Horse Barn Tour and Cleanup

In this video Allison and I walk you through the front Horse Barn on the property. We believe this property at one time raised racing thoroughbreds, but we have limited information on it.
The barn has sat for many years, untouched, so it has been taken over with racoons. We would like to restore the Horse Barn to its previous condition. This is the start.
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[@johnnewell6758]

I just stumbled across your page and found it interesting. I made my living in the race horse business for about 30 years as an owner, trainer, breeder, breeding farm and stud manager for some major stud farms. Let me assure you, in your situation, trying to make it profitable on your own is next to impossible. A lot depends upon your location if you are in "horse country" your task will be easier. Boarding horses is usually not profitable, you will encounter deadbeats that bring in worthless horses and you will have to chase them down for their payment and you will probably wind up with their worthless horses and out the money they owe you. The waterers look like Nelson stall waterers, in my opinion, they are not worth fixing. I had a barn that had them built in every stall, and like yours they had been idle for years they were junk. Plastic water buckets are easier cleaned and more dependable. Probably your highest and best use for the horse facilities is to just clean it up without making major improvements and find a "reputable" trainer and lease him or her the facilities with a few acres and he/she will know how to collect from his/her clients. Then negotiate any improvements and adjust the rent proportionately. You will have a cash flow that will then be something you can count on. I am an old man now and most of the people I knew are dead or broke and out of the business. I'd be glad to help you out with advice. Along with any successes, I have made many huge mistakes, which have probably led to more wisdom. You have a beautiful place and a great horse facility. When I got out of the horse business I was in the farm and ranch auction business, I can assure you there are more distressed horse properties being auctioned and for sale than any other rural property. There is a reason for that.

[@livingon80]

John, thank you so much for your info. It sounds like you definitely know what you are talking about. Leasing it out makes the most sense in our situation, agreed 100%. Thanks again!

[@doolittlegeorge]

​@@livingon8022 Plinkster on KZbin for dealing with various rodents far more than just Racoons although there is that absolutely.

[@john110960]

You both should be very proud of what you have gotten done on the entire property. I applaud you both and thank you for sharing this journey with us.

[@livingon80]

Thank you so much!

[@paulineproctor8399]

Its niceto seea husband and wife working together to make the property nice and usable

[@livingon80]

Teamwork!

[@peteoneill5799]

That is a beautiful barn/stable. Get in there with an industrial vacuum to remove all dirt and dust before renewal. A good spray with insecticides to remove any mites/weevils etc and a fresh lick of paint it will be perfect. You could always hire a stable manager to get you some residents and run it as a standalone business.

[@livingon80]

GREAT suggestions!! Thank you very much!! 💗 Allison

[@deecooper1567]

What a fantastic setup 🤩👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@livingon80]

Thank you so much! We thought so, too! 💗 Allison

[@sharonharvin729]

What a beautiful place also you guys are a great team. Can’t wait to see what goes on with this property.

[@livingon80]

Thanks so much!

[@1rustytree]

Great building and whole place overall !

[@livingon80]

Thank you!! We appreciate it! 💗 Allison

[@drewrub7415]

Nice vid. Looks like a lot of hard work but so rewarding. As I get older you make the idea of living on a farm more interesting.

[@livingon80]

Thank you. It is nice, but I can never say I have nothing to do. I will say though, I enjoy 90% of it 😁

[@elizabethguynn6873]

Make sure you have fire extinguishers at several handy locations. Add a few barn cats to help deter the raccoons. Add some ventilation if the windows don't open.

[@goodgrieflouiser5807]

We have raccoons in Texas that will easily kill a cat. Get rid of the coons first then get the cats.

[@livingon80]

Great call on the fire extenguishers. Can never have enough of those! I like the idea of cats too! Thank you!

[@christinestephenson1742]

It is really a nice horse facility! My husband and I bred and raised registered Paint Horses for a big part of our lives and we never had a barn that nice. Unless you're going to use it yourself, I agree with John Newell. Don't allow people to come in and rent stalls, you'll have strangers running all over your property and then you'll have a real mess with legal liability. Like John said, rent out the whole facility with some designated land to a trainer who has talent for training but no facility. That way you are only dealing with one person rather than myriads of people coming and going. The room where saddles etc are kept is called the tack room and those half disc's on the walls are for hanging bridles and halters over. I haven't had any experience with automatic waterers, we always used buckets that were easy to clean.

[@livingon80]

Great info and advice, thank you!

[@tommygoldman05]

I love your videos. That barn is really nice!

