How to utilise a field shelter to the max ...

Archiesmummy

Archiesmummy

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I am soon to move to my own place where stables may come but for now have a field shelter. One of my boys absolutely loves coming in and settling down for a nap so am really worrying that he is going to miss his stable terribly but needs must.

How do you utlise your field shelters, do you leave them bare, do you put bedding down, do you pop a door on? I can't really do a door as potentially a shelter for two, possibly three for the time being.

I am really hoping I will get a pleasant surprise and not need a stable at all.

Any pics too would be great.
 
Hi, I use my field shelter as a stable in that it is fully bedded and banked etc, my old mares nets are hung in there and she is fed in there.
I don't have doors or anything on though. You will be supprised how much it is used, but I think it needs bedding for them to use it fully. 2 of the ladies I 'do' for have shelters with no bedding and their horses rarely use it, where as old girl loves her bed!

Mel
 
Am having a large field shelter this year :)

I plan to have it partioned in the centre with 2 gates which can be used as stables if need be. I plan to bed them both down and put nets up.
There will be hardcore standing where the shelter is based and outside too.
 
I've got bedding in 2 of my 3 shelters - its just the 'clean' that comes out of any deep litter box after each winter.
All I do is top up the shelters - they are never dug out, as drain beautifully.

However, these shelters are only mainly used in winter for standing in to eat hay. I 'can' put cattle hurdles across one of them if I need to contain something instead of bringing into the yard. Occasionally its useful as that shelter is 22 x 11, so good for box rest :)

The 2 fixed shelters have also good overhangs & a small bit of hardstanding outside so the ground doesn't get poached up.

The mobile doesn't have bedding or hardstanding - but it does have a generous overhang - and they use it a lot on hot days :)
 
What base is there? Ours is 24ft by 12ft, has a concrete base and is rubber matted on one side where the front panel shelters it (4ft by 12ft). We put a thin layer of straw down on the rubber in winter, and muck it out weekly - it can get nasty so we tend to add more straw every fees days on top, mucking out every day would be too time consuming, on top of mucking out the two in the stables, plus access is grassed (so gets very muddy) and would be a huge effort in the dark! My sisters youngster does lie in there most nights, and it ould be nice if it was cleaner as he stinks! :p There are three which have access 24/7 and 2 additional out during the day.

Best thing we did was last year, putting a hack rack on one wall and a hay bar in the opposite corner. They love the hay bar and its a great easy way of providing adlib hay without the faff and risk of a net and keeping most of the hay from getting wasted :)

Ideally we would put a partition down the middle, to prevent the boss pony hogging the entrance on occasion and not letting anyone else in :rolleyes:
 
mine is used all the time by my 2 mares. They virtually live in it in the winter. I have rubber matting and shavings and feed hay in there when its wet or windy. Paid for itself 10 x over.
 
I have a 12 by 24ft one with 2 entrances. There is a partition which swings back to create two 'stables' and I could put slip rails up but never needed to. Hay is put in there in hay bars or haynets depending if i need to control speed of eating.

I dont put bedding in as found they specifically went in there to wee and I hated the fact that the bedding got dragged out and went everywhere so I put a load of sand at the back and a rubber mat at the front which works really well.

My horses love it, they stand in there to get out of the rain and sun or often just stand under the overhang but they have never lied down in there...

I also have stables but hardly ever use it unless one needs to come in for box rest/vet etc.
 
I do the opposite and use my two wooden loose boxes as field shelter. They are in the paddock so I have option of giving ponies full access to them. I do have beds down in them and the boys do definitely use them, in the winter on really bad days I put their hay inside and they chose to spend time in, often lying down together in one box.
It worked so well that before next winter I Am going to convert a corner part of the paddock by stables into a covered area to give them more space together undercover. It will also be more sheltered than the boxes with their doors open.
My horses have always been stabled before with time in fields during day, but this 24/7 out with good shelter has been brilliant and I am converted.
 
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