Are your horses kept in during Winter?

HBM1 said:
Enfys you have a photo for every occasion! I love looking at them Thankyou :), i am sure you had one of them with icicles on their fur too?
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This one?

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kirstykate said:
This has me smiling:):):) The turtle horse, how cool:cool::cool:, just love it. Dont forget his house coat and pipe!!!:D:D:D
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He's a funny boy, never grows much of a coat yet HATES to be rugged, I have given up on that, and I bought him such a PRETTY one last year too, red plaid.

Pipe? :eek: Nooooooooo. He'd fall asleep with it lit and burn his house down!
 
Great pics Enfys!

Thanks for the experiences so far. My boy is very laid back, loves his stable and loves to come in but it just goes against anything I have ever done or said I would ever do.

Poop. Will keep thinking. I'll be back.
 
I don't really have a choice tbh.

My yard gets really icy as does the private road they would have to cross. I leave in the dark, get back in the dark and because of my OCD, won't rug my youngsters.

As long as they have ad-lib forage (haylage) and good, bedded shelter they are fine out.

I must admit though, I do love it when the weather is really crap and they are all cosy and nice - thing is I've got more horses than stables anyhow!
 
What about when the yard gets iced up then they are stuck in the stable? A horse turned out for winter can walk around all day looking for food naturally, they can also keep warm doing this! They are animals and very able to live out. Mine live out all year round though I do have stables. They are well rugged and don't even have a field shelter, how do they survive - haha!
 
We have quite a few grass liveries at our yard and over the years have only seen 2 who struggled. One as he was always stressy and never settled and the other as he is a wussy pony who seems unable to function in cold weather ( such as won't drink the water if it has been iced up - seriously!) in the latterly case he gets put out in the starvation paddock in the yard so he can be monitored closely and has a rug wardrobe to rival mine! Unfortunately my old mare shows defiant signs of being the 3 rd one who won't. That's cos she is a diva, I personally thinks she would do fine but she will not stay out ever for more than 4 hours. Tried and failed!
 
Ours come in from bonfire night or earlier if the grazing has gone and the mud has taken over. To be honest, round about October most of our horses tend to stand by the gate looking utterly miserable even tough we offer hay in the field.

Our horses are exercised daily or turned out in the round pen to let off a bit of steam, but again, they seem more than happy to come back in.

Horses get used to a routine, as long as you stick to that routine, most horses are ok with it. From my experience anyway.
 
Mine lived out last year for the first time. Well rugged and fed haylage, she was absolutely fine. No mucking out, walking on sheet ice to turn out and bring in ( in the dark!) and no 6am drives to the yard. Suits us both, and she won't be in again unless it's completely unavoidable.
 
We used to keep ours in at night in winter, but one of them had a very mild dust allergy, it was the vet who suggested we keep them out 24/7. He was a much happier and healthier horse living out, in fact they both were. Thats why we still keep them out all year, whatever the weather with rugs and plenty of hay. It also helps with older horses being stiff if they can move about. No one could ever believe the age of our old man when we took him in veteran classes.
 
They come in overnight in winter at our yard. I'd happily leave mine out, well rugged with plenty of haylage but we have to look after our grass.

There's one quite highly strung horse there who every winter would lose weight. His owners tried everything - so many rugs he looked like the michelin man, enough feed to keep the feed shop in business single handed, all sort of supplements etc. His owner changed jobs and he had to be turned out really early and all of a sudden he kept his weight on! It turns out he was stressing about all the other horses going out before him and although this wasn't manifesting itself in behaviour, it was really affecting him.

Having said that, my horse was on box rest for 5 months earlier this year. We were really worried about how he'd cope, but he was fine. The last month or two he had a small pen in the corner of the field where he'd got for an hour at a time. When he was finally allowed out we expected fireworks, but he went out to the field and tried to get into his pen and when that failed he pulled some faces at his field mates (as usual) turned around and waited at the gate to come back in! I think he'd still quite happily spend the day in his stable and that pen!

They're all different, some will be fine and others will hate it.
 
