How do you build a shelter for your horse that allows it to be warm and dry during inclement weather depends in part on your philosophy about what makes a happy horse. I say this because I have seen far too many a horse in a stable shut-in over extended periods of time. Many of the stalled horses I've seen don't even have a window to look out of.

The other aspect of ensuring your horse has shelter is to get rid of thrush, rain rot, and grease heel as much as possible. Since these common conditions are attributed to typical spring weather; heavy rain and lots of mud. A solid, large and dry shelter helps to prevent these from occurring. So do you build a barn full of stalls or do you build a run-in shelter? Dependent upon your available space and affordability options, my suggestion is to have both. If you can't have both, opt for the run-in shelter when you have more than 1 horse. Remember, your horse is a herd animal; a social animal. A horse is also built to move. Just check out those beautiful, long, muscular legs. While there are times a horse must be stalled due to medical reasons, such as illness and/or injury, I prefer to see a horse that can move in and out of shelter as it desires. Horses are not meant to be locked in a stall all day, all night, or - as I've unfortunately witnessed - for longer periods of time when they are healthy and able to comfortably move about. If you have stalls with doors leading directly outside, you can separate the pastures to prevent more than one horse from entering a stall. As a horse owner knows, when an area is crowded a horse can get cornered and kicked, so you have to ensure only 1 horse has access to a standard sized stall. If you do go this route, you may have to separate each pasture with an alley of space of about 10 feet. This prevents a horse from leaning on a fence, or jumping down on it with hooves when trying to play across the fence with a neighboring horse. That means wasted space. But it will save you pulling your hair out in frustration every time a fence comes down. If you opt for a run-in shed be sure to keep some things in mind. These points will ensure your horse's safety and ability to utilize the shed to keep warm and dry. How to prevent sunburn is also a good reason to have a run-in. Horses - especially grays and white horses - are sensitive to sun. If you turn your horse out and he/she is not able to seek shelter under trees and cannot go back to the stall at its leisure it can become uncomfortable in the heat and burned by the sun.

Tips for Building or Purchasing a Run-In (or Loafing Shed):

• Make sure the shelter will not flood • The back of the shelter should face the prevailing wind • Make sure the shelter is far enough away for gates and fences • Ensure the shelter is large enough to allow all horses using it to stand or lay comfortably • Make sure it is wide enough that a dominant, pushy horse cannot keep the other horses from entering. • When determining the size of the shelter, it's best to go wider, not deeper. Again, keep the dominant horse in mind. • If at all possible, design the run-in so that each horse has at least a 10' x 10' space • If workable, use a portable shed so that it can be rotated to different locations • Especially if it will be a permanent shed, ensure its opening is large enough to use a tractor bucket for cleaning • Make sure the ceiling is no less than 8 feet high at its lowest point. • If you leave the floor earth, be prepared to periodically replace dirt removed during manure removal. • If the floor is made of concrete or other flooring you will need to place mats down, which will require regularly removing the mats and cleaning them. • Place an eaves trough over the entrance to prevent icy patches in the opening. A horse can slip and be injured. • Always make sure there are no protruding nails, screws, metal, or anything else that a horse could be cut on. • Make sure the structure is built sturdy withstand heavy snow (if you live in an area that gets heavy snows), winds and a horse's kicking feet! • Make sure the roof – if it is a shed or lean-to style – leans away from the entrance so that snow and rain runs to the outside back of the structure.

Whether or not you build your own shelter, or purchase a pre-built one, make sure to consider all the above points. It's important to keep your horse happy and healthy. Enjoying your horse is too glorious a thing to be interrupted by illness and injury.