Set on the West Virginia University JW Ruby Research Farm
West Virginia University JW Ruby Research Farm: this ten-stall, center-aisle barn is the result of a rebuild following an equipment fire in December 2024 that spread to the original structure. The design came together in spring 2025; the project went to bid that summer; a design-build contract was awarded to Zetti Contracting in the fall; construction began in January 2026; and the horses moved into the completed barn in May.
A rebuild is a chance to design around how a program actually runs rather than how the previous build shaped it. For a research farm with a working teaching herd, that meant a barn that could foal out mares, isolate a horse when needed, and hold up to daily institutional use without any of those functions getting in each other's way.
Step inside.
Ten Stalls That Become Six When the Mares Come In
The barn carries ten twelve-by-twelve Sliding Stalls along a center aisle. Four of them are fitted with American Stalls Hinged Partitions, which means the wall between two adjacent stalls can be swung open and locked back to create a twelve-by-twenty-four foaling stall. Closed, the row holds ten horses. When opened along those four partitions, the same row becomes six stalls and two foaling boxes, with not a single panel coming off the wall.
For a program that folds out mares with any regularity, the hinged design is the difference between reconfiguring the barn each season and reconfiguring it in an afternoon. The mare gets the room she needs to lie down and turn. The foal gets the floor space to find his feet. When weaning is finished, the partition closes, and the two twelve-by-twelves return to their separate lives. 
One of the ten stalls is set aside for quarantine and treatment, positioned within the run rather than separated from it. Full Privacy Partitions on either side cut down nose-to-nose contact with the neighbors. A horse held back from the herd for biosecurity or recovery stays within the barn's daily rhythm rather than being walked out to a remote stall that staff will eventually work around. The remaining stalls carry a mix of Full Privacy and Partial Privacy Partitions, depending on placement in the row. The flexibility is built in.
For a deeper look at the decisions behind partition sizing, height, and design, our guide to How to Choose the Right Horse Stall Partitions for Your Barn is a practical place to start.
Sliding Doors with French Yokes at Every Stall
Each Stall opens to the aisle through a Sliding Door with a French Yoke. The curved cutout allows a horse to stand with its head out and watch the aisle without opening the door. In a research barn where horses spend stretches of the day in their stalls between sessions, that small amount of engagement keeps them settled and easier to handle when the work begins.
For owners weighing yoke options, our guide to 4 Types of Yokes in Horse Stall Doors walks through how each shape carries differently in a barn.
Dutch Doors at Every Stall, the Wash Rack, and the Grooming Stalls
Every stall also has a Dutch Door to the outside. So do the double wash rack and both grooming stalls. The top halves opened along the length of the barn create the cross-ventilation that respiratory health depends on, particularly in a herd cycling through travel, varied workloads, and the close quarters of an academic schedule. The bottom halves stay closed when a horse needs to be contained, but the air should still move.
Dutch Doors on the working areas, not just the stalls, are a detail worth flagging. Wash racks and grooming stalls hold humidity, soap residue, and the smell of bathwater; the rest of the building does not. Building them with their own ventilation keeps that air from settling back into the aisle.
Barn Ends, the Man Door, and the Solid Sliding Door
The aisle terminates at Sliding Barn Doors on both ends, sized to bring equipment through and to open the barn on temperate days. A double-hinged man door handles routine traffic without the larger doors having to be cycled. A Sliding Door encloses one of the support spaces where visibility is not needed.
The Tack Room, Built for an Institutional Workflow
A Feed Room, Utility Room, Laundry Room, Bathroom, and Tack Room are arranged so that daily routines stay out of the horse traffic in the aisle.
The Tack Room reads as institutional rather than personal. Doors are extra wide, which matters more than it sounds when someone is carrying a Western saddle and a bridle through. Storage is split between wall-hung and mobile pieces, allowing the room to reconfigure as the program shifts across semesters. Upper and lower countertops with cabinets give working surface and enclosed storage at two heights. A utility sink with cleaning hooks handles bit cleaning, brush washing, and the small tasks that pile up over the course of a week.
Double Wash Rack and Two Grooming Stalls
The wash rack is built for two horses at once. A Half Wall divides the bays. Cross ties Rings hold each horse in position. Hot and cold water at both stations, spring-loaded retractable Cox Reels overhead, and a trench drain with a clean-out basket running the length of the rack handle the drainage generated by a double bay over a working day.
The two Grooming Stalls sit adjacent to each other, open-fronted, with cross-ties. Open fronts keep horses settled by letting them see the aisle and the activity around them, which is the same reasoning that put French Yokes on the stall doors.
The Equipment Underneath
Two pieces of equipment in this barn carry most of the daily load. The StableComfort Stall Mattress System sits under the bedding in every stall, supporting the joint health of horses standing for extended periods. A Nelson Heated Automatic Waterer is installed in each stall, delivering clean water at a consistent temperature year-round and removing the labor of carrying buckets twice a day across ten stalls.
American Stalls Bridle Hooks and Blanket Bars at each stall front finish the daily-use hardware, keeping the aisle clear of the items that otherwise end up hanging on the nearest available surface.
Rolled rubber runs the length of the aisle and continues into the wash rack and both grooming stalls, giving the horses one consistent surface from stall to crossties.
About the Project
The work at the JW Ruby Research Farm is made possible when a program, a design-build contractor, and a fabricator come to the table with a clear understanding of what the barn must do. Zetti Contracting carried out the design and the build. American Stalls delivered the interior package. The result is a barn that returns the program to full working capacity and gives the horses a building designed around their day.
Credits Builder: Zetti Contracting
Photography: Charles Davis Photography
If you are planning a custom horse barn or rebuilding an existing one, our team is here to help you design every component from the stall fronts inward. Contact American Stalls at (855) 957-8255 or sales@americanstalls.com to schedule a design consultation.
