Horse barns range in quality and cost from simple pipe panel loafing sheds to custom glamour barns designed to complement high end estate homes.  Most horse housing falls somewhere in between.  Buying decisions often involve consideration not only of initial cost, but also safety, maintenance and longevity.  MD Barnmaster provides the best value, safety, ease of maintenance and longevity in the horse housing industry.

Barn Price

MD Barnmaster often offers the best price for even the most basic horse housing and certainly the best value when safety, maintenance and longevity are considered.

Pole barns are the traditional choice in most parts of the country because they are commonly seen and people are familiar with them.  They are only the cheapest option for buyers interested in “do it yourself” projects.  In those cases, contractors often erect the shell; usually wood poles, inexpensive truss systems and thin gauge sheet steel.  The owner can then use 2X6 lumber to build stall walls and stall fronts using hardware store materials.

The price advantage disappears if the owner cannot or chooses not to use his own labor to build the barn.  Pole barns also become much more costly if the owner wants a more attractive finish than the exposed wood components and sheet steel finishes of a pole barn.  Pole barns become even less competitive if owners demand safety, ease of maintenance and longevity in horse housing.

Barn Fire Safety

Wood burns, and fires spread rapidly in wood frame barns.  There is almost no way to prevent wood frame barns from burning and horse barn fires almost always end badly.  Sprinkler systems are expensive and may or may not prevent deadly smoke conditions.  Wood stall walls and fronts can be replaced with zero fire spread walls like MD Barnmaster’s, but the added expense normally drives the cost of the pole barn higher than MD Barnmaster because MD Barnmaster stall walls double as barn walls.  Even with MD Barnmaster stall systems, pole barns still have wood structures that burn.   MD Barnmaster barns are zero fire spread, which means that even if a fire starts in a hay pile or elsewhere, it will not spread beyond the original source.  This can mean the difference between life and death for your horses.

Wood Barn Chewing/Cribbing
Horses chew wood, and chewing often leads to cribbing.  Anybody that has had a chewer or cribber knows that those stable vices are to be avoided at all costs.   All surfaces exposedto horses in MD Barnmaster stalls are metal, horses can’t chew MD Barnmaster’s metal stall systems.  As a result, horses are far less likely to become cribbers if they live in an MD Barnmaster stall.

Kicking Safety

Horses can easily kick through a wood wall or stall front.  Even if owners don’t mind repairing their stall walls, kicking through stall walls can seriously injure horses.  MD Barnmaster’s metal clad stall interiors prevent kick throughs and MD Barnmaster guarantees it.  MD Barnmaster walls also flex slightly when kicked, reducing the shock to horses’ legs and feet.

Other Barn Injuries

Wood stall walls, especially damages walls, can have slivers and other sharp edges that can injure horses and pull coveted manes and tails.  MD Barnmaster stalls have no sharp edges, assuring that horses stay clean and show ready, without unsightly or health threatening cuts and scrapes.

Health

Pole barns are almost impossible to keep clean.  Unless they are finished on the interiors with smooth surfaces, the exposed wood trusses, rough sawn treated posts and other exposed lumber attract birds, pests and dust.  Many surfaces are inaccessible.  Even accessible surfaces absorb dirt and bacteria.  MD Barnmaster barns are finished with smooth surfaces straight from the factory.  They can be disinfected and kept clean and new looking with minimal effort, leaving time for actually enjoying the horses that live in them.

Mobility

Many horse owners change locations from time to time.  In most cases, the amount one receives on the sale of a property for barns and other buildings does not approach the original cost.  Pole barns cannot be moved without huge expense, normally exceeding the value of the cost of building a replacement.  MDBarnmaster’s modular design allows our barns to be moved from one property to the next in a cost effective manner.

Beauty

Pole barns can be made very attractive.  The cost of enhancing the exterior of a standard metal pole barn and finishing the interior often drives the price much higher. MD Barnmaster barn have clean smooth finishes straight from the factory and can be enhanced with wood and other traditional finishes to meet even the most demanding aesthetic standards while still providing all of the safety, health and ease of maintenance advantages.