[@livingon80]

Thank you! We appreciate it! 💗 Allison

[@OurCabinInThewoods]

I love your videos really nice. This is turning into a beautiful property

[@livingon80]

That's so sweet of you! Thank you! 💗 Allison

[@user-kf9fv1qj9u]

Great video

[@livingon80]

Thanks!

[@sherryclement3085]

Enjoying your videos

[@livingon80]

Thanks!

[@charlenehuff19]

Just found your channel. Really good content. What a great place!

[@livingon80]

Thank you!

[@buckijunki8167]

Great video!

[@livingon80]

Thank you so much! 💗 Allison

[@gregschulte2953]

with a little TLC, you will have a nice barn. I would check the front area of the barn )where there was a lot of space) for a water hook up. I didn't see a wash rack which is pretty standard in any decent barn. That space is probably for 1. wash rack 2. tie ups so the you can groom and tack up the horses along with an area for a farrier and or vet to work. The individual rooms are an office, tack room and probably a room for grain, supplements, medical supplies etc....

[@livingon80]

Great info, thank you!

[@ChileExpatFamily]

I love watching city slickers move to farms.... Jim in Chile

[@livingon80]

Thanks for watching, Jim!

[@WORK-HARD.PH.99]

Thats a nice place 👌

[@livingon80]

Thank you!

[@barbaragoss6177]

Make sure that you wear a mask to protect yourself when cleaning it out !❤👌👍👏👏

[@livingon80]

Definitely! Thank you!! 💗 Allison

[@garyjones2582]

Bring in a couple honey Badgers, they'll take care of those coons..lol.. the place is coming around very nice.. thx for bringing us along...

[@livingon80]

Those things don't back down from anything! 😁

[@rg1599]

I like it.

[@livingon80]

Thanks!

[@charleshanks6186]

the oak is used to reduce or stop cribbing or chewing the wood

[@livingon80]

That's so interesting!! Thanks for letting us know! 💗 Allison

[@johnzink3309]

Thx

[@livingon80]

Thanks for watching!

[@ChrisMartin-ry6yj]

It would be a lot of work, but to sand that oak on the sliding stall doors and stain it would be first class for sure. Might need to get you a few raccoon traps too. Be careful though those jokers are ferocious!!

[@livingon80]

That would look nice for sure! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@jamesjustice859]

I'd like to suggest if you have people wanting to rent stalls for horses that you convert the office and other rooms into 4-6 storage rooms 1 for each stall. To keep their stuff in.

[@livingon80]

Genius!! I love these ideas! Thank you! 💗 Allison

[@Wakeywhodat]

Get a pump up sprayer and spray 50% bleach / water mixture in the office. Do it every time you go in the barn! Personally I’d pull up the linoleum floor first. A bleach / degreaser and water mixture would be a good way to clean the painted stall doors. A pressure cleaner from a few feet away to rinse them off. Don’t get close and damage the wood or paint! If you allow outsiders with their horses, (DON’T DO THIS! 😂 ) find an equestrian insurance agency and they don’t necessarily have to be in your local area. Ours was in Florida, we are in Georgia. If you want to get livestock, you now have a good use for that barn. You have room to make a pen in that unused area of the barn. You can also join the 2 lofts over the breezeway to make it 1 large loft, and regardless put some proper steps leading up there if you don’t already. I love projects, you are project rich!

[@livingon80]

Those are very good ideas! Thank you so much!

[@jupiterone5550]

I would connect the boxes to the outside, i.e. a paddock next to a box, then the horses won't be so bored!

[@livingon80]

Great ideas! Thank you

[@57WillysCJ]

I have just found your channel, you have a nice piece of property. Unless you want to dispatch the racoons, hire a trapper. If he live traps them, make sure they are taken at least 10 or 20 miles away as they will return. That is a nice horse barn. Dump the waterers and go with buckets. Before you rent even 1 stall, talk to your insurance agent to make sure you are covered for not just the horse but the customer and anyone they bring with them. I would be tempted to speak to a lawyer as well. I would not allow them in the loft either to deliver hay or even feeding through the hatches. If your insurance agent is good, he/she will come out and inspect the barn for commercial use because that is what it is and tell you limitation. Even then carefully read it for clauses you wouldn't know are there. I say this as having farmed, raised horses and been an insurance agent.

[@livingon80]

Wow! That is very solid advice. Thank you so much!

