Question about equestrian riding arenas and stalls...?

Question

I am building a home for a customer who also wants to build a large (100 x 200) equestrian arena with stalls to board horses. Could anyone give me an approxemate cost per square foot to have one built? Also, any tips on what would be good features for such a building to have.

Answer 1

When we built ours it averaged out to $34 a square foot. All of the stalls are 12x12 and have a rubber matting on the floor to make it easier to clean and built in feeders for grain swinging gates etc. It is also good to have a wash stall about the same size but equiped with running water and a drain easier to clean horses inside than out in the pasture, a tack room is nice to have and if they are going to board horses I would suggest putting in wooden lockers that will hold all of the persons tack and can be locked. A feed room that is close to the stalls to allow easy access tot he grain. The arena area needs to be leveled and prepared for riding, un level can cause serious injury to a horse, and well lighted. If you go with any kind of metal fencing or gates make sure they are the kind that chain together without a gap instead of the cheaper ones that pin, if a horse spooks and rears up it can get a leg caught in the gap.

Answer 2

There's SO much to building barns and arenas that is beyond doing other construction. And with the amount of "it depends" answers it's really not possible to give a solid answer. You need more information. A lot more information.

What is the climate? What is the area around it like? There are traditional pole barns like Morton that can be put up...but also alternatives like the Coverall buildings that allow more natural light in. As others mentioned, footing is a BIG factor. What they plan on doing is a big factor. How many stalls? How big of an operation and what disciplines? Basics are the same but someone with world class jumpers is going to have a MUCH different view of acceptable than someone boarding for youth pleasure horses. What could be recommended for Kansas would be much different than something for the northeast and still different than the south due to climate factors. If they board Thoroughbred broodmares they'll need something much different still than competitive cutting horses (in which case you need to factor in a place for cattle too). Ventilation is a HUGE factor.

As for general features - considering above! - if boarding individual lockers for tack inside a room that can be locked. An entrance gate set on a timer to open/close with a keypad is a security feature that can pay off big. A good roomy washrack with recessed places for holding things and hot water available along with GOOD LIGHTING. An area that can be locked and is horse proof for storing grain and hay. A washer/dryer hookup makes washing blankets and other horse stuff easy. Ways to be able to feed horses grain without going into the stall are good...feeding hay is preference. Some like the convenience and safety of feeding from outside while others want to be able to HAVE to open that door and LOOK at the horse to catch any problems. If it's going to be a public training/lessons/show barn a small area for an office/reception/hangout area is nice.
If they're breaking young horses IMO a roundpen is not a luxury but a necessity. Like the arena, footing is a big factor.

You'll need a plan to store bedding and hay. And keep in mind that insurance factors in to that decision HEAVILY. You'll need a plan to put manure; and storage of tractors and other implements where they can be maintained easy for long life.

Answer 3

There is a magazine called Equus that might have answers to your questions.
One of my main concerns when I ride is footing. You don't want slippery footing in the stalls, grooming areas, or arena.
I'm not sure how important this is, but you might consider the height of a horse when it rears. I would hate to see a horse spook and hit his head on a doorframe.

Answer 4

stalls that you can feed from the outside, the doors open up, and you just slip the hay/feed in. A lighted arena. and of course heating depending on where they live. Also a good one is a nice sitting area is always nice.

Answer 5

12'x12' is ample room for stalls. you have to figure out what features these people want in the barn. do they want riding space? do they want a wash rack? a seperate feed room? grooming stalls? 12'x36' is a great small tack room with room for a desk if they so wish. 12'12' for grooming and wash stalls. you may have to figure in an entry way and hay storage as well.

Answer 6

www.menards.com
My guess is approx 20-30 bucks a square foot for stalls, closer to 15 for the arena.

What a waste of resources. We suck up all kinds of oil and trees to build houses for horses that are never going to produce any decent work.

But hey, they're payin', right?

Answer 7

There are quite a few good books out with plans/designs. Easy to find on any of the on-line book stores.

Answer 8

Make sure to have good drainage for the barn and the arena.

