straw bale shelter

Samantha1980

Samantha1980

New Member
Mar 14, 2005
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North Aberdeenshire
has any one put some big straw bales out for horses to use as a bit of shelter? Did they use them? did it do much good? how did you arrange them?
I am thinking about this because I have a field with no shelter and have to take them in when the weather is bad. I thought (well OH suggested) that some straw bales would offer some shelter for when its inbetween days allowing them to stay out slightly more. I think I would arrange them in a L shape.
Any thoughts? advice?
 
Well, you can build houses out of straw bales - large or small.

I am sure I have seen plans somewhere for simple temporary wind shelters out of straw bales - I think they were done in a N or W shape to offer shelter from different directions. However, I have the feeling I saw it in a book somewhere (library maybe?) and not the web.
 
Sorry, that wasn't very helpful was it?! lol, just feeling cheeky andpleased with myself (see my other success thread about turning out today!). I'd just be worried about the winds - don't know what its like where you are, but I'd be bothered if it were near me. We even had to chain / cement down our "temporary" field shelters, just to be on the safe side.
 
I saw many farmers using bales as shelter for sheep lambing during F&M when they were unable to move them indoors.
It would work, just be sure to stack them well and maybe anchor them down with something.

I'd be tempted to build it months before needed so it would weather, it'd then sort of mould together and horses would be less likely to snack on it, so less likely to collapse!
 
mould is about right, you should see the cross country jumps I made from hay bales in july, nice fungi forest and raised grass platform sunken in the middle....:D

I wouldnt do it tbh, sheep are much smaller so the height issue is less, plus if they get squashed its a hundred or so quid not the light of your life. But a big wide stack of spare bales would make a good windbreak as long as it isnt too high and is much wider than high. Remember you get 3x the distance in shelter as the height of your hedge.

it might be better still to use something that lets the wind through a little, you can get special fabric, it just lets enough through to stop the fierceness.
 
As a cheap shelter I can see nothing cheaper than big bale straw, the bigger square/oblong bales will not blow over, I have seen them used to great effect in Aberdeenshire/ Kincardine as a shelter.

The council cannot complain either as they are not a building and certainly not permanent.
 
Samantha1980 said:
I was thinking of just putting some of the big round bales out in a L shape? Not stacked.

something like this
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Click to expand...

That looks good - but I would be tempted to use a semi-circle shape, just so there's no corner for anyone to get trapped in. Of course with the L shape, you could lay beams across, and secure corrugated sheets or even tarps, to give a 'roof', which you couldn't do with a semi-circle.

I think its a great idea as long as you have the means to move large bales!
 
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If you lay a roof, I'd cover it with another layer of bales, here, I wouldn't even contemplate it as the wind would take it. even covered in big round or square bales.
 
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