I don't remember how this little book came to be in my library, but it is a very useful publication for a do-it-yourself type. When it says "How to Build a Stable" that's what it means; every detail of doing the job by yourself is covered. The stable in question is a 20' x 30' three box stall structure, containing a grooming aisle, tackroom and 600 sq. ft. hayloft. Every step of the construction from selecting a site, digging foundation trenches (the building has a concrete block foundation), to building a cupola is illustrated and explained.

When we built our barn we designed it ourselves, but had a builder do the actual construction so I can't say we did it ourselves using this book, however the steps are very completely described and illustrated.

I would take issue with a few recommendations in the book, such as to save money on buying metal window grilles by constructing them yourself out of plywood strips -- if you know horses you know these will be chewed in short order. Also, the recommendation to have a loft above for hay storage is out of date, as it is generally accepted now that the resulting dust and risk of fire are not worth it, and hay should be stored separately from the horses, protected by a fire proof wall. However, sometimes funds do not allow such a setup and the loft approach must be used. Overall, this book is complete and basically correct and the resulting stable looks both neat and functional.