Answer 9

I'm sure the cost per square foot varies from area to area, so I'm not much help in that department, however I am in the process of finishing my barn and can offer some things that I wish I'd done differently and some things I really like. Growing up, my parents boarded horses, and I've also boarded my horses in some not-so-nice facilities. Here are what I found:

The arena size is adequate for pleasure riding - for myself the size I'm building is 100 X 200. If you are going to have more than one horse in the arena, larger is better - a standard size arena for jumping is 150 X 300 feet. If there are going to be several people riding in the arena at the same time, the owners should be aware that someone may be wanting to ride their horse at a slower pace on the rail, and someone else may want to work on their lead transitions at a lope, while someone else may want to work their horses on jumps in the middle of the arena. There needs to be adequate area for at least 3 different disciplines going on at the same time, or there will be conflict between boarders and that is a royal pain. Footing is also very important depending upon the disciplines being practiced on these premises.

As for the barn...the minimum stall size should be 12 X 12 which suits Quarter Horses, Arabs and Morgans just fine. If the people who own the building want to have larger sized horses like Warmbloods, Hanovarians, etc., then they need a larger sized stall like a 14 X 16, as these horses are MUCH bigger - when they lie down they need space enough that they can get their feet back under them to get up. If they roll over and their legs are on the wall, they become "cast" (or stuck) and are unable to get up. For that reason I am putting anti-cast strips on my walls, and putting rubber wall liners on the bottom 4' of my stalls. This allows the horse purchase to push away from the wall and get back up - if a horse is cast for too long a time they can develop edema around their heart and lungs and can even die if not gotten up in a timely manner. The rubber wall liners also allow a horse's stall to be sterilized if that horse has been ill. The other thing about a rubber wall liner is that if a horse is a wall-kicker it will protect the stall walls and protect the horse's legs from the impact. Also in the stalls, depending upon the area of the country, you can put an overhead fan (at least 12' above the stall, so a horse rearing up cannot get hurt) or an overhead heater. The fan helps keep the flies down and the heater is nice if you have a horse that is blanketed for showing so doesn't have much of a winter coat. It is also a nice feature to have in a foaling stall (which should be a minimum of 12 X 24 - possibly having two stalls with one removable partition so it can be used as two standard stalls or one large foaling or vet stall). I also prefer NOT to use automatic waterers because I like to monitor the amount of water my horses are drinking. I also have a "dunker" - one of my horses will take a mouthful of hay or grain then wander over to get a drink. This clogs up the automatic waterers and makes a mess. The other thing I did in my stalls is that I put my waterer in the opposite corner from my feeder. This discourages "dunking" - there is SOME supposition that a horse who dunks his feed can colic more easily - not sure if it's true or not, but it's just a safety precaution. I put in insulated bucket holders and a swing-out door so I can just swing the water bucket out into the aisleway, clean it out if necessary, and refill it. I prefer not to put in a feeder where the horse reaches its' head up to eat. A horse naturally grazes, so I used a lower-down feeder (not low enough to get their feet in, but low enough that they can put their heads down to eat).

A lot of stall manufacturers will put the stall doors up against a wall. I put my doors in the middle of the stall for several reasons. The first being if the horse is "cast" up against the wall where the door is, you can't get into the stall to help pull him away from the wall unless you want to attempt to broad-jump over an already-frantic and kicking horse. The second is when you are leading a horse, you are to the left of the horse's shoulder. Should he/she jump sideways as you are going to lead him through the door, you are going to get run over or smashed into the wall depending which side the door is on. A horse will never jump into a wall or solid object voluntarily, and as an object about 1/10 the horse's size you are the obvious choice. Depending on the area, I would use a road mix for the base of the stall, topped with a crushed rock followed by a rubber mat. This allows for easier clean up of the stalls. We had board floors in our barn, and eventually the cracks between the boards filled with manure and other things - it was very difficult to clean. Dirt floors allow the horse to paw and dig some VERY LARGE holes, and creates a lot of dust besides. It is also difficult to sterilize dirt if there is an illness such as Strangles on the premises.

Make sure the aisleways are some sort of solid material - I've used broomed concrete and am putting a rubber mat down on top of that for traction and to muffle the sound. Again it is easier to sanitize and is easier to clean up. It also doesn't retain odors.

The wash rack should be of a material that washes off easily (not plywood) and should have a good water-proof overhead light. It can also be used as a vet stall if the lighting is good. I would definitely have hot/cold running water as well as a good floor drain. I don't recommend floor drains with large holes (like the concrete lids you find in a garage) because boarders have a tendency to get lazy and want to wash the manure and hair down the drain after they use a wash stall rather than clean it up properly. Also an anti-slip footing is very important here too. What I did in my barn is drop the wash stall floor height 1" below the finished height of my aisleway (including the floor mats) so that when I pour my concrete and then put my rubber mats over the floor, it is the same height as my aisleway flooring. No toe stubbers here and it also makes clean up easier.

