I built a red-neck rain shelter (horse tent) using a heavy duty tarp and extra-tall t-posts. This is for small ponies, and they also have more traditional run-in sheds, but they LOVE the fresh air this gives them. To be honest, I created several iterations before finding the best approach, as my first attempts collected the rain and we had to constantly dump the water to keep it from all coming down.
The successful approach was essentially an old style tent (or simple house roof shape). I centered two tall t-posts — I think ours are 10 foot, with 2 feet in the ground — one at each end. The t-posts are covered with PVC pipe to discourage rubbing. To form a ridge beam, I topped each of these center t-post/PVC pipes with a PVC elbow and ran a PVC pipe between them, forming an inverted “U”. I then placed shorter t-posts (8 foot tall) at what would be the four corners of the structure (again with PVC pipe covers). At each end I ran parachute cord from one short corner t-post up over the tall ridge beam down to the next corner t-post. I then placed a large, heavy duty tarp over it all, using the grommets to tie it to each grommet and to the parachute cords.
You would think (or I did) that pulling the tarp tight would keep rain from collecting, but this is Oregon and rain has no mercy. What worked was to all the tarp to droop slightly along the sides so the rain has a channel to run off.
Once again, this is built for small ponies, so the 8 foot center height works for us. I don’t know if it would hold up as well with full-size horses. You can purchases taller t-posts, and the ceiling, being tarp, is not rigid. I would be extremely cautious of the parachute cord “rafters” with taller horses and probably use something else.
I mentioned this in an earlier post and promised photos, by I’ve found photos do not clearly illustrate how it is built. I’ll draw up a schematic if anyone is interested.
There are so many ways you could improve this — once I hit upon what worked, I stopped, but you could use pipe gates or panels to build three sides or build this in a corner for two solid sides. Shelter Logic has a hoop house style shelter with metal framework covered by tarp that is secured to pipe panels.
Also:
Years ago we acquired a Shetland filly, throwing our existing horses into turmoil. Suddenly our mini stallion no longer got along with his gelding companions, so I quickly fenced off another part of our property which had no shelter. It was summer, and this new corral had a number of tall fir trees, so I tied the four corners of a tarp up into the fir trees. I had to go back and tie up additional grommets along each side. This would NOT have worked in heavy rain, but for a temporary shelter it worked just fine. He likely would have had plenty of shelters from the tree canopy, but this made me feel better.
