EC November/December, 2008

Have you ever been in the supermarket checkout lane and seen all the magazines with beautiful homes and lifestyles? Ever thought about barns and ranches and wish there was a magazine devoted just to showcasing them? How cool would it be to have a subscription to Better Barns and Paddocks, Barn Beautiful, or Tricked Out Truck and Trailer?

When I was a little girl, my first pony had a four-post stall with open sides and a little feed closet just outside the attached paddock. It wasn’t much, but I enjoyed ordering my feed and taking care of my pony’s basic needs as much as I enjoyed showing him. I loved visiting neighbors’ more elaborate barns and seeing how their horses lived.

My fascination with barns never ended and as an adult the smell (when they’re relatively clean), sounds, and general atmosphere are things I still find interesting and enjoy. My family is the same way and most horse lovers I know appreciate a beautiful, well-kept barn. After all, it’s no small feat and sometimes takes an army to run a ranch. Horses are tough tenants and the pests, such as bugs and rodents, that follow them can cause a myriad of problems.

Whether a barn is small or a large, high-tech breeding facility, they all have a certain charm or personality. At the end of the day, when the horses are fed, stalls are cleaned, and aisleways are swept, is there anyplace more peaceful than a barn? The gadgets like state-of-the-art wash racks, to the big necessary toys like tractors and trucks add to the lure and fun of a horse-based life.

People fortunate enough to house their own horses have both a big responsibility and advantage. While keeping horses at home has its allure, it’s a 24 hour, seven day a week job and someone is always on call. Trees fall, fences break often and the work piles up at a stable. Doesn’t a water pipe always seem to burst at midnight, making it impossible to stop a flood? Finding reliable, experienced people to take care of a farm is challenging as well. Ken and Marilyn Masterson of Somerville, Tennessee own a large facility, Masterson Farms, and running it, they say, takes a full crew.

MASTERSON FARMS

“We have several barns on our 350 acres, but our show barn is primarily Kentucky-style. It is made of block, has cobblestone flooring, a cupola, and a beautiful chandelier,” explains Ma-rilyn. There are 16 stalls in the main show barn, two wash racks, a tack room, feed room, a veterinary and farrier area, a kitchen, and an indoor arena. A business office and visitor area overlooks the indoor arena and is connected to the show barn by a breezeway. Behind the indoor arena there is a round pen along with 16 more stalls. The designing of the facility was done as a group effort.

“We have people working seven days a week, eight hours a day in order to keep the place looking nice. Because we have a fairly new facility and keep it very clean, we do not really have a problem with pests. We do, however, have a fly system and exterminator service to help prevent these problems.” To keep little jobs from turning into big ones, the Masterson’s have a full-time maintenance employee who fixes, repairs and prevents problems to equipment, fences and buildings.

For anyone looking to build a barn, Ken and Marilyn would recommend using block. They spent a lot of time designing their barn and wouldn’t change a thing. “It’s perfect,” adds Marilyn.

The couple own several trailers, a 2006 four horse Four Star, and 1995 six horse Four Star, but their favorite is a 2008 eight horse Dream Coach. All of their trailers have hay pods and their logo on the back with matching stripes down each side. Again, they designed the trailers themselves and before and after a show each truck and trailer is washed and maintained. “We have our 2002 White Peterbilt and our 2006 GMC Dually for pulling, and we enjoy hauling our horses to shows.”

COPPER FOX STABLES

Copper Fox Stables in Oxford, Ohio is home to Jack and Susan Grove. They have four barns. A 96 x 34 with ten stalls, one 108 x 34 with fifteen stalls, thirteen stalls measuring 84 x 30, and a 78 x 36 with six stalls. They are all pole barns of wood construction with T-111 wood siding stained gray to match the couple’s home. The roofs are all shingled and all their barns have concrete aisles, a separate feed room and varnished wood stalls. Three of the barns have Nelson automatic waterers with heaters. Two of the barns have a wash area with stocks. “Our barns were designed to be very functional and we love working out of the new heated show barn,” says Susan.

Other buildings include two storage barns, a round pen, an indoor arena and shelters in three of the fields. Within these barns there are some larger stalls, four 12×18 and two 12×24 for foaling with a camera for observation from the house. The fourth barn listed is for the show horses and foaling in cold weather. This barn is heated and also includes an office. “We have designed all the barns ourselves and they are arranged in a campus setting on our 115 acre farm,” says Susan.

Stalls are cleaned six days a week and aisles are swept daily. “We have three part-time employees to help with the stall cleaning and feeding, along with all the hours we spend,” adds Susan.

To keep control of mice, the Grove’s use cats and glue traps under the feed pallets where the cats can’t get to the rodents. Two of the barns have Pyranha fly systems for the horses that spend more time indoors, but regular stall cleaning helps to control flies. Birds are a problem as well. Cats and constantly knocking down nests seems to help, says Susan.

At Copper Fox, repairs are made as needed such as restaining the barns. Some of this depends on weather conditions. “We have found that plywood for the roof is far superior to OSB. We are replacing a roof this fall on a 20 year-old barn,” says Jack.

