Are you turning out this morning?

Montyforever

Montyforever

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It was freezing here last night and the temperature here is still -6 now :o
Obviously there's going to be some ice around so I won't be turning mine out today unless there's no ice on the track down to the field, because Mysti slid over a few days back and had to stay in because she had heat in her leg which was gone after a day thankfully.

So what do you do once ice appears on the yard? I've never had this problem at my old yard as there was only a tiny bit of concrete outside the stables and the rest was grass!
 
Mine went out as usual, however my yard is just me on it (Lovely livery is usuing top fields only).
No slipping on yard but I did put salt down the centre of it last night after work just in case.

Gone out with a wodge of hay each & wont be brought in again till around 6 tonight :)

You can muck out onto the yard to stop slipping- its a right pain to clean up again after but really does help with keeping their feet steady :)
 
Mine and all my liveries go out from 5am - 5pm every day, no matter what the weather, unless the hounds are about. -7 here and all the fields are frozen solid, but they've all got haylage and water and are happy munching.
 
We put grit on the smallish yard, or straw from mucking out. Paths to field are on grass, which is horrid when its wet, but brilliant for icy ground because it isn't ever slippy. A bit rutted, but none seem to mind. If field is mega frozen or snowy I just put hay out in the morning with them.
 
All out, better for ours to be out than get wound up in the stables, given that their 3 other mates live out 24/7. Hay, and they'll quite happily mooch all day. You can grit the icy areas or spread muck on it. I don't tend to sweep the yard this time of year as stray hay and muck give extra grip imho :)
 
I have a rule which is NOTHING MOVES when yard is icy. If they are caught in they stay in, and vice versa.

Pleny of people with broken horses falling on ice (plus apparently horrendous watching them trying to get up).

Probably why mine usually live out 24/7 as its always icy here. Funnily enough I brought 75kg of salt last night as needed to get colt in due him being castrated next week so didn't want him feral. Yard fine last night but not great this morning. I put food in field and let them pick their way out themselves - really intersting as even though food they really took their time and went a very indirect way. Still, heart stopping, unnecessary and won't be repeating.
 
Very lucky here my stables are just across a woodchip yard from the fields so not slippery so all turned out this morning with plenty of hay as the ground is solid so not able to graze. Saying that its clouded over now and rain forcast later so ground should soften then. Can't ride though as lane out of the yard is a sheet of ice!
 
Crugeran Celt said:
Can't ride though as lane out of the yard is a sheet of ice!
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This is my problem - access lane is a steep hill one way - and even if we grit it ourselves using the grit bins, I never quite trust it. The other way is a ford - which is fine going through the water, but its the ice build up either side thats terrifying :eek:
 
Put mine and her pal out at 8am. Yard is icy, but we have mucked out onto the yard which has created a track. Aslong as you stick to that it isn't slippy. Gave both girls a big hay pile and left them too it. All the others are staying in.
 
Mine lives out ATM but tomorrow will be stabled! She's out every other day in a field but can go out daily in the sand paddock for a leg stretch :-) she's a youngster who I said I want out till she's 4 however she is the type that needs stabling and intensively working with! She's been stabled before and it doesn't bother her in the slightest :-)
 
Layer of mucking out on concrete every winter. All mares and youngstock out as usual, naked, on plenty of land. Will be back on overnight with feed and haylage, as usual.
Only change today, I had to lug water from house as yard frozen.
 
Both out and will always go out regardless of the weather, the problem with keeping them in is if we have a freeze that lasts for a month or so like it did last year and the year before you end up with manic horses that have been cooped up for weeks that you daren't turn out incase they hurt themselves hooning round.
 
Yup, all ours out. YO puts salt down if necessary, although not a lot of concrete to get over.

Hay in the field so all happy mooching about apart from the 2 who always have to canter up their field shouting to everyone that they're here :rolleyes:
 
We were -6 this morning when I turned out, a lot of frost but the only patch of really slippy ice on the yard was where I emptied my water bucket like an idiot and it froze straight away, of course that is exactly where my horse chose to walk, after a little bit of leg adjustment he walked nicely to the field where they all look very pretty!:)
 
24/7 turn out here, but on last yard, 24/7 turn out in general and gritted/salted yard for if anything needed to come in for any reason.

I would not be walking a horse over an icy yard and they'd stay out over in, I'd be asking YO (or doing myself) to sort a safe track though!
 
Isaachristmas said:
We were -6 this morning when I turned out, a lot of frost but the only patch of really slippy ice on the yard was where I emptied my water bucket like an idiot and it froze straight away, of course that is exactly where my horse chose to walk, after a little bit of leg adjustment he walked nicely to the field where they all look very pretty!:)
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The one thing I'm always careful of doing out in the fields. Any trough ice is chucked outside the field and not inside to prevent slipping or cutting themselves on it. You can be certain that if left in the field every single horse out would manage to do themselves damage on the 1sq foot of ice in a 35acre field! :rolleyes:
 
We have a hardcore/chippings turnout area anyway as they get mudrash and we have boggy fields, so turnout there is no problem.. A couple of days ago I even took their rugs off for a couple of hours and they had good backscratch and a doze in the sun.

winter2012028.jpg


There are a few smaller frozen puddles that the hens have been doing a bit of Dancing on Ice on. When I know its going to freeze I don't sweep the concrete of the yard, so the bits of straw and hay stick and "break up" the sheet ice effect. I don't grit unless its terrible or someone is coming!

For the last two days they have been in the fields as they are hard. They are fairly flat so they can mooch about.
 
No, I haven't turned out today. It's -4 here today and my mare suffered a lami attack 3 years ago, the grass, hedges & trees are still white with frost here so she's in today.
 
Ours go out regardless otherwise they are more prone to injury when finally allowed out. I chuck bedding over the worst bits but generally they are pretty good at looking after themselves.
It depends on the location of the yard and fields really, if its lethal and impossible to make the public road to the fields safe, then YO will probably advise restricting movement anyway.

However, I must qualify my remark about the horses looking after themselves. One year the water trough flooded a large area resulting in a huge skating rink. What did the horses do ? They came to investigate our attempts to turn off the tap. They noticed the ice and promptly all ten horses started acting like children skating on it, as I desperately smashed the ice up with my boots. It was a bit of a 'Have You Been Framed?' moment.:o
 
One of mine is out 24/7 and the other always goes out 6am to 6pm every day, rain, sun or snow.

"Borrowed" a large bucket of salt from work on Monday so well prepped now!
 
horserider said:
Ours go out regardless otherwise they are more prone to injury when finally allowed out. I chuck bedding over the worst bits but generally they are pretty good at looking after themselves.
It depends on the location of the yard and fields really, if its lethal and impossible to make the public road to the fields safe, then YO will probably advise restricting movement anyway.

However, I must qualify my remark about the horses looking after themselves. One year the water trough flooded a large area resulting in a huge skating rink. What did the horses do ? They came to investigate our attempts to turn off the tap. They noticed the ice and promptly all ten horses started acting like children skating on it, as I desperately smashed the ice up with my boots. It was a bit of a 'Have You Been Framed?' moment.:o
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My horse loves ice, she she actually "skates" on it. It is hilarious, but heart stopping I must admit! :p

Totally agree that it does more harm than good keeping in for some horses! Mine is better out, and goes out all weathers because she would definitely do herself an injury if she was kept in!
 
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