Hi to all,
I received an email from a customer today inquiring about inspecting her house which also has a horse stall on the property, and she wants the stall inspected too.
As I am a new inspector, I have never inspected a horse stall.
Have any of you ever inspected a horse stall? Any tips? Or is the stall not part of a “normal inspection”?
Your opinions/experianced advice is appreciated!
Thanks,
Inspect it just like any other structure…
I live in an area with horses and have inspected some small stables. I am not a horse owner or person so there may be items that a horse needs or that may be dangerous for a horse that I have no idea about. Many of these things are just common sense but you never know so I put in a disclaimer that states I am inspecting the structure and not for any issues pertaining to the keeping of horses. I would pay particular attention to wiring, that it is GFIC protected and not within reach of animals. Hay lofts often have unprotected openings, low head room, nails from roofing protruding through the sheathing, poorly designed ladders or stairs. Also make sure that the structure was designed to be used as a hayloft and will support a full load of hay. Would also suggest a smoke detector relayed to the house.
I have raised horses a lot longer than I have been an HI and will be up most of the night waiting to foal my third baby this month already and have 5 more to go.
Horse barns are not any different from any other structure if you keep in mind that horses are more capable of hurting themselves just like small children in a 1000 Lb body. I would highly advise paying particular attention to electrical wiring. I have outlets on every post in my barn facing the center isle with stalls on both sides of the barn. My wiring I ran down the center of the square tubing from the top down to the outlets and welded metal boxes to the post to prevent any exposed wires as horses will chew anything out of boredom. Horse barns in today’s world of artificial insemination has become Hi-tech but it does not sound from your post that this is not more than just a small barn stall combo
Many barns nowadays have water heaters, heated tack rooms, refrigerators and receptacles everywhere. A lot of them are “owner wired” without gfci, even next to or above the wash racks. Look for a lot of j boxes without covers, if they used j boxes. And extension cords for permanent wiring. Depending on the height of the individual stalls and walkways, I like seeing protective cages around the lighting.
Most barns have a water supply of some sort. I like seeing some sort of protective guard around the spigots that are in an area that horses can get near them. Been in a barn where a horse broke a pipe (pvc of course) and at 10 gal a minute, overnight, it was a little damp in the morning.
Good luck. Take a carrot or two for the beasts.
Greg
Be carefull when inspecting the bathroom and make sure the vent fan works 
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I have inspected quite a few stables both with barns and without barns, pay attention to electrical (panel(s), outlets, exposed wiring) especially wiring close to stalls where horses are closest to, they do like to chew as a previous gentleman has eluded to. Check exposed gas lines, as these get knock around quite a bit by animals. check rails and gates for strenght and stability. I have run across drains in front of stalls where they wash down stalls, make sure they drain properly and the grates are secure. I would suggest that you have the owner clean out the stalls prior to inspection so you can see the interior structure where it meets the foundation or floor, this is where I find alot of wood rot and small openings to the exterior that may not be seen from an exterior view. Structure, foundation and roof are pretty much the same as if you were inspecting a house. Oh, and don’t forget to wear old shoes or boots that you don’t mind having to clean, if you get what I mean…
and oh I forgot to mention, if they have a bull close by, make sure when you are checking the exterior you keep an eye on him or at least have a sturdy fence between you and him…
And don’t forget to bring your boots.
Hank,
Leave it to you to “horse” around :mrgreen:
Inspected a horse barn (if you can call it that), two days ago. Had rubber floors, recessed can lighting, automatic water troughs in each stall, full bathroom (shower, etc) for humans, not horses, cable TV, automatic openers on the doors - whew! Thankfully it was on a slab foundation - did not have to crawl underneath in any --well you get where I’m going.:roll:
Greg
I never horse around. I’m more of a jack??? :shock:
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Don’t forget to charge extra!
Cheers
Great question I learned a lot of new things to think about thanks to all .
Roy Cooke