When it comes to designing anything on an Equine Property, it generally needs to be planned and done right the first time for the true gain to be experienced from that investment. It doesn’t matter if it’s whole properties, stable blocks, arenas, paddock additions or exercise areas; they all require careful planning and precise execution.
I am sure you have all thought or dreamt about your dream stable block before. What shape, how many stables, what features and what materials were to be used in it’s execution. I am also sure that some of you have followed through, and have these dream stables on your Equine Property today. However what about those of you who want to start planning one, or want to make their dreamt one a reality!?
Perhaps these helpful points to address in your planning will assist:
- Central Location: Generally stable blocks are positioned in a place on a property where it is nice and close to where all the action is. Sometimes this isn’t the case because of some of the below points, but energy, time and practicality wise it is best to find a spot that is a common ground between or to everything else.
- Size & Topography: How big does the building need to be? What flat land is there available for it to be on? If there is none, is there a way to adjust a nearly flat, or hilly area so that a stable block can be constructed?
- Shape & External Materials: Some stables have many entry points and are shaped irregularly, some are plain rectangles, and some are slightly different to a regular shape. Will steel or wood be used, or both for external walls and roofing?
- No. Of Stables: This one obviously depends on how many horses needs to be accomodated for and the size of the stable block. Other factors to consider are future additions like mares and foals, and stallions or larger horses that may require bigger stables.
- Other Features e.g. Tack, Feed and Wash Rooms and Tie up Area. Will you include on of each and where?
- Details e.g. Rug racks and what places to tie up. What things do you want included that make the stables not only yours, but also more work friendly and more aesthetically appealing.
- Internal Materials for Flooring, Doors, Walls, Waterers, Feeders, Tack & Feed Storage. Work out what materials or products that will be used for each of these, and any other internal additions.
- Overall cost and Maintenance costs: How much does this all come to? Is this affordable? Would the costs of maintaining and running the stable block be possible to cover?
Once all of these have been researched, considered and decided, a diagram of your dream stable (or a few), may be a helpful tool to have for peace of mind, and also when explaining your design to a builder/stable company. Perhaps you will have already scribbled a rough few pictures when considering the above points. Either way, approaching a builder/stable company with these visual representations of your dream stables will assist them in quoting and giving feedback on doability.
All going well with the builder/stable company and the construction process, a brand new dream stable can be made a reality for anyone on their Equine Property, provided that all of the above checks out too. Sometimes working towards big pie in the sky dreams like stables can be daunting, but breaking it down into achievable steps and getting them done one by one enables dreams to be possible!
Feature Image courtesy of Pinterest.
– Skye Pickering Dip. Horse Business Management.