We found the land, built our home first, and then started our barn. We started with a small herd of 4 geldings.  They were wonderful teachers for us.  We were hands on them from day one.  They were gentle and easy to care for. We added two additions to the barn.  First we put a two car garage for farm equipment.  Then we added an addition for the foundation female and her crias.  Another dam came and provided us with two more crias.   My husband and I built this farm from nothing. We built our house first and then our barn. It took 8 years of work, but it was worth it. We now can see the forest through the trees, as well as our alpacas.