She has a house with land, a young daughter who is horse mad and is thinking about putting stables in, partly for the daughter and partly as they don’t really have a use for the land and would like to make it pay. I think she might be thinking about renting the place out once it’s built (probably as a whole) but with one eye on her daughter having a pony there in future when she’s a bit older.
I’m going to see her and have a look at the place tomorrow with a view to advising her on what horse owners would want. I believe she has about 15 acres.
I’m used to being grateful for what I’ve been given so if you were building from scratch, what would you have? Some of my initial thoughts are:
Wooden/ block stables / American barn? I assume some will be easier to get, planning wise, than others? Not sure if they have agricultural or equestrian planning at the moment, the house is a converted barn in a little complex - her parents and her sister live in the other barns.
Storage - as much as possible is an obvious one but would you have one big area or a separate feed and tack room? Hay storage?
How much of a yard? The yard at ours is huge, and while the space is lovely, it’s pain to sweep, is there a happy medium?
Would you opt for bigger stables that might cost a bit more to put in but would keep your options open to renting to a wider range of people /horses?
Trailer /lorry parking?
Access for hay / bedding deliveries?
Drainage? (drainage on our yard isn’t the best so I’m very aware of it)
Separate entrance for the yard from the house so they don’t get disturbed?
Muck heap?
I’ve no idea how much of that is possible but just some of my thoughts. What have I forgotten?
