Why Hardy Ponies Still Need a Shelter

Native breeds such as Exmoors, Shetlands, Welsh Section As and Dartmoors are as tough as old boots, and it is tempting to assume a thick hedgerow is all they will ever want. In practice a pony that stands wet and facing into a driving wind for three days burns a great deal of energy simply keeping warm, drops condition, and often ends up with rain scald along the spine. Come July, the same pony will be stamping and head-shaking while flies gather around the eyes, ears and sheath.

A simple open-fronted field shelter solves both problems. It does not need to be a stable, and it does not need to be expensive. It needs to be dry underfoot, sheltered from the prevailing wind, and built stoutly enough to still be standing in fifteen years' time.

Choosing a Site That Works With the Weather

Site the shelter on ground that is already well drained and slightly raised. A gentle slope is ideal, because water will run away from the building rather than sitting beneath it. In most of the UK the prevailing wind and driving rain arrive from the south-west, so the solid back wall should face that way and the open front should look east or south-east, catching the morning sun and staying dry.

Keep the following in mind before you dig a single hole:

• Position it at least 4m from any boundary, hedge or ditch, so you can get around the back for repairs.
• Avoid mature trees. Falling limbs, dripping canopies and thirsty roots are all bad news for a timber building and its footings.
• Put it on or beside hardstanding if you can, and make sure a gate or gateway allows a wheelbarrow, and ideally a small tractor, to reach it.
• Check for field drains, water pipes and buried electric cables before driving posts into the ground.
• Confirm your position on planning. Small agricultural and equestrian buildings are often permitted development, but rights are sometimes removed on smaller holdings, so a quick call to the local planning authority is worth the bother.

Sizing, Timber and the Materials List

For one or two ponies up to about 13hh, a shelter 3.6m wide by 3.0m deep is generous. As a rule, allow a minimum of 2.4m of width per pony if they are expected to share peaceably. A front eaves height of around 2.1m gives plenty of headroom and good airflow, with the roof sloping back to about 1.8m.

A sensible shopping list for a shelter of that size:

• Six 100 x 100mm pressure-treated posts, 2.4m long, for the corners and mid-points.
• Rails: 100 x 50mm treated timber for the base, mid and top rails, plus roof purlins.
• Cladding: 22mm treated boards, featheredge, or 18mm exterior-grade ply for the back and two sides.
• Roofing: corrugated galvanised or coated steel sheets, with fixings and foam filler strips.
• Floor: 100 x 100mm bearers and 22mm boards, plus hardcore and rubber matting.
• Galvanised nails, screws, post mix or hardcore for the footings, and a spirit level.

The Raised Floor Is Worth the Extra Effort

This is the detail most homemade shelters miss, and it is the one that makes the biggest difference. Set the whole structure on bearers rather than bare earth, so air can move underneath and the timber never sits in standing water.

Level a strip of compacted hardcore, lay 100 x 100mm treated bearers across it at 400mm centres, then board over with 22mm timber, screwed down rather than nailed so it stays quiet and tight. Aim for a finished floor around 150mm above the surrounding ground. Add a lip or kickboard at the open front to stop bedding being dragged out, and finish with rubber matting. The benefits are immediate: dry hooves, no mud, no hollows worn into the floor, and a shelter that can be swept out in two minutes with a fork and brush.

Putting It Together

• Mark out the footprint with pegs and string, checking the diagonals are equal so the building is square.
• Excavate post holes about 600mm deep, set the corner posts first, and brace them plumb before backfilling with post mix or well-tamped hardcore.
• Fix base, mid and top rails between the posts on the back and two sides.
• Fit the bearers and floor deck, then clad the three closed sides, leaving a small ventilation gap at the top of the back wall.
• Fix purlins across the fall of the roof, then lay the sheets with a minimum 150mm overlap, working uphill so the laps shed water.
• Cap the exposed ends of posts and rails with a chamfered or rounded edge so there are no sharp corners at pony height.

Safe Edges, Flies and Year-Round Care

Ponies chew. Anything they can get their teeth around — rail ends, sheet edges, the corners of ply — will be gnawed, so run a treated capping rail along exposed edges and keep fixings flush. Avoid old-style creosote and any timber treated with something you would not want in a mouth. A single coat of animal-safe timber preservative every couple of years will add years to the building.

In summer, a shelter with good airflow and a shaded interior gives real relief from flies, especially if you site it where the sun does not bake the open front. Hang a salt lick or a fly trap nearby, but not inside, and keep the floor clean of droppings so it does not become a breeding site.

Finally, walk round the shelter after every gale. Check the roof fixings, look for lifted sheets and any soft patches in the floor. Ten minutes of attention twice a year is the difference between a shelter that lasts a decade and one that quietly rots at the base. Get the drainage and the raised floor right at the start, and the rest is straightforward carpentry that any competent smallholder can manage in a weekend.