The Grove’s have a Sidekick, three horse, 16 ft. living quarters trailer and a two horse, warmblood size Four Star trailer. They did not design their trailers, but found ones they really liked. One feature that is very important to them are insulated ceilings for the horses. They help to keep them warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. They make sure their trailer is cleaned after each use and keep the tires and wheels in good condition.

“We pull our trailers with a one ton Chevy Duramax Diesel. The Allison transmission is a great feature of the truck. We also have a Suburban that can pull the two horse trailer for a spare rig,” says Jack. “We do enjoy hauling and going to shows! One year we travelled 28,000 miles with a mare!” adds Susan.

SMITH RANCH

Dewey Smith built his barn in Dewey, Oklahoma with the help of his father-in-law and designed it from the ground up. It’s an H style, cinder block, 20 stall barn on 57 acres. In addition to the show barn, there’s a breeding barn, indoor arena and mare barn. The facility includes several outdoor pens for mares and babies along with individual stallion runs.

Dewey and his wife, Tammi, dubbed their farm the Smith Ranch. “We are really lucky in the fact that my wife’s maiden name was Smith. My mother and father-in-law live on the property also and Smith Ranch covers both family’s names.” The Smith’s wouldn’t change a thing about their spread saying, “It has taken us three years to build it because not one detail has been spared and it is just the way that we had in mind and as maintenance-free as possible.”

Smith Ranch employs three full-time employees that work at the barn only, mainly cleaning stalls and doing yard maintenance. “We have the company Antelope Creek Fly Control come and service the barn area once per month to keep pests under control,” adds Dewey. “So far the only major expense has been the building of the barn and there has been no upkeep because everything is new. Like I said above, we have tried really hard to make things where they are maintenance free.” Smith’s tips for building a strong, beautiful barn? “Patience, and determination.”

The Smith’s have had good luck with the walls which are constructed of cinder blocks and the aisles being totally matted. These materials have made maintenance easy and uncomplicated. One of the things that the horses seem to really like is the oversized windows that can be opened in the summer. There are 3 foot by 6 foot windows in the back of every stall and some stalls have two. The horses seem to love to stand at them and see what is going on outside.

Dewey and Tammi’s favorite things about Smith Ranch are numerous. “We really love all the special things as we mentioned. One thing that my wife loves about it is our office and viewing area.”

Dewey pulls only Sundowner trailers and owns two. They consist of a six horse with a dressing area and mid-tack, and his father-in-law’s four horse living quarters. “We are very lucky in the fact that if we are taking four or less horses we get to pull the living quarters and stay in that. I was really skeptical about the living quarters but all I can say is try it and you’ll love it. We got to design both trailers.” Smith is strict about their upkeep as well and makes sure both his truck and trailer are washed and waxed before they leave the ranch every time.

“We pull with International 5500 series trucks by Western Hauler.” Dewey’s color of choice? “White…is there any other color to get?” he laughs. The Smith’s prefer the Internationals citing the power they provide to accelerate and stop with today’s large trailers. “We have to be able to pull and know we can stop if we get in a jam. We love to haul and I always say we aren’t just horse trainers, we are 60% horse trainer and 40% truck driver.”

Dewey is grateful to Western Hauler, Sundowner, his staff at the farm, and Mike Smith (father-in-law). “It’s all of you that have made the things above possible and so great.”

TUDOR FARMS

Have you heard someone say, “The bigger you build your barn, the more horses you buy?” That statement certainly applies to me. We closed on our barn, Tudor Farm in Southwest Ranches, Florida the day after our first child was born in 1996. The main barn is a tudor style 16 stall barn with two wash racks, two tack rooms, and a loft that runs overhead where we keep the hay and grain. We don’t live on the five acre property, but my husband Paul is there daily.

In addition to the main barn, we’ve added a seven stall wood barn with a tack room and a nine stall barn with a tack and feed room. There is a small house on the property we rent to our hay dealer. We have a lighted ring and six paddocks fenced in pvc. Pvc pops out easy, and needs to be pressure cleaned to eliminate mildew, but we find the horses are injured less.

We started with one horse and he grew into ten. We rent out the rest of the stalls. We have a full-time employee who does everything from clip horses to plumbing. He is essential to the farm’s operation and like family.

In Florida we have to replace the wood periodically, paint, and stain the stalls yearly due to the heat and rain. Rats are always an issue and at times they get so comfortable, I swear they wave from the rafters. The worst is when one jumps out of your boot. We also have a collection of animals from bunnies to a snake or two and everyone enjoys the added pets.

Sometimes owning a barn is a headache. It’s hard when a horse is injured while we’re at a show or the pump blows on a Sunday. For the most part, it’s been a great investment and we’ve thrown many birthday parties there that were huge successes. The entire family has benefitted from having our own barn and although it tends to take over your life, we wouldn’t change a thing. One day when the kids are gone, we hope to live on the property with our horses and be more hands-on with their care. As horse lovers, we love all things horsey, especially barns, and incorporating them more into our daily life would be ideal.

When we drive by an old barn we can’t help but wonder about the people who crafted it and the animals who called it home. Today’s modern barns have come a long way from their wooden ancestors and there’s a whole world of new accessories and products that make them both beautiful and highly functional. They are indeed works of art and fitting homes for the horses they are created for. “Barn Beautiful” or “The Chronicle of the Barn,” may not be a reality yet, but it sounds intriguing.

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