Awful Weather WWYD?

After lesson early this morning, I put my horses out into a small paddock with hay and left gate open to 2 acre winter field (which although rested since April, now looks as if it's end of winter as put them in to rest other fields on 1st November much earlier than usual). After finishing their hay, they took themselves off into winter field which surprised me. They're happily grazing down the bottom of the field in the pouring rain.

My sand school never floods.....until this year (we are on clay in the South East)

WetSchoolDec2012.jpg
 
Just to add, I tried to hire a local indoor for this morning so I could ride without getting soaked, but the lady had to cancel me as one corner of the school is flooded, in an indoor!! :eek:
 
I have two stables which arent together. One has a low roof so I use it for storing hay and feed, thankfully the pallets have lifted the hay off the water but I don't suppose it'll stay dry on the wet pallets. Even the one with the brick floor is swamped. My horses are fetlock deep in it andf we have pond sized puddles everywhere even on soil - we've been working all week to fence off a borrowed field next door but with the weather even that's been abandoned for now.
 
Anyone on clay soil - I really do feel for you. One winter of that - losing my boots every second step, and spending more time on my backside or being dragged by horses through it - was more than enough for me :eek:
 
West of Ireland here and raining as I type :( but it is 12 degrees so not cold. Have a 20 year old (unrugged as she destroys them) thoroughbred mare on 5 acres with access to a barn if she wishes but rarely uses and ad lib haylage. We are on limestone so the field doesn't really get muddy but the outlying fields do flood in really bad weather and that includes the bottom third of her field. Not this year though - surprising as it has been very wet.
 
tallyhohoho! said:
Someone please get me off my ass and into the rain again...
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Also need to get going again the next wee while :(

For the first time since ive been at my yard we've been asked to keep the horses who are stabled in. The grazing is just getting trashed with it being so wet. It's basically rained here since Wednesday night and isn't due to stop until later on tomorrow :(
 
ours are out 24/7 fields are trashed! trying to save the small summer field. we have another field with a shelter that we cant use yet because my boy and friends mare need to be seperated as they get a bit sexy and kicky together, so I can't move my 2 up to the shelter because my friends mare will be left on her own and my friend is away over xmas, went this morning!

her horse has got so hungry shes leant over the fence into the owners garden and broken 4 bits of the wooden fence, which I can't get off, so its massively dangerous for her now too!

i just wanted to cry when I got there today!
 
Leicestershire and raining. Horses have shelters but area in front is reduced to a quagmire. There are swans and ducks now happily swimming on what used to be pasture and the area of dry ground has rapidly diminished over the past two days. With no evaporation, no absorption and nowhere for the water to run off to I can't see it getting any better. :(:( And forecast says yet more rain is expected!
 
Its pouring it down here in the north west. Can't put out as my mare is a clumsy idiot and is bound to injure herself and churn up the fields. Not to mention get soaked through and caked in mud. I took her for a walk 40 minutes instead, not ideal, I hate leaving her in but I met another horsey person on my walk who said she was off to do the same later. Guess we're all in the same boat. :(
 
My fields are ponds at the bottom but at the top of the hill they are alright. Thankfully we have shelter out there but not looking forward to turning her out
 
Yes, I've been hand grazing mine today - field just a mire though they still want to be in it. I'm giving them about 3 hours in the mornings.
I also take them down the lane and let them munch on nice untrodden grass on the verges for up to an hour a day. Time-consuming and miserable standing in the rain but they love it. Then I don't feel so bad about leaving them in the barn all night and most of the day. I'm getting through more hay than I've ever done before. And I keep putting Mudbar cream on their legs when they go out so that's not lasting long and it's not cheap.
 
Another one in Yorkshire and ours are out 24/7 but it's a mudbath. Been bringing them in during the day in the worst of the rain just for a bit of respite. They are on a hill and standing in the mud at the top. There is still grass at the bottom but it's under water. Am hoping tomorrow's fine forecast will help it drain away!
 
I'm keeping mine in ATM. She's happy in, in the dry, out of the deep mud and having access to a constant supply of edible forage. It's not ideal but she's coping and cheerful. I hack her out around the block when I can (3 mile circuit) but it's just a matter of 'making do' with the weather being what is and the lanes around our yard can flood over 3 ft deep at certain times of the day when the tides in. It's been a crazy winter so far. :rolleyes:
 
Ours are in at the moment paddocks like lakes :( lucky we have a outdoor school, l put her in there for half hour in the morning for a leg stretch and she has a nibble of grass. The afternoon l try to ride or lunge and then she has a walk down lane for some grass lucky we have a private lane which is about a mile long.
 