[@nancykaminski8600]

If you don’t know anything about horses, you shouldn’t open a boarding business. It is an enormous amount of work and few are profitable. Money comes from training and running a lesson program. Don’t forget maintaining fences and pasture, those must be safe and secure. As others have mentioned, you could lease the barn and turnouts to a competent trainer who would be responsible for running it, but you would still retain a lot of liability--insurance is a must! That area at the end of the barn aisle is too small for riding, and the footing isn’t optimal. I have seen such places used for equipment and hay storage. If you plan on having boarders, you would need a larger tack room for saddles, bridles, grooming supplies, etc. for each horse. The stalls are decent, although I don’t like automatic waterers (you can’t tell if the horse is drinking enough water like you can with a bucket). There should be one or two grooming stalls (where a vet and a farrier can work on a horse as well), and a wash stall. I don’t want to discourage you, just go in with your eyes wide open and consult with expert horse people first as to what needs to be done for the place to be safe and healthy.

[@livingon80]

We appreciate your candid feedback and it's obvious you know what you are talking about. Thank you for all of the great advice!

[@cynthiabroockman1752]

Yes, rent the entire barn and adequate pastures for the number of horses.. Everything said above is true. Most boarders aren't going to want to board and entrust the care of their horses to a non horse, experienced person. You would be amazed the things horses can get up to and hurt themselves 11:25 even in a stall. Hors3s can colic and you would n3ed to know the signs of that and other illness3s, know how to put on/take off fly sheets, masks and blankets. You should check equine facility laws in your state n talk to an insurance agent. Here we are not allowed to store but so much hay in a barn with animals due to risk of spontaneous combustion., Plan on a seperate place for large hay storage. Yes buckets for water backup auto waterers can get messed up easily. Expensive, but it is expected here (foxhunters, show and cross country riders) that stalls have rubber mays. I'd ditch the basketballs. Busy Balls to give bored horses something to do hang from ceilings. Most barns here, incl ours, have pans high up on the ceiling to circulate air in hot weather. Yes, that openarea too small toride or lunge a horse.. I'd put in a staircase Who wants to climb a ladder twice a dau to feed? Easier to feed from ground imho. That open area probably stored bagged bedding and muck carts/wheelbarrows to clean out/pick stalls daily and to use to contain a horse for a farrier to shoe them (need crosd ties) and vet to work on and ig paddock surrounds barn, keep turned out horses from coming into barn while doors open for ventilation. I'd add a washer/dryer to wash leg wraps and blankets and rags in - a must in barns rented out here. A small fridge for medicines and a bathroom. Saddle racks and bridle racks and great locks on the doors to that area a must. Yes a feed room, preferabling one metal lined around walls with a concrete floor to keep mice n other critters out of it. A changing room for riders if not individual changing rooms if a trainer or instructor rents it. Try and finf one person with multiple horses to take the place and its on them to pay for fence repairs needed. We find it eadiest.. You do mowing but also you will need a drag to drag the pastures to break up the poop piles regularly to maintain pastures - mow them if they get over 6 or 8 inches tall. Familiarize what trees and shrubs are poisonous to horses and dont plant any near the barn or pastures. Cameras in barn very, very helpful. You'd be surprised how many horses make it their mission to get out of their stalls. Allow for a gravel pad for storage of 1 or 2 tandem or a big show trailer to park. HTH 😊

[@doolittlegeorge]

*"Raising Horses with Jim"* on KZbin no better primer on Horses than that channel.

[@livingon80]

Thank you, we'll check it out!

[@chuckyknarf3849]

The small area is most likely a day yard for horses that are injured or those that cannot go out to pasture

[@livingon80]

Thanks for the info!

[@TammySaj-zm6kr]

You can rent stalls for 3 to 500 a month

[@martihetrick609]

Clean out pressure wash all the stall out.... And have to door open top so the animals can look out

[@livingon80]

I like that!

[@sherryclement3085]

Nice barn I would add Windows to stall doors

[@livingon80]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@charleshanks6186]

advice use wood shavings as bedding for the horses make sure the have plenty of water...dont use sweet feed for the horses..feed carefully but feed twice a day morning and night 10 -12% protien feeds nothing more than 14% unless the horses are race or working horses good grass hay is best...can give you a good basic feed recipe if you need one

[@livingon80]

Thank you for the info!

[@johnleeman5992]

Where is this farm if yours. Just beautiful.

[@livingon80]

Thank you. We are in Indiana

[@frankdeegan8974]

Looks like you need a horse barn dog or two to run off the racoons.

[@livingon80]

I bet dogs would love that!

[@user-es6tx6mo1z]

Add a washbay for horses you obviously know the horses will get dirty and buy jolly balls my horses love them

[@livingon80]

Good idea!

[@Classyk99]

What i found odd, was those shelfs in each stall that went all around the stalls. That is a horse hazard. Leasing to horse boarders - nay Now if perhaps you found a horse trainer, that could run the barn welll then maybe. Horse people tend to be horse rich money poor, so you will be chasing rents, if the horse gets sick/abandoned , it will be YOU taking care of it I have a 6 stall barn, I do not lease to anyone I have horses for riding lesson. Strictly a riding lesson barn. You could do petting zoo, stuff and have mini retreats out there, Kids parties, spa parties , micro weddings .

