Mini shelter - size?

[circlesinthesand]

I'm looking into building a small shelter like a loafing shed in my backyard for my two minis (so I can have them closer vs being on the family farm which is only a short drive but I'd still like them in my backyard )

How small can I go? I know what minimum size I'd need for a big horse but I'm kinda lost as to how small I can go with the minis. I'll probably go bigger than the minimum but I still would like a starting point.

 

[targetsmom]

I see no one has responded yet, so I will toss some ideas and measurements out there. We have a 10X12' run in shed that we bought for our big horse that died last fall and we are now using it for our 30" stallion. He actually uses only a small corner of it and we only bed the back half. That size should be plenty big for 2 minis. We also have 2 12X11' stalls that we use like run-ins sometimes, but they both have huge overhangs attached. One of them housed our 3 pregnant mares (as a run-in, not shut in) until the first one foaled. But we often found one of them standing outside in the overhang area, still well-protected, but not inside the stall.

Our STALLS that we built for the minis are only 6' X 8' because of space constraints, but we find these to be plenty big for our A size minis that are turned out every day no matter the weather because of all those overhangs and "run-ins". We use 2 of these with a divider removed for foaling stalls, so that size (12X8') should be OK for a run-in for 2 minis.

 

[Renolizzie]

I had a hard time finding out this info but after some input and reading I went with a 7x7 3 sided shed. There is no center post because I didn't want to have something he could get injured on. I used a 2 x 6 header but if I went any bigger and didn't want a center post in front, I would go with a 2 x 8 and definitely carriage bolts for the header.

I have threatened to get another mini when I think I am doing well with the one I have. I think two of them will stand inside there no problem. Of course, he also has the 30 x 30 pen. He does sometimes use the shelter.

I wanted him to be where I could see him out my back windows and keep an eye on him. Plus he is near the hay/tack shed and I set up a hose to reach easily. In addition, he is near the goats so he won't feel lonely.

 

[MindyLee]

I have a few!

x3 $150 4 sided 6x8 run ins! And x1 8x16 4 sided run in with a small hay loft that cost about $900-$1000.

Their all moveable too!

Here's a pic on 1 of my 6x8. Sorry no pic of my 8x16.

I've had tons of emails about these over the last few yrs at how perfect they are!

 

[Miniv]

I'd go for the larger.......Always go a little bigger than you think you'll need ........speaking from experience. And make sure you can stand up inside it -- for cleaning purposes.

 

[Marty]

Big as you can get it. Bigger is always better

I have a two stall 12 X 12 run in so its 12 X 24 with a divider

 

[chandab]

And make sure you can stand up inside it -- for cleaning purposes.

I agree with this 100%. Its no fun to have to bend over to clean the back half of a too short shelter. Luckily, my one and only problem is the center beam in one shelter, its a little low along the back wall, but so far I've only hit my head a couple times.

 

[ROWIRA]

The two mares in my icon (that are 31-32in) share a 3 sided shed that is 8ft long, 5ft wide, and 5ft high with a slope down to about 4ft in the back. They both stand inside it just fine.

 

[Jill]

We have two run ins... one is 21 x 19 and the other is 16 x 12. However, we have barns in our paddocks and we leave the stalls open - ala run in style. Those stalls are each 8 x 12.

 

[circlesinthesand]

OK, That gives me a starting point! thanks! I was originally thinking 10x10 but wasn't sure if that would be too small for 2 as I remember 10x10 was what we kept my Welsh pony in when I was a kid. With my big horses I have 12x20ish (think it is like 21.5ft actually we didn't exactly plan and measure the length. lol) and 3 horses and a very small donkey have squeezed into it.

Mindy lee, those are cute but they're a bit more closed in that I'm looking for. We're pretty warm here (think no snow, EVER) so I'm probably only closing in the north and west sides, maybe a half wall or partially close in the east side, with the south staying open year round with a small awning/overhang to prevent rain from blowing in and I'd really like to make the option of dropping down the top half on all sides for more open ventilation in the summer. Cool rain is usually such a welcome relief in the summer that I doubt they'll even be in the shelter when it rains.

I usually make them tall enough for the tractor to scoop out if it floods

I'm in a storm surge area and flooding is a distinct possibility at some point

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I won't comment on size, you have plenty of ideas on that already and I couldn't add much to that but I want to suggest that if strong winds are ever a factor you may want to think about the direction that will blow from. We have almost all of our run ins facing east so they catch the morning sun but offer shade from the afternoon sun, however one shelter we decided (in our great wisdom ) to face south so it would block the northerly wind in winter and allow sun in part of it all day. Turns out, this is a bad idea. The wind when we get fall storms is pretty powerful (drops big trees regularly) and it blows from the south west mostly, so while north winds in winter are blocked the storm winds earlier in the year get inside the shelter, pick it up and flop it over. NOT good, we stood it up and repaired it 3 x last fall (and finally attached it to a heavy wooden hay feeder to prevent a recurrence) and it took until until about 2 months ago before the horses trusted it would stay upright and started using it again. We were fortunate no horses were injured (we thought it was just a crazy co-incidence the first couple of times it flipped) and only 2 horses were in that pen to use it at the time so they chose other shelters.

 

[circlesinthesand]

I won't comment on size, you have plenty of ideas on that already and I couldn't add much to that but I want to suggest that if strong winds are ever a factor you may want to think about the direction that will blow from. We have almost all of our run ins facing east so they catch the morning sun but offer shade from the afternoon sun, however one shelter we decided (in our great wisdom ) to face south so it would block the northerly wind in winter and allow sun in part of it all day. Turns out, this is a bad idea. The wind when we get fall storms is pretty powerful (drops big trees regularly) and it blows from the south west mostly, so while north winds in winter are blocked the storm winds earlier in the year get inside the shelter, pick it up and flop it over. NOT good, we stood it up and repaired it 3 x last fall (and finally attached it to a heavy wooden hay feeder to prevent a recurrence) and it took until until about 2 months ago before the horses trusted it would stay upright and started using it again. We were fortunate no horses were injured (we thought it was just a crazy co-incidence the first couple of times it flipped) and only 2 horses were in that pen to use it at the time so they chose other shelters.

Ah, no worries, it will be concreted into the ground with hurricane straps on the roof. I'm right off the coast just a few miles really if you count the swamp as waters edge and in hurricane alley, there is no way I can get by without having it anchored big time. Usually the wind rips us off from any direction when that happens . The ponies are going to be evacuated out to the main family farm (beyond the storm surge range) or farther inland to my sister's place at that time anyway as the storm surge comes up and will flood the barn depending on which side it hits. My house is several feet up off the ground for this as well.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I'm happy to hear you have a plan in place, I am not sure how well I would cope with some of what mother nature throws at some communities, we have it pretty easy here, get lots of snow but it is expected so we cope with it OK and some extremely cold days but again, nothing unexpected. The wind we have is nothing compared to some places.

Having never used portable run ins in the past (and not knowing where you were located ) I thought I might save someone some grief by sharing my lack of fore site.

 

[targetsmom]

It sounds like you are doing a lot of research - good for you! We like a lot of air in ours, so we tacked up a tarp over the top part of the opening in our big horse run-in, even when the big horse used it. It blocked the late afternoon sun and he had no trouble getting in and out. Of course it is WAY higher than the 30" mini!

Even though we use some 12X12 stalls for run-ins, I do recommend wider openings than regular doors. Even when the horses get along well, there are bound to be times when two will want to go in or out at the same time, which can create quite a disturbance! Or one will stand in the doorway and not let the other one in or out.