work with ease and I just can’t understand how anything can get trapped, as the doors slide flush with the outer walls, on the outside.

Hinged big barn doors are an absolute nightmare, having been at one barn that had these, even the slightest wind would take the door from you and there was no way to hold it, you couldn’t lead a horse and open the door at the same time. In my experience, that’s why big barn doors slide, rather than be hinged.
 
Helpful user said:
I agree with @TPO That’s also not my experience, you must have had an isolated issue.

We’ve now had two enormous barns with four big sliding doors on each, providing they’re hung correctly, they work with ease and I just can’t understand how anything can get trapped, as the doors slide flush with the outer walls, on the outside.

Hinged big barn doors are an absolute nightmare, having been at one barn that had these, even the slightest wind would take the door from you and there was no way to hold it, you couldn’t lead a horse and open the door at the same time. In my experience, that’s why big barn doors slide, rather than be hinged.
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I thought they meant stable doors but same applies to them as the outer doors.

Can't even think of a set up where a big barn would have hinged outer doors. That would be a nightmare if it snowed etc.

The last livery I was on was an American barn set up with hinged doors. Took up far too much space and, along eith support beams down the middle of the yard, made it a nightmare with no space outside of the stables.
 
My big worry would be ventilation. I have seen a couple of stalled barns and because of our planning rules they tend to be low, just a large shed sub divided. One I saw in Newmarket was a huge purpose built , high ceilings with top doors on the wall side of each stable and a large walk way with half walls and grills between stables.Not a cob web to be seen.
I had internal stables in a large barn, but it was not enclosed, had no doors and I only had half walls, and I liked it because it was open and had good ventilation. I have not had anything with a cough for over thirty years.
If I was building one from the start I would go for half walls and ventilation fabric blinds.
https://galebreaker.com/?utm_term&u...MIu--UzYqdiwMVbY9QBh1mhyIqEAAYASAAEgIXCvD_BwE
I think if I had a choice I would go for an open barn and subdivided it with cattle hurdles and gates as needed.
 
Having built traditional stables at our previous property, and then having barn stables where we are now, I would say barn every time. We built concrete block stables within the barn, so all our horses have doors and turn out pens to the outside and they can all see each other inside, and interact over the (low) walls inside. This means the ventilation is good and it's soo much easier in bad weather for us too.
 
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