Tips on Designing Horse Shelters
When planning horse shelters, it is first of all important to remember that horses and ponies need shelter that is totally clean, dry and protected from weather. One of the variations of horse shelters that can make sure you give your creature the best of environs is the run-shed horse shelters.
To begin with, as you start by deciding on a location, decide on a spot that will not flood and also place the back wall to the prevailing wind. For the purpose of enhanced safety and protection, place your run in shed horse shelter in such a manner that it is quite away from gates and fences. This will in turn also ensure that cleaning is easier and that there is enough room for horses to move in and out.
Horse Shelter Design Ideas
When you plan the measurements for such horse sheds, keep the measurements quite large to enable all the horses to lie and stand comfortably in it. Generally, experts recommend that the size of an average horse shed should be about 100 sq. ft or nine sq m in accordance with the size of an average sized riding horse. However, the larger the space, better it would be for the purpose of allowing maximum mobility to the horses, especially if the bigger ones choose to run in sheds often.
Interestingly, in some cases, when planning a horse run in shelter, at times owners also consider making it portable so it can be dragged to different locations. This also serves various advantages such as facilitating easier cleaning and removal of the shelter in case of flooding.
Experts also suggest making the entrance large enough for a tractor bucket to get through for easy maintenance. Besides, when designing a horse run in shelter, it also helps ensure that the ceiling is quite high, preventing the horse to hit its head, even if snow is coming through the entrance.
When choosing the material for your horse shelters, there are a number of factors that can influence your choices. In case the structure happens to be a fixed one, then the owner can decide to use materials such as brick or concrete, even making cleaning an easier task. Besides, it has been generally observed that earth flooring is easier on the horse’s legs and may be warmer, though such surfaces are tougher to clean and maintain.
Besides, when planning your horse shelter, you also need to consider that some structures can be noisy in the wind. Hence, it is crucial to build the structure securely. A noisy tarp roof or loose metal siding might deter horses from using it besides presenting a safety hazard as well.
Once the entire construction is complete, make sure that there are no nails, screws or edges of metal siding strewed across, along with any other obstacles that a horse could injure itself on. Make sure that the construction site is cleaned to avoid any accidents.
