A horse barn isn’t just a shelter roof for your adventure buddies, it’s something more than that. A horse shelter should be refined enough to provide absolute safety and comfort to the innocent creatures.
Let’s talk about the main horse barn feature, it’s DOORS! A swift horse barn builder knows how to design doors so horses can’t get injured. Never.
Builder makes doors that are free from two things:
- Sharp Edges
- Protrusions
Over and above, adding latches ensures your door provides enough safety to the horses, as you can’t afford to leave a door open while you’re not supervising the serene animals.
Simply saying, every little detail matters when building a horse barn. Let’s take a look at the Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to building a horse shelter.
Do’s and Don’ts To Ensure You Build A Safe and Comfortable Horse Barn
Do’s
1) Proper Ventilation: Indispensable!
Horses, just like humans, don’t like bad air. They can get respiratory disorders and the stress level between them also increases due to suffocation. So a proper VENTILATION system is a must for not just their respiratory health but for the overall well-being. Here’s what you should do:
- Ask your horse barn builder to add Ridge Vents into the barn.
- Don’t compromise on windows.
- Adjustable openings will serve as the Cherry on Top!
It’s quite clear that due to these measures or add-ons, a steady flow of air is pledged, but what about dust, ammonia buildup, and mold?
Do your horses deserve to breathe in the presence of all these things?
Of course, they don’t! Ventilation promises to minimize all these things. Just like you, it can’t compromise your horses’ health either.
2) Safe Material: A Priority Hard To Ignore!
How long do you want your house to last? Of course for decades, right?
Horses have high expectations too. To meet their expectations, you should choose strong materials for the barn. Ask your horse barn builder in Indiana to suggest a sturdy material that won’t be chewed easily.
Plus, make sure the surface isn’t slippery. A slippery roof is a BIG NO for a horse barn, and if you’re choosing wood, make sure it is treated with non-toxic finishes (Shellac, for example).
I must suggest you go for rubber mats if it doesn’t hurt your budget.
(If I were in your place, I must have considered a proper wood finish, even if it has cost me a few more bucks because I can’t see the horses getting hurt from splinters).
3) Good Digestion: All Thanks To Accessible And Clean Feeding Areas
Feeding areas are more than just a ‘Do’ to consider. They are CRUCIAL.
You should focus on two things:
- Make sure the feeding areas are neatly aligned and free from any kind of impurity.
- Don’t forget to consider the ‘Ease of Access’ factor. All the feeding areas, even if they are hay racks should be reached easily.
This way horses will easily be able to find food in the designated space. Plus their health won’t be undermined either.
My Plea
Though I’m going to ask for an expensive add-on, you can’t imagine how much relief it’ll provide to the horses’ caretaker. So, the plea is about considering the Automatic Waterers.
Don’ts
1) Stall Size: Small | Layout: Complex
Big animals can’t survive in small and overfilled spaces. So, if you want your horses to wander and rest with complete comfort, don’t settle for any horse barn less than 12×12 ft. This isn’t a plea, but a warning.
Even if you have horses with a small number, the horse shelter should be large and open enough to give them the space to move and lie down with complete liberty.
Horses don’t like taking the stress of not finding the feeding spaces, and the caretaker won’t even like to have a congested space that doesn’t allow proper cleaning.
So the layout of the horse barn structure should encourage ease of access to the Feeding Areas, plus an open space for the caretaker to clean the animals regularly. (A proper space for the wash bay is what I’m asking for.)
2) Proper Lighting: Useless!
Those who think proper lighting is useless, get ready for horses that get scared easily. It’s not good for horses to stay in dim light for long, so make sure your horse barn has a proper system and openings for natural sunlight, plus consider shatterproof lights.
Horses don’t deserve uneven lighting either. And your innocent beings expect proper lighting at night too. So, a big bulb lit during the night won’t make you go broke.
3) Fire Safety: Totally Neglected!
Neglecting fire safety can cost you a lot. Ensuring fire safety is nothing but a preeminent ‘Do’ to consider when building a horse barn!
Let me give you a quick briefing about what to consider;
- Consider adding smoke detectors in your horse barn. (Can increase the expense, but important for the horse’s safety)
- Don’t forget the major safety equipment: Fire Extinguishers.
- Ask the horse barn builder to build it in a way where the horses and the caretaker can easily evacuate in emergency situations.
- Hay catches fire easily, consider putting the storage in a separate region far from the horses.
- Electrical wiring should not be visible. Make sure it is well concealed in the horse shelter.
Heart-To-Heart Advice
Above are all the do’s and don’ts that are crucial to consider while building a barn to ensure safety and comfort.
But most of all, I must say, you should pay more attention to finding a reliable horse barn builder in Indiana. Proficient builders already know the Do’s and Don’ts. Even a horse barn builder can understand the horses way better than anyone who claims to know and admire the adventure buddies.
If you are new to horse barn building and have high expectations, you should consider stopping your finger on Pumpkin Patch Market. As a team of ever-reliable horse barn builders, we promise QUALITY.
From the moment you Contact us and tell us about your preferences and customization needs till the moment we leave your space seeing you all happy and satisfied, building will be the second thing deserving our LOVE and ATTENTION. Thinking about the first? Your Horses!
We’ll build a barn which your horses won’t like leaving. Never! Not even if you promise them the world. So, why wait for the leaves to turn yellow, hit the Contact Us button and have a quick convo with us.