Are your horses still out?

Amye

Amye

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Just a bit of a nosey parker thread really :p

At our livery, the horses have to come in at night over the winter. The YO lets us know the last 'date' for the horses to be out 24/7, last year this was early Nov so i'm expecting the same this year.

However it seems that just about every single horse is now being brought in on a night. My boy is still out 24/7 and seems happy, he has a horse in the next field to him for company as all his field mates are being brought in. There are 4 fields in his eyeline and there's mine and one other that are still out (4 horses per field).

He will be clipped soon, but probably still out (just in a rug instead of naked) until he HAS to come in - I like to see other people's views on it too as everyone seems to do something different or for different reasons :)

So my question is, are yours still out? When are you planning to bring in (if at all)? And if they're already in any reason for this?
 
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I keep mine at home, they are never out 24/7.

In the summer they come in in the day, because they are on restricted grazing and also so they aren't bothered by flies.

In the winter they come in at night, they hate going out in the winter, any sniff of rain I have to chivy them out. However our fields are very exposed - they do have access to a field shelter and will spend a lot of the day standing in it, staring at me through the kitchen window :)

Horses for courses, if yours is happy out, then great. We all keep our horses in a different way, often due to location, type of field, facilities etc.

There is no right or wrong answer, most important thing is a happy horse, who is happy with their routine :)
 
I'm bringing in tonight for the first time. The field has no grass anymore, Me and another livery have been chucking loads of hay out only to find that the third horse was brought in during the day and is still bullying ours by chasing them around the piles. Enough. I don't want injuries. Mine can have a big net all to herself every night.
 
We don't HAVE to bring in over night in the winter, but we do. We are requested to bring in during bad weather though and that goes for all year.

Mine are still out 24/7, one is fully clipped and coping just fine
 
LJR said:
I keep mine at home, they are never out 24/7.

In the summer they come in in the day, because they are on restricted grazing and also so they aren't bothered by flies.

In the winter they come in at night, they hate going out in the winter, any sniff of rain I have to chivy them out. However our fields are very exposed
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^^ same, though mine are at livery.
 
Ours are still out, YO has moved us all to winter fields but letting us decide if we want to bring in or not. I've a 6yo TB who's on some downtime as I'm pregnant so shoes pulled last month and he's just starting to get a bit fluffy and cold so in a 100g fill during the day/naked/rainsheet depending on the changeable weather! and a 100g/200g fill with neck at night as. Planning on playing it by ear as it's his first year away from the 24/7 stabling at racing yard, he's lived out since May and loved it was planning on trying to keep him out until end of November if it's not horrifically wet maybe longer if he's coping fine. He'll be clipped and shod in the new year anyway after mini arrives so we can get back to it x
 
out and will stay out. they are at home though and have very good shelter so can easily get out of the weather whichever way the wind is blowing from if they want to
 
Unless mine won't be caught he will be coming in at night from Sunday once I've switched his bed from shavings to wood pellets which I'll be sorting Sunday afternoon. He will go out in the day then hopefully come in at night he's currently on the opposite rota.
The grass is just not growing as we've had no rain and he's started to drop a fair bit of weight he was a bit plump so it hasn't hurt but he's getting close to being slightly under weight.
 
I keep mine at home and they live out all year with the exception of the day time during the summer where I bring them in to starve them as 3 of them get too fat and our little one still got laminitis this September. They love being out 24/7 in the winter as I give them a big bale of haylage and they have a field shelter they can hide in if the weather gets bad. One of them is a TB and he manages fine with this routine.
 
Our two horses are in and clipped from Tuesday night.

Pony is still out..

The rain overnight here was torrential, we may be using all weather winter turnout much quicker than I imagined. Have sent hubby to sort the electric fencing round the post and rail, and to get a potato box from the farmer to put their hay in...

Fiona
 
Mine has been in overnight for most of the year, just out at weekends after a competition or if he's having a few days off. It suits him. He is such a good doer that it's hard to control his weight and food intake, even on apparently almost bare grazing. I also find he is stodgy to ride if he's out 24/7 (continually full of food I guess) and tends to be very spooky and silly. He seems to rest much more when he comes in too, whereas when he's out he's so busy stuffing his face (greedy native) that I don't think he wants to stop to sleep!
 
the three ridden ones are in at night now, they where in during the day over the summer. The 3 babies are out, and will stay out as long as this dryish spell continues.
 
