How To Harness the Benefits of a Tidy Horse Farm 

Making a good impression with horse farm involves keeping it neat and tidy. Perhaps it’s the local vet you’d like to take your horse care efforts more seriously or a prospective boarding client you seek to impress? Hopefully, your reason is more important: you want to run your horse farm as safely and happily as possible.

A tidy farm is a safe farm. Simply keeping everything in its proper place helps protect against damage and loss caused by moisture. When all the expensive equipment, tack, feed and forage supplies, grain and the like is kept in a known location ready for the task at hand at the drop of your riding helmet, (well hopefully not drop, but you know what I mean), then your horse farm operation will also run more efficiently. No more wasted time cleaning stuff, searching it out or needing to replace it.

If you have trouble keeping your horse farm tidy, it’s most likely because you don’t have sufficient storage space and/or you don’t have a program in place to follow to keep what you use most front and center for changes of use due to weather or due to training/competition schedule switchbacks. 

A Seasonal Switch Can Help

As an example, let’s take a look at the Fall round up both inside and out (because both matter when it comes to good farm management).

Aside from completing a deep barn cleaning to remove fire hazards such as cobwebs on light fixtures; clear outside areas that will be needed for snow plowing; or park your trailer into a spot out of the way for winter storage, the advent of cooler weather offers time to get better organized.

A seasonal switch out of items such as summer for winter horse blankets (use a vacuum sealer for cleaned blankets to minimize storage space needed and label for easy location later) and summer show tack and equipment for winter schooling gear can be stored by using the house basement for shelving or bringing stuff inside if you have the room in your home. But this is not an ideal solution, especially if you don’t have a residence with a clean and dry basement with easy access.

Farm Storage Options

Consider these storage solutions for provision of safe and secure storage space:

• Horse Trailers – if it is anticipated that the horse trailer will not be needed except perhaps for an emergency then a horse trailer dressing room offers valuable extra storage space. The main trailer space can be used for easy to move items like hay or bedding supplies.
• Sheds – the ubiquitous garden shed has come a long way from our grandparents’ tiny hovel house at the end of the garden filled with spiders and old tools. Consider purchasing a shed and placing it behind or adjacent to your horse barn where it can offer a handy tack room or additional storage space. Modern day sheds offer a dry secure space with Polyurea treated floors, windows for light and even small loft areas. Also consider a combo shed option, where greenhouse meets shed space as an area for an office/conservatory. Larger storage sheds can also be purchased for use as hay and bedding storage overflows for winter needs.
• Lofts – the space above a barn is often underutilized and the addition of even a partial loft space can yield a decent amount of square footage for storage needs. Consider a full-sized staircase versus a wall ladder for ease of access and segregate the area between forage storage and tack/equipment areas to secure tack from rodent intrusion and damage.
• Shipping Containers – these huge metal crates can cause upset in the neighborhood as some consider them unsightly, and in some areas, these are not permitted by zoning restrictions. Relatively inexpensive to purchase shipping containers come in 20’ or 40’ lengths. Easy to secure but watch out for condensation issues which can be mitigated by implementing simple ventilation systems.
• Garages – A two-story garage or one with a loft space included above the vehicle storage area can also yield considerable storage space. Again, consider access issues and vermin intrusion. The addition of a small modular garage or adding an extra bay to a planned new build garage can be very useful for winter storage of mowing equipment or storage of UTVs etc. For motorized equipment not in seasonal use pull the batteries and store out of freezing temperatures to extend their lifespan.
• Spare Stalls – Let’s be honest, keeping a stall or two free of horses isn’t likely to happen in most horse barns because it is hard to resist buying just one more horse, but if it can be managed the box stall space can make room for 100-120 small bales of hay or shavings. 
• Shed Row Barns and Run-In Sheds – a great solution for haying and farm maintenance equipment as front stall walls can simply be left off the structure from one or two sections to provide quick hitch up and a dry shelter for valuable machines. Unfinished stalls can always be used on a temporary basis for storage needs and renovated later for stable use once other storage space is available. 
• Overhangs or Lean-To – An inexpensive way to add shelter and storage space to a structure the overhang feature is useful for a myriad of purposes. Weather intrusion for stored equipment can be mitigated by covering equipment with tarpaulin cover but bear in mind the space is not moisture tight or secure.

Walls For Tools and More

Don’t overlook wall space as an expansive area for storage. Walls can be utilized to store mucking out equipment and tools, install saddle racks for tack, and take the weight of winter turnout blankets where they can hang on fixtures to dry out when not in use. 

There are many rubber-based hook options for coat/hat and equipment hanging fixtures on the market.

Stall Doors and Aisleways

It is not a good idea to clutter up the aisleway in a horse barn with tack trunks and other paraphernalia because they present a hazard to horses and make the aisleway difficult to keep free of debris and restrict access for mucking out equipment. However, if there has been some forethought in barn design then the width of the aisle can easily be widened to make room for a neat line of tack boxes and wall hung cupboards can house medical supplies, bandages, riding gear, horse boots and other necessities.

Try to avoid sharp edges on shelves, trunks, containers and cabinetry in horse areas (especially those placed at equine eye height). Tack trunks should be sturdy and rodent proof. Expect that tack trunks will be used as seating space from time to time, so carefully consider their finish and expense.

Lock It or Lose It

A secure storage area will help prevent theft as well as damage in addition to preserving access to only people that should have it – inquisitive children, naughty puppies and escaped horses come to mind as those that may need to be excluded.

Don’t Forget Outside Clean Up

The exterior of the horse farm also deserves some attention when it comes to putting stuff away and in its place. 

Equipment should be stored at gable ends of buildings if outside rather than under the eaves of structures where snow and rain shed may impact them or render them inaccessible. Clean out all gutters and downspouts and drains and ditches to ensure they are functioning properly. 

Dead, dying trees or low hanging tree limbs over driveways, power lines or structures should be pruned back or removed altogether before high wind and/or snow load brings them down. Contact your local power company for tree removal advice wherever trees encroach on power lines. Do not attempt their removal yourself.

Containers of summer plants/flowers should be stored away from areas required for snow removal or they will become a casualty of ambitious snow clearing attempts. 

Check all interior/exterior lights including floodlights are operational and refresh bulbs as necessary and replace batteries in smoke detectors or other alarm equipment. Make sure fire extinguishers are fully charged.

Mark It Up

Add driveway snow markers in regions where snowfall is expected and remove dead vegetation from around paddock gateways and entrance doors to make snow shovel or snowblower use easier and to prevent metal doors/gates freezing to the ground cover. 

It is prudent to place the markers before the ground freezes and to leave removing them until after the winter thaw as otherwise they can be impossible to install/remove without breakage. Remember to leave an allowance distance wise off the driveway and parking areas for snow to be piled and extra width around curves and corners.

Keep your driveway access open with regular plowing in case emergency vehicles are needed at any time. Many horse farms have long driveways, and it can be tempting to leave them snow-covered or minimally plowed if access is sufficient for the owner’s winter-style vehicles such as pickup trucks. Emergency vehicles often don’t have the same level of height clearance or a 4 x 4/all-wheel drive feature.