Click on a question below to view the answer.
There are metal barns and wooden barns available. What do you recommend?
Answer: We recommend a horse barn or run-in shed made of wood as your best choice for several reasons...
- The natural insulating properties of wood make it the obvious choice for construction of your horse barn or run-in shed. A horse barn made of wood will stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter ensuring your horse's maximum comfort regardless of the season.
- A wood horse barn is sturdier and safer then metal. Serious injury can result from a well-placed kick puncturing a metal sided barn. A wood horse barn will not dent or puncture.
- The absorption properties of wood - both sound and moisture - make a wooden horse barn or run-in shed a drier, quieter, more comfortable place for your horse to reside. Condensation is not an issue and outside sounds, whether from the weather or other sources, are muffled. Unlike a metal building, strong winds will not rattle your wood barn or your horses' nerves.
- Horizon Structures wooden horse barns and run-in sheds are simply more attractive then metal barns.
- Wooden horse barns are very low maintenance. The white pine board & batten siding is extremely weather resistant and durable.
What size stalls do you recommend for horses?
Answer: Bigger is always better and, even if you currently own small horses or ponies, we recommend you purchase the largest stalls you can afford. This ensures their maximum comfort and gives you flexibility for the future.
When contemplating stall size, it is important to keep in mind the nature of horses and how they spend their time indoors. When confined, they paw, chew, kick the walls, roll close to walls, as well as in the middle of the stall, lie down, scratch itches by rubbing, and play with anything they can. Another point to consider, your stall will need to be big enough for your horse to stretch out when he sleeps, or about twelve feet long and wide for the average sized horse. It's easy to see why you would want to give your horse as much room as possible!
A 12'x12' stall will comfortably accommodate larger horses. For ponies or horses around 15 hands, a 10'x10' stall would be big enough. Horses over 16 hands should have, at least, a 10'x12' stall. Horizon Structures offers the option of removable stall partitions. This is the ideal choice to instantly convert your barn to accommodate a brood mare and her foal.
Do I need any ventilation for my barn?
Answer: There should, at all times, be good ventilation. The average horse respirates about two gallons of moisture into the air each day. Naturally, there will be condensation from the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. If you do not have good ventilation, moisture will collect on the roof and create a damp environment. This dampness contributes to respiratory ailments and bacterial and fungal growth. Even in wet weather, moving air will remove some of the condensation and will replace stagnant air with fresh.
Heat in summer is another factor to consider. Venting your shed row barn with a ridge vent or gable vents will allow the warm air to escape. Warm air rises; therefore, even though you can always open windows and the top halves of the Dutch doors in your barn, the heat would escape best through the ridge or gable vents.
What is the roof's snow load & wind load on your barns?
Answer: With standard 2"x4" rafters the snow load is 30lbs. With optional 2"x6" rafters the snow load is increased to 50lbs. The wind load with standard 25 year asphalt shingles is 60 mph, with 30 year shingles - 90 mph, and metal roof - 110 mph.
Is foundation needed for these barns?
Answer: Our barns are built on top of pressure treated 6"x6" timbers and are designed to sit directly on the ground. In most cases, the foundation is not required, unless your local municipality would require it. In the case of our larger barns, and especially those with the 8' overhang, we recommend setting the barn on cement pillars and back-filling with stone dust. This prevents the barn from settling unevenly over time due to the freezing and thawing of the ground. For more information see our information on Site Preparation.
What do most people use inside of stalls?
Answer: Most customers use stone dust or sand with rubber mats or rubber pavers on top, but some like to use clay or even regular dirt. We would recommend using stone dust or sand with rubber mats or rubber pavers on top. Rubber pavers would be the most expensive choice and the clay would be the cheapest, if you have it readily available.
Just how do they deliver a fully constructured barn?
| 
