providing shelter through winter

jackessex

jackessex

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hi all horses have been coming in for about two wks now and there feet allready are getting thrushy even though they are both on shavings,i have decided that i would prefer them to live out next yr as i dont think it does them any good standing in for hrs on end.so i was wondering what everyone else does to provide shelter for there horses,i was thinking of doing a very large hardstanding with a 3 sided shelter so that they could come and go,with access to their field untill it ends up knee deep (clay soil)when they would be shut into hardstanding area.any pics would be appreciated.
 
Make an area of hardstanding/road planings in one corner of the field and feed them their hay on this. They'll stand there for at least as long as it takes to eat the hay and that gives their feet a chance to be on a dry surface.

Pick their feet once a day.

Spray along sides/clefts of their frogs with sheeprot footspray (terramycin or something similar from a livestock vet) 2-3 times a week.
 
Sounds like a good plan. Be aware that you should really have planning for a hard standing, so the council could come down on you.. We have a hard standing about 20mx30m that has grassed over on top, that we use for winter turnout when our clay fields get too deep.

If you can afford it, I'd have a field shelter in each direction at eacy end, or a few people round here have two together (face to face) with the overhangs touching, so that there is more shelter from wind in any direction..

But why are they getting thrush so much? Are they on deep beds/having feet picked out a lot? Do you treat inside the feet? Just wondering...
 
I've got a 3 and a half-sided field shelter with an 8ft gate, which is usually left tied open so he can come and go as he pleases. Seems to be working brilliantly so far, he's still out 24/7 without a rug and looking really good on it. You may find that they choose to stand behind it rather than in it - Merlin scoots in for a bit of hay overnight and then goes straight back out, the sheep spend more time in it!
 
We have a fairly well sheltered field, with some good trees, and a neighbour's very nice hedge behind a wire fence (so above is neatly trimmed at pony height - oops!) . We bought a field shelter only to find they do not use it in winter or in the rain, only to get away from flies in the height of summer.
 
We have a well sheltered field from almost every angle. As shelter we have a small Dutch-type barn, which was already there when we bought the land round our house. It is corrugated iron, faces north west which isn't the cleverest, and is 3-sided.

Right by our house we got planning permission to put up a "haybarn" (think it was from JR Stabling) which is 24 x 12 feet. I had a breezeblock partition in to give me a 9 x 12 food bay with sliprails and a 15 x 12 open box with slip rails option for injuries etc. I also paid the extra for a 3 foot overhang and this was so worth it. It's deep littered with Bedmax and cleaned out every spring. The horses love the shelter - the three of them tuck in there and in the little yard, always have their hay and their trough there - and can keep a good eye on our back door for the trolley dolly! This set up faces east, but we put up a log shed the other side of the yard so the yard is in fact very sheltered.

Around the stable area I'm gradually installing Fieldguard grass matting, which is making such a difference - this is it's first winter. Even the bits that have some mud on them only has maybe half an inc of mud instead of 6 inches. I think we corresponded about this - last year? - well I wonder if you went ahead yourself and got some?

One point. the 'haybarn' by the house, which was a present from my wonderful non-horsy monther, cost about £3000 10 years ago. It's not brilliantly substantial though it looks very nice so the planners were happy. But if you know a nice builder and wanted something like that it might be worth seeing what they would quote. Let us know what you decide to do.
 
Honey08 said:
Sounds like a good plan. Be aware that you should really have planning for a hard standing, so the council could come down on you.. We have a hard standing about 20mx30m that has grassed over on top, that we use for winter turnout when our clay fields get too deep.

If you can afford it, I'd have a field shelter in each direction at eacy end, or a few people round here have two together (face to face) with the overhangs touching, so that there is more shelter from wind in any direction..

But why are they getting thrush so much? Are they on deep beds/having feet picked out a lot? Do you treat inside the feet? Just wondering...
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hi apparently you dont need planning so long as you dont dig into ground ie scrape soil away,so i was thinking of doing big area of hardstanding to keep feet dryer,i have noticed since thay were coming in the thrush is worse even though they are stabled on rubber mat with shavings which are fully mucked out everyday,both horses have feet picked out twice a day everyday and i have tried pretty much everything to treat thrush :(
i was just looking for ideas on different types of shelter as i will be getting the "other half" to build me something :)
 
jackessex said:
hi apparently you dont need planning so long as you dont dig into ground ie scrape soil away,so i was thinking of doing big area of hardstanding to keep feet dryer,i have noticed since thay were coming in the thrush is worse even though they are stabled on rubber mat with shavings which are fully mucked out everyday,both horses have feet picked out twice a day everyday and i have tried pretty much everything to treat thrush :(
i was just looking for ideas on different types of shelter as i will be getting the "other half" to build me something :)
Click to expand...


