8 Top-Pick Accessories for Your Barn
This year we moved back home before and the 'new' barn was completed. I'm glad that we did, because between working at the office and the two hour drive 'to and from' the old farm was wearing! I wanted to be close to those equine friends of mine and we did at least have the new fencing done. The 'new' barn is one of the original farm buildings on our 30 acre RAMM property (just across from Oak Openings Metro Park with over 20 miles of riding trails)!
But in the rush of the move, some of the accessories that I was accustomed to weren't in the 'new' barn.
Things were a 'little rough' to put it nicely ( it's not at all like Green Acres, but at first, I wondered)! You may be able to relate...you knew where everything was stored...shovels, pickers, tractor, etc. Now I was looking for all of my beloved tools, finding them one by one! It was actually an exciting thing when I located them, if that tells you anything about what I was going through! With tools in hand, I was able to clean stalls and use a wheel barrow to haul everything quite a distance to the edge of our woods; wonderful!
Next came the challenge of watering.
The water had to be switched 'on' in another building (that seemed like miles away), however, when the water was on, it created a puddle -or should I say, a mini pool of water where the hose was connected. So I worked fast. I made sure that the buckets were clean and ready to be filled - from stall to stall as fast as I could go, I got buckets filled- only to run back to the building across from the barn (miles away) and turn off the water! Shew! That was done..sweep the water off of the aisle...now to get the hay! That was in the back of the building where the water had to be turned on, so I would take the hay cart, open the over head doors (I say doors because I had to go through 2 doors), and then take the hay to the barn, closing the 2 doors behind me! I felt like I had conquered a great accomplishment-a sense of pride, the hard parts were done...until later in the day, when I would start the whole process over again for the evening feeding!
Well, needless to say, one month later things are getting better and over time accessories will be added (you know how a plumber never fixes his own sink? Well, our will customers always come first, before we get to our own barn!) I do truly miss some of the barn accessories that made the chores go much faster as well as help in the care of my horses. I would like to share with you, what some of the most useful of these accessories are!
TOP Pick 1 -Automatic Heated Waterers are a blessing if you are tired of working with hoses in the summer and ice in the winter!
I am making sure that the horses buckets and water troughs are filled frequently, (in this hot 90 degree weather), throughout the day. With Auto Stall Waterers, you can be assured that the water is fresh and replenished on demand. They are easy to clean, and provide your horse with the water that they need all of the time. If you are not home during the day because of a job or just our demanding life styles, the waterers will be sure to take care of your horses. In the winter you don't have to chip ice because the automatic heater turns on at 42 degrees and off at 52 degrees. The ASWH-11 mounts on the wall and has a removable drain plug for easy cleaning. By following mfg. installation instructions according to frost depths in your area, once installed, a simple daily check will let you know everything is working in good order.
Top Pick 2 - Outside waterers eliminate the chore of filling a large trough and emptying a large trough, when you clean it daily- especially on hot days.
Once again, you may be able to relate to this. Water troughs are heavy and bucketing out water is not one of my favorite things to do! When the outdoor waterers (WPHI-37) are placed on a level surface and installed properly, maintenance is simply to clean the bowl every few days. *One good tip to think about is that we had a shut off for each individual stall waterer in the barn. That way if anything happened in the water line or in one stall, you could shut off that waterer and all the other stalls would still have water. It proved to be a huge benefit!
Top Pick 3 - V- Stall doors or gossip doors!
Another gold star for this horse stall accessory!! I think my horses would not know what to do without their beloved V-doors! I have used these for years, with my horses, with incoming clinic horses, for visiting horses and have not had any problems with them. Actually, quite the opposite - the horses love to look out and see what is going on. When its nap-time in the barn, everyone turns their heads to the back corners of the stalls to rest...or lay down (which leads me right to ThuroBed mattress systems...)
Top Pick 4 - I am currently using stall mats in our stalls and I’m grateful for them!
If I had the choice, however, over mats or our ThuroBed mattress system..I would go with the mattress system! We literally had 'nap-time' in the barn every day around 10:30 ..you could just hear breathing.. and all horses would be laying down. We had two warmbloods in our barn for about a year and the owner literally said that they were never so relaxed or schooled so well the next day as when they were in the stalls with the mattress systems. I have witnessed it myself, and have seen the attitude change with horses that truly get their rest. They are also great for any older horse or large horses that are schooled regularly!
Top Pick 5 - In our new barn we are using the pail safe bucket holders ( PSB-1) and in some stalls, our bucket holders (BH5-5).
If you are going to use buckets in your stalls, (I know some horse owners want to see exactly how much water their horse drink), I have to say, these accessories are the way to go! The buckets will stay on the wall with a pail safe bucket holder
Top Pick 6 - If you want to be sure that buckets are not pushed from side to side, I would suggest the bucket holder.
To go one step further, you can use a bucket door (SBHD (B,G)-26) with the holder. All you have to do is open the door, take out your bucket, clean it and put it back in the holder. Fill up your bucket and close the door. This is especially nice for barn helpers that are not necessarily accustomed to your horses or if you want to keep stall doors shut during feeding. I have used them my self and can tell you that its another efficient time saver!
Top Pick 7 - In my new barn, I realized that I did not have a place to put my saddle when I was ready to saddle up!
Ramm collapsible saddle racks (SADRACK) in your aisle are wonderful. Weather you saddle in your stall or in the aisle in cross ties, having all of your tack handy is a big help. It also is much better for your saddle than on end on the floor! Once your horse is saddled, just let the rack down so that their is no chance of you or your horse running into it!
Top Pick 8 - Blanket Bars
Oh, how I love them. They are good for your summer sheets, fly sheets, saddle pads, girths, winter rugs...I can go on and on. It's so much easier to have each horses blankets right with them. It takes too much time to go through even a few blankets or sheets trying to figure out which one goes to who! If you don't like the look of blankets on each stall door, you can easily put blanket bars up on a wall of your tack room or storage room allowing, once again, for easier use! (BB)
Well, I feel like I have done enough dreaming about what we are going to do with our barn before the cold winds of fall arrive! I hope that I have given you some ideas to help you in your barn as well. Later in the season, as we get the new barn 'accessorized' I will be filling you in on all that we do and have more great pictures of the new barn! If you have any questions for our family or co-workers about your barn or fence, please feel free to email us, personally!
Debbie has over 45 years experience with horses and equine-related businesses. She has owned, trained, boarded horses and run stables at various times in her career. She is a certified fence installer, has given balanced riding lessons, and has shown horses in Western, Western Pleasure, Trail, English, Hunter/Jumper, Fox Hunting, Hunter Trials, Dressage and driving classes. Debbie has been involved in foaling, and just about every aspect of horse ownership possible, and she welcomes your questions and comments. If you are interested in using any articles by Debbie, please send her an email.