Tour a Magical Horse Property in Hungary

Fall in love with this small and delightful horse property.

Viktória Dóbiás lives in Lőrinci, a small town in Hungary. She keeps her two ponies at home in her backyard. Viki’s shelter is simple, yet charming and thoughtfully designed.

Her petite barn was designed and built by her dad in 2013. The tiny stable doesn’t have a large footprint. The floor area is 5 x 5 meters (approximately 16′ x 16′), there is a 3 x 3 meter (approximately 10′ x 10′) stall for the horses and a well-organized tack area. The log cabin on the property was also build by Viki’s father.

Alma (left) is Haflinger mare that Viki rescued in 2013. Alma was very thin and neglected, but the biggest surprise was that she was actually pregnant. Atlas (right) was then born in March of 2014. He is a cross between a Haflinger and Hucul Horse, which is a Hungarian breed.

The tack area is small, but functional. Open, vertical shelves offers storage solutions. Smart design means the saddles area is closed off to the ponies when their stall door is open. The barn is made from pine, with the exception of a removable, double wall in the stall that is made from larch.

The stall door is always kept open, even at night. The ponies can move freely from the stall to their paddock and meadow.

Sometimes Alma and Atlas sleep outside at night, but they often come in during warm summer days to escape the heat.

The loft area upstairs was once used for hay storage, but recently Viki had a new idea for it.

“The upstairs originally was a hay loft, but this summer I had a new idea. I would like to make a bedroom over the horses. This is a guest room for our visitors – I organized a two day special ‘workshop’ for that ones who want to keep horses in the backyard like me. Many people in Hungary keep horses in the back garden and I want to help them by sharing my experiences with them.”

Polycarbonate panels are used upstairs in the loft. They are lightweight, easy to install and help shield out harmful UV rays.

Viki and her dad make their own hay every summer. They have an old Belarus tractor and a 65-year-old hay baler that makes small cube bales. In 2018 hay storage was built next to the barn, it can hold enough hay for an entire year.

Thank you Viki for sharing your wonderful space with Stable Style!