Food, Water, and Equipment Storage
Shelter and fencing are crucial for your horse, but it doesn't end there. You must have a safe, secure place to store a supply of your horse's food. Your horse also needs fresh, clean water at all times. Finally, the equipment you use for riding your horse and keeping her stall clean must be stored properly.
Store your horse's feed in a place that is not easily accessible to the horse if she happens to get loose. Grain takes up little space — a covered garbage can in the corner of the garage can work just fine, with perhaps a shelf next to it for a container of supplements, a scoop, or other paraphernalia.
Don't forget to think about manure management before your horse walks onto the property. Your horse will start generating it immediately, and the supply will be constant. Some communities have strict environmental regulations about manure disposal. Check out any regulations your area might have before the manure production begins.
Hay also needs good storage space, free from dust and dampness, and definitely not open to the weather. Count on storing at least a one- or two-week supply of five or ten bales at a time. Most barns store hay in the loft. Because of hay's combustible nature, however, it is preferable to store it in a separate building from where horses are housed. Hay that has not been properly cured can spontaneously combust after prolonged storage, so it is important to inspect the hay you buy and make sure it is not green, damp, or moldy.
Your horse needs access to fresh water day in and day out every season of the year. In warmer weather, this is a piece of cake — just hitch up the right length of hose and fill a large container such as a muck bucket or livestock trough once or twice a day depending on how many horses you have and their sizes.
If you live in an area that gets below freezing in the winter, getting fresh, unfrozen water to your horse can be a chore for the entire season. If you have electricity in your barn, there are many bucket heating options available on the market. However, if you have only one horse, the expense and potential fire hazard of these heaters may not be worthwhile. It may be simpler to just check the bucket or trough throughout the day to make sure it hasn't frozen over. If it has, break up the ice so the horse can drink.
Before you bring a horse home, think about where you are going to get water from, and make it as easy for yourself as possible. It is important to keep fresh water in front of your horse all winter to avoid serious problems such as colic.
You will have some storage needs for your tack and other equipment. If you have a horse trailer with a tack area in it, you can simply leave your saddle, bridle, brushes, and other materials there where they are always handy. If you have an existing building, consider where you could carve out some space to keep your tack. Be sure it is accessible to the area where you will tack up your horse — you don't want to have to carry your saddle 100 yards every time you ride, or stand in the rain or cold wind next to your garden shed to tack up.
