A light snowfall chills the early-November air outside Paris Farms, in Paris, Wis. 

Thomas Rock, owner of TSR Farrier Service, is thankful he doesn’t have to worry about the elements today as he preps a hoof for a snow pad inside the heated barn, located on 40 acres in the southeastern part of the state.

Four years ago, Rock decided to rent a barn stall at Paris Farms and convert it into a more ideal workspace for his business. Today, he conducts 25% of his business from the stall, which includes servicing some of the 35 horses boarded in the barn. 

The stall not only keeps Rock warm during harsh Wisconsin winters, but above all it provides a safer working environment and makes him more time efficient.

“One of the key features of having a space out of the aisle of a barn is not having to stop working every time a horse needs to go by,” Rock says. “It’s safe, you’re out of the way, you’re not bumping into whatever is in the aisleway.”

Choosing A Barn

A second electrical outlet was installed outside the barn. This allows Rock to park his shoeing rig right outside the adjacent barn door and not worry about running cords from the rig to the inside stall.

Rock is willing to travel within a 45-mile radius of his home in  Wadsworth, Ill., about a 25-minute drive from Paris. He likes working out of Paris Farms because of its central location between his home…