Is it awful ?
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This pony loved her home comforts. Over winter, she preferred to be in rather than out. She'd refuse to leave her stable if she didn't want to go out, and wait at the gate AS SOON as she was turned out in the morning.
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Did she tell me ?
Here she is having that heart to heart....Mum, please don't make me go outside when it is wet, cold and muddy...I love my stable.
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Winter 2010/2011, She was in foal and I decided that it was better for her to live out. She wasn't happy, but got used to it.
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Always gazing after me as I left her, often following me to the gate and neighing.
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February 2011, I moved her to a yard closer to home. Onto 100 acres of grazing. It was perfect and she was happy.
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March 2011, still living out, still happy, looking great.
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April 2nd 2011.......she died.
I wished that I had never moved from the other yard, she had a stable there and could easily have come in. Twice daily visits, all of the yard work, turning out/bringing in...we used to share chores with others on the yard. It was no great hardship compared to the devastation of losing her, AND her newborn foal...just 8 weeks after moving her. She contracted acute grass sickness.
If I could turn the clock back, I'd never have moved her and she would still be alive today.
 
Ours are in all winter, we have turnout pens for 3 hours per day generally as i am up super early seen as i start work at 7am i lunge or turn her out in the school for a stretch while i muck out etc. she then gets two hugeeee nets in a small holed net which tends to last til tea time when OH can get up to do her n she has a stretch either lunging or plod round the school again. when im not at work the other 4 days she is exercised be it hacking schooling or jumping and often goes in the turnout pen for a few hours too. she gets two big nets a night aswell as her bucket feed. mine is tb and works well i have no problem with her being scatty extra as she always gets a stretch and some form of work mine had quite a high fibre diet i dont know how she would be if she was full or high energy feed etc but no one on our yard of 50 + horses seems to really struggle i also have bordem breakers such as lickit tongue twisters and the treatballs etc but tbh they tend to adapt really well i always thought i wouldnt be on a yard with no winter turnout coz it would be a nightmare but it actually works better for us as it is virtually impossible for us to meet the in before 5pm on our last yard due to me and OH working 12 hour shifts which then meant we had to pay someone to bring in and everything had to be left ready which could sometimes be a nightmare when i was half way to work and suddenly realised i'd forgot etc etc
 
I think it would be different if they were in with no facility to loose school or let them have a mooch, and in but with the option of going out in the school for a few hours... that makes a massive difference IMO
 
I have a similar problem this winter. Its okay for some keeping them in, but my mare loves her freedom too much. Think i'll be exploring other options once again :( h
 
Luckily we have Winter grazing but it's heavily restricted and are only allowed out for 3 hours or so.
But I also sometimes put mine in the arena with a haynet and heavily rugged up so they can burn off some extra energy!
 
Goldenstar said:
Lovely pictures littlewildone
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Thank you Goldenstar.:)
Sadly, these are all just memories for me now.
In the photos in the stable, she was 3 years old. Taken in summer as she was being shown in hand at the time. The photo standing at the gate, she was in the end of her 2nd year/going into her 3rd year.
She was 4 years old in the "wintering out" pics, and not quite 5 years old in the last pic...taken just a couple of weeks before she died.
As I said, I wish that I could turn the clock back and have my cheeky baby back again...no matter how much work was involved over winter.
 
We winter in, from December/Christmas time to end of March. The horses get some 'playing out time' each day.
It's not ideal, but it is necessary for our yard, to make sure that the grass comes through sufficently.
 
Oh LittlewildOne - so sorry you lost your lovely girl :( How awful.

I guess I didn't make myself too clear in the first post. I don't mean is it awful for the human? I don't mind doing the jobs or anything like that and actually if we went to this yard it would be five day full livery so very easy (but expensive). I do all the jobs at the moment and always have. I meant is it awful for the horses. Do they cope? Do they mind? I guess people are saying that it works for some and not for others.

Thanks for sharing guys. Happy to hear more experiences.
 
First yard I was at restricted winter turnout, my mare hated it, I hated it - we were both miserable. I moved before the following winter and never looked back - despite sacrificing facilities.

For me daily turnout is an essential, everything else is optional.
 
Thanks Bigproblemo :)
Most horses adapt, some don't winter out well but others do.
Some thrive on living the luxurious life as a stabled horse, as my little mare in the above photos did.

She was actually born and lived wild on the New Forest. I bought her at 2 years old having never ever being handled before in her life. She is where my username comes from...Little..Wild..One, because that's what she was when I first bought her.
She quickly adapted to being a cute little pampered pet pony though, as you can see above. She wasn't even halter broken when I bought her.
 
