What goes into plans for a horse barn? First, you need a building, and this is where pole barns come in. As kits with all necessary parts, pole barns become the sturdy outside for horse barns. Second, think about what your animals will need. How and where will they get food and water? How will the shelter be ventilated? Third, make sure your horse shelter falls within local zoning regulations.
A pole barn is not a horse barn on its own, however. Pole barn kits are the beginning to sturdy horse barns but interior features and other factors need to be taken into consideration.
Horse Barn Planning
Horse Pole barns can come in several sizes. Smaller sizes, for example, are ideal as single stall horse barns. If you have several animals to shelter, larger pole buildings can have eight stalls or more inside, in addition to a hay storage area. Before you choose a pole building, decide on the size you’ll need for the horse barn. The shelter should have an area for stalls, another for hay storage and tack, and a door large enough for all animals and equipment to pass through.
If you already own horses, knowing what they require is a cinch, but if this is your first time sheltering animals, what do you need to think about? Consider all the animals’ basic needs and then decide what you need to add. Think about watering, feed storage, the tack room, lighting, stalls, drainage, and insulation after you set up your pole barn kit.
Although stalls inside are easy to construct, the most important aspect of setting up a horse barn is temperature control. All shelters must have reflective insulation, which protects all animals inside from heat stress. Horses and other animals don’t have cooling mechanisms and are easily overheated. An animal being in a hot space for a long period of time results in lower production and possibly death.
Special Consideration for Where You Live
As you put together your pole barn and make plans for additional features, also think about zoning laws. Horse shelters need to meet local specifications. To be code-compliant, find out about the zoning laws in your area.
Horse barns may need to meet a different set of standards than pole buildings do, and even though zoning laws differ with each city and town, nearly all address similar points: Where a horse barn can be built, how large it can be, how the horses are stored, and where and how the manure is disposed.
Contact DIY Pole Barns
If you’re ready to build your horse shelter today, lock in a quote with DIY Pole Barns with our Instant Quote tool! Have questions? Call our knowledgeable staff at (937) 547-9100.
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