Iv'e just checked the weather and even for us in the SE it's pretty much rain, rain, rain for the forseeable future! All the horses at my livery yard are in to save the fields. I'm riding my horse every day in the arena or round the lanes and they also get turned out every now and again in the paddock near the yard for an hr or so while they are mucked out. It's not ideal and i'd rather my horse was out but at least this way he is safe, injury free and mud fever free!
 
I'm in the south on chalk and even that has standing water on any flat area. I have the 5 ridden horses living in ATM as the fields will be destroyed if they go out. Managed to let 4 out for 30mins at a time and let them trash my grass round pen which I suppose is better than the field (an awful lot of rearing and bucking in a small space!). Then there are 6 out but on slopes/high up so they are at least out of the worst of the mud. Roads are awful to ride on mainly due to no drivers slowing down and my poor horses do intend to take exception to being swamped from a puddle.
 
Song along to Mariah Carey now ...

"All i want for christmas is for it too stop raining wooo hoo!"

Turned out this morning 9ish? Went back at 1ish and both wanted in, sodding weather :-(

DDx
 
Inthesticks said:
If I read correctly, I may be only the second reply who's horses are still out 24/7 ?

I am a mean horse owner....:(
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I have one out 24/7, the other was in on box rest and is now not allowed to go back out until the weather eases off. I brought the one that's out 24/7 in for a couple of hours this morning to give him a break from this awful weather though.

By the sounds of things it looks like we are all floating :(
 
Nope mine is still out. Fields are ok. It is 20 acres with only 4 on it thou. Area around field shelter is muddy but the rest is ok. They aren't really interested in their hay, prefer munching on the grass! He's got a full neck rug on and is now retired, so whatever the weather bring he is staying out :)
 
My two are choosing to bring themselves in, winter field is pretty much trashed, so intend starting to let them graze the verges on the drive, which have been wrecked anyway by vehicles getting bogged down.
I'm praying for a dry winter
 
I still have some out 24/7, 3 in one field 1/2 of which was rested all summer, they are not interested in hay when I have taken it to them, the field is holding up well although wet it is not really muddy as the grass cover is good. 2 others are out, getting ad lib haylage as not much grass. The fields have good hedges all round so they are happy enough even in the heavy rain.
The horses that are in get out most days, if they work I will sometimes keep them in to give them a break from the weather but today in the torrential downpour they were out eating all day as there is so much grass, it seems to just keep growing.
 
My lot are usually out all day, every day & just in at night or out 24/7 but even I've conceded defeat to the weather. The rideable one was worked & then they only went out for a couple of hours. They seemed pretty keen to come in as well!
 
Also in the south west (bet you didn't guess from the user name lol),mine are out 24/7 all year as don't have stables on my land.Do have yard I could go to if was in a real jam,but sticking it out for now.

Fields are a mess,wet enough generally being low lying,but this year has been a real challenge.

My two are ok so far though,both rugged up and have some higher ground that can go on to escape the wet and boggy conditions.

Am praying for a cold winter followed by a hot and dry summer so land can get some balance back,but not holding my breath.Probably better off making plans for an ark:rolleyes:
 
mine lives out 24/7/365 and the field is a state near the gate but holding up elsewere, shes got two acres.

one or two people on livery at the riding school who rent our other 4 acres march till november still moan everyyear that they are limited by us on turnout.
 
well the rain has stopped for now! my two are always itching to get out in the morning, we did only have one stable, it was one in overnight and one in during the day to restrict grazing, one is very fat and one is lami, but because of all the rain we had to turn the potting shed (which was my hay storage) into another stable, luckily it is massive and have put rubber mats down in there, both are more than ready to come in at night, the downside is that it is costing me a fortune in bedding as they are both messy little munchkins.
The garden seems to be holding up okay, so far, but they will have eaten all the grass soon and god knows what my gardener will say when he comes to cut the grass and sees a muddy bog!
im really hoping all this rain means we get a dry summer.
think its so ironic that we could easily do 24/7 safe turnout in winter, but have to restrict in Summer due to sugar in the grass!
"sigh"
of for another 4 acres, there is a lovely field the other side of the river at the bottom of the garden, but the farmer refuses point blank to let me have any, he is really anti horses, its just sat there doing nothing, he puts his cows on it during the summer but they never eat down this end! oh well, maybe if I keep onto him enough he will relent!
hope everyone has a fab xmas
 
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