Looking for innovative ideas for a shelter for a mini. Looking for something inexpensive and easy. I live in the midwest and our winters can be a bear, so must be durable. Bonus points for photos! Show mecwhat you’ve got!
I wonder if a calf hutch would work? Just thinking out loud, so to speak.
These are not cheap, but consider having someone scale it down and weld a similar frame locally, then attach siding and a roof: https://www.klenepipe.com/run-in-horse-shelters/
I have a different model of theirs, you can see the construction here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wsmoak/albums/72157624790649688
I love this thing. I built a pole barn and never bothered to finish it because that shelter is more than enough. If I need to lock him in there, I put panels across the front. Otherwise, it’s a run-in.
And it can be moved (carefully, with a big enough tractor,) if needed. (It’s chained to ground anchors but it has never moved even in high wind.)
The laundry room or a corner of the garage — I’m not kidding:) 
When we lived in Kentucky we kept my wife;s pony in the basement. It had a garage attacked that allow us to walk the pony up the ramp out to the pony pen in the backyard. The pony’s stall was the old room that once was the coal storage room from the days when the house had a coal furnace.
Depending on size of mini, a kid’s playhouse may do nicely. Had a great dane that wore a 36" blanket that lived in one, now have goats occupying them
Here’s a shed that was built for miniature donkeys — it takes basic building skills, but it’s really very simple. I personally believe it would be better minus the interior paneling to improve ventilation, and you could certainly do this as a three-sided run-in.
http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2013/07/building-shelter-for-miniature-donkeys-or-goats/
Another approach is to put up a metal carport and then side it with wood. You can find a number of these through a google image search. Just be certain you have it secured to the ground with tie-downs (the companies that sell these offer that option) so that it doesn’t fly away. Mulligan’s Farm no longer has their website up, but if theirs was especially attractive and practical.
Our Welsh pony foundered once, and kept him in our round pen while he recovered. I didn’t want him to have to stand out in the weather, so we built him a lean-to against the round pen fence (so one sturdy “wall” was already in place). Sorry I don’t have pictures. We just used a few sheets of plywood, a few 2X4’s and put a heavy duty tarp over the plywood “roof”. It held up really well, considering it was just temporary.
Another option, is to look in FB and Craigslist for anyone selling a garden shed or tool shed (the kind of little house type buildings you put in your back yard to store gardening tools, lawnmower and the like). This would be a perfect little barn for a mini.
Farmtek.com (or request a printed catalog) has a ton of inexpensive shelter options for all different kinds of livestock. I’ve never ordered anything from them, but have been receiving their catalogs for year and they seem to have good-quality items.
Calf hutches or poly domes will run about $250 new, but you can sometimes find them much cheaper used. I prefer poly-domes, something about that round shape helps them stay put in wind and avoid damage/cracking from itchy animals.
You could also throw something together super cheap using pallets, T1-11 to enclose sides, and Ondura for the roof. Do it right and it will look classy, not that the mini will care!
