Bringing Home Your New Horse Barn
By Nikki Alvin-Smith

When you choose a modular horse barn for your horse housing needs, you can rest assured that the process of delivery and setup are going to provide an almost instant horse barn in your backyard. The purchase of a modular structure can be especially useful if you have just closed on your dream horse property and seek to bring your horse(s) home from livery to save the expensive board, and have fields and space but no horse shelter readily available.

The run-in shed offers the fastest and least expensive on site shelter, and can be purchased from stock from larger modular manufacturers such as leading horse barn manufacturer, Horizon Structures LLC, based in Atglen, PA. For more space for horses and storage needs you may consider a shedrow barn design, which provides flexibility with options for adding to later as your horse numbers grow.

Both of these barn designs are easy to transport across road and bring to your site. A minimal amount of site preparation is required, and many towns do not require permit applications for smaller structures. Obviously you need to ensure you have adequate access for the truck to transport the structure to the building site. Once there the use of a mule will provide a quick unload and accurate placement of the building. Take a look at this video and see how simply the delivery is completed It is amazing that these deliveries can be completed by just one member of the Horizon Structures professional team.

But did you know that all styles and sizes of modular barns can be delivered and instantly set up and assembled on site? The larger designs may take a few days work by the Amish carpentry crew to complete, but many involve just one day.

“Our team at Horizon Structures is very experienced transporting, handling and setting up horse barns. Regardless of whether it is a component build, such as a monitor barn in three large pieces that requires a crane, or a run-in shed or smaller structure that our mule can handle, customers know that we will ensure the building is safely delivered on time, and properly set up by our team of professionals to their satisfaction. There really is almost nothing we cannot do!” explained Jill Siragusa, Chief Marketing Officer.

Here are the specifications for access that Horizon Structures recommends for a run-in shed delivery:

• Be sure your site is accessible.

• Provide a suitably prepared site with access over a driveway or across, relatively level, solid ground.

• Provide adequate clearance around any trees, plantings or other structures on the property.

• Note: If we can drive straight onto your property, any fence opening or gate needs to be...

• 12' wide for 10' wide buildings

• 14' wide for 12' wide buildings.

• Fences or gates 8' or higher, add 2' extra.

• Overhead clearance should to be 14'.

50' to 60' minimum drive-away area from the end of the shed after it comes off the end of the trailer. This should be as level as possible from pad site to ground level.

If you are not sure about how accessible your site is for the type of equipment that is to be utilized for your particular building, then just ask. Obviously the larger the building the larger the transport equipment will need to be and for buildings over 40 feet a tractor-trailer will be utilized. With a range of trailer sizes available from 24 to 48 feet in length, Horizon Structures can transport several barn components at the same time. Here’s what the delivery process looks like:

• Building arrives at your property

• Driver backs up to your prepared site

• The trailer is raised, using a hydraulic system, to enable the building to slide off the back.

• Using a winch, built in to the trailer, the driver moves the building about 1/3 down the length of the trailer so that the end is resting on the ground.

• Next the driver slowly pulls forward allowing the rest of the building to slide off the trailer and into position.

• In the event that the building needs to be aligned or re-positioned, our trailers come equipped with a platform on the back. With the back of the building on the ground and the front resting on this platform, the building can be shifted up to 2' to the left or to the right before being placed completely on the ground.

After the building leaves the trailer, our driver's final step is to make sure the building is level and to shim corners as needed.

Finally, all doors and windows are checked to make sure they operate properly and are not stuck or jammed due to the building being off level or any twisting of the building during set-up.

Whatever level of customization you require in your new horse barn, from additional windows, loft spaces, fitted and well carpentered tack and feed rooms to staircases and copper cupolas, Horizon Structures can provide a modular build solution that will afford a one stop shop and an easy set up and delivery.

One of the most annoying things about any construction project, is the mess, noise and upset that having a construction crew on site can bring. When you add in the worries over dropped nails, blowing plastic debris, delivery trucks mudding up the driveway or hitting fences and walls, and the general upset of a building site, the modular purchase route is a happy solution to your horse barn need. And we all want it done yesterday! Which brings up another point. The factory construction of your horse barn not only means no weather or material provision delays, it also means quality control with a team of carpenters that is used to working together to expedite a top quality product.

In today’s world where time is at a premium and we love instant gratification, the ‘instant’ set-up of a new horse barn is a delightful experience. Don’t know which style of barn to choose? Check out Horizon Structures blog for lots of advice and ideas on the benefits of different designs and their uses.