Advice for field shelter?

[Winters100]

Hi, I am considering leaving my mare and her companion out at night. It is very warm where we are and I think that maybe they are better to be in their boxes in the middle of the day to escape the heat, and to enjoy the paddock for the rest of the time. Problem is that although the yard assures me that they will be brought in if there is heavy rain I don't really believe it - I simply cannot see one of the grooms getting up at 4am to rescue them from a storm. I need to arrange a field shelter, but since it is not on my own land I would like to find something fairly cost effective. Does anyone have any good ideas / anything that has worked for you? ANy top tips appreciated! Thank you in advance.

 

[Leam_Carrie]

Is there natural shelter in the field? Mine like to be under trees in bad weather. Also just check the forecast to see if a waterproof rug is needed.

Otherwise I have a lovely wooden field shelter, which was reasonable. If you’re somewhere warm I can’t advise on makes, as I’m in a rather wet UK.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

TBH, I think you might be wasting your money, horses often eschew a field shelter in favour of hedges etc. However they do tend to be waterproof and so unlikely to come to harm because it starts raining at 4.30 am, in a warm country. If you know it is going to be a wet night, you could put a rug on when you last see them in the evening.

 

[Winters100]

Yes, I know that this is right, and our trainer tells me that very often they won't use the shelter even when it rains. The thing is though that I am daft about my animals, and I simply would not sleep well knowing that she might be outside getting wet and without an option to shelter. A rain sheet is not really an option as we fluctuate between super hot and heavy rain. I tried the Bucas 'sun shower' rug, but it was worse than useless, horse was sweating profusely even in temperatures well within the advised range. Paddock has some trees outside the fences, so there is shade, but not much to protect from rain. I will probably just draw something and have it made, so any advice for the design would be much appreciated

 

[Winters100]

Actually other option is to abandon the plan and just keep boxing her at night. I thought it was nicer for them to be outside, but does it really make that mush difference? She is 14 and when boxed wears magnetic boots, which the vet says we don't need to use if she is outside moving. But this is not essential, so if anyone has an opinion about the necessity I would welcome any views.

 

[Tiddlypom]

My horses love both of their field shelters, and they use them daily all year round. I wouldn’t be without them.





One shelter is 20’ x 12’, and the other is 30’ x 12’. Both have double entrances, are fully lined with kick boards and have a lined roof for insulation.

The larger shelter going up in 2006.



The smaller shelter.

 

[NLPM]

Two of mine flat out refuse to go inside their field shelter in the rain - I don't think they like the noise of the rain on the roof. I've run out many times to check on them, worried sick and drenched through, only to find them grazing away in the middle of the field like nothing is going on around them (with no rugs on). One of them also gets very upset in the stable if there's a storm, but will settle immediately outside. I'm not sure whether he's afraid of being trapped in or whether I'm just anthropomorphising him, but he genuinely hates being inside when there's heavy rain. In hot sun, however, every single one of them will be in a shelter and they choose to 'put themselves away' about 8am-ish and come out around 7pm, with only short grazing/water breaks during the day.

Although it's not your land, could you not still buy a field shelter and then sell it on to land owner/another livery when you don't need it? You could buy second hand (or brand new in sales, if you're not in a rush; some stable companies sell ex-demo stock every so often) to keep costs down even further.

In terms of design, though, I would suggest a large opening if you're having two in there; two openings if possible. Never face prevailing wind, and back on to a hedge if possible for added windbreak (either up against hedge or >12ft gap behind though, you don't want any horses getting stuck behind it/unable to turn around if there is another horse coming round the other way). Metal trim around doorways like Tiddlypom's [lovely!] shelters is a great idea.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Mine religiously use the field shelters through the summer in daytime when the flies are out. Saves me bringing anyone in.
Otherwise they never use them even in dire conditions, unless of course I hang haynets in overnight in winter. They prefer to stand against a hedge or under trees in wet or snow etc.

 

[milliepops]

Mine religiously use the field shelters through the summer in daytime when the flies are out. Saves me bringing anyone in.
Otherwise they never use them even in dire conditions, unless of course I hang haynets in overnight in winter. They prefer to stand against a hedge or under trees in wet or snow etc.

Same here . Contrary creatures!

 

[FFAQ]

I bought 2 field shelters 2nd hand for my lot and they use them a lot. At the previous place I even made do with a shelter logic canvas shed! It was 24x12' and lasted a year, but would've lasted several years if I hadn't put it up somewhere so exposed (halfway up a hill on clay soil). Amazingly the horses still used it even when the soil was water-logged and the whole thing was starting to flap! If I was on a budget with reasonable hedges and good drainage I would definitely get another one. A word to the wise though - you need to put post and rail inside the shelter so they don't itch on the poles, and I electric fenced the outside for the same reason.

 

[Merrymoles]

I don't know where you are OP but if it's warm, I really wouldn't worry about heavy rain.

It bucketed down on and off here all day yesterday and ours were in a field with no shelter and were not rugged. When I went to feed them at 5ish, they were both toasty warm and as happy as larry grazing - and one of them is a 26-year-old who we do tend to mollycoddle a bit.

However, if you are set on a shelter, do make sure it is pinned to the ground. A big double one on the land where my horse is got blown upside down on to a hedge in early spring and basically had to be destroyed to remove it. Thankfully the horses it was intended for were never interested in being inside.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Lol at these hardy horses who eschew field shelters, every horse who has been here has loved ours. I can’t imagine horsey life without them now.

