Are you building a horse barn or adding onto yours? The flooring of your barn is a main consideration; choose materials that would keep the floor dry but will still be durable. Also, it needs to provide good traction yet be easy to clean. Although more expensive than other materials, roughened concrete fits these criteria better than most other materials. It is important to have drains on the sides of the aisles to make cleaning easier. It is really important to have a concrete floor in the feed room and make it possible for that room to be completely sealed in order to keep rodents and other varmints out of the feed. A wash area is important and the flooring there should also be concrete.

However, the one thing many barns do not have that could be added easily in the wash area is a horse stock. Stocks are inexpensive to build, can be placed in the concrete, and can prevent the horse from moving when being examined. From a veterinarian’s point of view, this makes doing many procedures on horses much easier and will also make follow up care easier and safer for you and your horse. Also, it is really important to put a solid rubber mat under the stock. This allows better footing and is more comfortable for the horse while in the stock. Be sure and place electrical outlets in the wash area as well as plenty of water faucets. All of these items are much easier and less expensive installed initially rather than added later. A stock with water and electricity will allow your veterinarian to perform some procedures at your farm that otherwise might not be possible.