In a lot of ways I think we would have been better off buying property and building our farm rather than buying one that had been neglected for so long. The price was right, the location was perfect, and we loved the layout and bones of the place which makes it all ok but looking around at all the major projects we would like to complete gets a bit overwhelming at times.
Accomplishing some more minor projects helps keep my anxiety at bay and this past weekend saw a nice one get crossed off the list. This post is not a DIY how to because, well I didn’t do any of the work and was mowing the pasture to get ready for the monthly rotation while Dusty planned and built it for me.
A big issue for me has been my grooming/tacking area. We placed cross ties right outside the tack room for easy access which makes sense. The problem was storage. Sure I could just keep walking in and out of the tack room to grab whatever I needed, but this is real life and that is annoying. The one tiny shelf that was created by an old window (I turned the barn office into my tack room as the actual tack room lacked both a ceiling and a door so everything was disgustingly dusty all the time) quickly got crowded with brushes and various hoof treatments causing them to fall onto the dirt floor or needing stacked. It was sub optimal for sure.
I asked the hubby if he could build me a cabinet in place of this window/shelf and then added the kicker that I wanted it to be accessed from both the aisle and the tack room. Even easier to fill it or grab things that way.
Umm…and I wanted it decorated with a X like all the other doors and stall fronts in the barn. Too tall of an order?
He started the project a couple of weeks ago by cutting the hole in the wall and then it took a while to figure out the doors and argue over how to latch everything. I didn’t want them attached to each other with a sliding latch but I also didn’t want a central vertical board either.
At first he wanted to make just a single door and while that would have made the project quicker and easier, the door would have been large and heavy. I worried it would swing open and hit Eeyore in the cross ties and imagined the annoyance of having to walk around or constantly shut and open the door to move around him. If you are building custom, you might as well make it the most efficient you can.
So two doors it was. He ended up building a single door and cutting it in half which worked out super well. That is about all the tips and tricks I can give you on this project.
All he had to do was repeat it a second time for inside the tack room
And fill it up!
I adore it!! Everything is nicely organized, super handy and while it doesn’t super matter if your treat bucket has dirt on it, the doors will help keep the dust off everything.
I’m debating removing the top shelf and installing hooks instead to hang things on, but I don’t really have much to hang. All my tack lives inside the tack room on hooks and stands, so we will see if that ever needs to happen. For now, I am thrilled to not be fighting that stupid little shelf any more and am happy with how this turned out. The next project for the hubby is a feed bin in the feed room.
The Roaming Rider 
This is so cool! He did a great job. I’m jealous of handy people as I am the exact opposite.
Also, that is a huge pasture- your horses are lucky beasts!
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They are and I’m happy to slave away for them. One of the biggest features we loved about this property was the fact we could have three large pastures to rotate through.
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omg that looks amazing!!!! he did such a nice job – it’s nice to have someone handy who is willing to build you horsey things 😀
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He is a great hubby though he did his fare share of grumbling
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omgosh the doors opening on the inside and outside of the tackroom is genius!!! looks great – it’s like the perfect little portal haha!
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I figured why not be able to use it both sides? Even if I never open the tack room side doors at least they are there
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love this. That is very cool. can we borrow Dusty? 🙂
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Sure if you can keep him fed 😂. He comes with a very large feed bill
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That’s such an awesome concept! Great job Dusty!
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He did amazing bringing my half firmed idea to real life
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Nice idea! And even more impressive, well executed!
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He did a great job!
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What a great project! Definitely a time and annoyance saver. Definitely extra hubby points on that one!
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He earned himself major brownie points.
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And now I kind of want one of these installed in my horse’s stall now so when the crossties are full I don’t have to walk a mile down the aisle a hundred times when I inevitably forget something.
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I used it tonight and it was amazing. So easy. So organized.
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That looks so good! How awesome your hubby can do that stuff!
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He grumbles a bit but it always turns out so nice
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Oh, that would be so handy! Very clever
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It is working out perfectlt
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That is a great idea and Dusty did a great job. If the swinging doors become a pain you can always put in sliding ones (like mini barn doors). A handy husband is the best thing since sliced bread.
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This is awesome. I want something like this.
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I got to use it for racking up last night and loved it. He had wanted a sliding match but I wanted as hands free as possible. We used magnets on the aisle side and snap in latches at the top on the tack side and both work well. I can open and close one handed
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The wall between my tack room and aisle way has a window so I can’t do this, but I love the idea. I could use a cabinet in the grooming area though.
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This is such a clever idea!!!
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It is working out perfectly
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Let me borrow Dusty when we buy a house please oh please? lol
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Sure! Just feed him a lot of tacos and burritos and he will work forever
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