Ages ago I kept my mare and gelding in from Oct - April with daily turn out. My mare kept getting eye problems. I then decided to winter them out and Ive never looked back. My mare is 25 now and hates being stabled. She has arthritis and is on bute plus rugged. She simply hates coming in. My two youngsters (2 and 3 year olds) have never been stabled both unrugged in the winter. My new girl - a hippo - will winter out and be unrugged. They seem to thrive, I've never had the vet out for accidents. Its cheap and not time consuming. I personally think its more natural and Im the only one on the yard that doesn't stable their horses over the winter. :D
 
My horses all year round are out from 8am-6ish pm then stabled at night due to having a small field and they need regular handling babies you see. IF I had more land I would prob only have them live out if there was a large field shelter. I would never be on a yard if you couldn't turn out all day
 
Ours are in at night from around the end of october until the weather is ok in the spring.They go out about 6 ish each morning and then come in for grooming,riding etc about 3pm and are put to bed when everything has been done,usually 5pm.They are perfectly fine with this routine and are eager to see us when we turn up in the afternoon,and all look very cosy and content in their stables with their hay and feed.They all get more attention when they are stabled as everyone stops by to chat and talk to the horses.We have no shelter in the paddocks and their is a wind funnel from the bottom fields which are not great in winter.
 
My horse, a TB comes in EVERY night. I am not in a livery yard I am in my own yard next to my house. I choose to bring my horse in and he loves the routine and I like it too. I am not humanising him, if that is that is a word, I am enjoying his company because that is why I have him in the first place. He hates being out in all weathers and he certainly tells me when its time to come in.
 
We have the reverse, in all day during the summer and out at night, reason being is because they are lami prone so have soaked hay during the day and out muzzled all night, 12hrs in 12hrs out. They share a double field shelter with an in and out bit (frontage if you like so they can stand in or out) Late autumn until early spring they then live out unrugged and no extra food only the grass in 13 acres left over from summer.....they never lose any weight though, as hard as I try.
 
Horses, for the most part, are adaptable and as long as they get sufficient (but not excessive) feed and excercise will do well on most rational systems. I think the reason many people are so keen on lots of turnout is because they are not willing/able to provide the necessary work invloved in keeping a stabled horse. It is HARD work to properly care for a horse when it is kept confined - mucking out, feeding, rugging, grooming, excercising and working: done correctly this is a full time job. The best looking, most fit and healthy horses I have ever seen are fully managed (i.e IN) competition horses. There are a lot of scruffs out there 24/7.
 
Cortez said:
Horses, for the most part, are adaptable and as long as they get sufficient (but not excessive) feed and excercise will do well on most rational systems. I think the reason many people are so keen on lots of turnout is because they are not willing/able to provide the necessary work invloved in keeping a stabled horse. It is HARD work to properly care for a horse when it is kept confined - mucking out, feeding, rugging, grooming, excercising and working: done correctly this is a full time job. The best looking, most fit and healthy horses I have ever seen are fully managed (i.e IN) competition horses. There are a lot of scruffs out there 24/7.
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You are so right on so many points!!
 
Cortez said:
Horses, for the most part, are adaptable and as long as they get sufficient (but not excessive) feed and excercise will do well on most rational systems.

I think the reason many people are so keen on lots of turnout is because they are not willing/able to provide the necessary work invloved in keeping a stabled horse.bang on the nail in my case. I have kept horses in, with all the work it entails, for 20 odd years, quite frankly I am fed up to the back teeth with the constant clockwatching etc, etc, etc. I have a lovely warm barn, with 10 empty stables in it, and they will stay empty unless there is a reason to fill them.

It is HARD work to properly care for a horse when it is kept confined - mucking out, feeding, rugging, grooming, excercising and working: done correctly this is a full time job. Agree, been there, done that, have no intention of doing it ever again :)

The best looking, most fit and healthy horses I have ever seen are fully managed (i.e IN) competition horses. So they should be There are a lot of scruffs out there 24/7.
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:D Yep. Mine amongst them, they are diamonds in the rough ;) Having long manes and tails and fluffy coats does not affect their ability to produce foals :)

If they went off the property for competitions, gradings etc, then they would, naturally, be immaculate - that is a given.

If they were working horses, hunters in my case, then their management would differ - also a given. Nothing worse than a beautifully turned out rider on a scruffy horse. I wouldn't take ANY of mine out in public without 24 hours notice and a serious makeover ;)
 
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