As every horse person knows, having horses around is fantastic. However, along with all the fun and joy horses bring comes some significant expenses. One of the more considerable expenses involved in caring for a horse is a horse stall. Horse stalls aren’t something you can simply skip out on having, yet they can be incredibly expensive to have built.
So, why not DIY that horse stall? It may still be a bit pricey, but it’ll be much cheaper than having one professionally built! Whether you’re a newbie horse owner or an equine expert, you’ll find a DIY horse stall plan below that will help you build your horse the best horse stall for them.
The 7 DIY Horse Stalls
1. Simple and Inexpensive Stalls
| Materials: | Sixteen 4 x 6 x 12’s pieces of lumber, screws, nails, latches |
| Tools: | Nail gun, impact driver, level, sawzall |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
While this DIY stall plan bills itself as simple, it can be slightly confusing in parts as the directions aren’t always crystal clear. However, the build itself seems relatively simple indeed. While this plan walks you through the steps these people took to build barn stalls, you will need to plan your barn/horse stalls somewhat on your own, as your set-up may differ from theirs.
Once you’ve figured out how these stalls will work within your own space, though, you can begin following the general outline given here and the steps involved. One note for this one—these were built for goats, so when building for horses, you’ll need to make the walls much higher than five slats of wood.
2. Dogwood River Ranch Horse Stalls
| Materials: | Lumber, screws, center brace (optional) |
| Tools: | Circular saw, tape measure, drill, level, squares |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Dogwood River Ranch’s DIY horse stall will benefit those who already have a shed or space to build a stall. This guy uses preexisting upright beams in his shed to bolster the walls of his stall, so you’ll need that. How much lumber you need will depend on the measurements for your stall; this guy built four walls, but only a couple of them had the wood stacked closely together, which saved him money and building time. You may want to do things differently.
When it comes to putting the stall together, it’s fairly easy. While the guy in this video doesn’t talk you through each step, he does document the process so you can see exactly what he’s doing, which will give you enough information to do it for yourself.
3. Economical Equestrian DIY Horse Stall
| Materials: | Lumber, Quickcrete, stall mats |
| Tools: | Circular saw, tape measure, drill, level, screws, hinges, door latches |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate to difficult |
The Economical Equestrian DIY horse stall plan walks you through the steps of what they did and includes plenty of pictures, but it can be a bit vague in spots due to the fact your stall will be a bit different than theirs, depending on how and where you’re building it. For this one, you can’t have a concrete floor in your barn or space, as you’ll need to install wooden posts to connect the boards of your walls. However, after installing those posts, these guys used Quickcrete to help stabilize them.
One other thing about this horse stall plan is that it doesn’t tell you how to make doors for your stall. What it does do is provide a link to a plan that details how to make Dutch stall doors. Of course, you may want a different kind of door for your stall, so you may need to find another plan for that or purchase doors if you don’t want to make them.
4. Horse Stalls for a Pole Barn
| Materials: | Center match wood, 2 x 6s, window grills, 2 x 8s, track board, pre-made sliding doors |
| Tools: | Tape measure, nails, nail gun, circular saw |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy to Moderate |
This DIY for horse stalls depends on you already having a barn with poles set up in it, so if that’s not you, you’ll need to go with another plan. This plan also involves window grills and pre-made sliding doors for stalls, so if you’re not looking for that, you’ll need a different plan. However, if you have a barn with pre-set poles and are down with sliding doors and window grills, this plan is a reasonably easy one.
The guy in the video walks you through each step, and it mostly involves setting up a wall with the center match wood, creating an opening for a window grill, and installing a track board so you can use the sliding door. Overall, this one seems to be one of the simpler plans for DIY horse stalls, so if you’ve already got a pretty good set-up for your horses, this might be right for you.
5. 10×20 2 Stall Horse Barn Frame Plan
| Materials: | Lumber, wood filler, wood glue, stain/paint |
| Tools: | Lag screws, screws, framing nails, tape measure, hammer, level, framing square, screwdriver, sander, miter saw, drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
Need a plan that is highly detailed and includes actual designs? Then this DIY two horse stall plan is the one for you! This plan includes several drawings and designs throughout the process (complete with measurements!) and goes pretty into detail. However, this plan is only for the frame of a free-standing horse stall. Two other plans tell you how to do the roof and the doors for these horse stalls, and they are linked in this plan. Just be aware you’ll need to go to a different page to finish this thing out.
The person who created this plan also mentions they have several shed/barn designs, so it may be worth it to take a look at their other stuff if this horse stall frame plan isn’t the right one for you.
6. Project Dad Life Pole Barn Horse Stalls
| Materials: | Wooden support beams, concrete, 2 x 4s, 1 x 12s, lumber, hinges, latches |
| Tools: | Tape measure, tractor auger, string, nails, hammer, level, nail gun, circular saw, drill, screws |
| Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
This guy has put together a terrific video showing exactly how he built a horse stall in his pole barn. Of course, you’ll need a pole barn to accomplish this plan, but if you have that, you’re off to a good start. Most of this horse stall involves nailing stacked boards for the walls, so it’s not entirely difficult, but it does have some harder moments. Drilling holes for the support beams is one of those harder moments; this guy uses a tractor auger, but you could probably create holes another way if you don’t have that tool.
The doors are probably the most challenging part of this endeavor, but the video involves the guy talking you through (and then walking you through) what he’s doing the whole way. The end result is a fantastic-looking stall that any horse would love!
7. Horsevills Simple Horse Stalls
| Materials: | Fence poles, 4 x 4 wooden boards, nails, screws, cement |
| Tools: | Post hole digger, drill, tape measure, hammer, saw, leveling device |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy to Moderate |
If you’re looking for simple, written step-by-step instructions on building a horse stall, look no further than this plan on Horsevills! If the instructions aren’t enough, they also include a video showing a similar process that can give you more details. Overall, this plan looks relatively simple, though it does require a bit of construction work as it involves building a stall structure entirely from scratch rather than building stalls into a preexisting barn or shed. So, if you have a spare bit of land and need horse stalls, this could be perfect for you.
This plan doesn’t include a door; it simply says to add “a beautiful horse stall door” at the end of the instructions, so if you don’t have a pre-made door, you’ll need to look elsewhere for a plan to build one.
Conclusion
Building horse stalls takes some work, but some are easier to build than others! Most of the plans on this list aren’t too difficult to accomplish, but a few involve building stalls and the shelters around them from the ground up. Just be sure you’re using a plan that fits your needs before committing to one. After that, grab some wood and get to building walls because that seems to be most of the work when it comes to horse stalls!
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Featured Image Credit: IRINA ORLOVA, Shutterstock
