- Home
- About Us
-
Custom Products
- Shop by Products
- Resources
- Contact Us
-
In today's market, we understand that there are so many options to choose from regarding horse stall doors. Each day, we get a wide variety of questions regarding our horse stalls and our stall doors. Here is a handful of common questions answered about stall doors.
ANSWER: That above “kick plate” is what our team would refer to as a "shavings guard." When the stall door is closed, the shavings guard is enough to keep 90% of shavings inside your horse stall. However, just like any stall, a client will need to manage shavings outflow when the door is open and their horse comes in and out of the stall.
In the photo, it shows a custom sliding horse stall front with a double shavings guard. This is actually quite uncommon and it was a custom request by the client. It is much more common to do simply one shavings guard – either in a steel insert or wood insert.
ANSWER: For starters, there are two primary ways to measure bar spacing on a horse stall. The first option is "on center" (OC) or "end-to-end" (also referred to as a gap." For example, a 3" OC with 1" round bars means that there is a 2" gap.
There are many customers who may see a horse stall on Pinterest, Instagram, or somewhere on the internet. At a glance, the horse stall might look very nice – however, it is important to see the details with a closer eye. When you are looking at a horse stall, it is easy to think that a 3" (4"OC) or 4" (5" OC) is plenty safe. You might even think that there is no way a horse can get its foot in that opening. However, our team sees it time-after-time that 3" end-to-end spacing is TOO much spacing.
At American Stalls, we understand that horses can apply a tremendous amount of force upon their horse stalls. That is why we go to great lengths to space our 1" round bars on 3" centers – meaning 2" space between bars on top. Any bottom 1" bars are spaced on 2.5" centers with a 1.5" gap on the bottom. Rest assured, our bar spacing ensures that not even the smallest of hooves can get stuck in our bar spacing.
ANSWER: If possible, we always recommend our clients to consider adding a yoke to their sliding horse stall's doors. The yoke adds an extra dimension to your stall by allowing your horse to hang their head out of their stall. This allows them to socialize and feel included in the barn.
When it comes to yokes, there are three primary options:
The first option – yoke opening – is a great option for private barns where each horse gets a long with the other horses. Yoke openings work great for private barns especially because the horse owner will know their horses' personalities.
Yoke openings can also be fantastic for commercial facilities such as boarding facilities, training barns, and show barns. That being said, we do understand the concern that facility owners might have about their horses having too much access to other horses. This is especially a concern when the barn's horses might not get along. In these cases, we can manufacture a removable yoke piece (the third option) that fits into your yoke opening to fill it. This provides flexibility so you can choose to fill any number of yokes and keep some yokes open for well-behaved horses.
The last (second) option is the most costly upgrade – the hinged drop down yoke. This yoke option includes both the opening and a secondary yoke piece that operates upon a welded hinge. A client can then open and close the drop down yoke with a plunger latch. This provides all of the benefits of a removable yoke piece, but it is instead attached (welded) to the actual stall door.
Do you have any questions regarding your decisions about your sliding horse stall doors? Are you stuck with where to even start? Our team is here to help guide you every step of the way to ensure you receive the best sliding stall doors for your purposes. Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
Our (human) children aren't the only ones who are carefully making their wishlist for the holiday season. You might not know it, but your horse secretly has their own wishlist. The holiday season only comes along once a year so here is a list of things your horse is wishing for their horse stalls:
Horse Stall Mattresses
Whether your horse spends a lot of time in their horse stall or out in the pastures, it is a great idea to add comfort to their stall flooring. Our StableComfort Stall Mattresses will give your horses the comfort that they deserve. This horse stall mattress is a seamless stall mat system that has a wall-to-wall top rubber cover which goes over a rubber crumb mattress.
The StableComfort mattress system provides characteristics of a natural pasture. This will allow your horses to walk, stand up and lay down easily without the fear of slipping. Not only with your horse's feet thank you, but it will also do wonders for your stall clean up time and maintenance.
Horse Stall Partitions with Grills
Many barns will have full wood partitions that constrict airflow and ventilation. This holiday season, upgrade your horse stall dividing walls with our grillwork that measures at least 8’ wide and all the way up to 14' wide. This addition will not only help promote airflow, but it will also help your horses see their neighbor.
Automatic Waterers
Feed and water are usually personal decisions, but an automatic waterer system is a great add to any horse stall. An automatic waterer ensures that your horse has access to clean and fresh water.
