Horse Homes Barn Styles
Form, Function, Style and Your Vision – There are different barn styles ideal for your location, property, budget and taste.
If you’re thinking about building a new barn, you’ve probably been dreaming about how it will look, how it will be set up, and how it will meet your needs as a horse owner. When choosing a style for your new barn, your vision must be the first consideration. Another important consideration is the layout of your property. Of course, your needs and budget should guide any barn construction decision.
Fortunately, there are many style options from which to choose and one is certain to match your vision, property layout, needs and budget.
Raised Center Aisle Barns
The most popular barn style among a variety of horse enthusiasts, the Raised Center Aisle (RCA) barn features attractive architectural lines and a traditional look with a two-tiered roof. This style provides a secure and closed environment for your horses, protection from the elements and easy access to service areas.
If you have a tight, square lot this style may work best for you. An RCA barn allows for greater visibility for horses to socialize across the aisle and greater efficiency in the use of space within the barn. Maximum light and air circulation is possible even in adverse weather conditions due to the venting between the rooflines and the option of sliding windows which are inset between the upper and lower rooflines.
FCP’s versatile design features a 3:12 roof pitch with a generous 12’ wide breezeway. If you choose this style of barn, it is common to include paddocks on either side of the barn so plan for these areas in your barn footprint as well. An RCA barn also allows for a hay loft to store hay and extra feed.
Gable Barns
A Gable barn is an attractive yet economical choice with only one roofline. This design allows a cost-effective way to have a center aisle and still have ventilation throughout the barn, while keeping it warmer during the cold winter months. This style of barn can still be closed completely with breezeway doors.
Shedrow Barns
The Shedrow barn style can be the best fit if you have a narrow lot. It is an excellent choice for areas with limited space or warmer weather conditions. When space is restricted and location is limited, this style provides a smaller barn footprint in most cases.
A particularly flexible style, a shedrow can be configured in a variety of forms such as straight-line, L-shaped or U-shaped. FCP’s shedrow barn provides the traditional gabled roofline with a generous protective overhang, available in a variety of sizes, to the front of the structure. This overhang option allows for protection for your horse but also plenty of workspace around your barn.
The shedrow style provides excellent ventilation, allows owners an unrestricted view of their horses, and has the advantage of turnout of all horses from the same side.
Back-to-Back Barns
If your budget is tight and you need to decrease the price per stall, this style could fit your needs. A Back-to-Back style provides the maximum stalls in the least amount of space by basically building two barns under one roof; this results in two rows of stalls in the center that share a common back wall.
There’s a Style For Your Dream
As a horse owner, you want the best for your animals. That means thinking about and planning for the barn style which will best suit your needs and dreams. Whether it is a Raised Center Aisle, Gable, Shedrow or Back-to-Back style, you can build the barn of your dreams if you take the time to research and plan ahead for your specific needs.
To learn more about FCP “Best-Built” barns and buildings, call us at 1-800-807-2276.
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