Those without proper shelters.........

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millyspaniel

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I have a 3 acre field with thick 6/7ft hedges all round and a couple of tall trees for shelter. The field is down on a hill so can be quite sheltered. Soon, after xmas am hoping for 2 stables and a decent field shelter. The horses all seem to be coping well - there currently grazing on just over 1.5 acres - theres 2 small sec a, a tb and a little yearling coblet.
I do worry about them not having enough though, although they seem to have made a sort of cove between 2 hedges(theres a small gap around 5ft across with a sorta over hang of bush)
What sort of shelter have you got?
 
just hedges and they seem to cope fine out in all weathers, we are on a hill so it is quite sheltered down below
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Thats good to know that am not the only one with no proper shelter! sometimes i feel guilty when it rains but it dont seem to bother them in the slightest
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We have a herd of 10 on about 20 acres and they only have natural shelter of hedges and trees, and they cope fine. So your not the only one!
 
Believe it or not, mine have nothing at all in their day paddock and it is quite high up with the wind usually beating straight at it. We are going to build them a sort of horse-sized, beach windbreak out of fence posts and cow barn mesh (no idea what it is called in UK) for them to hide behind - no roof though.
 
My lad lived out for 2 yrs with the option of a shelter,he never used it? they didnt have great hedges obviously as they die off through winter and dont provide much protection,but he was rugged up well and couldnt give a monkeys as long as he got his tea and had plenty of hay to eat
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No 1 LGW and her companion (rugged TB) live out, they do have a lovely roomy and warm field shelter and they lurk there when there's hay tied up for them, but during the day if I drive past and it's tipping down more often than not they're tucked in amongst the fir trees, or if it's morning or evening feed time they're under the oaks by the road watching for their owners car!
 
Ours only have natural shelter from hedges and trees, we are not allowed to have a field shelter, and i am not sure if i would have one for ours as two would probably be pushed out in the cold anyway.
 
As others have said, Horses often won't use a field shelter. There's a field shelter at my yard but the only time the horses ever go in there is in midsummer if the flies are driving them nuts.
 
I have kept all my horses in the past without a field shelter, just the natural shelter of hedges and trees. 2 years ago i decided to have a stable built so that if ever one was ill and needed to box rest i had the facilities.
I had it built in a half acre paddock adjoining a 3 1/2 field it as come in handy this year as i have had a poorly pony, but apart from that the stable is rarely used unless i put a pony in the small paddock and hook the stable door open.
When i did this i did find the ponies in there alot, so would love to have a shelter built in the main field in the future.
 
At my last yard my horses had access to shelters 24/7 - they only ever used them in the summer to cool down or get out of the way of flies.

They are now out with hedges for shelter and I bring them in for a few hours if the weather is really terrible!
 
I've also just got thick hedges & my horses (a 29 year old warmblood & a clipped anglo arab) both do very well out full time in the winter.
They used to turned out with some stables in the field, I left the doors open with plenty of bedding in them & the only time they ever used them was in the summer.
They would both go in the same stable together.
 
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