Chalk? We have awful clay soil but a few years ago put down a good layer of chalk in the main standing areas with some field guard matting on top. It could do with topping up this year but probably wont get done til next but mine are out 24/7 (have rubber mats in field shelter so completely dry in there) have never had any thrush or mud fever and BOY do we have mud!
 
Rose Folly said:
We have a well sheltered field from almost every angle. As shelter we have a small Dutch-type barn, which was already there when we bought the land round our house. It is corrugated iron, faces north west which isn't the cleverest, and is 3-sided.

Right by our house we got planning permission to put up a "haybarn" (think it was from JR Stabling) which is 24 x 12 feet. I had a breezeblock partition in to give me a 9 x 12 food bay with sliprails and a 15 x 12 open box with slip rails option for injuries etc. I also paid the extra for a 3 foot overhang and this was so worth it. It's deep littered with Bedmax and cleaned out every spring. The horses love the shelter - the three of them tuck in there and in the little yard, always have their hay and their trough there - and can keep a good eye on our back door for the trolley dolly! This set up faces east, but we put up a log shed the other side of the yard so the yard is in fact very sheltered.

Around the stable area I'm gradually installing Fieldguard grass matting, which is making such a difference - this is it's first winter. Even the bits that have some mud on them only has maybe half an inc of mud instead of 6 inches. I think we corresponded about this - last year? - well I wonder if you went ahead yourself and got some?

One point. the 'haybarn' by the house, which was a present from my wonderful non-horsy monther, cost about £3000 10 years ago. It's not brilliantly substantial though it looks very nice so the planners were happy. But if you know a nice builder and wanted something like that it might be worth seeing what they would quote. Let us know what you decide to do.
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hi yes we did speak about grass mats i didnt manage to get them down :(
maybe instead of the hardstanding i could use those,its a thought anyway do you have any pics?
 
elsielouise said:
Chalk? We have awful clay soil but a few years ago put down a good layer of chalk in the main standing areas with some field guard matting on top. It could do with topping up this year but probably wont get done til next but mine are out 24/7 (have rubber mats in field shelter so completely dry in there) have never had any thrush or mud fever and BOY do we have mud!
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thats an idea how much chalk did you put down?and over how big an area?
 
Don't be surprised that once you've built your beautiful shelter the ungrateful sods never bother to use it. We have found that our lot prefer to stay out - they have good hedges and trees - even at -10°C. At first we thought it would be a miserable existence for them but they obviously are not as uncomfortable as we would ahve supposed. It has taken the horses many years to teach us to think like horses :D
 
jackessex said:
thats an idea how much chalk did you put down?and over how big an area?
Click to expand...


Ah... now there's a question. Um.... there was about four good size 'mountains' before it was levelled (with a tractor squashing thingy).

Sorry - HOW unhelpful is that! Maybe two big lorry loads then? (I was at work so didn't see it actually done). The chalk was free from a local quarry place. They also gave us some road planing type stuff and we put chalk on that.

It was eventually spread through a gateway and an area the size of a field shelter with an equal sized 'aprons' at the front. i.e 28' x 14' for shelter plus apron of a similiar size.

We also made a track to the shelter to enable the trailer to be turned round and created a complete hard standing area here that I tie to to groom etc.

if you send me an email link via pm I can send you a picture.

It does get a bit slippy on the track in winter but is NO worse than knee deep clay could ever be.
 
Shelter with 3 sides and closeable 4th side is handy. For a floor sand compacted down with a compactor with rubber mats. Less of a fan of chalk as it wears down too easily. I have shelters with both types. Mine use their shelters a lot especially in summer and when it rains heavily.
 
Our fields have natural shelter on 2 sides, and very nigh river bank on one side also. They do use the natural shelter, but I also have a field shelter for the old boy. In fact two field shelters - one in the summer fields is large and has two small gates on the front with a little wall in between, so he can walk in one door and out the other. The shelter inthe winter field is more like a stable, with one gate on the front. The gates are about 5ft wide and are left open. He has a haynet and also his bucket of fast fibre in the shelter so does use it. He uses it often in the rain.

We have field mats down that have been down a few years, and have almost disappeared, I don't know if this is due to the cows........

I have also used old carpet in gateways and this seems to work quite well and is free!
 
Be aware that planners often regard any kind of "surface" other than mud & grass as a base. My shelters went straight up onto slightly raised bit of out field, no base at all, planners looked & said it was fine. Friends on mine put down a loose base ( no ground work) just big shingle on sand, the planner looked & said they need PP as a base constitutes a fixed structure etc!
 
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