How to Keep Your Stable Clutter-Free and Safe
If you feel like there’s never enough storage in your horse barn, you aren’t alone. Storage is a common challenge for barn owners, and even if you build your barn with all sorts of extra storage space, that space tends to fill up all too quickly. Fortunately, you can maximize storage in your horse barn in several ways to better keep yourself organized and maintain a cleaner, safer barn.
Install Blanket Bars or Blanket Storage Systems
Blankets are bulky, and storing them is a real challenge when each horse has several blankets. Blanket bars can be a good place to start. If your barn aisle is wide enough, install blanket bars on your Horse Stall Doors. Our Blanket Bars are 38 inches wide and provide 6 inches of depth, so there’s plenty of space to hang multiple blankets. Installation hardware is included, and in addition to mounting the bars on stalls and in your aisle, you can also put them in your tack room.
When you’re working with many blankets, you’ll probably need more storage than just blanket bars. Consider installing hooks to hang blankets or investing in a blanket hanging system to keep blankets up off of tack trunks.
Strategically Store Blankets in the Summer
When storing blankets in the summer, blanket bags or totes can help keep them organized. Before you store your blankets, send them out to a washing and repair service, or do the work yourself to ensure they’re clean and ready to use again next season.
Some horse owners place blankets in vacuum sealed bags, which can further save on space, especially with big, heavyweight turnouts. Be sure that you choose a mouse-proof storage method to protect your blankets. Adding Bounce dryer sheets to your totes may help discourage mice from chewing on your blankets if they manage to get into the container.
Maximize Tack Room Storage
Chances are that there’s some unused space in your Tack Room that you can use. Many barn owners don’t take advantage of their tack rooms' full vertical space. Look for ways to expand your storage, such as by installing additional saddle racks and bridle hooks.
Create multiple lines of Bridle Hooks to store bridles used less often above those you use regularly. Or install bridle hooks beside or below saddle racks, making it convenient to pick up your tack while still saving space.
Elevated storage containers can also help maximize your tack room storage. Consider installing extra cabinets on your walls, or use stackable storage containers that you can place on the floor. Tack rooms often have unused space toward their ceilings; installing cabinets can give you extra storage for items you don’t frequently need to access.
In our blog, 5 Ways to Make Your Tack Room More Unique, we explore creative ideas to enhance your tack room, ensuring it meets both your needs and your style.
Create Additional Feed Room Storage
Maximizing the storage in your Feed Room might require a redesign. Many barn owners use garbage cans to store feed, but their round design means you’re sacrificing much floor space. Consider using rectangular shaped storage containers or purchasing a horse feed storage bin.
Photo from Stable & Style
Installing additional cupboards and cabinets in your feed room can help maximize your use of wall space. Units with pull-out drawers can give you easy access to supplements and medications, helping to save you time while you stay organized.
As you choose storage units for your feed room, make sure you choose rodent-proof products. Mice and rats can easily chew through plastic containers and trash cans, so whenever possible, use metal containers. Be sure to choose units that feature tightly close lids; according to Victor Pest, mice can fit through spaces as small as a dime, so keep that in mind as you look for containers.
Don’t depend entirely on your storage units to keep pests out. Create a rodent control plan for your tack room. Sweep up any spilled feed, consider using rodent traps, and focus on keeping your barn clean and tidy to deter rodents from moving in.
Add Shelves and Organizers to Grooming Spaces
You can make the most of grooming spaces, like grooming stalls and wash stalls, by adding more storage, too. Incorporate shelves and organizers to store grooming and bathing items so that they’re in easy reach. Metal or plastic baskets with a mesh-type bottom tend to be great choices for this, since the mesh lets water or dirt fall through the bottom of the basket, keeping your supplies cleaner.
Grooming bags and wall-mounted grooming tool organizers can also be helpful in grooming stalls. These organizers tend to have a larger capacity, but their multiple pockets and sections can keep tools organized.
If you groom in the aisle using crossties, consider a stall front grooming tool bag or placing tack trunks in front of each stall. Before buying tack trunks, measure the width of your barn aisle and map out where the trunks would fit. Trunks can be great for storing many items, but if your aisle is already narrow, they will narrow it and could lead to dangerous situations. If your aisle has limited space, storing trunks in your tack room or a spare stall may be better.
Contact American Stalls to Order Supplies for Your Horse Stable Today
At American Stalls, we have products to help you maximize storage in your barn, like blanket bars and bridle hooks. Our products feature top-quality construction and are designed to last years in your barn. If you’re considering renovating or expanding your barn to add on even more storage, we offer custom Horse Stall Systems and barn components to help bring your vision to life. Contact us today at (855) 957- 8255, email us at sales@americanstalls.com to schedule a sales and design consultation or complete our inquiry form. We look forward to assisting you!
