By Nikki Alvin-Smith
If you are considering a new horse barn building project then it’s highly likely you’ve considered how high you want your new horse housing structure to be in comparison to nearby existing buildings such as your house. And if you’ve overlooked that view and perspective in the landscape then perhaps you should give it some attention.
But aside from the overall height of a building and how it measures up in the topography and aesthetic appeal of the property, there is also the question of what heights make sense where in the overall design. While 10′ exterior sidewalls for a horse barn work on paper, in reality there are other height questions to be addressed including this standard wall height recommendation for an average-sized resident equine.
There are multiple areas to consider and good reasons why. Let’s take a look.
Barn Entrance & Stall Doors
If you’ve ever hit the side of the horse barn driving a UTV into the aisleway to muck out due to a narrow entrance or had the safety rollbar of a tractor clip the overhead of the doorway then you know it’s an event that can cause major damage.
Even worse is the bolting horse scenario. Where a rider mounted on a horse loses control of the wee beastie and it bolts for home, galloping into the barn with rider still aboard intent on finding the security of its stall. The latter scenario has happened to me several times in my career. Ahh, the life of training horses…
Like many of my fellow riders as a seasoned equestrienne I have suffered more than one concussion. Naturally I try to avoid another one at all costs including in my case utilizing the emergency dismount. I know ducking for cover approaching a low overhead obstruction is no guarantee that you escape injury on a runaway horse. If you don’t hit your head, your shoulders, back or knees can all enter into the fray.
Funny story: despite my effort to bail out with an emergency discount to avoid such a runaway horse disaster I fell onto a pile of manure that had been spread in the field in a large lump and hit my head anyway. I managed to crack two ribs and suffered a concussion. Perhaps it would have been more serious if the manure had not softened my fall. Yes, I was wearing a safety helmet. And yes, my 16.3hh Hanoverian, Westminster, did run into his stable and was there waiting for me when I stumbled in several moments later and he was just fine. Even though our barn entrance doors measure 12′ high, I would not have cleared the entrance easily and things certainly ‘did go west’ in a hurry.
So while typically a barn door will be a minimum of 12′ high, many horse housing structures much higher entrance doors are fast becoming the norm. A 14′ or 16′ entrance is not uncommon. Especially with the lighter weight aluminum door varieties available (though these lightweight metal doors can be hard to hang onto in windy weather when sliding them open and they should always be kept bolted back when open and bolted together when closed).
Bear in mind that a building such as a Low-Profile Barn or Double-Wide, will look silly with a super high entrance door. Consider the height of the equipment you currently use for mucking out tasks and unloading bedding/forage supplies to the barn when deciding on optimal door heights.
Horse heights vary considerably, but an average horse measures 75 or more inches from hoof to head, while draft breeds can easily exceed 80 inches. We all know we measure a horse’s height from ground to wither. But when you add a proportionately sized rider to the mix you can see that no matter how athletic an incoming mounted rider on a runaway horse is, a low entranceway is a recipe for disaster.
From a safety point of view of course the remedy is to keep the entrance doors shut at all times when out riding. But the reality is that rarely happens. So give a thought to the overhead clearance of entranceways (including those from a barn that is attached to an indoor arena) from the mounted horse perspective.
Doors for stalls come in all shapes and sizes. Custom built and standard designs encompass sliding doors, swinging styles and half and full height options. While any horse will learn to duck his head or swing his hind end around a tight corner, it is best to allow space for both horse and human handler. Here is a bevy of information on doors and gates including paddocks and farm entranceways.
It is important to protect both the horse from injury and the interior of the building from damage and kickboarded walls are the usual method for keeping both safe and sound. The height of this shielding layer should also be considered.
The lowdown on kickboards includes many factors including your horses’ heights/breeds/siding material of the barn and much more. Horses can easily kick to over 7′ high, so wall height is an important aspect for the protection plan.
Lofty Heights
Moving on to the very useful second floor of the expansive horse barn area let’s look at loft spaces. Not to hit you over the head with the obvious but when you add a loft space to your center aisle barn if it spans the width of the building, then likely it will offer some compromises in the actual usability of the square footage it provides. The area on the long side of the building where the rafters or trusses rest on the standard 10′ high sidewall members will be unusable spaces, unless the pitch of the roof is extremely acute.
The dropped ceiling that the addition of a loft requires can also invite issues with a lack of passive air circulation and cause problems with light fixture placement. Passive air issues can be addressed by mechanical ventilation support. While light fixtures usually placed in the center of a stall may need to be installed on the corners of the space in a floodlight style, and center aisle lighting moved off center to each side.
Sidebar: Barn light placement to the side of the horse is actually more helpful than placing it right above his back when grooming etc. as you can see the hoof when working on his feet and his flanks when grooming and tacking up.
The Monitor Barn loft space better accommodates the standing height of a human and eliminates the otherwise inevitable more bumps on the head that a low-pitched loft roof invites.
The addition of a few feet to the sidewall height of the horse barn structure can make a big difference to the usability of a loft space. Dormer and fenestrate windows can also then be added to make the space light, which is particularly important if the loft is likely to be inhabited as a tack room/office or other living area versus storage for forage.
When it comes to second floor space in Barndominiums the clear winner in the maximize useful square footage game is the new Skyline Barndominium. If you haven’t seen it give it a look. It really is a lot of room with a tremendous view.
Exterior Considerations
Another common and valuable addition (cost effective too) to the barn build is the overhang. Height for overhangs should be considered especially if there are exterior Dutch doors to stables and horses will be going in and out of stables at their leisure beneath them.
Guttering on buildings, especially where those buildings are adjacent to horse-living areas should be high enough that a horse cannot inadvertently hit an eye on a sharp corner or reach them to play with when bored. Where run-in sheds are concerned height will ideally meet the criteria for the average horse.
Don’t forget to consider the topography and gradient at entrances to horse housing structures placed in fields. A run-in shed with its overhead clearance too small will have limited use though it will be cheaper than its full-size counterpart to buy. The peak inside the shed will ideally be 10′, with the entrance door a minimum of 8′.
Always build for now and for later. When the kids outgrow their ponies or you sell the property, small sized stalls and horse-living spaces will limit the sale potential. And when considering your building budget be aware that building up is often cheaper than building out.
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Feel free to contact Nikki Alvin-Smith for further information and high-res photos.
About Horizon Structures: One horse or twenty, there’s one thing all horse owners have in common…the need to provide safe and secure shelter for their equine partners. At Horizon Structures, we combine expert craftsmanship, top-of-the-line materials and smart “horse-friendly” design to create a full line of sheds and barns that any horse owner can feel confident is the right choice for their horses’ stabling needs.
All wood. Amish Made. Most of our buildings are shipped 100% pre-built and ready for same-day use. Larger barns are a modular construction and can be ready for your horses in about a week. All our barn packages include everything you need to move your horses right in
Horizon Structures also sells chicken coops, equine hay feeders, greenhouses, dog kennels. You can also find garages, sheds and outdoor living sets available at Horizon’s sister company Stoltzfus Structures.
Headquartered in South-Central Pennsylvania, Horizon Structures, LLC was founded by Dave Zook. Dave was raised in the Amish tradition and grew up working in the family-owned shed business. He started Horizon Structures in 2001 in response to an ever-increasing customer demand for high quality, affordable horse barns. Over the years, the company has grown and now has several build shops located throughout the US enabling them to service customers nationwide.
For additional information about the company or their product line, please visit their website at https://www.horizonstructures.com.
About Nikki Alvin-Smith:
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Horizon Structures LLC, Atglen, PA
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