Dutch Doors or Windows
Whether you are building a new barn or renovating an existing one, barn windows and barn doors are must. Either option will be a welcome addition for your horse. Our exterior windows and doors will allow for plenty of fresh air to come in and out of the stall - not to mention ample sunlight.
Additionally, our windows and Dutch Doors will allow your horse to hang their head out of their stall. Defeat boredom in the stall and promote healthy lungs with our exterior components.
New Horse Stalls
Many times, a barn will have horse stalls that were built 15 to 20 years ago. Although there is nothing wrong with an older horse stall, these stalls will often lack many modern design features. Modern, newly built horse stalls will feature safer bar spacing, more emphasis in ventilation, and safer horse stall latches.
For this reason, treat your horses to new horse stall systems – whether that be our Sliding Horse Stalls, European Horse Stalls, or even our Stall Gates.
These "presents" are guaranteed to add comfort, safety, and happiness for your horse – all while improving your facility's value. Do you have any questions regarding year end holiday purchases? Are you stuck with where to even start? Our team is here to help guide you every step of the way. Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
Although many of our projects consist of new barns, our team does many barn renovation projects each year. Our renovations can range widely from private 4-stall barns to large 40-stall barns. Each barn renovation requires something different – including stalls, barn doors, windows, and flooring renovations. Our team works hard to understand your existing barn's structure, the surrounding climate, your horses, and your personal style. This way, we can tailor a renovation project to your preferences and overall project.
Although renovations come in many sizes, we want to highlight three particular renovation projects that we have completed this year. These 3 renovations will give you an idea of what is possible for your own barn. Regardless of your the barn structure, we strive to deliver an end result that leads to a safer, more functional, and elegant barn.
Example 1 – Horse Barn in Ocala, Florida
Our first example is a private horse barn in Ocala, Florida. This barn – in traditional Florida fashion – is a shedrow barn for a client's private use. The client already had their stalls in-place, but wanted to upgrade the flooring around the barn. They then finalized on black 1-3/4" rubber pavers to give their outdoor aisles a new look. These rubber pavers not only transformed the look and feel, but also adds safety with our rubbers' anti-slip traction. You can see the newly installed rubber pavers below.
Example 2 – Breeding Facility in Collinsville, Texas
Our first example (above) showed a client who chose to renovate their barn with only flooring components. Our second example shows a client in Collinsville, Texas. Our client, True North Show Horses, brought our team onboard to help with both their new barn and existing barn's renovation. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the existing barn's renovation.
Our client had existing European horse stalls in their barn constructed with cinderblock. However, they wanted to transform these European horse stalls into stalls for their stallions. We then worked with our client and their barn builder to engineer custom sliding horse stalls. The sliding horse stall doors were built to match the stall doors in their new barn. You can see the transformation of their barn in this one row of stalls.
Example 3 – Private Barn in Virginia
Our first two examples both show barn renovations that chose either flooring or custom stall components. This gives our clients an understanding that their renovation can be done in phases.
Our last example shows a barn renovation that took place in Virginia. This client moved into this new property that had an existing horse barn. The couple chose to overhaul the entire barn to house their four horses.
This particular renovation included the following new additions:
The client chose rubber pavers to add a beautiful barn aisle look, but to also add safety and traction to their aisles. They then chose the particular design for their sliding stall doors based on their horses and the location of the barn. The couple decided that their horses knew each other enough that they were comfortable to allow their horses to hang their head out of their stalls at all time with the v-shaped yoke. Lastly, a mesh bottom was added to the horse stall doors to help with ventilation during hot Summers in Virginia. You can see the before and after of this stunning barn below:
Do you have any questions regarding your horse barn renovation? Are you stuck with where to even start? Our team is here to help guide you every step of the way to ensure your renovation yields the exact result you want. Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
December is weeks away which means that many competitive riders are already getting ready for the Winter season in Florida. The 2022 Winter Season in Florida brings many of the nation's top competitors to Ocala and Wellington. When it comes to competition, we all know that the value of high performance.
In this article, we'd like to share four products that will add safety and comfort to your horse barn. These 4 products will ensure your horses are well-rested and comfortable – leading to high performance. We have divided these 4 products among
Increase Comfort & Recovery Times
Each of our recommendations revolves around the horse's comfort, safety, and happiness. Our first recommendation is our Stall Mattress System. This is a wall-to-wall waterproof stall mat system. It includes three core materials – a mattress pad, rubber crumb, and a rubber top cover for the horse stall.
While we recommend our stall mattress system for any horse, it is particularly recommended for horses that regularly show at horse shows.
