At the time of writing, our new barn stable complex is nearing completion and we are excited to see it finally finished.
The barn comprises four regular boxes and two larger boxes for mares and foals, along with a separate isolation box for sick/contagious horses.
There is an area for treating hospitalised horses, a small room for materials and records, a feed room and an area for hay storage. The boxes have concrete panel walls with bars over the top and we hope this design will be easy to clean and maintain.
The barn will primarily be for hospitalised horses, with the existing three boxes to be used for ‘day stay’ animals. There will, however, be some crossover when required.
Extra space
The increased capacity will enable us to accommodate the growing number of horses coming into the clinic, as opposed to being visited at their properties. It means that clients will be able to bring in two to three horses at a time to the clinic.
Working with mares and foals has been difficult in our cramped boxes, so the new larger sizes will make having them in together much easier.
Being able to securely house mares in the barn will also provide easy access for bringing them into the clinic for procedures, as much of our breeding work is performed out of hours.
Further development plans
Around 50% of the dentals we perform are ‘in clinic’, so sedated horses will be able to go to the extra boxes to recover. As part of further development, we plan to convert one of the current stables at the clinic building into a dedicated dental area.
The new barn will also greatly improve our scope for procedures like endoscopic examination of the stomach, where horses must be held off feed for a day before examination.
Construction progress
Construction over the winter has been challenging and we are still awaiting completion of the siteworks around it. There will be a large gravel area to securely park floats next to the new barn, and the entire area will be fenced to ensure that the horses will be contained.
We hope to see the barn up and running in October, so watch this space!
- Brendon Bell
