Barns and Fencing

Barns and fencing can be tough to choose. You want to save as much money as possible, but yet you want to choose the best possible. The barn, for one thing, should be made of good material. Metal is not always the best, because it becomes hot in summer and cold in winter. Wood is good for barns, but can easily catch fire. Brick or stone is the best for barn-building, but is very expensive. Use you better judgment in choosing the material.
As for how to build the barn, a stall must be constructed well, and must be soft enough so that if the horse rubs or bumps against it, they won't get hurt. Brick is not good for this. Often brick barns are built with padded stalls. Stone isn't too bad. Wood can cause splinters. Choose what best suits you. The stall needs to be at least 10' x 10' for one horse, but preferably 12' x 12' for comfort. A pregnant mare needs at least a 12' by 14' stall. A horse should be able to lie down in the stall and easily get back up, and should be able turn completely around without any trouble whatsoever. As for what is on the ground, dirt will be fine, but if you prefer concrete so that the stall is easier to clean, the stall must either be very thickly bedded, or must have a rubber mat for comfort. You can choose the style of the barn to your liking.
As far as fencing goes, just about anything works. Here are the general fences, on a scale of 1-10 of how good they are (1 being extremely bad and 10 being the best):

Barbwire Fence--1
Electrobraid Fence--8
Electric Fence--6
Vinyl Fence--7
Wood Fence--7

As you can see, Electrobraid is the best. They are generally cheap. You can probably find it at a livestock store. Although barbwire fence is cheap, and can often be found free, this fence is very dangerous to horses, especially horses who do not respect its barbs and therefore, its sharpness. If you do use barbwire, be sure that it is strung as tight as can be accomplished. A sagging barbwire fence will mean serious and often fatal injuries in the future. As far as size goes, an acre per horse is generally a good size. Horses love to roam and be able to run to extents untold of, so build as big as possible, with the thought in mind that a big, 40-acre pasture will provide more chance for a horse to get away from you if they are hard to catch. Use your common sense in this area.
A gate should be strong, and should not sag. Don't ever stand on a gate unless you must, and if you must, stand nearest to the hinges. Standing on gates weakens them. Use a chain or padlock for your gates, as lift-latches can often be opened by ponies or young horses.
As always, use your common sense in everything!