The United States, among other countries, is very fond of horses. They have been featured and loved in Western movies, we have horse shows where they compete to be the fastest, and we have created obstacle tournaments where grace, beauty, and talent are adored. However, not every horse is as beautiful, strong, or powerful as the ones we see on television, and this often has to do with where they are raised, as well as HOW they are raised. Yes, you may be able to produce an amazing specimen from a great parent couple, but if it is raised and kept in a bad environment, it will not reach its full potential. In this article, we will discuss how we must maintain our barns in order to have beautiful and healthy horses.
Barns for Horses
Horse barns by definition are more often referred to as “stables”, which are the buildings or establishments where many animals, especially horses may be kept. It basically is a building that is divided into stalls for each individual animal. The interior and exterior of these barns will vary depending on the weather of its location and when it was built, amongst other criteria.
There are plenty of things that should be written on a checklist when dealing with these stables, such as proper machine maintenance, nutrition for the horses, water, managing manure, cleaning the facility, keeping records, and having a routine. More often than not, barn owners miss a few steps, or their daily routine is not the same. There should be a structure to barn maintenance, or else horses will run the risk of sickness, plagues, mal-nourishment, and a variety of other effects that can affect the humans interacting inside of the barn.
If you are planning on building a barn from the ground up, here are a few things to consider:
- Materials: Wood being the best choice if not in a fire-prone area
- Design: Spacious stalls are better. Make sure to have enough storage room
- Cost: A basic barn will cost a minimum of $4 per square foot to build
- Ventilation: This is critical to the health of the horse since keeping your barn enclosed can create nasty fumes and irritants
- Natural Light: Just like humans, horses need to see and feel the light of the sun, as opposed to artificial light
Conclusion
In conclusion, we discussed what a barn for horses is and how it is best referred to as a “stable”. If you are making a stable from scratch, there are plenty of factors to consider in order to keep your horses happy, which include ventilating the place, keeping it clean, and letting in enough natural light. If you are going to hire people to help you with the maintenance of the barn, make sure you keep a daily maintenance routine and keep track of what gets done so that every day the horses are healthy, happy, fed, and ready to be super awesome.