The StableComfort stall mat system provides unsurpassed comfort through a resilient stall surface which simulates natural turf. While your horse stands, this stall flooring system provides a supportive, even surface. While lying down the StableComfort stall mattress decreases the timeline of injury rehabilitation and aids in loosening stiff joints.
Our stall mattress systems are in-stock and ready to ship to ensure they are ready for the Winter Season in Wellington and Ocala. Contact our team for any custom sizing requests as well.
Add Ventilation to Your Horse Barn
Whether you are in South Florida or in the Great Lakes, ventilation is crucial in any horse barn. While you prepare for the winter season, below are two products that work in tandem to ensure your barn has plentiful airflow.
Our second recommendation are our PureCOOL Stall Fans – available in 12", 18", and 24" sizes. Although there are many stall fans on the market, we always strong recommend our PureCool Fans. Proudly made in the USA, our fans feature a deep guard design that helps push an incredible amount of air – compared to a traditional disk fan or box fan.
Our fans also include fully enclosed motors to ensure utmost fire safety for your horse barn. Available in multiple sizes, these Pure Cool Stall Fans are a great way to reduce heat stress, control insects, and decrease condensation in your barn.
Our third recommendation is to add our Stall Gates to your barn. These stall gates feature either a European yoke top or a flat grilled top. They also feature mesh on the gate bottom. This mesh has multiple benefits including:
Our Stall Gates are perfect as a stand alone horse stall door – or they can also sit behind an existing sliding stall door. Alternatively, you can order a custom sliding stall door with a mesh bottom for the same benefits.
If possible, we recommend the vast majority of our clients to add both our PureCool Stall Fans and a stall gate (or a custom sliding door with mesh) to their horse stalls. This combination ensures ample airflow from the fan – while a mesh bottom that allows the passing air to flow through your barn.
Also you can read more about how to improve your Horse Stall Performance here.
Allow Your Horses to Socialize
Our last recommendation is to add stall doors or stall gates with yoke openings on the top. This yoke opening allows your horses the ability to hang their head out of their horse stall and socialize within the barn.
If you operate a busy commercial barn, you can even add a hinged drop down yoke that can be closed. Another option is a removable yoke piece that is a removable piece that can fill yoke. This way, you can achieve both an open stall door or closed stall door opening – depending on the horse and your care goals.
Do you have any additional questions? Our team is here to help ensure you have the most successful Winter Season this Winter 2022 in Wellington and Ocala. Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
When planning your barn project, there are hundreds of micro decisions made on just about everything. This includes everything from the barn's structure to the horse stalls to the barn doors to the lighting fixtures to even security cameras.
When clients have narrowed down to their horse stall fronts, we often get multiple questions. One of the most common questions we get is, "Should I center my horse stall door or leave it off-centered?" We get this question for both our hinged horse stalls using our Stall Gates and also our Sliding Horse Stalls.
For the purposes of this article, we will focus on Sliding Horse Stall Fronts and their door placement. In this article, you will find pros, cons, and things to consider regarding your horse stalls' door placement.
Consideration 1 – Centered Stall Doors Require More Welding
Although this might be a surprise, centered stall doors are usually more expensive to build compared to off-centered stall doors. This is because our team must cut into the steel frame and weld additional 2" square tubing to frame your door's opening. Although it is not a significant cost difference, it is something to consider for your barn project's budget.
Consideration 2 – Centered Stall Doors Provide Privacy
When clients choose Sliding Horse Stalls, they often add a yoke opening or a stall gate behind the door. This is because clients want their horses to have the ability to hang their heads out into the barn aisle. If the stall doors are off-centered (at the end of a stall), a horse can interact (in some cases, annoy) his neighbor who might be eating his food. For this reason, centered stall doors allow more privacy when heads are out of yokes.
Consideration 3 – Feed & Water Placement
We all know that each horse owner has their own way to feed and provide water to their horses. Although this is a subtle design detail, but your door placement can affect your feed and water style. This is a personal preference, but a centered stall door will allow you to separate feed (and hay) from water bucks. This way, your horse is less likely to drag hay into their water buckets.
Consideration 4 – Aesthetics
Although both door placements can make for an elegant stall, centered horse stall doors tend to be dressier than their off-centered counterparts. In many of our large-scale projects, architects and builders tend to prefer centered doors as they provide a cleaner visual. This is because the doors are all placed in the same opening - as opposed to off-centered doors that can have a left door on one row and a right door on the other side.
Despite the above four considerations, we firmly believe that you can build an elegant horse stall front – whether you choose a centered door or an off-centered stall door. Our team will help you build a stall front system that is elegant, safe, and functional.
