Advice on 24/7 Turnout

[PotofEarlGrey]

I have had my Connie mare for 7 years, and for the first time ever, we have the opportunity to do 24/7 turnout over winter.

I'm trying to weigh things up, so would appreciate thoughts.

1. My main concern is the horses will have ad lib haylage. In winter, she's fed 1:3 ad lib hay/straw, which she does very well on and keeps her trim & happy. I'm convinced that she'll come out of winter fat as a pudding on ad lib haylage
2. I ride 6 days a week - how practical is this with a pony living out? (I have never had the availability of 24/7 turnout over winter, even as a child!) It's all new to me.
3. Mud rash/ rain scald is a concern.

Important to note - if we opt for 24/7 turnout, the yard owner has stated that we must stick with this, so no option to bring in a few nights a week.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It solely depends on the horse initially with ad lib they tend to gorge then when they realise its always there they tend to just eat what they need, even my hay gannet Arab will walk away from the hay in the field now it took a while though.

Mine get a bit over weight at times but not horrendous and they are good doers they don't get alot of hard feed literally a few handfuls once a day.

I think you just need to try it and see how it goes but I would try and give it a while at least you can up the work if need be.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

It solely depends on the horse initially with ad lib they tend to gorge then when they realise its always there they tend to just eat what they need, even my hay gannet Arab will walk away from the hay in the field now it took a while though.

Mine get a bit over weight at times but not horrendous and they are good doers they don't get alot of hard feed literally a few handfuls once a day.

I think you just need to try it and see how it goes but I would try and give it a while at least you can up the work if need be.

Thank you, that's encouraging. The difficulty is that if we opt for it, we have to stick with it for the entire winter.

 

[Tiddlypom]

As there is no going back (why?) I’d stick with your current regime, which works for you.

Is this something that all you liveries have to agree on as a group?

I certainly wouldn’t do it without being able to bring in overnight as and when.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

As there is no going back (why?) I’d stick with your current regime, which works for you.

Is this something that all you liveries have to agree on as a group?

I certainly wouldn’t do it without being able to bring in overnight as and when.

Yes, we have to commit for the whole winter. Yard owner is offering it to make life easier as our turnout is a fixed 5 hours, which isn't great for folks who work full time etc.

 

[meleeka]

There's so many things to consider. How is the land likely to hold up to 24 hour use? How will you feel when it's hammering down and you can't bring your horse in? How will your horse feel about it? Will you still have a stable for tacking up etc?

 

[JBM]

What happens if a horse is injured? Or needs treatment?
If they do get mudrash getting time to dry off is very important

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Yes, we have to commit for the whole winter. Yard owner is offering it to make life easier as our turnout is a fixed 5 hours, which isn't great for folks who work full time etc.

I think under the circumstances I would definitely give it a try 5 hours is not alot.

I have mine at home on just under 3 acres they have a bit of natural shelter and stables so I can bring in, but honestly I try to keep out as much as possible as that what they prefer.

I do think sometimes is us thinking they would prefer to be in because of the rain and wind, but if you get decent rugs I think alot of horses are happier out.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

What happens if a horse is injured? Or needs treatment?
If they do get mudrash getting time to dry off is very important

I'm sure under that situation the horse can come in that's just unreasonable and not practical.

 

[Squeak]

I've got mine living out 24/7 all year and ride and compete all year. I find having a good rug, with a neck helps as it means you have a lot less cleaning and a dry horse. I also use baby oil on the parts of the horse that aren't covered by the rug so that the mud brushes off more easily.

A head torch is really helpful for giving you light but leaving your hands free if you need to do stuff out in the middle of a field in the dark.

 

[P.forpony]

I wouldn't be particularly concerned with weight gain. You have lots of variables you can still control there.
She will be moving around more if she's out full time and if she's being ridden 6 days a week I'd assume you would clip?
If she starts to get too round just clip more and rug less and let her metabolism do the rest

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

I wouldn't be particularly concerned with weight gain. You have lots of variables you can still control there.
She will be moving around more if she's out full time and if she's being ridden 6 days a week I'd assume you would clip?
If she starts to get too round just clip more and rug less and let her metabolism do the rest

That's helpful, thank you.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

Yes, injured or sick horses can come back in.

So difficult!

I'd like her out to keep her as with only 5 hours turnout otherwise, it's not great. The field got absolutely hammered last year with folks who did it (only geldings allowed last year)

We have a lovely yard owner & I am grateful for the opportunity, just such a big decision!

Just spoken to my vet who said no because of managing pony's weight..

 

[gallopingby]

If you are worried about weight gain and there’s going to be ad lib hay in the field l would stick with stabling. Although 24 hour turnout sounds good unless you have really good rugs, which you’ll need to prevent rain scald if you’re in a wet area and your horse is likely to suffer from it, and can guarantee you’ll be up to bringing in a wet muddy horse and riding 6 days a week you might find you’ve as much work as when stabled. Also if the field got hammered last year what will be the difference this year?

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

If you are worried about weight gain and there’s going to be ad lib hay in the field l would stick with stabling. Although 24 hour turnout sounds good unless you have really good rugs, which you’ll need to prevent rain scald if you’re in a wet area and your horse is likely to suffer from it, and can guarantee you’ll be up to bringing in a wet muddy horse and riding 6 days a week you might find you’ve as much work as when stabled. Also if the field got hammered last year what will be the difference this year?

Yes, that makes sense. The mud was hock deep around the haylage.

