How to Do Drainage Right From the Start

Drainage is one of the most important considerations when you’re planning your horse barn. You only get one chance to plan your property for proper drainage, and taking the time to thoroughly and correctly ensure drainage can pay off by minimizing maintenance, costs, and frustration later on. As you plan your new horse barn and property, these tips can help you properly plan for drainage needs, too.

1. Consult the Right Experts

Before you begin a project, start by consulting experts who can evaluate the property’s topography and drainage needs. Barn and agriculture design specialists are a good place to start, but you can also find local drainage and excavation experts who can help, too. Even better, consult multiple experts to identify any conflicting advice and ensure you have the best plan in place.

Discuss drainage with your barn builder or contractor early on, and make sure that it’s considered in everything from your site selection to your property’s grading and construction. Your contractor may recommend incorporating elements such as French drains and gutters, and it’s easier to plan for these components from the start.

If you’ll be installing a riding arena, consult with an arena-building specialist regarding its construction, location, and drainage needs. An arena building expert can advise you on everything from grading to footing and base selection, and each of these components plays a key role in drainage and the overall performance of your arena.

2. Identify Wetlands Delineations

If there are wetlands on your property, make sure these are properly delineated before you start planning, or you could find yourself facing fines and needing to relocate elements on your property. Contact your state’s Department of Environmental Protection; they can inform you how to request a wetlands delineation for your property.

During the process, specialists will look for signs of wetlands and test your soil. They will also mark the wetlands boundaries with flats and identify the boundaries on a map of your property. Your contractor will need that map for planning purposes, and you’ll need it to get a building permit.

3. Evaluate Your Property’s Topography

As you start to plan out your barn location, carefully consider the property’s topography and work with these experts to identify the best building site. Your property’s grading, even if slight, can contribute to future drainage problems.

Ideally, you should situate your barn on high ground. Walk the property on a rainy day to see where water flows across the site, and consider how runoff might affect other elements, such as your pastures or arena.

4. Consider Drainage for Turnouts

Drainage can pose a challenge for turnouts, too. The smaller your turnouts and the more traffic they see, the greater your drainage issues can become. Try to maximize your turnout space and minimize the number of horses in them. Planning for enough turnouts so that you can rotate their use will also give the ground time to recover and help avoid some drainage issues.

As you plan the turnouts, consider that low-lying areas will naturally experience drainage issues at certain times of the year. Try to avoid placing key elements, like gates, water troughs, and feeding stations, near these low-lying areas. It’s best to position these elements in higher ground, if possible.

For a deeper look at how to design effective turnout spaces, from stall runs to open pastures, check out our guide on Evaluating turnout options for horses.

Even with careful planning, you may need to manage mud in your turnouts. Mud Control Grids are a permanent ground reinforcement solution. These grids promote effective water flow, reducing standing water and mud. They’re durable and weather-resistant, perfect for use in harsh conditions, plus they help enhance grip for horses and humans. The grids can be installed easily with minimal site preparation, and they’re ideal for areas such as beneath pasture gates, around water troughs, and even in horse runs leading into your barn.

5. Build Your Barn Foundation to Avoid Drainage Issues

Plan your barn foundation build to avoid future drainage issues. Your contractor should be able to help you identify an appropriate site-preparation plan that elevates your barn above the surrounding land. Give careful thought to the material used for your barn base, and choose one that facilitates drainage. Proper grading and sloping the ground away from the barn will also go a long way toward preventing drainage problems.

Consider adding other elements to your barn to promote proper drainage. A gutter system can be an excellent investment, especially if your area receives regular, heavy rain that could pool around the foundation. If you’re installing Dutch Doors and giving horses direct access to outside runs, you might also want to consider creating overhangs and extended roof sections to keep water away from the doors and your barn entrances. 

Contact American Stalls for Your Barn Building Components

Planning your barn is a long-term process, but at American Stalls, we’re here to help. Not only do we have essentials like Mud Control Grids to help with your drainage issues, but we can also custom-build Horse Stalls, Horse Barn Doors, Horse Barn Windows, and other components for your barn. We encourage clients and their contractors to contact us early in the process, allowing us to custom-build barn components that best serve you and your facility.

Contact us today at (855) 957-8255 or email us at sales@americanstalls.com to schedule a sales and design consultation or with any questions.