Latest pic taken a few mins ago in a sudden hailstorm. We like proper shelter with a roof, ta very much .

 

[NLPM]

Sorry to derail the thread a little, but Tiddlypom, what camera are you using? It looks great.

 

[CavaloBranco]

I've posted before about my super expensive 24x12 heavyweight field shelter bought over a year ago..at that point neither horse had used it once.
Not one to be defeated I waited cheerfully until this summer, deciding that they could both live out as flies and sun would drive them in.....and....I'm still waiting......
Sun,flies, gale force winds or heavy rain,nope we would rather be out in our hedgeless, treeless, exposed field.
So I wouldn't rush to buy a shelter if you don't own your land, they are usually on metal skids but ours takes a full sized tractor to move it.

 

[chaps89]

If there has been a field shelter available, mine has used it. Mostly when it rains but sometimes when it's hot too.
I think where it's positioned makes a big difference too.

 

[Fransurrey]

When I bought one for use on rented land, I simply drew up a basic 3 sided shelter and had it made up by a local woodyard, with corrugated roof. It was mounted on railway sleepers (trust me, you need to anchor them down!) and at the time I didn't use any flooring at all, as I was on top of a hill. At the last yard I made a base out of bedding, with grass mats, then stable mats on top, as we were at the bottom of a hill with springs. I'm back on a hill again, now, so have no base inside, just bedding in winter and stable mats outside the front the wrong way up (so that the horses have grip on what would be the drainage channels if they were in a stable). I put any used bedding under the stable mats, which anchors them and stabilises the ground underneath. Both my Exmoors have always used them in rain and sun (they put themselves to bed in the winter - very cute!!). Cob also uses it. It means their feet have a chance to dry out, too.

 

[HeyMich]

I had a field shelter built a couple of weeks ago in the summer field as there's no natural shelter from rain or sun, and my 2 mares absolutely love it! They're in there snoozing regularly, plus hiding from the wind and rain when the weather's rubbish. I actively encourage them to go in there though as it's still new, so I put hay in there occasionally, and I always take them in there to change rugs etc.

Our winter field doesn't have a field shelter, but it has loads of natural shelter from a woodland strip on the windward side, and the horses wintered out this year just fine. If we save enough pennies, I might try and convince the OH that we need a shelter there too sometime in the future...

 

[Tiddlypom]

Sorry to derail the thread a little, but Tiddlypom, what camera are you using? It looks great.

That is a discontinued Foscam model and it is a few years old, but we also have the current model, the Foscam R2, in the other shelter.

https://www.foscam.com/R2.html

My OH (aka tech support ) tells me that it is a mid range option @ about £90ish. It has pan and tilt and a decent nighttime image. Looking at the reviews, it gets a bit of a panning for being tricky to set up, but OH didn’t find it difficult.

 

[Winters100]

My horses love both of their field shelters, and they use them daily all year round. I wouldn’t be without them.

View attachment 33286

View attachment 33287

One shelter is 20’ x 12’, and the other is 30’ x 12’. Both have double entrances, are fully lined with kick boards and have a lined roof for insulation.

The larger shelter going up in 2006.

View attachment 33288

The smaller shelter.

View attachment 33289

Great! Now I see the design I need - this is perfect. I was wondering about how to give shelter from wind all directions but this is it. Thank you!

 

[Winters100]

When I bought one for use on rented land, I simply drew up a basic 3 sided shelter and had it made up by a local woodyard, with corrugated roof. It was mounted on railway sleepers (trust me, you need to anchor them down!) and at the time I didn't use any flooring at all, as I was on top of a hill. At the last yard I made a base out of bedding, with grass mats, then stable mats on top, as we were at the bottom of a hill with springs. I'm back on a hill again, now, so have no base inside, just bedding in winter and stable mats outside the front the wrong way up (so that the horses have grip on what would be the drainage channels if they were in a stable). I put any used bedding under the stable mats, which anchors them and stabilises the ground underneath. Both my Exmoors have always used them in rain and sun (they put themselves to bed in the winter - very cute!!). Cob also uses it. It means their feet have a chance to dry out, too.

Yes, I also plan to not use flooring. But their field is sandy, and it will anyway be for summer showers as where we are is too cold to winter them out.Thank you!

 

[Winters100]

Lol at these hardy horses who eschew field shelters, every horse who has been here has loved ours. I can’t imagine horsey life without them now.

Latest pic taken a few mins ago in a sudden hailstorm. We like proper shelter with a roof, ta very much .

View attachment 33306

Sorry to ask, but I am trying to draw this for the carpenter - do you know approximately how wide each entrance is?

 

[Tiddlypom]

I think each entrance is 9 feet wide. We have proper elevation drawings of the shelter which we used for the planning application, I’ll dig them out later and pm them to you .

ETA In the meantime, I’ve just checked with a tape measure and the entrances for the 30’ x 12’ shelter are both 8’ wide, and for the 20’ x 12’ they are 6’ wide.

 

[Winters100]

I think each entrance is 9 feet wide. We have proper elevation drawings of the shelter which we used for the planning application, I’ll dig them out later and pm them to you .

ETA In the meantime, I’ve just checked with a tape measure and the entrances for the 30’ x 12’ shelter are both 8’ wide, and for the 20’ x 12’ they are 6’ wide.

SUPER! Thank you very much!