Palouse Ranch Shelters

In 2019 my company eliminated my job title, quite effectively and unexpectedly eliminating my job and completely changing the trajectory of my life.

I'd been with that company for 16 years, and was planning on retiring to my little 1945 cottage and my old but functional arena and barn that sat on 3 acres just outside of town. I was comfortable there and so were my horses, and my best friend's horses. My best friend lived at the other end of the house, and between the two of us we maintained the property and had a comfortable life. My skillset is not one that comes along just any old day, and certainly not within easy commuting distance, so when I did find a new position it was in my home town, near my parent's place about 1.5 hours away.

My parents are in their mid 80s and bought 12+ acres back in the late 70s. They have since deeded 1/2 of it to my sister and her family and live on the remaining acreage. I began that job by staying in the spare room and commuting home on the weekends while I figured out what to do in the long run.

Short version of the long run (which lasted almost 2 years) is that the decision was made to move to my parent's property, rent the house in Banks and build a barn and arena on my parent's property. While I was doing the planning and financing (not to mention waiting for the weather to cooperate) for the new barn, I needed a short term way to keep the horses sheltered since the property was fenced, but had no barn structures on it whatsoever. I began looking for a portable shelter and was trying to avoid any version of a tarp covered structure, since I'd picked up multiple iterations of torn and shredded tarps from days gone by while prepping the property for the barn. I also wasn't sure where the barn would finally land, so I didn't want to repeatedly move stakes and panels and tie-downs around. This is where Palouse Ranches came in.

Palouse Ranches, launched in 2017, builds heavy duty, portable shelters for livestock. They are built on a sturdy frame that can be pulled with a truck or tractor. I pull mine with a John Deere 855 that belongs to dad (thanks dad!). The walls are built with 2x6s or 2x8s that slide into channels, with the top board pinned into place, so that if a horse breaks one board, you can easily unpin the top board and slide another board in.

When I called to inquire about pricing and delivery, the customer service person was super helpful and friendly. I was able to order three 10x12 units that they already had in stock, and had them delivered the following week; one of which was bought by my parents, to shelter mom's small flock of Katahdin sheep, Margo the ancient, escape artist goat and two llama/alpacas (one of whom can jump a 5 foot fence with ease).

I knew I could also use them after the barn was up by moving them from pasture to pasture for shelter and shade, right along with the horses, since I believe in turnout as much as possible. I just drop the electric fence and pull the shelter right over the hot wire to the next space, then put the fence back up, or if they start getting a lot of manure inside, I relocate it within the same pasture so I can drag the field. In addition, should I ever decide I don't need them anymore, I can easily sell them as they'll last forever.

It's now been at least a year since I bought my shelters. I've been working at a job I never expected to have, in a place I never expected to end up and I have a brand new indoor arena to boot! My best friend also ended up switching her job location and buying a house right in town..so once again all our horses are in one spot.

I'm old enough to know that when one door closes, it's best to kick another, bigger door open before the oxygen runs out of the room. That's exactly what I did and that's exactly what happened!

Meanwhile, Palouse Ranches continues to expand and add product options, including custom builds. They sell out of Prosser, WA and Ontario, OR. If you're looking for well built, sturdy livestock shelters, that can be customized to a large extent, I can definitely recommend them! Use this link to see their website and get a discount on any shelter you purchase from them! https://palouseranches.com/?sld=heather .

See you in the barn aisle!