[@livingon80]

Thank you so much for all that info, and good ideas too! I'm curious as to why the shelves in the stalls are a hazard?

[@Classyk99]

A horse will find anything it can to injure itself . And one good kick and that board could take out a leg another thing is some horses chew wood ' so you want your stalls to no be able to do such things it bad for horses to chew wood ' and 2 they can tear it up and then injure another part of their body other than that the stalls look great In my barn all horse stalls all the wood is either angled or rounded off to avoid injury those auto waters look like they have seen better days . If it is plumbed and works great . I personally don't use them because you can't tell how much water the horse is in taking and the is extremely important

[@ramiromarin4002]

@ the old farm, that mysterious room looks like a sauna. Maybe.

[@livingon80]

🥵

[@ramiromarin4002]

@livingon80 happy Sunday everyone there @ living on 80. Congratulations to all of you

[@livingon80]

Thank you!

[@mikeduda3173]

I know zero about horses except that boarding them would create excellent passive income. I don't know what it is exactly, but I know a stable needs a "TAC" room???

[@lesleywilliams323]

A tack room is where the saddles & bridles, blankets, linseed oil, hoof picks & saddle soap are kept.🐴

[@livingon80]

Thank you!

[@livingon80]

Thanks for the info Mike! Greatly appreciated!

[@rogerkern]

The wood is actually cut properly, unlike now days the 2x4 is not it’s 1 5/8 x 2 5/8.

[@livingon80]

Good point!

[@Oregontrailblazin]

When and if you have boarders, The owner of that horse would bring his or her hay and put above the stall of that horse. For you to feed or owners if they come out daily

[@Oregontrailblazin]

Feed room and tack room

[@livingon80]

That would make sense as I'm sure some horses and owners would be particular about their feed. We appreciate your info!

[@user-es6tx6mo1z]

You should take the shelves out because my old barn had them and it had harmed my horses by giving them a lasoration

[@livingon80]

Good to know! We have had so many mix reviews on it! We appreciate you sharing your experience! 💗Allison

[@goodgrieflouiser5807]

Well I think your idea of boarding horses would be a good source for income for the project. Just remember for yourself though. Buying the horse is the cheapest part of the total cost.

[@livingon80]

Buying a horse sounds a lot like buying a boat! 😁

[@kinkywinks]

I think you need two or three stable girls to take care of the barn and any future horses.

[@livingon80]

Hopefully someday soon!

[@Denise-ei2pu]

That is a tac room

[@livingon80]

Thank you!

[@martihetrick609]

Stairs to get up loft

[@livingon80]

You've got a lot of good ideas! Thank you

[@johndownie9385]

need to jetwash it out before doing anything else get rid of smells

[@livingon80]

Agreed!

[@dianakingsley8672]

I have owned horses all my life and I have never seen shelves inside a stall and I dont know what the purpose for them is. It is a hazard and they need to be taken out if you plan on putting animals in there. That is an automatic horse waterer in the back left corner but usually it would be in the front of the stall and away from the outside wall, especially in cold climates. I don't recommend boarding horses.

[@livingon80]

Thanks for the heads up and the advice! Greatly appreciated!

[@martihetrick609]

Frig for meds for horses and other...moth balls to get rid of the raccoon

[@livingon80]

Thanks!

[@almachapman5409]

Please wear a ventilator.

[@livingon80]

Yes, very wise advise! We did wear a mask for a lot of it off camera. 💗 Allison

[@nickgrimmer7274]

The horse barn, why don’t you rent the stalls out to near by horse people , you then could have a guaranteed income.

[@livingon80]

We have thought about it! It is definitely something we are going to look into to! Thanks for watching! 💗 Allison

[@rebeccamartorell5776]

My comment keeps getting deleted. This looks like a Saddlebred facility. I'd look into leasing the entire facility to a horse trainer; otherwise, usually the barn owner cleans stalls, feeds twice a day and does turnout.

[@rebeccamartorell5776]

Those are tailboards inside the stalls to keep tail sets on the horse. The open area is for long lining, bitting rig and and turnout.

[@rebeccamartorell5776]

You could contact some local Saddlebred trainers to let them know about your facility and they can spread the word. Good luck!

[@livingon80]

Thank you for the good information! We didn't know what a bitting rig was so we looked it up. Thanks again!

[@singingone1]

Never Never Never have grass feed bales above horses......FIRE DANGER !!!!!!

[@livingon80]

Interesting...Both of the horse barns have lofts above where they used to store hay.