peter bevan

If you want the best allround dual purpose medium to small breed you should consider Red Poll cattle - always tied with shorthorns for highest feed efficiency
against  angus,hereford and many other breeds - this means less feed for lb of beef in a breed noted for disposition, calving ease and they are naturally hornless.
The only downside to them is there availability -  they are slightly bigger than Dexters and the many other "latest fashion - designer breeds".

I have had various breeds of cattle over 40 years but unfortunately could not easily source red polls - (in Canada) - much easier in USA, Australia, Uk (where
they originate from).      Do your research, not sales talk - my observations are the result of initial looks at over 50 breeds world wide and continued from
1975 until now.  PS some breed organizations are better than others (as can be expected) as well as breeders/sales types within each breed -  If they sound
like used car salespersons and not just a fan of the breed you chose - tread with care. Good luck on your own choices for your own "environment". - cheers P.

What we have done with a barrel stove (wood heater) in our basement is use concrete building blocks (i believe 8" x16") They are stacked as a traditional
wall with a bit of spacing 1/2 " on the bottom layer that allows air to be drawn into the system. It has worked well with a small contact area on the curve
of our heater.   Yours would be better and you could do a three sided wall structure. Also the lower portion though not touching will draw some heat from
a slightly closed area.   Don't expect it to get real hot - if it does you are probably wasting wood!  After the fire goes out it will still radiate for a few hours
even though feeling slightly warm - trying sand might be a later option with the structure (we haven't done so). (we are 40 plus year woodstove users in
temperatures averaging -10 celcius but hitting more than -30C  for periods some winters).

Hope this helps Peter in central British Columbia, Canada                     super efficient wood stove design (used for 4 years) on our other place
may be coming up in the future.