Setting up a DIY horse shelter using a Sun Sail is a quick and easy project! Sun sails, also known as sun shades are affordable and easy to install. They can provide almost immediate protection from the sun for horses in hot weather! Depending on the climate and season, you might need something more substantial as a shelter for your horse, but in a pinch, a sun sail is a great DIY horse shelter!
Sun sails are a fantastic choice for temporary shade for a number of reasons. First, they’re cheap! You can pick one up off of amazon and have it delivered within a day or two depending on your location! It definitely won’t break the bank, even if you’re on a shoestring budget. Second, they’re not permanent structures, which is a really big deal for those of us renting, leasing or keeping our horses at a boarding facility where we’re not allowed to build permanent structures or improvements. You can take it with you when you leave or set it up in a new location as needed.
Why I Needed a DIY Horse Shelter for My Horse
Last year, I was at a boarding facility that didn’t have shade in their paddocks, so it was a top priority for me to get immediate and temporary shade constructed ASAP. The great part of the sun sail is that you can put it up and take it down quickly. It’s not permanent, so if you’re leasing a place you can’t make improvements, or if you’re a boarder, it’s an easy project to put up and take down. You could even take one horse camping and fashion it to your trailers or corrals at shows!
I was able to swiftly tether the sun sail to the panels of the corral and my Miniature horse Jasper was happily lounging in the shade during the heat of the day whenever I visited. In Eastern North Carolina, the summers are hot and humid. Temps can reach 90+ and 100+ heat index for several months. I think all horses deserve to have protection from the elements, including a way to get out of the sun, but especially dark colored horses. With Jasper being black, I just couldn’t let him sit by and cook in the sun.
Story Time!
Shade for horses is really important to me, because when I was a kid, we had a lovely bay quarter horse named King, and he was left in a paddock without shade and a hot bucket of water. A vet visiting another horse at the barn saw him in distress and told the barn owner to put him in and get a fan on him. To my knowledge, that wasn’t done immediately. He remained in a shade-less paddock with hot water for who knows how long, in distress. When he was finally brought in and cooled off, he never fully recovered and became anhidrotic. This is nearly a death sentence in Florida, and he was ruined as a working horse and had to be immediately retired from work.
If your horse doesn’t have shade, it’s likely the water is heating up too, and not everybody is going to check waters as religiously as you do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to refresh water for my horses and others in the heat. Not only can a lack of shade and hot water lead to heat distress incidents and anhidrosis, it can also lead to colic. These are such basic issues, but unfortunately, as a boarder, especially in smaller towns or where boarding is becoming more scarce, you end up having to put up with issues that should be non-negotiable horse husbandry standards just to have a place to keep your horse.
How to Construct the Sun Sail for DIY Horse Shade
When I needed this up ASAP, I used paracord and attached it right to the panels of the corral. I personally got a Beige Sun Sail Canopy Triangle in size 12x12x12, but there are plenty of sizes available. I think this was the perfect size for my needs. The sun sail has reinforced corners with metal rings for attaching to your structure, rope or snap.
We’ve since moved to a better boarding facility that provides shade and environmental protection for all equines in their care, so I don’t need my DIY horse shelter anymore. I do still have it though, and in my tutorial video, you can see me quickly set it up on my portable corral. I set it up with the five panels, I have and also on it when it’s configured as a stall with only four panels. I think I would purchase the square size for the stall configuration, but it also works well with the triangle. As you can see, I tie one side on the high end of the corral/stall where the gate is.
What if I Have a Full Size Horse
Obviously, it’s super easy to attach the sun sail to a corral for quick shade for a miniature horse, but what if you have a full size horse? You are going to need your sail to be a little bit taller! See what you can use in your environment? If you had trees, you probably would be using those for shade, so you wouldn’t need a sun sail, but a tree could definitely work to attach an end to! If you have board fencing, consider attaching poles or other boards to the posts to make a taller place to attach your sun sail. You could even use screw in eye bolts and snaps to make installation super quick and easy!
At the end of the day, horses only need a few simple things to thrive: Food, water, shelter, space and friends! Horse keeping isn’t that complicated, but for many of us, especially boarders, it can be a delicate balance of compromises and deal breakers. If you need a DIY horse shelter, get one of these sun sails, because it’s a fast and temporary project that provides immediate respite from the sun!
Until next time, Happy Trails!
