Horse Barn Styles

Horses in the wild do live without barns; however, domesticated horses require shelter and protection from the elements. The type of barn you choose will depend on a number of things, including budget, the number of horses and other activities you may wish to have in your barn. There are styles of horse barns from shed to equestrian center and everything in between.

  1. Traditional Wood Barn

    • On a typical farm a century ago, a barn was a multipurpose building. It had stalls for horses, possibly a tack room, a hay loft, and a room for equipment and other animals. This style of barn is highly workable as just a horse barn, housing everything you need for your horses. Stalls for indoor use and a tack room are the biggest priorities. If you have open pens that housed other animals, these can be easily converted to horse stalls or a tack area. A hayloft houses winter food storage. Other rooms in the barn can be used as feed rooms, storage and a grooming area if a large enough space exists.

    Single Row Horse Barn

    • This type of barn is built specifically to house a number of horses. With two rows of adjacent stalls and spaces along the outside walls of the barn, the center row is used for moving the horses about, grooming and moving things in and out of the barn, such as wheelbarrows during stall cleaning. Some of the spaces are used as tack and feed rooms, and the number of designated stalls depends on the number of horses you house. If space allows, there can be an open area at one end for training, grooming or other activities. These suit colder climates, as the entire barn can be closed and any necessary feeding or grooming can be done indoors.

    Double Row Barn

    • This type of barn has two rows of stalls like a single row barn, but they are placed back to back in the center of the barn, creating two outside walkways. These are well suited for warmer climates as the outer areas can be left open for ventilation or have just an overhanging roof without walls. For a highly populated horse farm with a large number of horses, this can work well, as other areas are designated for training, grooming and other activities. This type of barn is utilized primarily for housing.

    Small To Large

    • A shed type of housing can be used for just one or two horses that live together. This is often located inside a corral or pasture with a single large door that is left open most of the time. Feeding can take place here, and it offers protection from weather. This type of barn is fairly cheap and functional without any bells and whistles. The equestrian center is the opposite end of the spectrum. A large building, often many thousands of square feet, these are designed for a large number of horses, breeding and all activities related to horses. Stalls, show rings, grooming and washing areas, veterinary stalls and an endless list of rooms can be housed in these gigantic constructions.