Anyone else not turn out over the winter???

charlie76

charlie76

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Just wondering as mine seem to hate being out at this time of the year. field has plenty of grass, trees for shelter, they are rugged but they seem to go out, roll and then stand by the gate waiting to come in or break the fences. It goes against my thoughts but I am tempted to not turn out over winter. They are ridden every day and can be turned loose in the indoor school.
They are fed up within 1/2 an hour. They are a pain, this week alone they have smashed through 2 fences and galloped non stop for 40 minutes until they were foamed in sweat.
Have tried hay, they aren't intrested.
The drag me back to their stables when I get them in and trot over to me when I call them in.

Anyone else not/not allowed to turn out through the winter?
 
I do turn out but not on very wet and windy days or when there is snow on the ground. At the moment mine are happy out but we have no shelter in our fields and during the week they are out by 6.30am and they are then out until 4.30ish - bringing in earlier is not an option due to work. They are happier in on horrid days, during last winters snow they were in for up to 2 weeks at a time and were perfectly happy, when they did go back out they were ready to come in after a couple of hours. There are some on my yard that are horrified when mine are in for a few days but they are fed and exercised and happier than standing at the gate all day waiting to come in.
 
Mine dont go out in the winter, only because i keep the horses at my parents and my dad wont let them 'ruin his fields'! So they just go out into a gravel yard for a few hours each day, they seem quite happy but i would rather they were out on nice days.
 
OneInAMillion said:
Ours love being out until there is the slightest hint of rain or wind...and considering he comes from Connemara you would think he would be used to it!
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Mine are the same! I bought B literally out of the bog in Donegal and J was off a dairy farm in Cork - I am convinced they became alergic to rain/wind and mud due to over exposure in their formative years!
 
Mine go out every morning and by the time I have done both stables and hay/haylage they are at the gate waiting to come in. Mick has been in most of the day today as we rode then had the dentist. They really aren't that fussed.
 
Think I will give it a trial run and leave them in, I can put them in the indoor school when I muck out for a leg stretch, if needs be I can work them twice a day as I work where they are kept.
 
We cant turn out once wet sets in as clay. Most are still going out at moment but daughters dressage horse has decided today that its winter and he doesnt want to be out anymore so he will work am and walker pm until spring.
 
Ours are out but only until the fields get too wet. I don't mind turning out on snow as long as they don't gallop around from safety point of view!

But ours only go out for few hours now, maybe 2-3hrs a day?! We are fortunate to have a horsewalker and majority are worked every day. some only want to go out for an hour. The youngsters have come in to the barns now as well so fields look very empty!
 
Our hunters are in 24/7 from mid-Oct until mid-March. They are exercised every day and go on the walker or just for a leg stretch the day after hunting. Most of them hunt twice/weekly so they ned to be resting up and eating as much haylage as poss otherwise they'll run off by the end of the season.
 
Mine are out but only because I have no stables at the moment. I am in the process of having a barn put up. once it is (by xmas) then my eventer and broodmare will be in every night. they will go out into a 10 acre field during the day but on bad days I'll probably keep them in, if Jan is going to be the same as last year then they will be inside as the snow was a nightmare (up to waist deep in my field).

Not sure how I'll do things until the building is up but my plan will be to have them in a nights all year round.

I grew up with the ponies we had going out into the all weather for an hour a day in the winter - they competed all year round (except for holidays in Oct/Nov) and went better when they weren't out for so long.
 
Mine is out a few hours every day but may well be stuck in for a while if the weather/ground conditions get really bad. This is not ideal as I'd like her out more but finding a yard that has all the positives of where I am now with guaranteed winter turnout is near impossible.

I am glad that this is a well-balanced and honest thread without attacks - if it had been in the New Lounge we would have all been reported to the RSPC by now for animal cruelty... :-/
 
As soon as the fields get wet, I only use my small all-weather turn out, and my arena. The horses hate the mud and stand around in it looking totally miserable. As long as they're out of their stables for at least 5 hours or so, they're happy, imho. When I kept them out in the fields in the winter, the moment I stepped outside the house they'd race to the gate (if they weren't there already) and shriek to be let in.
I used to feel guilty but I don't any more. I let them be where they want to be - in the dry, cosy stables where they can relax properly.
 
