A what would you do?

tonitot

tonitot

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At the yard I keep my horse at the paddocks have no grass whatsoever, are a few inches under water in places and to get her in I nearly break my legs by walking through really deep mud. It takes me ages to get her out of the paddock as she hates having to walk through the mud and sometimes she refuses to go through for ages. She has a big bucket full of hay but hardly ever eats it all and every time I see her she is stood in water looking fed up, she goes out about 10/11 and I get her in about 3. Im just wondering if we'd both be better off if she just stayed in, I can ride/lunge her every day so she would still get out and about but I feel like I'm being mean if she doesnt get turned out. Her behavior doesnt seem to change on the odd days she is kept in (when YO says they need to stay in) but I dont know how she'd be long term.

Would you keep her in or just keep turning her out?
 
Is she out with others at all? If not this could be more why she is looking miserable, mine are knee high in mud and loving it because they have mates to play with. If she has company and is still miserable it may be worth keeping her in for a little while, my stallion doesnt go out as hes always been stable kept and panics if out and he is more than happy in
 
I would keep them in - nothing to say if the horse starts getting restless they cant then go out?

Loads of horses at my yard are in 24/7 - which is some thing I have never really liked, however... I would rather see my horse in, munching on hay, happy and ridden every day than getting stressed out going to and from the field, loosing condition and stood in mud.....

As it happens mine is in now as there is no grass, no shelter, thick mud.. etc He's happy enough and goes out every night for exercise and is stabled where there is hustle and bustle.
 
I too would look for a yard with better facilities, her field sounds miserable so not suprised she'd rather be in -but long term she'll need to stretch her legs, play with other horses, have a good itchy roll
 
If she is truly unhappy and seems better when she's kept in then keep her in. I'm not a fan of stabling but some horses genuinely prefer it. Work with your horse and do whatever keeps her happy.
 
Ride her, feed her according to her work and leave her in the dry. The less horses on the waterlogged ground the quicker the ground will recover and your land owners will be able to rectify the damage with the harrow and roll.

The comments of 'just move to another yard' make me smile. After the weather the majority, if not all, of this country has endured I doubt there will be many landowners wanting to open good ground up to liveries just yet.

I have good fresh, but waterlogged ground available for my horses who are taking it in turns to stand in/go out into a play swamp and straw yard at the moment. Until it dries up there is absolutely no point in using fresh ground.
 
Im on the waiting list for another yard which is much closer to home but its hard, there's not many yards round here and the ones that are around are full with long waiting lists! At the yard im at now the horses are turned out individually so she's not really got any company, just the horses in the paddocks surrounding hers. Days I cant ride her she will definitely be turned out, I dont really want to keep her in but she is always desperate to come in (until we get to the knee deep mud) and she just stands in the same spot looking pretty miffed. Plus I dont think spending all day with wet legs is good for her either!
There is one yard I can move to, it has no turnout at all but plenty of places to have a pick of grass, a walker that they'd put her on every morning for me and I'll ride her in my lunch time, even if I move there just temporarily it's seeming like a better option than staying where we are :/
 
I think you have answered your own question. if she is not being ridden one day, turn her out if you really want to, but in the end I think she is telling you she doesnt want to be out there, so leave her in. Its not going to be forever, once the spring arrives and the fields dry out, you can think again. its pointless moving yards really, as the majority of them are in the same boat, with flooded, muddy fields, unless they are really lucky!!
 
Thank you benson, im wanting to move yards anyway as the current one is costing me a fortune in extras and petrol to get there. I am wondering whether or not to move her to the yard with no turnout, if only until I get a space at another yard in the area with turnout, I think it would be better than where we are now.
 
I would keep her in on the days she is being exercised. Turn out on the days she isn't.

I am curious here, several people have mentioned yards with no turnout. Is this because of the weather/ground conditions, or because they do not have turnout at all?
 
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