# Building a 3 sided run in for my horses



## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

I would definitely add kick boards/panels to the lower section on the inside. You don't want to deal with a horse who has kicked through metal siding.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Yes, kick boards. If you can avoid the center post, one less thing to run into, also.
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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Agreed, line the walls 1/2way up with 4' x 8' plywood.
Only keep the center divider if you intend to wall in 1/2 of the opening. My shelter, adjacent to and west of my barn and opens into it, is 16' x 19'. The space is a little bit shorter bc there is a manger for hay on the north side. The south wall is 1/2 enclosed. This did not affect access even when I kept 5 horses.
Make sure that your location doesn't flood the shelter. I'd put it facing south, and at one of the highest points in their turnout area.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Also, if you can afford it, I'd recommend something like OSB sheeting under the roofing metal. It can get extremely noisy without anything to cushion the sound from hard rain or hail.

And welcome to the forum.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

If you run a big header you may not need the center post. Also add boards in the corners at an angle to prevent racking. I also used larger posts and put them in the ground in concrete, then you can get rid of the board across the front bottom.
You will need to anchor very securely if you dont put in posts in the ground


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

churumbeque said:


> If you run a big header you may not need the center post. Also add boards in the corners at an angle to prevent racking. I also used larger posts and put them in the ground in concrete, then you can get rid of the board across the front bottom.
> You will need to anchor very securely if you dont put in posts in the ground


Great, great points about the building structurally! 
If you don't want to set posts and make it a pole building, a really good anchoring system is a must! My run ins are metal pre-fab from Noble Shelters with wood siding, but instead of their anchoring system, I got some duck-bill earth anchors. This way the building is somewhat movable.


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## rebeccahorse (Aug 20, 2014)

churumbeque said:


> If you run a big header you may not need the center post. Also add boards in the corners at an angle to prevent racking. I also used larger posts and put them in the ground in concrete, then you can get rid of the board across the front bottom.
> You will need to anchor very securely if you dont put in posts in the ground



I am not allowed to attach it to the ground. It is on someone else's land. I am thinking about anchoring it with t-posts. 
Also my horses are used to the noise, where they were previously was the same. Also I am going to line the inside with pallets until I can afford to get plywood.
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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

The spaces in pallets are just asking to trap a hoof. Please reconsider!
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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Re anchoring - we used t-posts to anchor the building we store the baler in. We put, I think, a total of 10-12 posts in it. You'd probably want to look at that many as well, if not more. The difference between your run in shed and our building is that ours is fully enclosed (eg has doors on it) which means if an extreme wind comes from just the right direction it can hit the run in through the open side and lift it up hence the need for more t posts rather than less.

Re lining -- I assume you mean you would want to use pallets for lining of the wall and not as flooring? Another option might be the use of barn board (sometimes known as slabs or rough cut lumber) -- it is considerably cheaper than plywood sheets and, in the scheme of things, actually heavier and more durable. We ran a couple of lines of horizontal 2x4s on the inside walls and then nailed the barn board on it vertically (looks pretty much like wind fence just inside a building instead of outside).


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## rebeccahorse (Aug 20, 2014)

karliejaye said:


> The spaces in pallets are just asking to trap a hoof. Please reconsider!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


The pallets I use only have 1/2 inch of space between the boards. In any case my horses have been in steel sheds for as long as I've had them and never kicked it. They don't even kick each other. Guess I'm fortunate. ☺
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