# Using Round Pen for temporary shelter outdoors



## secuono (Jul 6, 2011)

All I can advise is get a good quality lightening arrestor! And extra fuses for your energizer.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

The whole point of shelter is..well...shelter..

So that whole concept is sort of eluding me...

I also don't understand why you are putting down mats? Waste of $ save them for the barn.

I would not house a horse in a metal structure during a storm (and he will need shelter)... And do shut off your fence regardless.

Remember horses are herd animals, he needs friends, but I would either shut him in a smaller area (with shelter) or let him have the whole thing, I see no benefit to an "open air stall" and am not really following the thought process to be honest.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

I would suggest you confine your horse to the round pen for a couple of days and let him get used to his new surroundings. You can take him out a couple of times a day and lead him around the pasture so he understands the new perimeter. After a few days you can let him out and watch him. If he seems comfortable, there is no reason to keep locking him in the round pen. Sometimes horses get hit by lightning. The last time I knew of somebody with that experience was forty years ago. I have bigger worries.

Your horse needs a companion, ideally another horse, but a burro or goat is better than nothing. In the end, considering feed and fencing and vet care, another horse is usually the simplest answer. When I started looking for a companion horse for my big guy I ended up having one given to me. It had foundered two consecutive springs and the owner felt he couldn't honestly sell it and didn't want to continue to care for it. I have had him for nine years now. He has never foundered again, and with frequent trimming and enough exercise he has been sound enough to give rides to lots of kids.


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## SamIAmQH (Feb 20, 2017)

Joel Reiter said:


> I would suggest you confine your horse to the round pen for a couple of days and let him get used to his new surroundings. You can take him out a couple of times a day and lead him around the pasture so he understands the new perimeter. After a few days you can let him out and watch him. If he seems comfortable, there is no reason to keep locking him in the round pen. Sometimes horses get hit by lightning. The last time I knew of somebody with that experience was forty years ago. I have bigger worries.
> 
> Your horse needs a companion, ideally another horse, but a burro or goat is better than nothing. In the end, considering feed and fencing and vet care, another horse is usually the simplest answer. When I started looking for a companion horse for my big guy I ended up having one given to me. It had foundered two consecutive springs and the owner felt he couldn't honestly sell it and didn't want to continue to care for it. I have had him for nine years now. He has never foundered again, and with frequent trimming and enough exercise he has been sound enough to give rides to lots of kids.


Thank you. My plan on the round pen is to ensure he is comfortable with the space before setting him loose. 

Thank you for the advice, but my horse does not need a buddy. I trail ride with him extensively and he rides out alone. We camp and he is often put up for the night off by himself. I have been bringing him to my property on Saturdays for pasture time and he never acts anxious on his own. If I do need a companion for him, I will get him a dog before a horse. I have no interest in two riding horses and can't take the chance that the 2nd horse buddy sours when my existing horse does not. I have friends who can't take one horse off the property without the other going nuts. 

But thank you for the affirmation on the round pen.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

If you're worried about him settling in then I would do as Joel advised. He will still need shelter wherever he is staying though...

I have electric fence and love it but another concern in a storm is branches coming down then you have no fence, so keep that in mind.

All horses need a friend regardless of how he rides. It's irrelevant. I have 5 horses and not a ONE of them is buddy sour. It's a matter of training, I'm glad your horse is well trained but just because he's well trained doesn't mean he should be unhappy. A dog does not make a good companion. You don't need another riding horse, don't get one, but your horse needs a friend. They are herd animals and it is cruel to keep them isolated regardless of them "tolerating" it. In fact a lot of the buddy sour threads on here are from horses that were kept alone then suddenly had a friend and were so desperate they get overly attached, simply because it's not natural or healthy for them to be alone.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Agree with all the good advise you have gotten so far.
Why not build a proper corral with a shelter, right from the start? Those portable panels are okay for working ahrose in, but I would never leave a horse in them
Also agree on the companion. Your horse might appear'okay', having adapted to being alone, but horses are not meant to live alone,24/7, being a herd prey species
Many horses living alone,are often sleep deprived, as they never have a buddy to share that watch for possible danger. I imagine you sleep in your house!
All my horses also ride out fine, alone, and as said, that is training, where that horse transfers that security to you, from fellow equines, whenever you ride or handle him.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

Congrats on the new place! Good luck getting your setup just right!


I agree with putting your horse in a largish round pen (over the dirt, don't waste money on mats) just a few days to get used to the new sights and smells, then lead him around perimeter fence, and turn out to see how it goes. If he has enough food, there is little reason for him to test your fence unless he's looking for herd mates or running from a predator.


And I MUST agree on a horse friend asap! After spending his first 5 years of life surrounded by other horses (even if he typically ignored them all,) my gelding was miserable when I moved him to my own property alone. He would be pacing the fenceline nearest my home's door every time I'd check on him in the dark, he was agitated and jumpy every morning, and he'd slept in short bursts during the day, again as near to my home's door as possible, presumably since there was no herd to watch out for predators. He also broke through a gate (which he'd NEVER done!) twice, to visit the horsey neighbors down the street. Within 3 months of moving, I adopted a retiree for a companion and he was back to his usual, calm and happy self (but they instantly became joined at the hip and I had several weeks of ground work to deal with extreme and dangerous separation anxiety. They are pretty much fine now.)


As for electricity, I have a metal roofed metal barn with a pipe rail paddock attached and a lightening arrester system on it all. My solar powered electric perimeter fence with metal corner braces is well grounded and I only turn it off when I'm performing maintenance. Texas has some SERIOUS electrical/lightening storms but I've not experienced any issues in my whopping 18 months on this property.


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