Last year, I attached some shade cloth off the front of a run-in and floated it out to 8 foot posts. While the look was…pretty country, the horses quite appreciated the additional shade and the benefit of a very slight cross-breeze.
However, I could get the ends tight enough to prevent pretty major sag on the middle. This year, I’d like to elevate it a bit, and T posts seem cheap and relatively easy. I can find 12 foot posts online, but is there such a beasts as taller than that?
even if you could find such a thing they would need to be shipped by motor freight (think bill dollars for shipping)
what about adding another post to the ones you have driven in the ground?
or have you looked at a Morton built barn? they will make a 6by6 post by taking three 2by6 board then laminate the three together, the two outer boards will be the same length with the center being shorter. You can make this “post” as tall as you wish. You could use an aircraft cable to run between the posts then hog-ring the shade cloth to the aircraft cable or add another 2by6 to run from post to post then staple the shade cloth to the 2by6
go to 2:45 of this youtube viedo to see what I am saying about a lamented post
Excellent ideas, Clanter. There is a 6x6 fence post in a key position, and I have considered wedding another post to it to get the elevation I need. I love the idea of the aircraft cable. Thanks for the great ideas
!
Could you post pictures? I desperately need to add some shade to my setup. My shade tree was struck by lightning and died.
For our chicken yard, we had 5’ T-posts on hand and welded extra 2’ rods to them to make it 7’, the heigth we needed for our cover wire.
They make 8’ T-posts they use with deer wire for exotic animal farms:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Actual-1-4-…T-Post/3160799
Lowes and other such stores carry them, but they may have to special order them for you.
Is the shade cloth lightweight enough that some heavy duty pvc pipe could hold it up? If you could slip a long pipe over the existing t-posts to cover and extend it, that might work and not look too “country” as you put it. I suppose even a metal pipe might work to do that.
We bought 10 ft. t-posts locally (Portland, OR, metro area)…Wilco, Tractor Supply and Home Depot all have this height. I believe there are taller lengths, but my husband wasn’t thrilled with the idea of standing on a ladder with a pounder…
We used this height to make our “pony tent” — a sun and rain shelter that my small horses much prefer to their barns/run-ins most of the year. I ran a pvc pipe plus elbows between the two 10 ft t-posts for a ridge pole with shorter t-posts on either side, then crisscrossed parachute cord to make a framework to prevent sagging. The trick is to allow just enough sag for rain to run off. Otherwise it will collect water and it will all come down. Also…cover each t-post with a pvc pipe and caps for safety and to prevent rubbing/scratching.
If this sounds like a redneck setup, it most definitely is, but the ponies love it, so who am I to argue?
Susanne - could you post a picture? That sounds perfect!
{2Dogs jumps Up & Down excitedly}
How much do I <3 COTH?
I have been lamenting not adding an overhang to my barn
Especially on windy days like today when an East wind is sifting snow into my stalls :mad:
The tall T-Post + fabric solution could be my Cheapass answer.
Any suggestions for a fabric that will handle snowload?
This Winter I’ve been lucky, have not had to rake snow off the barn roof.
But this is the Midwest, so… if not this year, will certainly happen in the future 
I used the 8" t-posts to create a deer fence around my yard. But in some areas I also used conduit pipe (pretty inexpensive, very sturdy) strapped to it which extended the height (all spray painted black to be “fancy”). I drilled holes in the top of the conduit for wire, but you could also do that and hang the shade fabric from that? Good luck!
Here is a less redneck version that would work as a sun/rain shelter for the OP and 4horses or as a snow awning for 2dogsfarm.
From Shelter Logic:
https://www.shelterlogic.com/shop/corral-shelter-12-x-12-ft-premium-powder-coated
It would require two or three pipe gate or fence panels. They have an additional kit for side “walls”, or you could simply attach tarps to the sides.
4horses —
I’ll get some photos of what we have as soon as I can get my camera working…
2DogsFarm —
While I’ve dealt with preventing rain collection, snow is an entirely different matter. We get very little snow most winters here in NW Oregon, so we just sweep it off as it falls. My redneck pony tent works for us, but I’m doubtful of it working in real snow.
The biggest problem is that snow won’t just run off as rain does. The angle would need to be steep enough to let it slide off, and the cover would need to be fairly rigid.
I would use a tarp, either canvas or UV resistant, heavy-duty reinforced polyethylene, or possibly sail cloth.
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