We built our barn right after we purchased our house, which was almost 16 years ago. I have drug my feet on finishing it. This spring, we're getting ready to tackle the barn, and I am paralyzed, yet again, with the decisions about breezeway flooring, stalls, and stall fronts.
For every option, there is a pro and a con. Currently, the breezeway is a dirt floor, and a dirt floor, though not attractive, is extremely safe and comfortable for the horses. The stalls are the same. They are dirt floors with lots of woodchips. The horses love it, and it allows me to customize them. Cowboy is old and arthritic, as was Old Red, and for them I mound up dirt so that it is at a steep incline. When they lay down, it makes it very easy for them to get back up. The stalls are harder to clean and the woodchips cost a small fortune, but again, au natural has many pro's. Attractiveness is not one of them, but comfort certainly is.
Decisions, decisions.
I'm tempted to use concrete in the breezeway and tack room. It's easy to clean, and it's simple. I can place our rubber mats over the portions where they are tied, as we do now. The con of concrete floors is that they are slick, but rubber mats would help with that.
I just read of another option, popcorn asphalt. It has better traction and is more porous to allow water and urine to permeate.
Have any of you had experience with popcorn asphalt?
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As for stalls, I'm pretty sure I want to build them up and use stall mats. Dirt, gravel layer, mats--or something like that. I'll let my husband research the base of the stall floors. But I may keep a couple of them natural for the older horses, or perhaps, clay flooring, that is also moldable?
The stall fronts will probably be wood with a yoke opening. The reason I haven't already done the stall fronts is because we need to take them off to bring in more dirt, and our tractor is big. Permanent stall fronts will make removal much more difficult. Kind of makes me think that if we do the stall fronts, we will have to also do the stall floors so that they don't need that kind of semi-annual maintenance.
The easiest decision of all is about the tack room. We'll definitely go with concrete in there. I'm most looking forward to that project, because it's the most straightforward. I know what I want and need, but it's harder to know what the horses would like best, since they can't talk.
I welcome your thoughts and experiences with barns as I, hopefully, finally, make these decisions.
The people who have all my geldings went with plank floors in their stalls with a gravel base underneath. The put a light layer of shavings in the stall if they are keeping a horse in. Their reasoning is that the planks are easy to replace and are not slippery, and the gravel underneath is the porous material that allows drainage for urine and water.
ReplyDeleteNatural dirt floors do require maintenance but are pretty safe.
Most of the training barns I worked in had cement floors with rubber mats over them and shavings or straw as bedding.
Wow! Plank floors in the stalls, too. That’s really interesting. Do they put mats over them so that the horses don’t paw them up?
DeleteNo, actually they don't. But their horses don't live in the barn, so they aren't in for long hours.
DeleteThanks for the information!
DeleteDirt floors here get very uneven. I think it’s the frost coming out of the ground cause it to heave. We have wood planks over gravel in the aisle. The stalls are dirt, crusher dust and rubber mats.
ReplyDeleteCan you drive hay trucks into the breezeway? Would the planks support the weight?
DeleteI haven’t heard of crusher dust.
Good question. I can drive my truck and tractor in (truck holds 2 round balesI don’t know about a heavy truck loaded with hay. The planks are 2 by 6 hemlock which is really strong. You might have a different name for the crusher dust. It compacts and can become like cement.
DeleteWhat an exciting project!! Good time of year to tackle the many options/decisions. If it's any help, there is a master Build a Barn link with related posts underneath my blog header for ref.
ReplyDeleteWhen concrete is brush finished correctly (to match usage) it is not slippery. If you go with concrete, make sure you hire a knowledge company. It will save you headaches. Here is the post on our center aisle:
http://equineexpressions.blogspot.com/2017/08/build-barn-summer-update.html
I asked Brad about Popcorn Asphalt. He said "it doesn't drain like they say it does".
Our stalls have a layered base, then mats and shavings. Not sure exactly what Brad used for layering our stall floors. I think compacted sand and fines (fine crushed gravel). I highly recommend using interlocking stall mats. We didn't at first and they were a game changer.
I think we will always be changing up our barn. Current discussion is about doing something different with our stall walls. Wood planks looked great when they were new. Until the horses crapped all over them. IMO wood/planks are hard to clean, no matter where they are used.
Have fun with your barn renovation!!
We used wood planks for the dividers, too, and have the same issue. I saw some bar options that give them the ability to interact with each other. That could come in handy during the winter months. I’m sure there are cons to that, too, like kicking out at each other.
DeleteThanks for the link. I’ll revisit your posts. They’re a wealth of knowledge.
Brushed finish. I’ll look into that, too. Concrete would be the easiest option for us since we’re using it in the tack room. It would probably look better, too.