Is your Horse out of the Barn?

You’ve been saving effectively for months, maybe longer. You’ve done research on breeders in your neck of the woods, considered various pedigrees and how they relate to your goals—and the best part: everyone in your family is on board and can’t wait. It’s finally time to purchase a horse. Or is it? Perhaps you’ve neglected to consider what kind of horse barn you’re willing to commit to, and just how much horse barns in Fauquier will even cost.

Consider this: since you wouldn’t move houses without first securing a place to move into, the same can certainly be said of that fine saddlebred or paint you’ve been eyeing. It needs a place to stay that’s not an otherwise bare patch of Fauquier pasture or a converted woodshed. Aside from protecting what is surely a prize investment, your horse’s lodgings will also reflect your care for your living, feeling, equine partner in fun, work, and recreation. Cue your search for horse barns in Fauquier.

Costing it out

Whatever type of structure you decide on, your horse barns cost will indicate a number of items constituent of its construction. The total price of a horse barn in Fauquier, like other structures, fluctuates depending on material cost and labor cost. Also, depending on where you plan to build it, permit and zoning prices may function into the sum cost of the project.

Now, of course, the cost of labor will vary based on the contractor hired for the job. One way of skirting these sometimes notoriously pricy totals is by looking after this side of the equation yourself. However—we can’t all be handy; if you’re like me, then you know you can trust your hands and their handiwork about as much as you can comfortably change a lightbulb. If you need an alternative, then another way of reducing your horse barn’s cost on the labor-end is by going pre-fab. This does not mean compromising on quality, though. Pre-fab units are built by professionals, after all, in a controlled environment with materials that have been sourced for just this purpose. A horse barn in Fauquier county, say your neighbor’s, was likely built by an Amish Craftsperson. In terms of material cost, while a traditional manually constructed barn may run you about $45/sqft., a pre-fabricated horse barn, in either metal or wood, will go between $7 – $25/sqft. Additionally, pre-fab units can often come with a warranty, and seldom will you have this kind of assurance with your contractors—unless you have ‘a guy’.

How are you going to use it?

The last thing to consider, both for your horse and for determining how much horse barns in Fauquier cost, is the function. Is it more suitable to your needs to have something like a run-in barn with an open entry way, or would a stabled horse barn be better—the latter being more common in places like Fauquier county? The former is certainly more affordable, but it sees its full utility only when it is used in conjunction with another, pre-existing, secure lodging with door and bolt. In the end, the stall option, especially in Virginia, is probably the better bet, given the heavy and unpredictable weather that the area can expect to receive.

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