Do you have any additional questions? Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
Guest Author: Connor Duszynski
There’s no doubt that the equestrian world is bursting at the seams; with more equestrians embracing the sport than ever before, and equestrian enthusiasts enjoying all that this unique culture has to offer, we’ve noticed the general public’s interest in all-things-equine is piquing, particularly following this past summer’s events calendar. Kicking off the 2021 summer polo season, our American Stalls team had the pleasure of sponsoring Virginia United Polo’s All-Pro Polo Match, featuring the talents of Nacho Figueras, Kareem Rosser, and countless other high-goal polo pros. In celebration of the program, we joined the League’s other generous sponsors at the Salamander Resort & Spa’s barn in the heart of Virginia’s Horse & Hunt Country.
Donning our finest, we chatted our way through the barn, catching up with our friends as we stopped to pose with the pros at various points throughout the evening. As we followed the bistro lights lining the stables, stopping only for brief photo-ops and champagne intermissions, we began to wonder why this kind of experience wasn’t more common. We were enjoying ourselves so much that we were wishing all our parties could be hosted in such gorgeous barns!
Of course, we’ve attended nonprofit fundraisers for therapeutic riding services hosted in barns before, but we wondered why more barn owners, equestrians, and their guests didn’t enjoy these kinds of intimate evenings in their own facilities more often. We’d be dressing up the stall doors, stables, and tack rooms with equestrian decor, chic stylings, and some strategically-placed bottles of refreshments. This vision, so classically-Americana to us, reminds us why we love spending our time in our barns; it’s romantic, it’s meaningful, and it makes us feel closer to the spaces we love.
All equestrians and patrons of the equestrian lifestyle know that one’s barn is one’s home away from home. When you’re not in your muck boots, cleaning out the stables or tending to your horses, your barn is a sanctuary. What better way to celebrate that connection than by making the most of your barn in showcasing its beauty to your guests at your events?
This vision of a summer’s night spent in the barn is perhaps even more tempting to us knowing that our American Stalls products make for the perfect picturesque backdrop to any event, photo-op, or dinner one could hope to host. For an event your guests won’t forget, make our stunning and personalized barn doors the focal point of the room. Whether you decide to set the dinner tables near the door, or have a live band or vocalist perform in front of it, our American Stalls barn doors are guaranteed to stand out.
Our custom European Stall Fronts and Sliding Stall Fronts are other products of ours that make for the perfect backdrop to any intimate gathering. Our Sliding Stall Fronts, dressed-up with brass accents, arches, and yokes, especially makes for a more personalized feel that you won’t find in other standard fronts. We’d love to hear how you enjoy socializing and dressing up your barns, thanks to our gorgeous products. In the meantime, we’ll be planning our next party! Won’t you join us?
As horse owners, we always work hard to create the best environments for our horses. That means we think long and hard about every decision that impacts our horses' health and safety. When it comes to the safety, one of the best places to start planning is your barn aisle.
The barn aisle is a great place to start when you want to optimize safety and efficiency in your barn. After all, your barn aisle is the main area for traffic for both horses and humans. In this article, we would like to share 4 simple tips to consider when thinking about your barn's aisle way.
Invest in a Wide Aisle
This first tip is particularly those who are building a new barn or planning construction in the future. A wider aisle will likely increase the cost of the barn building due to materials, but it is invaluable for efficiency, safety, and aesthetics.
It is common to see narrow aisles in older structures, but we always recommend a minimum aisle width of 10'-12' for private equine facilities. This recommendation though is driven by a number of factors. This includes your barn's overall size, the barn's purpose, the types of horses, and other factors. For example, it may make sense to consider a 14' to 16' wide barn if you are operating a commercial facility (i.e. training, boarding, or show venue).
Organize & Minimize
It's easy to add clutter to any barn – whether it's a personal hobby barn or a large training facility. Clutter exists in many forms such as cleaning tools, tack lockers, unhung horse blankets. If you are building a new barn, it pays dividends to invest in a well-planned tack room, laundry room, grooming stall, and appropriate wash bays. This ensures that each barn function has a place.
In addition, we recommend to invest into storage options for your cleaning tools and horse tack. This recommendation applies to existing barns and new barns alike. For example, well-placed blanket bars and bridle hooks are an easy and elegant way to organize tack upon horse stall fronts. Additionally, you may invest in well-made horse tack lockers or potentially even dedicate an extra stall for additional storage.
