Barn Ideas

I think you should build it with possible future additions in mind - just in case.  

Also - I'm going to give you my experience with run-ins. And I love run-ins. 24/7 out there moving around... I think it's great. Picture my 3 big hard-headed, dominant geldings under the run-in during heavy rain. Dani would stand where they told her - in the rain. They'd toss their head and she'd move over THERE, then over HERE. They wouldn't let her get under. I wanted to fix the other run-in that was located on the back side of the barn just so she could thumb her nose at them. [] Sometimes I miss that 4 acres with horses in my backyard. If it wasn't smack dab in the middle of redneckville. 

Anyway, it's a good idea to have a box stall for doctoring.

I guess you could have individual run ins that you could isolate them in if you want? It would be nice if you could feed them from inside the barn (reach-through feed windows?)

I drool over these...

http://mortonbuildings.com/buildings/equestrian/

I always wanted a barn that I could pull a trailer full of hay into and drive out the other side. I also like the idea of being able to feed from the inside. 

There I was... riding to the beach, thinking about Dana's barn. [] Don't forget to study your land plan it so it doesn't flood. Gutter's are good for the run-in edge. (btdt)

Love the idea of driving in a trailer!

Dana - The barn at SaneHaven I got from deercreekstables.com
If you go to the photo gallery #11. Mine is 2 stalls instead of 3. 
We put a panel pen in front of each stall and the stall doors are kept open but I can close them if needed.
We have the feed windows on the fronts. We still need to gutter for rain catchment. 
I put my horses in at night.  

We looked at a lot of portables because I didn't want another building project. Not many are very well built. 
These are Amish? They were delightful to work with and I would/will buy another. 

Of course you can't get Deer Creek but maybe something similar?

The barn at DaneHaven still isn't completed and probably won't be? It was going to have a pull through alley for hay trailers, tacking up or shoeing.
 

When I built a barn at my old place, I made it a pole barn sub structure with a gambrel roof.  That way, plenty of hay storage upstairs and the option of overhead ventilation.  I had box stalls and enough slope to the ground to be able to put a manure pit behind the barn.  The pit could be cleaned by a loader.    I had windows for each stall.  It is a good idea to line the barn up with prevailing winds to get a breeze in the summer...just shut the doors in the winter.  

I agree with Hunter, a run in is helpful, but horses have a way of deciding for themselves who can use it.  

I have had both box stalls and standing stalls.  Box stalls are nice but require more bedding.  Standing stalls are easy clean for the most part.  I used butt straps.  My standing stalls faced away from the wall so the horses could be fed and watered from the front...handy and safer if you have non horse people around.  My kids used to climb over the mangers, mount a horse and go down the row from horse to horse.  I don't recommend this, but they had fun.

A SECURE place for grain and meds is a must.  A safe place for tack is a good idea, too.  Good lighting is a plus for the days when horses need vet or farrier attention.

My barn here received almost no imput from me.  I have three box stalls across the narrow way.  Wood floors.  Not a great layout, but I make it work.

12x12 Wash Bay 12x12 Feed Room - Has full size fridge for meds, carrots, drinks ect 12x12 Tack Room 4x12 Storage Room which has potential to be a bathroom. Feed Room and Tack Room have steel doors to make them extremely difficult to break into. Lots of stuff in these rooms that are worth lots of money. Front Porch on barn facing a pasture. Great place to hang out and watch horses even when it is raining. We actually do Thanksgiving in the barn and had a wedding rehearsal dinner there. These type of events force you to dust the barn once a year and get rid of the spider webs. Spider Webs are a fire hazard. Cat doors allow barn cats to get into secure rooms and take care of mice. Rooms have ceiling which has provided a loft for storage. I would consider NOT storing hay in a barn as it is another fire hazard. We have small building that we can get 130 square bales in and has an exhaust fan for ventilation.

OH yeah! Sky Light panels. We have four of these in roof. Adds some nice natural light during the day.

I've always wanted stalls with the Dutch doors, I think they are called, they swing out instead of slide over. I saw them in a barn down the road from the house in NM and I fell in love with them. 
My boys are in a sorry excuse for a barn that was originally built to house show pigs. It has a building like two stalls put together and an area surrounded by a pipe fence. It gives them shelter and they have enough room to move around but it is by no means fancy so I've always wanted a big red fancy barn with a tack room and the dutch doors and just the whole shebang! LOL 

I don't remember if someone mentioned this already but a bathing area? My uncle had one made from concrete and it kept the horses feet from getting splashed with mud while bathing. It also worked great for any doctoring we had to do ourselves and the farrier really liked to work on it. At first they just had the slab of concrete, it fit two horses side by side comfortably and then one of their horses had an injury and he couldn't step up on the slab so my uncle made a ramp so the horses didn't have to step up on it. 

I hope you get what you like Dana!

For the run-ins I was figuring on 4-6 of them, about 12X16 as Cody experienced the same thing as Dani, being left out in the rain.....  I do like the idea of at least one enclosed stall for a sick horse though
 
We are definitely doing a wash area but since we're in SoCal, we really don't need it to be indoors as 90% of the time we are in sunshine  
 
Hadn't thought about a loft area....... kids would like that.....
 
I remember seeing your Thanksgiving pictures, Face.  Really neat!!  Steel doors is a good idea.  Have a friend who had all her tack stolen.  Our property is fenced and locked but you never know.  Kelly's dressage and jumping saddles are pricey but they're usually in the trailer which isn't so great either..... No outdoor cats around here, they don't last long with coyotes but we have a resident snake   I like the idea of skylights, too.
 
Power is already down there from the neighbors living there so a fridge for meds, carrots and apples would be great.  Definitely lights
 
My mom had standing stalls about the width of a regular horse trailer stall that had mangers open into the feed room and it made feeding so easy and no one got bullied
 
Anyone have or tried the fly spray dispensers?
 
 
 

Fly dispensers. We have a couple that work like auto air freshners. They spray every 15 minutes and one can last a month. You can get them at Tractor Supply. I think they help. Biggest thing with flies is keeping the stalls cleans.

We battle flies constantly because we back up to a quarter horse breeding ranch with currently about 55 horses, more now with foals......  Our manure mostly goes out weekly but thinking about trying fly predators again.....
 
So the dispensers don't clog, aren't difficult to use?  Good to know
 
Trying to figure out where to put the barn on the property and figure out which way the wind blows..... luckily we're on a slight incline so drainage should be good.
 

Another idea for a barn is a poster like this one. It helps when you call a vet for an injury when you can communicate properly. Having a poster like this has helped us a lot.

Awesome face!!

Dana, should you consult an engineer? You guys are pretty much smart enough I know. For all I know, Gary IS an engineer! []

Good idea, Face. I know I want a white board so I can write down how much everyone gets of what and supplements and such, plus the date the farrier is coming, etc. Hubby is an engineer but he's in manufacturing, not building stuff We would have to get a permit for a foundation and such if we get something that big.