Brandy's Screened in Porch

View of Brandy's screened in shed from the barn door looking out

When Brandy was diagnosed with early heaves, we were advised to keep her out of the barn as much as possible. The screens keep bugs out, and the shed is attached to the barn so she is close to the other horses. So far minimal barn time and steamed or wet hay have prevented a recurrence of her cough.

Brandy walking through a screen panel

All the horses like to walk straight through the screens as Brandy is doing. Apparently they like the screen swishing over their bodies.

One panel is omitted for birds to get through

Panels are mounted on strips of wood that are easily screwed to the rafters in spring and taken down in fall. After the first winter, we didn't bother taking them down. They blow around in heavy wind, but it hasn't damaged them, and the horses don't seem to mind. In fact, they reduce the amount of snow in the shed. There are screen panels specially made for horses, but they are much more expensive than the heavy duty screening we bought by the roll on-line. Our barn is 36 feet wide, each panel is 6 feet wide.
The panel on the far right is omitted so the birds, especially our dear barn swallows, can get through. That doesn't seem to reduce the effectiveness in keeping out the biting flies.