Equestrian

A place for your horse is not the same as a place for storing firewood…

…though, unconfirmed reports indicate that happy firewood makes cozier fires. While we at Delmarva Buildings are big fans of cozy fires on cool nights, we’re even bigger on helping you to find the ideal solution for your equestrian facilities.

We understand the multitude of variables including personal preference, budget, materials, uses, size and the specific site of an equestrian facility. We can either start from scratch or enhance the beauty and functionality of your original ideas. The goal in all of this is to arrive at a horse barn that provides an optimal balance between humans’ priorities and horses’ needs.

A Delmarva Buildings Equestrian Building can be customized to include room for your future stalls, a washing and grooming area, a tack room, feed room, storage, living space and more while staying within your budget. Equestrian buildings can be quite comprehensive when it comes to the amount of planning involved. Our team has extensive experience with the design and construction process.

If you are ready to have a conversation about your new horse barn, here is a good place to start…

• If you want a horse barn to be totally functional, the best thing to start with is…counting the horses! How many horses do you have, and how many do you plan to have in your building? This gives you a starting point for the number of stalls you will need.
• Next add on stalls for a tack room, feed room and possibly a wash or grooming stall.
• Hay storage may be most economically done by having it readily available in a stall on the main floor.
  
• Loft areas can often be used for hay and other storage, but as they say, what goes up must come down, so putting the hay up…and then down again can be a lot of work.
  
• Hay storage up above in your barn building comes at a premium, requiring a much taller eave height then if kept to a single level, with a few more stalls at the end for storage.
  
• Whether you’re the plain and practical type or the stylish, customized type, or you’re somewhere in between, you can count on Delmarva Buildings to meet your specifications and plan according to your budget.
• Horse barns can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it. The only limits are the size of your property, your budget and of course your imagination! Just because you will use this accessory building as a horse barn, doesn’t mean it has to lack design and creativity.

Riding Arenas

We can help you build the perfect horse arena or run-in shelter for any size of equine facility you may require. We will accommodate your needs with an attractive and practical structure that will stand up to the elements for years to come while ensuring the comfort and safety of your horses. Custom framing, flooring, doors, horse stalls, waterers and feeders, open riding space for year-round training are all factors in your arena construction. We are happy to accommodate your vision!

Typical sizes of riding arenas range greatly. A typical minimum width is 60′ and range to 80′ for a wood-framed structure. Spans greater than 80′ are possible, but costs rise significantly and at those widths, a steel building may be more economical. Typical lengths could start at 60′, but usually start at twice the width.

Height of the riding arena is measured from the footing to the underside of the truss and Delmarva Buildings recommends at least a 14′ height, with 16′ as the most popular height- with a relatively small additional cost. The 16′ height allows for 6′ of wall lite starting 8′ above the footing. This prevents horses spooking if they were to see outside with lower wall lite.

Interior Options

The shell of the riding arena is very simple and economical and price will not vary greatly between contractors. Once the shell is complete there are a few options available to dress up the building:

• Kickboards – can be as simple as 3/4″ plywood up to Tongue and Groove Ash.
  Double Bubble insulation under the roof steel will stop condensation and “rain” inside the riding arena.
• Venting Track Doors – these can be standard “sliders” or garage doors or even clear polycarbonate garage doors to maximize natural light.
• Doors can be sliders, dutch doors or garage doors. We recommend that doors larger than 8′ wide be located on a gable wall to reduce cost.
• Interior walls and ceilings can also be finished.
• There are many different options for lighting from standard fluorescent type fixtures to metal halide. Each lighting option has drawbacks and benefits.
• Stalls – Free Standing, Face Mounted, Flush Mounted; Free Standing or Set in Concrete.
  Round Pens
• Standard Free Standing with Vented Sides
• Vented Dividers
• Kick Proof Dutch Door
• Swivel Feeders
• Water Bucket Doors
• Blanket Bars
• Yoke Door Grille
• Feed Opening Grill
• Feed Doors
• Shutter Doors
• Half Grille Divider Wall
• Dutch Door Solid Window
• Sliding Dutch Door Window
• Swinging Grill Window Insert
• Arched Window Grille
• Dutch Barn Door with Dutch Pattern
• Powdered Coated Barn Doors