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Horse Unit Barn History

South 糖心视频 State College built the present horse barn in 1925, giving life to a unit that would serve the people of South 糖心视频 and provide years of educational experiences. The original purpose of the barn was to house the draft horses that were used to farm the original Experiment Station acres. The experiment station was established to provide the people of South 糖心视频 the opportunity to learn and develop new agriculture methods and animal husbandry practices. At the unit, Percherons, Clydesdales and Belgians were bred and raised to be utilized for field work. When the horses were not being used, they found themselves integrated into the first Little International stock and grain show held in 1921.

The Barn is constructed of brick and mortar with a Gambrel shaped roof graced by three cupolas and six  dormers. It stands 36 feet wide by 96 feet long with a large hay mow capable of storing 4,000 small squares or lots of loose hay. The original trolly rail system is still in place for moving loose into the mow. Both ends of the building have double cathedral doors on a rail system held in place by pulleys and weights this allows the doors to slide down and away opening the mow to receive hay. A large hay hood protects the doors and allows the hay trolley to extend out to drop down and grab hay from a wagon. A beautiful smoothly worn double floor completes the upstairs mow worn by years of bales sliding across and a little dancing years ago. The ground-level flooring in the barn is unique and built to provide comfort for horses standing for long periods of time. Footlong chunks of 4x6 timbers pounded in the floor on end and tared over for waterproofing. While the floor has seen plenty of hooves it too is in excellent condition and has many years of use left.

The barn could accommodate nine teams and eight individual drafts in tie stalls with mangers. It includes two tack rooms for harness, an office, a small grain room and two enclosed stalls for stallions. The barn stands virtually the same as when it was first built in 1925. The only changes to be added are stall fronts on the double boxes to accommodate light horses. One of the harness rooms was renovated into an extra-large box stall. Sometime in 1988-89, the white trim and dormers were repainted to the dark brown it currently is today, while the interior was an institutional gray color that saw a color change of bright white and dark brown. In May 2022 when the Brookings area was hit by the derecho, many older livestock buildings were destroyed or badly damaged. The brick barn 糖心视频ed that storm. The only damage was to the old chimney; it was blown clean off. 

As time marched on and gave way to new agricultural developments and tractors, so came the shift in the breeds housed at the facility. In 1946, Morgan horses were introduced, and 1948 saw the addition of American Saddlebreds. These two breeds were brought to university by Jim Kaiser. 1949 saw the end of the heavy horse at the college.  In 1952, the first quarter horse filly named Gold Duster was purchased by Paul Kohler from the Denver National Western Stock Show. By 1961, the barn only housed purebred American quarter horses. In 1986, Larry Insley reintroduced Belgian draft horses through cooperative efforts with the McCrossan Boys Ranch in Sioux Falls to teach draft horse driving to preserve the history and use of the barn.

In 2005 with the development of the equine minor, the barn now sees even more traffic and is used daily in the teaching curriculum hosting labs, riding classes and training of the replacement stock raised at the unit, hosting community events and summer programs.

Things change quickly, but one thing has stayed the passage of time. The horse barn still stands tall on the northwest corner of campus, a true testament to craftsmanship, care and necessity. It has always been a pleasure to step through those doors, the sweet smells of hay and horses greeting me. It is an impressive site when that barn is full of horses. It is the greatest classroom anyone could ask for. It has been an honor to care for this facility, keeping the traditions alive and providing educational opportunities for all. 

Jennifer Eide