We just built these shelters for our pastures, and wanted to get other’s opinions. Are these enough coverage from sun and rain? They’re each 10x12
I think this really depends on climate/location.
My horses use pasture shelter mainly to escape from bugs, and they need to be deeper/darker than just a roof allows. This wouldn’t work for me & where I am.
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Maybe?? Here, too, we’d need sides as the windblown rain and shade for bugs would be necessary. Adding sides might help, or at least 2 sides on the windward sides. Also, in the late afternoon, the shade will not be under the shelter.
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is this the only shelter option or do they come inside for inclement weather? Without sides I don’t see much protection if you get hours of driving rain.
They do have their own 12x12 stalls in the barn, and for the most part their turnouts will be supervised with the weather, but I plan on doing night turnout in the summer and I live in Florida and the weather is very random sometimes. It might say no rain one night and it could still rain, so I just want them to have somewhere to get away from the rain if they had to, but I was also worried about the sides with driving rains. Should I add boards on the sides and back to make a wall?
I’d add boards. But with being positioned so close to the pasture fence if the prevailing wind direction in your area is into the left open long side they are not really going to receive much protection from driving rains.
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The only protection would be from a rain with zero wind. They won’t get much relief from anything else, including bugs.
I would add walls to the back and both short sides , leaving the opening facing the best weather direction ( for me that is opening to the South).
It also depends on what kind of horse you have.
A horse that thinks it is delicate will not find this to be enough shelter from any weather that includes wind driven yuck.
A horse that is fine with some weather will find this to be a great place to get some shade.
The nice part about your open shelter is that there will be a nice breeze in there at the hot times. Adding walls cuts down on that.
Another positive, there are lots of ways to get out of that shelter so a horse can not get cornered and kicked.
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A 10x12 shelter is enough for one horse really. How many horses are out per pasture?
I’d put 2 walls on, personally. You can leave small gaps between the boards, 1/4" or less, to allow a breeze through but would stop most or all of a driven rain.
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