Designing My Forever Stable Yard

Teen rider Lily teaches all of us a lesson in planning to get exactly what you want out of a new stable block. Lily is a horse fanatic and passionate rider who sees riding as the future. Her tender years for some would encourage a rather dreamy wish-list, Lily however took an alternate route - she is super motivated and was looking to the future. The planning and thought behind her choices was impressive.

From Lily…. When I was given the amazing news that I was going to be able to design my own stable yard, I was so excited. I immediately started to draw out what I would like and knew that an L shape was a must have so that everything was slightly sheltered and visible but also so everything was to hand easily. I also wrote out a 'wish list' of the space I need for everything... Feed Room, Hay Store, Rug Room, Tack Room (big enough for all my matchy sets!), Wash Down, and of course 4 stables (just in case, more horses... planning in advance!)

Having been on numerous yards one of my main stipulations was drainage. I wanted stables that would drain properly and a yard that could be washed down regularly and stay clean (I am clean obsessive). The wash down would also need drainage so this was added into my first designs, but I had to think about how to get water supplies into this area and pipework to drain too.

Another bug bear of mine when in wooden stables previously was the dust and cobwebs in the ceilings, I wanted to ensure that whoever built my stables could board the roof in so that it was a clean and tidy finish. The stables themselves had to be solidly built and last, as this was to be our forever yard. The placement of the yard also was important as we did not want the stables to be hot in the summer, so we needed them to be slightly sheltered, this meant for us that we would need extra groundwork to make the base flat.  I also decided that I wanted the stables to be 12 x 14 but to be 'side on' so that the beds could be to one side of the door, so that when they were stood eating hay and looking out they would not mess up their beds so much. I did not want the horses to be 'cut off from each other' so talk grills were also a must have. Having miniature horses also meant having a 12 x 12 stable split so that the two little ones had their own space but lower doors so that they could also look out and see other horses.

Of course price was one massive factor so I had to balance what I wanted against a good quality build and service with our budget. Our stables were installed nearly a year ago now well before I was sponsored by Olson and, whilst the section will sound like a paid plug it is honestly how we, as a family, made our decision. Choosing who to build our stables was simple. We completed an online quote form with several companies, but only Olson actually responded to us offering to do a site visit. From viewing their website we could see that this was a local, family run business who produced excellent quality buildings.

We initially thought that the pricing from Olson would be out of our reach as the buildings and quality was so high, however we were very pleasantly surprised with how competitive they are. Once Spencer Olson did his site visit we sat down and my dreams became reality on paper, and with his expert input it meant we could get everything I had dreamed of within budget and not lose quality.

Olson Timber Buildings make all the structures themselves, this meant that even the smallest of details could be catered for, the way in which the stables were built also meant we have options if we ever want to expand or change the layout.

When we got the plans through from the office we had a few small things we wanted to change but again one quick call to Olson and new plans were sent with our changes incorporated. To build your own stables quote, start here.