Three weeks ago, I bit the bullet and bought the channels, lumber and hardware to put up one windwall each in two of the shelters.
I know this is a simple concept… but I am very pleased with the outcome.
The shelters I purchased are very adaptable. You can put up no walls, one wall, two, three, four… or you can put in gates or panels… divide them or not… lots of variations. They are kinda like leggos. You can add on and on and on.
So, this year, I decided was the year of the winter wind walls. The good part is that the steel channel for the wood to sit were very reasonably priced (compared to the wood channels in my barn in Grass Valley). The bad part is that if you want to remove the wood in the summer, the channels are sharp and would have to be wrapped.
Anyway, Hubby did the work as a present to me, which was wonderful. No labor charges!
Most of the weather comes from the side we blocked. As you can see, this photo was taken after the first storm of winter… and the inside is dry and nice! You can see the horse trail that was already created after just one storm – and the mud just below the trail.
You bold the channel into the steel, and slide the wood into the channel. Here you can see how wet it is outside the shelter. You can see how the ground is already churned up and uneven.
This is the weather facing side. Hubby put treated wood at the bottom. You can see how much of a slant there is here, at the ‘flat’ top part of the paddocks. The hill is quite impressive.
IT GETS EASIER AFTER YOU PUT UP ONE…
It took Hubby most of the day to figure out the best way to do the first wall in Annie’s shelter. We used treated wood for the lower panels and then used regular 12″ for the stacking boards.
The next day, Finn’s wall went up really fast!
Here you can see, after the first rains, the part under the roof is dry. Every part around that (with the arrows) is lumpy and wet. (At camera is Missy Miss, Mo in the middle and Annie at the far trough, next to her wall.) Also, for those of you tree watchers, I just planted the California Pepper tree this year! The plum tree was last year and the far away Raywood Ash was last year.
IT RAINED TWO DAYS LATER… HARD.
It rained two days later, for a couple of days. As you can see, the wind wall made a huge difference in the mud in the shelters. Not having mud is HUGE. The horses shuffle the mud around and it creates mountains of clay/sand once it dried – and they are ankle killers and trip hazards because they are HARD once they dry.
This is Finn’s wall tonight. you can see the real difference in the ground after one rain. And, you can see the slant a bit more easily in this pic. Finn is closest to camera. BG is closest to the wall. Wrigley is in the other pasture. LOOK HOW GREEN the outside ground has become after just a few days of rain!
AMAZING.
To me, this little thing, a wall, made a huge difference. The other shelters are shaped directed long-wise, so the wind wall would have to be 20′ – and I need to put in a post to hold the middle. So those are bigger jobs. Next year!
Again, a clear difference in the area inside the wall vs outside. Mo is chewing here… Annie in the back. That Raywood Ash was planted last year.
DECEMBER BUCKET FUND – THE MIGHTY TRIO who broke free from their hidden hell! To read their story, click here. To donate (please and thank you!), click here!
THANK YOU! Look at this face!!
THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO BENEFIT THE DECEMBER BUCKET FUND HORSES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!
