# field shelters buy or diy?



## Paddy Irish (24 February 2011)

Hi , Is it better to build your own shelter , which takes time or if it's better to buy a ready made. I'm on a bit of a budget but the cheeper ones look really flimsy. Any good tips ?, thanks


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## BigRed (24 February 2011)

when we costed it out, it was not much cheaper and then you also have your own personal time to take into account.  Buy a cheaper one and line the inside to make it more robust.


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## friesian80 (24 February 2011)

Does it need to have a roof, or just sides for shelter?


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## Paddy Irish (24 February 2011)

It would need a roof , as my ID x lives out ,but it would be really good to get him out of the rain , we seem to get more rainy days here in cornwall than dry ones!


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## friesian80 (24 February 2011)

My field shelter perhaps is not you are looking for for but here it is:

I got my OH to hammer in the extra long fence posts 2 for each pallet then slide the pallet over them, mine is one and a half pallets high for one side of it but you could use 2 pallets to give it more height, perhaps that would still be too low for your horse?
I then covered it in garden windproofing (stapled it on)
Then layed rubber mats inside to keep down on mud.

You can see here how the pallets go over the fence posts





This is the side which is one and a half pallets high
















This is a smaller one I made






These shelters are very very robust and manage to withstand our Shetland gales.

Ok its pretty makeshift but is good for someone on a budget and you could put a sheet of corragated iron on the top and secure it down.


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## Paddy Irish (24 February 2011)

Hi friesian80 , I must say , although i'm thinking of the more traditional type of shelter , this diy job looks pretty good , i have used the pallet and post trick to make boxes to hold my pooh pickings , but my ID is 15.3hh and hates the rain in his ears ( does great eeyore impression!) We live in a valley so we are not so exposed as you guys, it's more for the rain than the wind.


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## NatureT (19 January 2016)

That looks good friesian80. Is it just to protect from the wind?


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