Do Horses Need Shelter?

Recently, my son and I drove past a field late at night when it was quite cold, and we noticed there was a horse sleeping in the middle of the field.

We’ve always had horses ourselves, and I’ve always stressed the importance of getting them indoors at night.

And yet now, we could see a seemingly very happy horse sleeping away in the middle of a cold field with no shelter.

My son straight away started questioning whether we really needed shelter for our horses, so I decided to look into it.

So, do horses need shelter?

Not all horses need shelter year-round. Hardy breeds with thick coats are quite capable of weathering most of the harsh conditions. Provided they can escape the summer sun and prevailing winds, they don’t need a shelter as such. However, many do require year-round sheltering.

So, there are a few factors to take into account when deciding if your horse needs a shelter to sleep in.

However, our advice is that there is, for any horse, going to come a point in the year where they really need to be protected from the weather—whether that’s harsh winds or sun that’s too strong.

Let’s break this question down further, then.

Can horses survive without shelter?

For the most part, yes, horses can survive without shelter.

It would take a long time before they suffered any fatal injury as a result of being exposed to the elements.

That said, your horse will almost certainly need shelter at some point.

In the majority of cases, horses will need an enclosed space to sleep at night to protect them from the cold.

Fields and pastures are wide, open spaces with very little insulation from the wind and rain, meaning that they can get particularly cold.

They are also likely simply to feel more comfortable in an enclosed space at night.

Furthermore, the important thing to remember with shelter is that it isn’t only for protection from the cold.

We need to be protected from excessive heat and wind, too.

If you live anywhere with high prevailing winds, your horse will need somewhere it can get out of these winds and behind solid shelter.

The sun can be a serious killer, depending on the climate where you live.

Horses are native to many hot and dry regions, but in the wild, they can search for shelter and find it quite readily.

If your horse has no shade on its pasture, the sun could easily cause heatstroke.

So, while many horses can survive just fine without shelter, it is our advice that having a shelter is always best.

What kind of shelter do horses need?

At minimum, you need a well constructed and sturdy three wall shed for your horse to take shelter in.

Whether that’s from the wind, rain or sun. Make sure to clean the stable every day.

For better protection, construct a building with four walls and a door which can be entirely closed off.

This will give your horse a greater sense of security and all the protection it will need from any type of weather.

Straw, of course, should also be provided in the shelter.

Though it may not seem like much, this can provide much needed extra insulation.

A wooden barn is great for a horse’s needs, but you should still remember that it’s not a house in there—it will still get very cold.

The rain in particular is always a point of debate on this topic, so let me address that specifically.

Are horses OK in heavy rain?

Horses do, indeed, have a waterproof coat.

When they get wet, the water does not soak into their coat but washes off them instead.

This makes them more than capable of dealing with heavy downpours without much concern.

This is unlike donkeys, whose coats are not waterproof.

However, being wet is not the only problem with rain.

We don’t particularly like being under it, and neither do most horses.

Though they aren’t getting soaked, they will most likely want somewhere to go that they can get out of the rain.

They might even just want to get out of the mud and onto more solid ground.

So, horses should really always have somewhere to shelter, despite their waterproof coats.

Horses may not need as much protection as you might think, then.

They’re tough, sturdy animals, and they even have waterproof coats, for the most part.

So, while it is true to say that not all horses need an actual, structured shelter year-round, many will, and very few will never need shelter of some kind.

Shelter isn’t just from the cold—it’s from the wind and the sun, too.

Your horse doesn’t need anything fancy.

Just make sure it can get out of the wind and the sun, if it’s hardy enough to endure the cold.