Barns built to house livestock, hay and grain, have been a necessity across the world for centuries and over time their uses have become more and more specialized.
A horse barn with room for storage
An experienced modular horse barn building company can construct all three boxes to your custom design and build the barn in their factory.
© 2014 by William Garrett
In the later 1890’s the development of a new roof system, the monitor roof, provided farmers with much needed additional ventilation to help negate the negative impact of bacteria on grains and crops and improved the health of their livestock during long winter months where access to fresh air was hindered by poor weather. The monitor roof design increased both natural light and improved air circulation.
Think of a monitor barn as three separate boxes, one on each side of an aisle and a third above that creates a roof. The boxes on each side are perfect for housing livestock in stalls such as horses, or housing cattle for milking.
The raised center roof enables air to be drawn in from open doors on both ends of the aisleway on the lower floor and rise above, where windows on each side of the top tier dissipate the heat while allowing bacteria killing natural light and fresh air to enter the building. Essentially, a shaft system that moved air from the ground up into the rafters and out through the sides.
A loft or floor could be added to the second story above the aisle to store grain and hay, and openings in the gable ends could move air through the loft space. Often hatches in the loft floor provided chutes to feed the livestock below with grain from the threshed crops stored above, and hay could be dropped into the stalls below for dry feeding of horses.
This design was popular into the 1920’s where monitor barns were very popular in New England. A great example is the monitor barn ‘West Monitor’ in Richman, VT.
Today, the process of building a monitor barn is as simple as 1,2,3 as the construction lends itself well to modular building and is a quick and easy set up. The 3 boxes, two for stalls on each side are set a distance apart, and the third box is simply added on top, without a loft floor.
An experienced modular horse barn building company can construct all three boxes to your custom design and build in their factory where weather delays are never an issue. A good modular building company will give you engineer approved plans for permits and ensure the build meets or exceeds your local snow and wind load requirements.
Stalls, aisles and loft space can be sized for your particular needs, sided and roofed with traditional wood or more modern products such as LP Smartside (which is great as it is almost maintenance free), and the stalls pre-finished with oak kickboards, stall doors and windows, and a tack room and feed room.
The 3-box structure of a monitor barn means transportation is straightforward, and set up requires a small crane to lift box 3 into place on top, where it is then secured for a water tight finish.
The simplicity of the monitor design has meant it has maintained its popularity, as it is affordable. The cleverness of the design means not only great ventilation for the health of your horse if there is no loft floor added, yet also offers storage above in a full or partial loft space for hay and provisions if that is required.
When sourcing a modular monitor barn builder be certain to work with an experienced and professional manufacturing team that hopefully are also horse owners, that will deliver a great product with excellent craftsmanship to ensure longevity and offer you added value such as financing opportunity, prompt delivery timelines and lots of customization options.
If you currently board your horse think of that payment as money you could be putting into your own property and into your own barn, and consider the option of keeping your horses at home. It is surprising how quickly you can have a barn right in your back yard and ready to use, even the same day it is delivered!
By Nikki Alvin-Smith
This article is brought to you courtesy of Horizon Structures Inc., Atglen PA – Modular horse barn and indoor riding arena specialists. Horizon Structures also offers both residential and commercial kennels, coops, multi-use structures and playsets. Please visit https://www.HorizonStructures.com to learn more.
About Horizon Structures: One horse or twenty, there's one thing all horse owners have in common...the need to provide safe and secure shelter for their equine partners. At Horizon Structures, we combine expert craftsmanship, top-of-the-line materials and smart "horse-friendly" design to create a full line of sheds and barns that any horse owner can feel confident is the right choice for their horses' stabling needs.
All wood. Amish Made. Most of our buildings are shipped 100% pre-built and ready for same-day use. Larger barns are a modular construction and can be ready for your horses in less than a week. All our barn packages include everything you need -
Horizon Structures also sells indoor riding arenas, chicken coops, dog kennels, 1 and 2 car garages, storage sheds and outdoor living structures.
Headquartered in South-Central Pennsylvania, Horizon Structures, LLC is owned by Dave Zook. Dave was raised in the Amish tradition and grew up working in the family-owned shed business. He started Horizon Structures in 2001 in response to an ever-increasing customer demand for high quality, affordable horse barns.
For additional information about the company or their product line, please visit their website at https://www.horizonstructures.com
About Nikki Alvin-Smith: International and national published freelance writer and photographer in such world renowned publications such as The Chronicle of the Horse, Horse and Hound, Dressage and CT, Warmbloods Today, The Horseman’s Yankee Pedlar, Reiter, The Equine Journal, Spur, Hoofprints, Horsin’ Around, Horses All, Field & Stream, Western Horse and Gun, Pony Quarterly, Horses All Canada, Catskill Horse to name a few. Ghostwriting, blog services, PR/Marketing copy either direct with manufacturer or for agencies, copy editing and editor services also available. Nikki also produces catalog copy, white papers, e-books, corporate brochures and advertising copy for international corporations and PR/Marketing for celebrities.
As a Brit who has called the America home for the past 34 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to the equestrian world. Nikki is also an accomplished Grand Prix dressage trainer/competitor, competing at international Grand Prix level to scores over 72% and is a highly sought clinician offering clinics worldwide. She has been a horse breeder/importer of warmblood and Baroque breeds for more than 25 years. Together with her husband Paul who is also a Grand Prix trainer, they run a private dressage breeding operation and training yard in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York. Please visit http://www.NikkiAlvinSmithStudio.com to learn more.