I mentioned in my first post that we recently moved our farm to a new location in sunny southern Idaho. Part of my business goal at our new location is to set up a small-scale horse motel and boarding operating, maybe branching into a modest guest ranch. That requires the right kind of horse facilities, such as easy-access stalls and paddocks. At the moment we have five stalls and paddocks, but we own eight horses. This all means we are poised to create some new horse facilities–while balancing the budget. With winter just around the corner, horse shelters are at the top of our “to do” list. Hubby Matt and I have been combing through books, periodicals and the Internet looking for a shelter design that’s chore-efficient, attractive, horse-safe and affordable.

We are thinking of going with some type of run-in shed. A two or three-sided, roofed, run-in shed provides excellent shelter and may be the most natural for a horse. It might also be a little easier on the pocketbook. This kind of shelter allows the horse to regulate his body temperature, get in and out of the driving rain and it has excellent ventilation