I have a heated tack room with a sofa/bed and a windowed door across the aisle from the stalls - one thing I didn't get is my vet stall/foaling stall next to the tack room. I still wish I'd done that because a window can be put between the vet stall and the tack room - tending a sick horse all night long allows someone to sleep in the tack room and periodically check on the horse. Especially nice when you're foaling in January or February and it's not too pleasant to roll out of bed and walk across the yard in the middle of a snow storm and 20 degree weather to check on a horse. Much easier to roll out of bed and look out the window ;)

I also included in my barn a heated bathroom - complete with shower and washer and dryer. As previously posted, it's so nice to be able to wash blankets, leg wraps and towels in the barn and not mix that stuff up with your own clothes. The full bathroom allows for someone who is either sleeping in the barn or who has been up all night with a sick horse to be able to clean up.

My grain room is heated as well, so I can keep a small under counter refrigerator there. In a boarding facility I would probably put a full sized fridge in - it's handy for things like refrigerated vet medicines, but also the boarders like to keep things like carrots and apples in there for treats. I also stock my fridge with pop and bottled water - makes the farrier happy after a long, hot afternoon and I offer him something cold to drink. Boarders appreciate this too, and an "honor jar" is a good way to get them to pay for the pop without appearing to be "cheap". Also in this room, LOTS of outlets. I didn't realize that I had so many rechargeable things like cordless clippers that I need to keep plugged in, and boarders all like to have their things charged up too.

I don't recommend a totally public tack room for a boarding situation - people have "borrowed" things too often from other boarders when it's convenient. Things like brushes and curry combs and hoof knives are cheap to replace but they also can transfer skin conditions and other diseases to other horses. I would recommend a small locking box next to each stall with a saddle and bridle rack inside. At one boarding stable, the trainer was notorious for having people try other peoples' saddles out if he felt that the saddle being used didn't fit either horse or rider.

One other thing is windows - make sure the barn is bright. Windows in the stall area should be up high enough that a horse can't get its' head through the window (we had a mare manage to stick her head through a window and cut her neck very badly at a horse show where there was no window protection). If the windows are horse-high, then put bars over the windows so they can't push their heads through. On all of my stalls I have a light switch which allows me to control the individual lights in each stall along with the heaters. I have 2 sets of lights in the stall as well - one overhead light and one at the front of the stall which is more of an illuminating light so I can see the horse at night without disturbing the others - less commotion in a barn makes for calmer horses.

I also have my barn wired for stereo. I've always played a radio in the barn when I'm working. That's just a personal preference.

The aisleway should be a minimum of 10 feet so you can take a 4-wheeler or small garden type tractor and a manure spreader through it when stalls are being cleaned.

I also have a separate area for the bedding and have hay storage in my barn. The hay storage is designed so that the hay is stacked with air circulation all around - there should be no lighting directly above it - the risk of a broken light bulb and sparks could cause a fire. Some people like to go up into a hay loft and toss the hay down into the mangers - again this is a personal preference but after messing my knee up, stairs became a no-no in my home and my barn. I figure that when I get older I'm not going to want to hike up and down the stairs multiple times per day. Besides, when we deliver hay to our customers (we grow hay as well) we have seen how difficult it is to get hay into the hay loft - even the hay elevators (we have 3 different customers who use them) have a tendency to not work as well as they should - hay bales fall off, the chain comes off the sprocket, the unit isn't placed properly and suddenly tips over (THAT'S not a fun one). Personally, I prefer to stack my hay on pallets - if there is a large quantity of hay, then the owner should have a large tractor and what is called a 10 pack to remove the hay from the truck and stack it. That's what we use in our daily operation and when you're stacking 20-30 tons of hay it's a LOT easier and quicker than trying to hire enough people to stack it for you.

Hay storage - average hay consumption by a 1000 horse is 20 pounds per day - more in the winter, or for hard keepres, bigger horses or lower quality hay. The average here in Montana for the hay we produce seems to be about 2 to 2 1/2 tons per horse if people are feeding from November through April. If there is going to be feeding year 'round then it needs to be figured for more hay.

Bored yet? I can go on and on, but this isn't supposed to be a book. Sorry ;)