Ours are still on the hay fields and still have plenty of grass. They'll come up from there as soon as the clocks go back (as the path down is too steep and slippery to negotiate in the dark) and go onto the winter grazing. They'll then stay out until it gets wet enough that the land will suffer. Last year we made it to the first weekend in December. One year, a long time ago, we made it to Boxing Day! We do 'suffer' at the other end of the winter though as they don't go out until late April at the earliest when other horses seem to be out from mid-March. I'd have them out all the time if I could. They're much happier (although tolerate being in well) and I have less mucking out to do!
 
ours will come in for fireworks as we are surrounded by houses, they usually then switch to days as it is easier. Should be out 24/7 currently but someone's photosensitivity has put pay to that!
 
mine, unclipped hairy cob in a rain sheet is still out at night but in during the day. will do this until weather gets so bad that hes better in than out at night. last winter he was only in for about 3 weeks over night. hes fed hay every day in the field.
 
Mine lives out still and has a blanket clip,but thats what all my epic rugs are for! I might start bringing her in at night if it gets very wet or she loses weight, but this is more because my grazing is not very good here. At other yards she never came in at all unless a torrential blizzard.
 
Mine are all still out, only one is clipped and in a rug as from today, and I will bring him in once the weather is wetter - whenever that is. The others will live out all winter - 3 ponies who are better out with hay, and the old arthritic chap who is also better gently moving. The other girl at the yard is bringing hers in at night but I think it's just because she likes to tuck them up cosily, as her field is still dry and has grass.
 
Where possible I have mine out at night and in in the day. They'll hopefully be still out over night till mid Nov but as on heavy clay soil will depend on weather. I have 3 one acre paddocks and they are currently all still in one, once paddocks one and two are trashed they will probably have to go on restricted turn out in the day time in paddock 3 or little tiny trash paddock.

My shetland flat refuses to go out in winter so that helps a bit as one less trashing ground :D

Ps this time last year they were already on restricted turn out but I had very little grass so not sure if weather better or just the grass!
 
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All 3 still out unrugged, on grass no hay/haylage for hopefully couple more weeks to drop a bit, 2 will stay unrugged one will be clipped and rugged in couple weeks. They have field shelter on yard adjoining arena so will be shut on there at night prob from end this month.

Felt bit mean last night after getting back from lesson at 7.30 and chucked straight out in field no rug but he hadn't even broken sweat in SJ lesson (unlike me)
 
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Mine will stay out until it gets wet underfoot, those that need it will get extra hay/Haylage.
The eventer is on holiday & the one I'm hoping to team chase isn't clipped yet.
 
Mine has been in for about 3 weeks. I was determine he would stay out long as poss! However he made it very clear he didn't want to be out anymore so he comes in.
 
Mine stay out all year if the fields don't flood - but I bring them in if its really, really wet as its miserable for them.

This year though they can't come in until my dodgy back is better and I can a) put down a bed and b) muck out the messiest mare on the planet. Why oh why she has to wait until she is in her stable before peeing everywhere I don't know. What is wrong with peeing in the field?
And why do we have to bury poos in the shavings? I get a false sense of 'ahhh - she hasn't made a mess' when I turn up in the morning until I realise that yes, there is a mess, but she has covered it all over with a neat layer of clean shavings.

She can stay out as long as possible!
 
I plan on the liveries coming in at night at the end of the month, for now the fields are bone dry, have enough grass and they are more than happy out, it may help make winter seem a bit shorter.
 
Out with the choice of coming in. I hardly seeing them inside at the moment. I'll stick with this routine until it gets wet. I like having a dry horse to ride in the morning!
 
All in at night now because they made it clear they had had enough of living out. Would have been nice to have them out longer, but they were being misery guts.
 
Out until after the fireworks finish but fenced the winter fields last weekend so have the option of moving them now the summer fields are getting low on grass - unless it rains solidly for the next three weeks in which case they may come in...
 
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