Dr. Dave Kammel, UW Extension Specialist, tips for creating useful handling facilities for today's beef operations. This presentation was given at the 2011 Wisconsin Cattlemen's Winter Conference.
The horse management plan is relatively simple. In its simplest form it is simply a set of lists. One list describes the needs of the horse for a clean, dry comfortable environment. Another list describes the needa and wants of the owner. This may include the labor and management activities the owner wants to put in place for the care of the horse. The barn design should fit the owners management plan. The specifications of the building are a list of features that will meet both the horses needs, and the owners needs and wants. These features can be incorporated into the building design. Prioritizing and deciding on the the list of building features will usually become part of the budgeting process to determine where money will be spent. Needs are usually higher priority than wants, but if the budget is large enough they may be part of the project. Wants of the owners may or may not be necessary to the comfort of the animal and may be of lower priority in the budget if choices must be made on how and where the budget will be spent.