# Marquee as a stable?



## DannyBoysGrace (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm asking because my pony hates stabling and gets very stressed. I would like to be able to have a way of keeping him in so that I can have more control over his diet AND protect our land. As more problems with his feet surface, I'm thinking that I need to him dry and clean.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

what's a 'marquee'?


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## DannyBoysGrace (Apr 6, 2013)

3X6M Heavy Duty Party Gazebo Marquee Outdoor Garden BBQ Tent Event Waterproof | eBay
Something like this with wire fencing on the front.


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

If you live in a windy area, don't count on that gazebo to last. Also, it will be noisy in wind, won't survive a hail storm, and would buckle under a heavy snow or ice storm. Also think what would happen if the horse kicked out and snapped a pole or went through the covering. 


Save up your money and put up a decent 3 sided shed for the horse made out of either wood or heavy metal.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

This is a kit available in the US. Probably you'd need to buy the walls at the lumber store, but it is set up for the standard 4x8' sheets of OSB or plywood. You can get steel pipe gates than go across the front to confine your horse if wished. Orient it away from prevailing storm winds, and fill the bottom with gravel, then crushed granite, then rubber stable matting. This is about as cheap as you can go to get a structure with a chance of lasting, in my part of the world.

My set up is similar, with a gate -- in the wet season (I know Ireland doesn't exactly have a dry season but we do) I close the horses in at night to give their feet a chance to dry out.

Your marquee idea would be on the ground in a few days, is my guess. With luck, the horse wouldn't be inside it when that happened.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Ditto to NOT use something like the Marquee. A few good winds and pounding rain will destroy it.

Something like Avna posted would work but the support poles need to be much stronger than what is shown .

I had a 12 X 24 three sided shed when I lived in SoCal. The support poles were treated wood, went three feet into the ground and were cemented. Only an earthquake splitting the ground where that shed sat, would have moved it.

I am sorry but that Marquee shelter is a big accident waiting to happen, where a horse is concerned


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## DannyBoysGrace (Apr 6, 2013)

I forgot that I even posted this.
I didn't explain myself very well but then it was really late.
I was thinking of getting something built based on a Marquee but with wooden beams and strong tarp with clear patches for windows.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I wouldn't use any type of tarp material as a stable or shelter material. It wouldn't be strong enough if it gets windy or very rainy. I also believe it is an accident waiting to happen. 

You need something that is solid - so if a horse kicks it they don't get hung up...and it won't flap around in the wind. 

I get frustrated just using tarps to cover my hay, nevermind using as an actual shelter. In fact, I used to have a dome tarp 'garage' set up to store my round bales in. That stupid thing went flying across the yard in a particularly bad storm. Never again.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

First winter I had my prefab run in shelter (last year) we had a lot of big windy wet storms. It was only solid wood from the ground to four feet up, so it got perfectly wet in there. We tarped almost all the way around to keep it dry. But of course it was just the 'window' area, the roof is steel. Worked fine. The tarps were tightly fastened to the steel pipe (which were embedded in concrete). Looked like a shanty town and the neighbors made fun of us. This winter I hope to do something a bit classier.


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

every time i've seen tarp or fabric style shelters involved with horses it has always been a photo of the shelter totally demolished due to weather or horse shenanigans.

not advised.


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## DannyBoysGrace (Apr 6, 2013)

We have really strong tarp that a camp for troubled boys makes all of their buildings with. It's a cream colour and we're using it for a marquee at the back of my house.
I wouldn't use cheap standard tarp for hay bales. It would all be secured properly. It's rented land so we can't really put up a permanent structure and you need special planning permission for stables.

why do my replies keep failing to send?


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

i would say no, tarps shred from the wind. If the poles are light weight, they will be broken, could spear your horse. We recently had two poles outside the pasture fence , and two poles inside the pasture fence and had shade cloth as a temp shade for the summer. The poles lasted a week. One of the horses decided they made a good butt scratcher. These were heavy duty poles and they pushed and broke one. 
We were lucky no one got impaled.


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