Invest in Quality Flooring & Drainage
As horse owners, we have all been in barns with slick, slippery floors. The common denominator is often poorly laid concrete or old rubber mats that have lost their grip. Similar to your arena's footing, your horse barn's flooring is crucial to a safe environment for both horses and human handlers.
Your barn's aisle should include flooring that is durable – while offering plenty of grip. Our strong recommendation for barn aisles is either rubber pavers or interlocking rubber mats. We recommend against straight-edge rubber mats as they shift and move. Our rubber pavers and interlocking mats will maintain their shape while offering your barn plenty of traction during wet and dry conditions.
Lastly, drainage is essential to any barn aisle – whether you have concrete floors or additional product such as rubber pavers. Regardless of the flooring, we always recommend clients to place multiple drains along the aisle and any cross aisles. This will ensure that aisle healthy, but also dry and safe.
Add Visibility Through Lighting
Visibility is key in the barn - both during the day and night time. For this reason, we always recommend agriculturally-rated LED lights along your barn's aisle way. Additionally, windows or Dutch Doors are a great way to bring in more light into the horse stalls and aisle from the exterior. Lastly, we always recommend clients to work with a general contractor, builder, or architect who can add skylights to their roofing.
This added sunlight not only improved visibility, but also promotes a healthy and clean environment.
Do you have additional questions on how you potentially optimize your barn? Our team of experts is here to help guide you every step of the way. Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
Throughout the year, it is common for your horse to experience high levels of stress. This stress can be caused by a number of factors including lack of turn out, vigorous training routines, and bad weather. Stress can cause various health issues as well as lead to an unhappy horse.
One way to alleviate stress is to minimize boredom in the horse stall and barn. In this article, we would like to share a number of improvements to consider in the barn to optimize your horse's happiness.
Maximize Turnout
While we manufacturer high-quality horse stalls, we wholeheartedly believe that horses should spend as much time outside as possible. That is why we recommend to turn your horse out as often as possible. This turnout time gives your horse time to relax, freely move around, play, graze, and socialize with other horses. A consistent turnout routine will go a long way in reducing your horse's stress and improving his happiness. more time that your horse can spend in his pasture, the happier that your horse will be.
Expert Tip: For this reason, we always recommend our clients to consider Dutch Doors or Sliding Paddock Doors over Barn Windows. Exterior Stall Doors ensure that your horse can be easily turned out into a pasture or pen.
Add a Yoke Opening to Your Stall Doors
We often see stress and anxiety arise in horses when they spend excessive amounts of time in their horse stalls. We do understand that some facilities or situations require the horses to spend significant amounts of time in their horse stalls.
In any case, we always recommend clients to consider adding a yoke opening to their horse stall doors. This opening will safely house your horse in their stall, but provide them with an opening to stick their head out into the aisle. This is a small detail, but a yoke allows your horse to socialize and see what is going on in the rest of this barn. This small design change can go a long way in improving your horse's stress.
Expert Tip: If you are purchasing new horse stalls, a yoke opening is a simple add to your horse stall doors. If you have existing horse stalls, our stall gates are a great way to add a yoke opening to existing, older horse stalls.
Open Stall Front Design
This suggestion is for those who are building a new barn or renovating an existing barn. If you have the luxury, we always recommend clients to choose horse stall designs that have open look and feel.
For European Stall Fronts, a client already has the advantage that the stall front's top is open already – especially compared to a traditional sliding horse stall. That being said, you can further open your stall up by adding mesh or grilled bars in the bottom. The mesh or bars can be added to either the entire horse stall front or just to the stall door.
For Sliding Horse Stall Fronts, we recommend clients to add a yoke opening (as mentioned above). This opening will let your horses put their heads into the aisle. This additional provides your horses with a more natural, less confined feel. Similar to European Stall Fronts, you can add mesh or grilled bottoms to your Sliding Stall Fronts.
Partitions (Dividers) with Grill Sections
Lastly, we recommend clients to put grill sections (1" round bars) across the top of their horse stall partitions. Similar to the open stall front design, "open" horse stall dividers will allow your horses to have better visibility into the adjacent horse stall. This visibility will do wonders for your horse's comfort in their horse stall.
One way to add another layer of thoughtfulness is to consider adding a privacy section. We very often build Partial Privacy Partitions for clients' barns. In these partitions, the grilled section is about two-thirds of the partition length. The remaining one-third is a wood-filled section. For these partitions, we recommend to position these in the area where your horse will eat. This positioning allows your horse to eat without being disturbed by a horse in a neighboring horse stall. This small change can help your horse maintain a sense of privacy and calm.