I guess it depends from horse to horse and every1s set up but mine are in the same schedule all year round - in before dark and out everyday. In the winter if there has been excessive snow/icy conditions they do get kept in slightly more but never all day as my horse would go balistic if he was! They can go in and out of their stables as they want all day and I am lucky to have good grazing land so it doesn tunr into a bog come winter so they both like to be out everyday. I can however understand why peeps would keep horses in all day. Ideally I would love to have a big barn to let them mooch around in if the winters are as bad as last - i think thats ideal.
 
Mine goes out from 8.30 a.m until 6.30 p.m every day and he is never waiting at the gate to come in. He hunts twice a week, day off after hunting and exercised the other 3 days. Our fields are on chalk so incredibly well draining and not boggy at all so can turn out all winter. I think its important for them to be able to mooch around especially after a hard day's hunting.

I believe horses should be out as much as possible - have been cubbing horse from the field and he only came in last week. Each to their own though - I'm lucky that my horses have all got used to being out a lot even the TB who never wanted to come in!!
 
There is not much winter turn out in our area at all. We can pay extra for day turnout in a winter field but Ruby is not happy going out in bad weather and hates wading through mud :-( so just use the turnout Sand paddocks and ride lots!
 
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I hate to gloat, but mine (6 atm) have approx 20 acres of hilly fields to roam around. We still have a winter paddock to graze down and haven't started in on our hay yet.

Because they aren't used to being in they are no where to be found most days, certainly don't want to come in & have a busy & playful time out in the field. We aim for them to be out 24/7 unless really neccesary, usually the farrier tells us to bring them in at night for a few weeks if he feels their feet are getting a bit soft. This dry Autumn has meant we haven't any mud yet - long may it continue.

Our TB, & 2 ISH's will stay out whatever the weather. The 2 hairy ponies (Welshies) are the ones who think they should live in and not get rained on.

I've had horses in 24/7 on yards where there is limited turnout & they have't suffered terribly, but these days I would rent a field with no stable in preference to no turn out. They are much healthier and steadier for it (and it is incomparibly cheaper).
 
Ours go out from 6.30ish to about 6pm if they're ridden, otherwise around 8pm. They go out in all weathers unless there is a true storm with extreme wind and rain.
Only one horse isn't too keen on being outside, but they're all used to being out. Unfortunately most fields/paddocks are quite muddy..
 
I am lucky in that where I keep mine they have all year turn out, what ever the weather it's up to the owner of the horse as the whether they want it out or not. All the horses have to be in at night by I think around 5th Nov, however mine has been in at night for a while now.

Mine gets to go out everyday what ever the weather as the ground around us is really good. Even in the winter our show jump paddock can be used.
 
My mare is 9 and for the last 4 years has been in all winter and she is as chilled a horse as you could wish to find. It has never bothered her at all. She gets worked or loose schooled most days. As someone said earlier, they are all individuals!
 
Mine gets about 4 hours in a small sand pen from Nov - April then back in her stable. We have no option for Winter turnout, just half a dozen small sand pens that they time share. Amazingly are still out at night (I think because of haylage shortage) but will soon be in at night and out in the field during the day. If the weather stays reasonable then they'll stay on the fields til the end of the year during the day but the last couple of Winters they've been off the fields by November.

So long as they get out for a bit and have the chance to kick their heels up in a school and are worked/walkered daily I think it's fine.
 
siennamum said:
Our TB, & 2 ISH's will stay out whatever the weather. The 2 hairy ponies (Welshies) are the ones who think they should live in and not get rained on.
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I think I'm partly to blame for treating the white beast like a King when he was younger! :o

As I said on the post in NL (which has turned more scarier than this one!) at our yard turnout is restricted in the winter so they are in 24/7 sometimes and cope fine.
 
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