Are your horses kept in during Winter?

This depends on personal preference. Most horses will adapt to whatever you require them to, but it doesn't necessarily make it the best choice. My cob wintered out 24/7/365 (unrugged) last year and was perfectly happy come rain, snow or ice. Due to changing circumstances and the requirement for better facilities, we've bit the bullet and moved to a yard where he'll have to be stabled at night from Oct - April, but he will still get daily turnout (ALL year). It all depends where your priorities lay.
 
Mine are out all yr.
They have boxes to come in for feed, drying off. Clipping etc....
But have been on full livery with them in all winter for three months. Tbh I felt damn cruel and I'd never do it again by choice.
Maybe if I had just one so they could get worked twice a day....even then they need to have a gallop about and buck each day...
 
Peronally I hate the attitude of 'they're horses, they MUST go out everyday'. All horses are individuals, and they are very different from wild horses in a herd. Some like being out, some don't. Fact.

My Welsh Cob is in 24/7 during the winter (out 24/7 summer) purely because he hates being out in winter. He either goes berserk or stands by the gate. All my others (either youngsters or retired oldies) are out 24/7. The majority of my liveries go out everyday even if it's for a few hours as most are happier to go out for a few hours, there are a few that stay in 24/7 too and a few that stay out most of the day. 90% are out 24/7 in the summer though.

IMO as long as the horse is happy in and taken out of the stable at least twice per day I don't see the problem :)
 
Mine lives out all year but much to his horror he is on box rest at the moment due to an injury and he was so naughty jumping out of his stable that I have sent him away to a specialist rehabilitation yard where they are all set up for box resters. He has a grid up and companions who are also on box rest.

One thing I have realised is that if your horse is in 24/7 for months on end there is a lot of work involved to do it properly. He is on full livery for his box rest and mucked out and skipped out several times a day, water checked regularly, lots of grooming. I am not sure if you can really keep a horse in 24/7 and look after it properly without having plenty of time, ideally being able to come to the yard 3 times a day with a lunch time visit or at least having several hours available at both ends of the day. Ideally you would want access to an indoor school as well so you can ride or exercise in very bad weather such as frozen ground/snow/storms etc especially if you are working full time so have limited flexibility for exercising.
 
I'm on a yard that has individual grazing and basically you manage it how you like. If you want to turn out 24/7 all year you can, but once your field is a mud bath it's like that until spring and it's rolled. Even then, if over grazed and poached, it might not fully recover.

Mine is out when field is dry but in if it's wet. That way when it freezes up I can turn out for extended periods without having to risk rock solid ruts!!

All my horses have coped fine with this system. My current girl will b worked in the school/hacked and/or turned out in the indoor pen for an hour when it's wet and out as much as possible when the fields aren't too wet.

In an ideal world I'd love her to go out more, especially in winter but when u live in a river valley like i do, you need to preserve your grazing!!!
 
Not something I would do personally BUT I'd prefer to see horses kept in with exercise daily and plenty of ad lib food compared to horses that are kept on postage stamps of fields that are thick with mud and no grass so no food for the whole day and then because they're bored, hungry and arsey they're more likely to fight.
 
Cortez said:
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.
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And this is exactly why yards that offer some sort of turnout throughout the winter months are so desirable for the average leisure rider, who is likely to have work and family commitments that prevent them giving a fully stabled horse the daily exercise that they need to keep them healthy and sane.
 
Lots of you have mentioned fields like mud baths? I've never seen that in my fields. I rotate between three fields and even in deepest winter they always have grass, minimal mud, plenty of hay, and way too much room to want to fight. Most of the time they wait at the gate for me when I'm there, but I know for sure it's not because they want to come in but because they want their tea
 
We've got four on our own little yard who live out with access to 2 stables that are left open with bedding in, and a large field shelter in the other field.

This will be the first winter we are there and we are planning to leave them out with ad lib hay for the winter. If the weather is really awful (as in wet) we might put 2 in each field so they can all get into shelters, but they seem to get on well anyway and take it in turns to go in the stables, or 2 go in together. I might also bring my old tb in for a few hours some days so he can hay a hay net in peace and have a rest.

2 of them like coming in at the mo for an hour or so for a sleep. The other 2 hate being in.
 
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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Whilst I agree with the first statement I think the second is rude. Most people don't require their horse to be competition fit so don't need to 'fully manage' their horse. By living out I can spend more time with my horse rather than mucking out or filling haynets and water buckets. She is certainly not a scruff and nor are the horses that live out that compete BD and BE from the field. I also disagree with the statement about them being healthier when in. My vet has told me it is definitely healthier for most horses to live out. My mare is 21 and has no stiffness issues or breathing issues which I know she was starting to get when i had to stable her in my last yard to save the grazing.
 
Living out 24/7 and obviously scruffy, unfit and unhealthy :D


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Current ones will be outside but my 2 yr old tbx lived in from Nov to March at the livery I was at. She wasn't ridden obviously but I let her run around in the school and took her out for walks. It wasn't ideal but it wasn't the end of the world either, she wasn't unhappy and later in life lived out all winter too.

If I had a big barn I could muck out with the tractor I'd deep litter my two ponies with a ring feeder with adlib hay. I think that would be ideal for wintering horses and would save my fields getting churned up or them standing in 4 ft of snow if it comes again this year.

I think adlib hay is important if they are to be stabled for winter. My mare had a treat ball as well she enjoyed battering around the stable annoying the neighbours with :D
 
Usually they come in at night and out in the day from october to march but this year i will keep them out at night until it starts to get frosty. My mare gets a pain to ride when she is in at night so works to keep her out as long as possible but i worry about lami if they are on frost. Plus, dont want fields wrecked.

They do occassionally have to stay in 24/7 if it is really really wet.
 
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