Good Barnkeeping

All horse owners wish they had more time with their horses. For those who keep horses at home it is always a struggle to keep up with regular farm and barn maintenance and have enough time left to enjoy the horses. Performing proper building
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Careful barn design planning and regular maintenance can mean a longer-lasting, safer structure that’s more efficient to use.

All horse owners wish they had more time with their horses. For those who keep horses at home it is always a struggle to keep up with regular farm and barn maintenance and have enough time left to enjoy the horses. Performing proper building maintenance at regular intervals can save money and make the structure safer, and it can leave you more time to spend with the four-footed critters. Many tasks can be accomplished on an as-needed basis, leaving some simple safety checks and maintenance for each season.

Whether your farm includes a barn, sheds, or outbuildings, planning ahead is the first step. “Maintenance for your facility actually should begin when planning,” says Mary Harcourt, co-author of Complete Plans for Building Horse Barns Big and Small. “Laying out the facility to make maintenance easy and affordable helps enormously,” she says. “Likewise, construction of buildings and materials used can make maintenance easier.” She says thoughtful planning allows for more time spent with your animals and less at the end of a pitchfork.

Linda Weatherbee of Circle B Barn Co. in Massachusetts agrees that many maintenance issues can be prevented in the planning process. “Our goal is functionality and buildings that are as maintenance-free as possible,” she says. “We want buildings that breathe. A barn that is really weather tight is great for people, but not so much for horses. They need constantly changing air because of their sensitive respiratory systems.”

Architects have spent years trying to design the perfect barn, one that will allow a horse to be a horse and allow owners quality time with their animals. John Blackburn, president and senior principal of Blackburn Architects in Washington, D.C., focuses on quality designs that are healthy and safe for horses and decrease operational and maintenance costs

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