Weight gain (& then mud fever/rainscald) is my biggest worry

 

[Tiddlypom]

It doesn’t sound like the grazing is able to cope with 24/7 turnout. Hock deep mud around the forage is unacceptable.

5 hours turnout a day for a horse who is ridden 6 days a week is ok, and is better than standing out in deep mud.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

I don't know...it was such a wet winter and it's a HUGE field with not many horses on it.

 

[TheMule]

The YO needs to provide the haylage on a suitably surfaced area. Unless they can do that, I'd be looking elsewhere (because I also believe that keeping a horse shut in a small box for 19 hours per day is unacceptable.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

The YO needs to provide the haylage on a suitably surfaced area. Unless they can do that, I'd be looking elsewhere (because I also believe that keeping a horse shut in a small box for 19 hours per day is unacceptable.

Locally we have problems with turnout. It's extremely limited. Our yard owner is fab & horse focused. It is what it is.

 

[TheMule]

Locally we have problems with turnout. It's extremely limited. Our yard owner is fab & horse focused. It is what it is.

It's not expensive to create an area of hard standing to put a feeder on. It's negligent land management to allow hock deep mud to develop, let alone extremely dangerous for the horses

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I wouldn't keep horses out on hock deep mud mine have a concrete area where they are fed.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

I wouldn't keep horses out on hock deep mud mine have a concrete area where they are fed.

I don’t think I would either but it’s probably preferable to just 5 hours turnout a day.
If you can persuade the YO to put in some hard standing, that would benefit them and horses.
I try to keep my horses out as much as possible. I find that even in the worst of the weather, I’m inside worrying about them and they don’t even go in the field shelter.

 

[9tails]

It doesn't sound like the yard has the facilities to offer 24/7. Though if they're willing to offer 24/7, why can't they offer a decent amount of time out rather than 5 hours? The rigid guidelines set for the 24/7 offer are really offputting too, how are you going to know if your horse will suit 24/7 in winter? I assume if you take up the offer, you lose your stable? Have you asked if you can try 24/7 but still pay for a stable or are you looking at reducing your costs?

 

[Surbie]

I don't understand YOs who allow for 24/7 turnout in winter but then create conditions that negatively impact the horses out there - ie ad lib haylage in one place so that the ground becomes dangerous, not just for horses but also for any humans getting their horses from there. You mentioned it was hock-deep. Why can't hardstanding be put in around the haylage if it has to always be in the same place?

It sounds like the YO is creating the example that is always cited by people in arguments on here about longer turn out in winter - horses deep in thick mud, standing and eating from a big bale all day. It's depressing that's still so common.

 

[Trot_on]

It doesn’t sound like the grazing is able to cope with 24/7 turnout. Hock deep mud around the forage is unacceptable.

5 hours turnout a day for a horse who is ridden 6 days a week is ok, and is better than standing out in deep mud.

I agree with this ^^

I think with hock-deep mud I'd be going for the stabled option. x

 

[oldjumper]

I have had my Connie mare for 7 years, and for the first time ever, we have the opportunity to do 24/7 turnout over winter.

I'm trying to weigh things up, so would appreciate thoughts.

1. My main concern is the horses will have ad lib haylage. In winter, she's fed 1:3 ad lib hay/straw, which she does very well on and keeps her trim & happy. I'm convinced that she'll come out of winter fat as a pudding on ad lib haylage
2. I ride 6 days a week - how practical is this with a pony living out? (I have never had the availability of 24/7 turnout over winter, even as a child!) It's all new to me.
3. Mud rash/ rain scald is a concern.

Important to note - if we opt for 24/7 turnout, the yard owner has stated that we must stick with this, so no option to bring in a few nights a week.

I’d def stick with present successful regime. You know it works and horse happy and fit

 

[SEL]

I've seen the hock deep mud turnout and it's grim. It's common around here which is why turnout gets so restricted in winter.

Is the problem with the 5 hours getting to the yard from work to bring your horse in or do the staff do it? I know when I've been on assisted livery turnout would start around 7:30 but bringing in would be around 3.

 

[Goldenstar]

This completely depends on the land and how poached it gets and if you can control your horses weight I use muzzles in winter when mine are turned out most of the time .They do come in for part of everyday to be worked and have respite and get a decent lie down .
Personally I would rather go to the dentist weekly ( I hate the dentist ) than ride a muddy wet horse out of a field .
If you get a bad winter be it will appalling trying to manage feet and mud fever in a badly poached field .

 

[motherof2beasts!]

Could they not just extend turnout with stable? If they can’t then I doubt you’d want your horse on it in the midst of winter. Why can’t you change your mind ? Would all the horses stables be let out?

I’ve done both and my TB cross Connie loved being out , my cob hated it. Now I’m just down to the cob and he loves his stable, wouldn’t give it up but do get really good flexible turn out times.

 

[khalswitz]

Aside from one winter when I was a working pupil, I’ve always had my horses out 24/7 right through winter, including my old exracer, in the north east of Scotland.

Its absolutely possible to ride 6 days a week and avoid mud fever or rain scald straight from a field, but you need to rug appropriately, groom regularly and appropriately, and have enough land that they aren’t standing in mud. It’s absolutely unacceptable to have hock deep mud around a hay ring and that will cause issues like mud fever or injuries more than just being outside will.

It’s fairly easy to drop weight on horses during the winter, I wouldn’t worry about that. Clip more off and frequently, rug lighter, feed less/no hard feed, and the regular exercise on top - they will drop the weight, just keep them colder until they shiver it off.