Author: Mike Ravenscraft, Lucas Equine Equipment President

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Being born and raised in Kentucky, it’s easy for me to take our state’s great equine heritage for granted. However, just last week I was reminded to step back and take a good, fresh look at the uniqueness of our region when our company showroom happened to be full of out-of-state visitors. They were each pretty impressed with the equine facilities and designs that originate here in Kentucky.

I always encourage people to visit our facility and see some of our equipment in action, but this was a particularly busy couple days, with several different customers visiting us:

- One farm owner flew in from California with his construction manager and designer. They were viewing our equipment in action as they are beginning the design phase of their project with our Company.

- A couple from Illinois building a new boarding and training facility was visiting to get ideas as we began designing the stalls for their barn, touring several farms in the area with our sales manager, Nick.

- Farm owners from Tennessee were taking a tour as they begin the plans for renovating one barn and building a new one, as well.

- A client working on a project in the Middle East was meeting with our design staff to discuss various styles and potential designs.

When folks from all over the country and the world come to Lucas Equine Equipment to see our products, we love to take them to the Thoroughbred farms in our area for a taste of the work we do…and a taste of the Kentucky style. (Ok, and sometimes a taste of good Kentucky bourbon while we’re at it.)

The “Kentucky style” for horse stalls is a style we’ve been building for years. And, while we love to build the ornate Euro-style horse stalls – with fancy swooping designs and brass ball finials – I hold a special place in my heart for the classic and super-functional Kentucky-style horse stalls and barns.

Kentucky-style stalls are traditionally designed to house “hot-blooded” Thoroughbreds, known for their agility, speed and spirit. And, with Kentucky continuing to be the largest Thoroughbred foal-producing state in the U.S., many Kentucky barns are designed with this particular breed in mind.

It is interesting to me that we’re increasingly seeing farms from other equine disciplines incorporating elements of this functional, high-quality style into their facilities.

Typically, Kentucky-style horse barns and stalls are characterized by a few key features:

1. They’re designed primarily for optimal functionality.

Here’s why: The large Thoroughbred operations we work with can be made up of eight to ten 20-stall barns. When running a business this extensive, it’s imperative that everything in the barn be designed to operate efficiently and offer extreme durability with minimal upkeep.

2. Each stall usually has an exterior door with tempered glass window, and a pre-hung screen is placed between the stall and the exterior stall door.

Here’s why: Ventilation and sunlight. In the summers, these sturdy pre-hung screens can provide security for the horses, while the exterior doors stay open to create great airflow through the stalls. In addition, horses can easily be evacuated through the exterior doors in case of fire. The tempered glass (protected by the pre-hung screen) lets plenty of sunlight in for warmth during the colder months, as well as energy-efficient lighting.

3. Exterior doors often feature a cross-buck decorative design.

Here’s why: Today, this is purely an aesthetic detail. In the days before steel doors, the cross-buck provided extra support to the door.

4. Interior stall doors are usually all crosshatch mesh or grills-above-crosshatch mesh with no yoke.

Here’s why: In a traditional Kentucky-style horse stall, ventilation is key. The all crosshatch mesh or grills-above-crosshatch mesh design helps pull air from the barn’s center aisle through the stall and out the exterior stall door. It helps keep ammonia vapors from accumulating in the bottom portion of the stall. Because many of these Kentucky barns house lots of horses, the elimination of yokes keeps safety at the forefront.

5. Almost all Kentucky-style stalls have sliding interior doors, versus swinging doors.

Here’s why: Again, those Thoroughbred farms that feature 20-stall barns are all about efficiency. Sliding doors with sturdy track systems keep the aisleway clear and ease traffic congestion. Tack trunks and equipment are not stored in aisles, maximizing space in that area.

6. Cupolas are a common barn design feature.

Here’s why: Today, cupolas are sometimes added only for aesthetics. Originally, they were built onto barn roofs to allow the moist, hot air to rise and escape from the barn, helping keep hay dry and stalls cool. Some cupolas today still provide those functions.

7. Many barns feature a cross aisle, in addition to the center aisle.

Here’s why: A cross aisle adds two more exits/entrances to the barn for efficiency and increases the amount of airflow running through the facility.

Now, the Stallion Barns in Kentucky are a whole different story. These barns are often full of fancy details. We frequently design and build solid wood doors with arches or other decorative details for these barns. The stud fees of these horses can justify the extra details incorporated into these Stallion Barns.

You can see some of these facilities for yourself. I’m including links to some of these Kentucky operations:

http://www.winstarfarm.com/farm.aspx

http://www.shadwellfarm.com/gallery.aspx

http://www.vinery.com/photo_gallery.asp?id=55

http://www.threechimneys.com/gallery/

Coming Soon: I’m loving the current trend of converting Kentucky tobacco barns into horse barns. Check back for my upcoming blog on this popular “adaptive re-use.”

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Author: Nick Thornton, Sales Manager

As I was gathering images to use on our new web site, I came across one of my most interesting projects that I’d like to share with you: Iron Rose Ranch in Carbondale, Colorado. This project was particularly unique because we built interior and exterior doors DESIGNED to rust.

When building with steel, you are always fighting Mother Nature, constantly working to protect the steel from weather. At Lucas Equine Equipment, we regularly prime and powder coat or hot-dip galvanize our equipment to help prevent rust. We’re kind of obsessed with creating flawless, long-lasting finishes.

However, when I received a call from GH2/Gralla Equestrian Architects about a project that required rusted steel doors, I was quite surprised. What? Rusted doors? Isn’t that what I’m always working to prevent?

The plans we received from GH2/Gralla were for a maintenance building for Iron Rose Ranch, a breeding and training facility for competitive cutting horses. They needed sliding and hinged doors for interior and exterior use. The design was compelling, and I couldn’t wait to tackle a project like this!

Pre-rusted steel is sometimes used to create a rustic aesthetic in architectural structures in other industries. However, this was definitely a first for Lucas Equine Equipment. When designing these unique doors, my biggest challenge was making sure that the tracks and carriers on the sliding doors still operated easily when they began to rust. So, we used parts designed not to seize when exposed to moisture.

After we designed and built these doors, the rusting process was accelerated by an acid bath. In fact, the very smooth, clean steel that we use for all our doors is ideal for this process. This high-quality steel will develop the rusted look much more evenly when exposed to this acid bath.

In some of the pictures I'm including, you’ll see how the pre-rusted doors add to the look of this rustic structure. The round and diamond-shaped rivets and hardware on the doors further accentuate this style that's both rustic AND modern. I hope you enjoy these images...I sure enjoyed working on this project. Pretty cool.

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