These are just a few ways that you can minimize your horse’s stress and boredom in the barn. Do you have any additional questions on how you potentially optimize your barn? Our team of experts is here to help guide you every step of the way. Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
In today's world, there are so many options and floor plans that it can difficult to narrow down your choices. This applies to everything related to building a new horse barn.
When you are looking to build a new barn, the first step is to choose the design. To begin, we recommend to decide between the 2 most population options: center aisle barns and shed row barns.
Both of these barn structures have their own distinct aesthetic – while providing multiple benefits to equestrians. Read on below to learn about the differences and decide which barn structure is best for your purposes.
Center Aisle Barn
A center aisle horse barn is the quintessential American barn design. It is likely that you have seen this very barn structure dominating the country side. This barn features two rows of stalls on either side of an open (centered) aisle. It can be one or two stories high. When you picture a classic American horse barn, the aisle barn is probably what comes to mind.
When considering a center aisle barn, advantages include:
The above advantages do come with their share of disadvantages. Firstly, center aisle barns require more complex designs that often increase prices. Secondly, this constructions requires more careful ventilation compared to a shed row barn. This is because the center aisle barn is built up into multiple stories.
Shed Row Barn
A Shed Row Barn is a barn that includes a row of stalls that open into an open aisleway (also referred to as a "breezeway"). This means that the row of stalls are left exposed to the outside – usually protected by an overhang (also referred to as a "lean-to"). In a shed row barn, you can find just one row of horse stalls or the stalls can also be configured in a back-to-back configuration. In general, a shed row barn tends to be smaller and have a less built-up profile than a center aisle barn.
For the most part, shed-row barns are most commonly found in racing and training stables. These barns are very popular in warm climates.
When considering a shed row barn, advantages include:
While a shed row barn has many advantages, it comes with two primary disadvantages. Firstly, a shed row is open to bad weather and good weather. This means that heavy rain, snow, and wind can make their way into your horse stalls. This also means that extra dirt, dust, leaves, and insects can find their way into your horses' stalls. This can be alleviated with large overhangs, but it is still a consideration point.
Secondly, shed row barns usually include fairly basic floor plans. This leads to barns that do not include luxury amenities such as extra tack rooms, lounges, and wash bays. That being said, one can spruce up a shed row barn's layout by adding an L-layout or U-layout that builds a courtyard. This particular design is prevalent throughout warmer climates from southern United States to Latin America.
The decision between a center aisle barn and shed row barn is ultimately a decision that is particular to your horses, design goals, and project budget. Please feel free to reach out our team if you have any questions. Our team has experience in working with general contractors, builders, and architects across the nation. We can make recommendations based on your location.
Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
We all know that our barn improvements require significant time, energy, and hard earned resources. This applies to anything in the barn, but especially to pricy components such as horse stalls, barn end doors, Dutch doors, and barn windows.
When you are ready for your next barn project, it will be easy to come across many options. In today's marketplace, there are countless designs and finishes. Despite these options, it is best to begin with the basics to build stabling products that are built to last.
This means that one should do the fundamentals right. In this case, what exactly is "fundamental" or the "basics?" It is the raw materials – most commonly metals and lumber.
(We did a separate post for choosing the right lumber here)
In this post, we will cover the following about steel:
To begin, let's cover the basic fundamental difference between black carbon steel and galvanized steel:
Black steel and galvanized steel are the two most common kind of steel tubing. At their core, both black steel tubes and galvanized tubes are made of steel. However, galvanized tubing has a zinc coating while black pipe does not. It is this layer of zinc that makes galvanized steel have higher ability of corrosion (i.e. rust) protection. As a result, galvanized steel is more durable.
PRO TIP: When it comes to your horse stall equipment, your first (easy) decision should be to pick galvanized steel over black carbon steel.
Next up, there are two primary types of galvanized steel to consider when it comes to your horse stalls, barn doors, and barn windows. The two main options in the US market are:
Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel:
Hot dip galvanizing will provide the best protection from rust. This process creates a thick, scratch-resistant and virtually rustproof coating – even in coastal areas that receive regular salt exposure. American Stalls first completely constructs, welds, and cleans our equine equipment. Then, the entire product is submerged into a bath of molten zinc. This zinc bonds to the steel which creates several layers of zinc iron alloy. This creates the easy-identifiable crystallized pattern that covers the surface.
