Horse Farm Design: An Agricultural Engineering Approach

Horse Farm Design
We address topics that are often not carefully considered in initial horse stable design. Those topics include
Ventilation Horse Stable Ventilation
Manure management Horse Stable Manure Management
Safety via fire protection Fire Safety in Horse Stables
We provide technical recommendations for facility features such as
Stall dimensions Horse Stall Design
Flooring materials and drainage Horse Stable Flooring Materials and Drainage
Fence planning Fence Planning for Horses
Riding arena footing materials Riding Arena Footing Material Selection and Management

This information is very useful to equine enthusiasts who are planning barn construction or redesign of agriculture buildings An emphasis is put on providing good air quality in the indoor environment good stewardship of the outdoor environment and layout for management efficiency.
General Information on Facilities
Horse Stable and Riding Arena Design
Eileen Fabian Wheeler
2006. hardcover 308 pages
Published by WileyBlackwell
Horse Facilities Handbook MWPS60
Eileen Wheeler Bill Koenig Jay Harmon Pat Murphy David Freeman
2005. paperback. 248 pages.
Available from MidWest Plan Service MWPS
Recommended Publications for Horse Farm Design and Construction
Eileen Fabian Wheeler
2018 PDF document
Additional information on Riding Arena Surfaces
AllWeather Surfaces for Horses
Ray Lodge and Susan Shanks
2005. hardcover 96 pages.
Published by J. A. Allen
Equine Arena Handbook An InDepth Guide to Arenas and Running Surfaces
Robert Malmgren
2010. paperback approx. 126 pages.
Published by Alpine Publications
Under Foot The USDF Guide to Dressage Arena Construction Maintenance and Repair
U S. Dressage Federation USDF
2015. paperback approx. 68 pages.
Available from the U S. Dressage Federation store
Additional Information on Horse Stables
Complete Plans for Building Horse Barns Big and Small
Nancy Ambrosiano and Mary Harcourt
2006. paperback approx. 261 pages
Published by Breakthrough Publications
Design Handbook for Stables and Equestrian Buildings
Keith Warth
2014. paperback approx. 152 pages
Published by J. A. Allen
Healthy Stables by Design
John Blackburn with Beth Herman
2013. hardcover approx. 183 pages
Published by Images Publishing
Horse Housing How to Plan Build and Remodel Barns and Sheds
Richard Klimesh and Cherry Hill
2013. paperback. approx. 216 pages
Published by Trafalgar Square books reprint
Horsekeeping on Small Acreage
Cherry Hill
2005 paperback approx. 308 pages
Published

by Storey Publishing
The Perfect Stall
Karen E. N. Hayes
2003 paperback 144 pages
Published by Ironhorse Publishing LLC
Roofs and Rails
Gavin Ehringer
2002 paperback 143 pages
Published by Western Horseman Inc.
Stablekeeping A Visual Guide to Safe and Healthy Horsekeeping
Cherry Hill
2012 paperback approx. 160 pages
Published by Storey Publishing
Stables and Other Equestrian Buildings
Keith Ward
1997 hardcover approx. 102 pages
Published by J. A. Allen
Other Sources
Some titles list specific sources. Otherwise local bookstores can special order titles for you. Also try these online booksellers
Alibris an independent seller source for books
Amazon
Barnes Noble Booksellers
Breakthrough Publications specializing in books on horses
Horse Stable Engineering
Horses are housed in stables for many reasons but they seem to fall into three general categories that include human convenience providing a less severe environment than experienced outdoors and tradition. The first two reasons are related to providing an environment where the handler is comfortable working and the horses are efficiently cared for. The environment and management of the stable is designed to be an improvement over outdoor conditions or the horse will be disadvantaged by being in a stable. The third reason tradition has received little discussion. Keep in mind that the horse is most often more healthy both physically and mentally by outdoor living.
Horses have traditionally been kept in stables. Horses as the precursors to cars or trucks or more appropriately SUVs were kept in a stable behind the homebusiness like our cars. In this tradition horses were used allday virtually everyday and stored for the night in a stable until they were needed tomorrow. Compare to the current Amish expectation where horses are consistently expected to drive dozen of miles each day and auction horses change hands with the ability to drive 20miles each way to a work site. Now we use our cars everyday to move dozens of miles and use most of our horses for recreation with