Why should you bother building a shelter stable for your horse? Isn’t there an easier option? A shelter stable obviously provides your horse(s) a spot to cover while it’s rainy outside. In some countries it is officially required to provide your horse with a shelter stable. Countries such as Belgium and The United Kingdom have varying regulations surrounding this subject.
The original shelter stable, which is discussed on this page, can be used for any animal that has a size comparable to an alpaca, horse, goat or sheep.
If you would ask me, a shelter stable is a necessity if you want to keep your horse and yourself happy. And if you put in enough time, the stable will complement the current outlook of your property.
Do you need a permit to build a shelter stable?
Whether or not a permit is required highly depends on your location. Some places have strict permits regarding outside structures, while other municipalities are much more progressive towards building projects.
The easiest way to find out whether you need a permit, is to visit the website of your local city office. You should find decisive information about permit regulations here.
If not, you could always visit the local office yourself. Ask around and you’ll be updated about everything you need to know.
Don’t start building without a sufficient permit. Always check whether a permit is required.
There are enough alternatives to building a large shelter stable if you fail to receive a permit for the project. Other people opted to use containers as an alternative to a classic shelter stable.
How can you build a shelter stable?
Preparations
One thing a lot of builders forget is to keep the movement of rain and wind in mind. West is usually the side where wind and rain is the most intense. The closed side of the shelter stable should be t
owards this side. By doing this, your horse will always have a spot to find some cover.
Another thing to keep in mind, is the design of the inside of the stable. You probably want to keep as much mud out as possible. To do this, you should apply some solid furnace in the stall. The easiest way of doing is, is by building a concrete floor.
In this concrete floor you put in enough concrete steel in order to further strengthen the flooring. You should use a cable of M16 to make enough room for the pillars you will later use to enforce the structure.
Another option is to use concrete tiles. This is more expensive than the earlier option and a bit more work. But you are always free to choose one of the both.
Before you start pouring concrete in the floor it is important to dig the complete area. The sand bedding is a crucial part, because it will keep the concrete below surface.
Placing the wooden frame
After the concrete floor is ready for use, you can start building the wooden frame of the shelter stable. First you place the pillars on the concrete mounts. These pillars have to be mounted with rust free plates first.
These plates need several 5,5 mm holes on the sides and a 18 mm hole in the middle. Above the 18mm one, you need to weld a M16 nut. Weld around the nut to be sure that the nut is tight enough.
Twist the pillar on the mount and check whether the pillars are leveled. Place the beams on each other and complete the wooden frame. After that you can place the truss-beams.
Isolate the stable
Isolating the shelter stable is one of the more important parts of this project. Now that the wooden frame of the stable is up, you can start finishing the roof. For this you may use Douglas wood or water-resistant plates. Use tonque-and-rabiit beams to do this. The roof tiling can be done afterwards.
You may use rabbet beams to finish the back and sides of the stable.
Looking for the necessary shelter stable drawing plans?
The above text is unfortunately not enough to build your own shelter stable. We, on purpose, chose to write a global step-by-step plan. The actual building plan features the necessary steps to be able to build your own shelter stable.
All you will need to do is to follow up the most important steps included in the plan. Do that, and you’ll build your own shelter stable!
Ready to start building? Click here to get access to our drawings!