| Horses can be boarded at a commercial stable; | | | | As a rule-of-thumb, at minimum, 80 square feet |
| however, keeping a horse on your property | | | | of floor space per average 1,000 pound horse |
| provides you with more management control, and | | | | should be provided. A 12-foot by 12-foot |
| saves you money. Though keeping your horse on | | | | structure would be more ideal; however, many |
| your property allows greater enjoyment and | | | | structures come prefabricated in 10-feet by |
| learning experiences, it also requires you to be | | | | 12-feet designs, which is also adequate. Most |
| more attentive toward your horse and to be | | | | prefabricated shelters are between 8 to 10 feet |
| more knowledgeable in the care of your horse. | | | | high on the backside and 9 to 12 feet high on the |
| Horses are quite sturdy and adaptable and when | | | | open side. |
| it comes to providing adequate shelter, their | | | | Your horse also needs a large exercise area like a |
| needs are very basic. Horse shelter essentially | | | | corral. The minimum exercise area should be |
| needs to provide shade, ventilation, protection | | | | about 1/8 acre, but 1/2 acre is better. If your |
| from the elements, and dry footing. Building a | | | | horse is fed primarily hay, then keeping your |
| horse barn can be quite a project (and costly). If | | | | horse on ½ acres is adequate. Ideally, you |
| you have only basic carpentry skills or are on a | | | | want to turn your horse out to managed pasture. |
| limited budget, you may want to consider | | | | Two acres per horse is best. However, one acre |
| renovating a shed or other structure you may | | | | can provide adequate grazing, but requires more |
| already have on your property or erecting a | | | | land management. Therefore, a combination of |
| three-sided shelter. | | | | pasture and small lot or barn is needed to |
| A common horse shelter is an open-front building, | | | | minimize overgrazing. |
| or sometimes referred to as a lean-to or run-in | | | | The most important thing about a fence is it |
| shelter. These structures can be permanent or | | | | must be visible to your horse. The fence must be |
| portable sheds. A portable structure is convenient | | | | visible to the horse to prevent it from becoming |
| as it can be moved to allow removal of manure | | | | tangled in the fence or running through the fence. |
| or to be relocated when pasture is rotated. The | | | | When using an electric fence, wide ribbon wire is |
| open-front should always be positioned away | | | | best. Electric fencing should only be used as an |
| from prevailing winds to offer better protection | | | | interior fence, never as a major exterior fence. |
| from rain and snow. | | | | |