The main advantage to hot-dip galvanized steel is long-term rust protection. The main disadvantages of hot-dip galvanized steel often include higher cost and the inability to powder coat the hot-dip galvanized steel. Lastly, the shiny metallic finish dulls into a chalky grey over time due to oxidization.
Pre-Galvanized Steel
Similar to hot-dip galvanized steel, pre-galvanized steel does also include a zinc protective layer. That being said, pre-galvanized steel does have a thinner layer of zinc compared to the above hot-dip galvanized steel.
This material still provides excellent rust protection on the outside of the steel. In some cases, if there is any "surface rust" or a powder substance from weathering, you can wipe it right off with a rag or cloth. This "surface rust" is caused by the zinc coating protecting your steel. Rest assured, it will not rust like your standard black carbon steel.
PRO TIP: When it comes to deciding between hot-dip galvanized steel (HDG) and pre-galvanized steel, it will come down to 2 factors for most customers. HDG will be pricier than pre-galvanized steel. Secondly, HDG treatment is not friendly to powder coat finishes. For this reason, we recommend pre-galvanized steel to clients who want a powder coat for their horse stalls.
Once you have decided on the galvanization and steel treatment, your next decision will be about the horse stall's finish. Often times, this means the colored paint.
Paint Finishes for Horse Stalls and Barn Doors
The next step to durable, long-lasting horse stalls is your choice in paint finish. Depending on your horse stalls' manufacturer, these are the most commonly found paint finishes:
Your paint finish is a decision that will affect both your horse stall and barn doors' longevity and safety. Powder coasting is superior to all other forms of paint application when it comes to stalls – leading to the smoothest, most uniform finish. Before coating, we ensure that our steel is grind down to ensure a smooth, consistent finish. This coating forms a smooth protective “skin” over the equipment’s steel.
At American Stalls, our guarantee is that your horse stall equipment is safe, elegant, and built to last. That is why all of our barn equipment uses pre-galvanized steel. This steel treatment ensures that your investment is well protected from the rigors of any barn environment. We take pride in the consistent beautiful finishes in our products. Our team will help you choose a finish that is the most appropriate for your needs and geographical environment.
Do you have any additional questions? Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
Your dream barn is often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Any high quality barn requires plenty of time, energy, planning, and resources. That is why it is important to do it right.
Despite our best intentions, we understand that the entire process can be confusing to our prospective clients. After all, a new barn build – or renovation, for that matter – can include so many moving parts. Any barn project can include details such as permits, code requirements, choosing a builder, designing the structure, and then all the components that go inside your horse barn.
This complexity is why our team works hard to be a true partner to our clients. Our team has 16 years of experience in the equine industry. Our sales and design team members are also all horse people themselves. Rest assured, our team is here to guide you with care, attention, and equine experience.
There are so many moving parts when it comes to horse stalls. It is also doesn't help that there are conflicting ideas and designs across the internet.
That is why we have compiled a list of considerations for your horse stalls project. This will apply whether you are building a new barn or renovating an existing barn.
Consideration #1: Your Barn's Layout & Drawings
The first place to start for any horse stall project is to understand the barn's structure and layout. The first two details we consider are your aisle's width and your ceiling's height. A barn's aisle will often help our clients make their first decision between sliding horse stalls and European (hinged) horse stalls. If your aisle is less than 10' wide, we almost always recommend a sliding horse stall. If your aisle is larger than 10', our clients then have the flexibility between the two styles.
(Read more on Sliding Horse Stalls vs Hinged Horse Stalls)
The ceiling pitch and height is often another aspect we consider – especially during new barn construction. If you have the opportunity, we always recommend clients to then consider tall ceilings above 12' in height. This will help promote ventilation in your horse stalls and barn.
Consideration #2: Sliding Horse Stalls vs Hinged Horse Stalls
Once you consider your barn's structure, we recommend our clients to decide between a Sliding Horse Stall design and European (hinged) Horse Stall. This decision will be driven by a barn's function and a client's personal preference.
Consideration #3: The Climate
Are you in South Florida where your climate is harsh with humidity, heat, and salt exposure? Are you located in central Texas where Summers can bring unbearable heat? Are you in upstate New York where Winters are long?
These are all criteria that a client must consider when finalizing the design of their horse stalls. For starters, we always recommend mesh at the bottom of each horse stall door. This applies for cold and warm climates alike. This mesh horse gate will promote clean air ventilation in your barn – but provide other benefits.
Lastly, your climate will also dictate the finish of your product. Our team will always recommend galvanized steel, a zinc primer, and powder coat combination if you are in a coastal, high-salt exposure area. We will also offer these clients with the option of a hot-dip galvanized finish. In contrast, other climates are usually okay with our standard pre-galvanized and powder coat combination.
