There are many potential problems when building a horse barn or converting another kind of structure into a horse barn. It is far better and much cheaper to do a lot of thinking, information gathering and planning before you spend a dollar. You can't expect the barn builder to have the answers to all of the issues outlined below. The property owner is ultimately responsible, so it is prudent to do the research. Here, then, is a sampling of what to look into.

Check local county and /or city ordinances. Some jurisdictions do not allow livestock within their jurisdictions, and horses are classified as livestock. In that case, you may be able to build the barn, but you won't be able to keep horses on the property.

Check the ordinances for setback requirements. A setback is the distance a structure must be from the property boundary. In some counties there are also special setback requirements for animal housing structures. For example, the general setback requirement may be 50 feet for any building from the property line but 100 feet from the property line if animals will be housed in the structure. Setbacks may preclude placing a barn where you want it, particularly on small or narrow properties.

Check the zoning of the property. Is the property in a zoning classification that permits horses? Do not assume that if the zoning classification does not preclude horses that you can automatically have horses on the property. Check with a local county or city zoning official for clarification.

Look at your deed, land plat and list of covenants. Check for restrictions on the things you cannot do and easements that permit others to cross or otherwise use your land. You cannot build a structure or in any way use the land in a manner that prevents an easement holder from doing what the easement says he or she can do. Power lines, water and sewer lines, vehicle right-of-way, and alternate septic drain fields may not be on your land yet, but an easement holder could decide to put them there.

What about the neighboring property? Some people, particularly those from urban backgrounds, see horses as large, dangerous animals that will bite and kick. Furthermore, they may object to the smells, dust and mud that often accompanies horses or any large livestock. Work out what you may have to do to keep your neighbors happy or at least tolerant of what you want to do.

Once you have become comfortable that you have resolved any issues, plan where you want to build the barn. Too often the barn is placed where the builder has the easiest place to work, yet how the structure will serve horse owners' or boarders' needs is not taken into consideration. Drainage is a key issue. You may also want to make sure you stay out of the harsh winter winds or place the barn where it would best compliment your house. However, if the place under consideration is in a low spot or the shape of the property channels rain water or melting snow through or around the barn site, mud will most likely become a big problem. And mud in the winter usually leads to dust in the summer.

It does not matter what the barn is made of; however, attributes of the structure are very important. First and foremost, focus on good ventilation without drafts. A well-ventilated barn is a healthy barn. Horses sometimes spend long periods of time in their stalls, and bad air is very harmful. Dutch doors, windows, and roof ridge vents-all contribute to good ventilation. A barn that is as airtight as your house will not be a healthy environment for horses. There is too much dust, moisture, and hay chaff when horses are involved.

Most horse owners and riders have full-time jobs. Therefore, during the winter season, they'll most likely be riding and caring for their horses in the dark. Many new barns and older converted structures have inadequate lighting. Good lighting begins as you walk up to the barn. An outside light at the barn door controlled by a motion sensor is convenient and enhances safety.

Once inside, many barns need more light down the aisles and in each stall. Aside from preventing you from tripping and falling, good lighting is essential when you're checking a horse’s condition. The item you are interested in will be in a shadow more often than not, and you may miss something important as a result. Fluorescent lights are better than incandescent. Be sure to have 0-degree or -20-degree ballasts so that the fluorescent lights will come on in the wintertime.

Older barns, including converted cattle barns, often have uneven floors in the aisle and individual stalls. These uneven floors are a major safety hazard. The unevenness is most often caused by horses that paw, humans who scoop out flooring material when cleaning the barn, or the natural settling of the ground after construction. No matter the cause, the condition needs to be fixed by installing rubber mats to prevent reoccurrence. Rubber mats are a must for concrete or asphalt floors.
A pony can live in a 12' by 12' stall. A draft cross will have trouble in an 8' by 8'. Too often, converted cattle barns have small stalls. A horse that is cast in a small stall is a serious problem for both the horse and humans. Likewise, narrow aisles are risky particularly if there are wheelbarrows or other tools in the aisle. A 12-foot wide aisle should be the minimum for safety. Thankfully, 12' by 12' stalls are becoming the norm. Unfortunately many wide aisle barns have the working width of the aisle reduced by tack trunks, saddle racks, the aforementioned wheelbarrow and similar items. If you must store items in the aisle, build a wider aisle, say 14 or 16 feet wide.

Vertical clearance, not usually taken into consideration when designing and building a barn, can be a real problem when converting a cattle barn or other structure to a horse barn. An injury to a horse's forehead, temple or poll that splits the skin is a serious veterinary issue. As a rule, 10-12 feet high is the minimum clearance for horse safety. This means that rafters, lights, fans etc., must be at least 10 feet above the floor. Be sure to check the vertical height when ordering pre-built barns and structures to be sure there is adequate clearance for horses.

In terms of horse and human safety, it is far less costly to prevent injuries than it is to pay medical and veterinarian bills later. Sharp edges, protruding metal latches and nail heads, splintered stall wall boards, stall doors that do not open fully, unprotected glass windows, etc, are all highly hazardous. Remember a version of Murphy’s Law: if a horse can get hurt on it, he will get hurt on it.
Housekeeping (or barn keeping, if you will) needs to be considered when designing or modifying a structure for horses. Include in your plans a place that is convenient yet out of the way for storing wheelbarrows, carts, shovels, manure forks, brooms, etc. Thus, these items will be handy when doing chores. If wheelbarrows and manure forks are not handy, the barn doesn’t get cleaned as often as it should. Again, it is far better to keep the barn clean on a daily basis than waiting until the need becomes overwhelming. In addition, if there is no place to put the cleaning tools, they often wind up in the aisle and become just more items in the big pile of clutter.

If you are converting a cattle barn or some other kind of structure to a horse barn, be sure to check early on to see if the main structural components are sound and free of rot. Interior, non-load bearing walls and exterior siding are secondary compared to the posts, beams, rafters, joists, and/or poles in a pole barn. You don’t want to get well into a renovation or conversion and discover that a key or essential structural member is unsound at best or unsafe at worst. Fixing or replacing these heavy framing components can be expensive and may preclude the value in converting the structure to a horse barn. It may be better to demolish and rebuild.

Roofs, believe it or not, are not as critical to our barns as they are to our houses. As long as the rafters are sound, the actual roofing material can be salvaged even if there are small pinholes or rust in a metal roof or cracks in asphalt shingle roofs. There are a variety of paints that contain fibers and other compounds that patch, plug or otherwise extend the life of the roofing material.
The key, however, is the condition of the rafters--they must be absolutely sound. The fix is easy, but unfortunately, people just don’t get around to it.
Building a horse barn or converting a structure to a horse barn is really not so complex and difficult that you should not attempt it. On the contrary, the way to get what you want is to plan and build what you want. Seek the advice from horse people who have done it, the advice of barn builders of good repute, and the help available from your county agricultural extension agent. There is a bountiful amount of barn building data at Virginia Tech and other universities that the county extension agent can help you research.

The most often overlooked aspects of barn building projects are organizing and information gathering. This frequently results in discovering mid-project that there is something that you need to know but don't in order to make a critical decision. In these instances production slows or stops until you reach a decision. Or worse, you're pressured to make a decision much quicker than you'd like to and it turns out to be a bad one that you have to live with for years.
So, seek information, enjoy the process and wind up with just what you want. It is possible. It’s all up to you.