When you build a horse shelter, you need to keep in mind the number of horses you expect to house. The more horses that use the shelter, the larger the shelter needs to be. But there's more to consider than just size. A shelter made for multiple horses, in general, needs to be quite different from a shelter made for one horse. Here are some tips for building a suitable, safe shelter for multiple horses.

Make sure the corners are padded or blunt

Padded and blunt corners are a good idea on any horse shelter. But when you have multiple horses using one shelter, those animals are more likely to bump into one another, potentially bumping into the walls and edges of the shelter. If these edges are not blunt or padded, then your horses may develop scrapes and bruises as they spend time in the shelter. An easy way to pad edges is to place a pool noodle around them. You can also tack rubber strips to the edges.

Include multiple hay racks

You may think your horses are best friends, but chances are, once feeding time comes, one becomes dominant over the other. You do not want one horse to chase the other away from the hay. So, make sure you include multiple hay racks in your shelter. Two big ones are usually enough unless you have one or more really aggressive horses. Alternatively, you could just include multiple rings to hold one hay bag per horse.

Install non-slip flooring

As mentioned, if there are multiple horses in a shelter, they are more likely to push and jostle each other around. If the footing is slippery, the horses could slide and strain tendons or ligaments in the process. So, you need to use really grippy footing in a shelter. Gravel with no-slip rubber mats over the top is a good choice as it will mostly stay dry, but not become too slippery even if it does get wet.

An overhang

At times, some of the horses may not stand entirely inside the shelter. If the roof has an overhang, then the horses can enjoy some shelter even if they do not all entirely fit inside. This is more important when you have multiple horses since one may kick others out.

If you're building a horse shelter for more than one horse, make sure you include the features and specializations above for best results.

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