Consideration #4: Your Horses and Behaviors
Does your project include a private, backyard barn with your own horses? Do your horses get along with each other? Is one particular horse a bit more "extroverted" around another horse? How do you feed your horses?
Do you run a commercial boarding or training barn? Do your clients' horses get along with each other? Will you often have visitors in your barn? Do you want to allow access to visitors? These questions – and other behavioral tendencies – can drive decisions around upgrades such as:
These four considerations are a great place to start your horse stall designs process. These factors will give you a foundation to visualize your barn with your clarity. You can read more on our design process at American Stalls here.
Do you have an upcoming project for your dream horse barn or your equestrian facility? Our team of experts is here to help guide you every step of the way. Please kindly feel free to send us an email at sales@americanstalls.com or a call at (855) 957-8255. Alternatively, you can also complete a Contact Us Form.
As horse owners, we can agree that airflow and ventilation is always top of mind in our barns. That applies to all barns whether they are located in South Florida or in Vermont.
We – horse people – emphasize ventilation because it is essential to a healthy barn. Ample airflow ensures that there high-quality air for our horses and their lung health. This is even more important in foaling barns where new babies need ample access to airflow.
Proper ventilation also helps with overall odor management of a barn. We have all been to a barn which retains a less-than-desired odor. That is often because ammonia and other heavy gasses have settled into the horse stalls. Mindful ventilation helps turn these gasses into visitors in your barn – simply passing in and out of your barn. Lastly, proper ventilation regulates the temperature inside your barn to keep it nice and cool.
In this article, we'd like to share 3 ways to improve ventilation in your barn – whether you are reading this in the Summer or in the middle of Winter. This list will begin with the most simple (and) cost-effective option and end with suggestions that require more planning.
SUGGESTION #1: Install Horse Stall Fans
To begin, we recommend to all clients to install high-quality stall fans to their horse stalls. This applies to all horse barns whether you have a private backyard barn or run a large thoroughbred farm operations.
This is a no brainer, but a high-quality stall fan will:
When shopping for horse stall fans, we recommend against the traditional box fan. Box fans are inexpensive and versatile, but these fans are not approved for use in horse barns by national electric codes. These traditional box fans utilize an "open" motor construction and design. This particular design presents a serious fire hazard for barns. This is why we recommend to purchase a stall fan with a closed motor design.
When we work with our clients, we routinely recommend our PureCOOL 12" Stall Fans. These fans are quiet, include a "closed" motor design, and include a deep-guard design that is safe and effective. They are also available in various sizes including 12", 18", and 24."
SUGGESTION #2: Add Stalls with Mesh Bottoms
Aside from a stall fan, the addition of a mesh bottom is a great option for your stall doors. Although mesh is expensive, it provides invaluable benefits to your barn. We believe that the additional cost is justified both in the immediate and long run. You can read about the benefits of mesh here, but here is a condensed list of its benefits:
For Existing Stalls and Barns – If your existing horse stalls are in good condition, we recommend customers to simply add our Stall Gates. This can be installed right behind your existing sliding horse stall door. This allows our clients to leave their sliding stall door open – while our stall gate's design promotes ventilation and socialization.
For New Stalls and Barn Builds – If you have the luxury of a new barn, we recommend to simply do it right. This means adding a mesh bottom or grilled bottom to your horse stall door's bottom. This will be an upgrade for most horse stalls, but is an upgrade that will ensure happy, healthy horses.
SUGGESTION #3: Add Exterior Barn Doors and Barn Windows
In addition to interior upgrades, exterior components are one of the quickest ways to add ventilation. Exterior products include everything from Dutch Doors to Sliding Paddock Doors to Barn Windows. These components ensure that your barn is ventilated – moving air in an efficient manner. Additionally, these additions can allow your horse to also access fresh air that is present outside.
SUGGESTION #4: Design Your Barn with High Ceilings
Last but not least, we always recommend clients to consider higher ceiling pitches in their barn construction. We make this recommendation whenever we connect with a new barn builder or an architect that does not have equine experience. Although this is the most "difficult" suggestion to implement, high ceilings will ensure that air is pulled and pushed in an efficient manner.
While this article covered 4 suggestions, this is far from a complete list. If you are looking to make improvements to your horse barn, we encourage you to give our team a call or email. One of our design project managers would love to speak with you to see how we can help increase the safety and function of your barn. You can reach our sales and design team at (855) 957-8255.
