Steel vs wood framed shelter?

Perhaps one of the biggest decisions people face when they are shopping for a new run-in shelter is; “Do we go with a steel frame or a wood frame?” We may be a little biased but, a steel frame is far more superior than the widely used wood frame.

Steel has many advantages over wood. First of all, a steel shelter is built to last. Our shelters are made with an 11 gauge, 2x4” base and uprights. This makes moving them around the pasture surprisingly easy. The shelter won’t crack or break when being pulled around.

Secondly, we have zero surfaces for horse to chew on. As any horse owner knows, horses can be beavers when they get bored. Our tongue and groove kick boards are installed vertically and capped on both ends so there is no surface for them to grab on to. A wood shelter is a chewer’s paradise; they can chew on most of the surfaces.

Third; our wood kick boards make up the bottom 48” of our shelters. Our cheap competitors use thin, pole-barn steel (or plywood) that runs all of the way to the ground. If you care about your horse and I’m sure you do; you know this is a huge safety hazard. If a horse kicks through the steel panel and then pulls their leg back out; their leg would be ripped to shreds.

Finally, cleaning the inside is a breeze. Nearly all of the wood shelters out there are built with a 6x6” wood beam at the entrance; this makes getting equipment in there to scoop out manure impossible. Unless you’re a fan of the good ole fashioned shovel method; this is a huge inconvenience. Our 2x4” base is only 2 inches high; this allows you to easily drive in, scrape the manure and back out. How about in the winter when everything is frozen? What do you do then; use a jackhammer to break it up and then shovel it out? Not with a West Wind Shelter; drive in and scrape it out. I don’t know about you but, we prefer the easy way.

Hopefully this has given you a little insight into the lesser known world of the steel frame run-in shelter. Our shelters are built by horse owners; for horse owners.

As always, if you have any questions please reach to us! Thanks for reading.