Can any horse live out 24/7 in winter?

Re turnout shelter - if the trees are not in the right place (or not very dense), then a bit of windbreak fence can make all the difference. I am talking about those weaved panel things you can get from fencing suppliers for garden fences (about 6 foot tall i think, and roughly square). Easy to attach to fence and make a huge difference.

As with others, i have wintered TB's out without problems. Because you have free draining soils you should not find it too hard a work to 'do the chores' and in my situation it was certainly easier to get others to feed and check if i couldn't get there when ill, compared to mucking out and several trips to a stabled horse. But of course that depends on everyone's individual situation.

Dry rot's photo - Oh my god! 20/10 on the cuteness stakes!!!!!!
 
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My boy always came in at night through winter until we moved from a yard onto rented fields instead. That was 8/9 years ago now. I never thought he would winter out as he always dropped weight in winter & I had to really feed him up. Since changing to 24/7/365 turnout he thrives through winter and can't wait to get out of the stable after tea!! The odd times he had to stay in over night since he's miserable as sin. I've got three now, him, a youngster (both WB x tb), and a Connie. I only rug him as he's always been rugged & he's getting on a bit now. They have a shelter where I put the hay so they can come & go as they please. They love it & are happy & healthy - its made me realise horses don't want to be couped up in a stable just to make us worry less! I would never go back to stabling now.
 
i think it really depends on the ground. I have about 10 acres, currently with 4 horses. they are out most of the time in the summer, except, as they is no shelter/shade & cannot put shelter up, they do come into a barn on very hot days and while i am exercising them. my ex-racer is 17 and arthritic, so i like to keep him out as much as possible, but are fields are by a river and in the winter turn to bog. he goes lame and in the past has done a tendon, if he is twisting and pulling himself around in the mud. he also has white socks very prone to mud fever. so in the full on winter he is just out in the day and if it gets too water logged they are in a barn, but at least they have room to move around and are in together in there: like a mini woodchip & matted field!
 
My gelding lived out from when he was young until he was 17 (stabled during 18th) with about 4 to 9 other horses. He was on a 30 odd acer sloped field with a wooded area & it was pretty sheltered by the river. They also had a field shelter & were left with a round bale of hay which never ran out. Only the very old (late 20’s to 30’s) were hard fed & all were well rugged during winter. I started stabling him as he was miserable, was always quite down during winter but was getting worse. He’s arthritic & would stand still in bad weather causing him to seize up, fell over when he tried to move after. He would kick things in temper as well. Since he was brought in he’s been a much happier soul & it has stopped him from seizing up. I still make sure he has a leg strech everyday though normal turnout is about 10-12 hours. He really did not like living out in winter, however, the old ones had been stabled & were turned out at summer & never brought back in. They were checked a lot & the would be brought in as soon as they had enough, but that never happened as they thrived. It really is up to their personality, all you can do is make sure everything is in place & give it a go. Just to show how much he hated night time turnout in winter after stabling him I could not get him back out again even when carrying hay & his bucket feed. It takes less time to muck out than it does to try & get him to his field as he is so reluctant.
 
EKW said:
I turned a pampered racehorse into a hardly out 24/7/365 horse. So he was well rugged in winter, had ad lib haylage, 2 bucket feeds a day and decent shelter. He was grand! He was better to keep moving as he had a dodgy hock.

So long as she is well fed, well rugged, has company and shelter she will be fine.
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I agree with this, mine too is arthritic and is better for out. He has a field shelter and buy the best rugs you can afford. It can be hard work, I don't poo pick once the field is wet, we leave it and harrow and rest come the spring. Spend time setting up a system, I have hardcore pads so I can throw a bale of hay over the fence into a rack, as mine have been out for a few years I have got a very easy plan now.
 
In my experience, any horse can live out 24/7 all year round. t there are some absolute essentials: companion(s) (nothing more miserable for a horse than living alone), adequate forage (extra hay even when there appears to be grass as it loses its nutrients during the winter), adequate shelter (preferably a field shelter where the horse can get totally dry during relentless rainy spells.

Does your mare have company, OP? I would not personally expect her to live out without a dry shelter. Trees are better than nothing, but when it rains constantly, horses need to be able to get dry occasionally and trees do not provide dry ground.
 
It all depends on your set up.

We are truly very lucky indeed to have acres and acres of winter turnout and wooded areas. We don't rug ours in winter unless truly wet and polar. Last winter we didn't use any hay. Very lucky. We have a mix of youngsters and old horses the oldest is 30 and she wasn't the oldest until a few years ago when the 35 year old sadly pts.

I'm so glad we don't have to poopick! That would be a nightmare and in that circumstance I would definitely be bringing in.
 
Just have a back up plan. I had a pansy WB x who was high maintenance...and wintered out brillantly with hard feed and rugs. I assumed my TB x cob ex event mare would also winter out but no, she didn't throw any sort of coat and despite having feed, rugs etc, was moved mid November as was dropping weight and clearly was not happy. She is now on a very small yard where she can choose to go into her stable ..and does, every night. If it's raining, she won't stay out either. She also has "swapped" stables with one of the other mares, seeming to prefer a smaller pony stable rather than the bigger box next to it which was allocated to her!
 
mine wintered out as a 4 year old, clipped 2 heavy weight rugs on & she was grand. It was a bloody horrible winter as well. Snow drifts upto my waist sometimes (i stepped into 1 luckily wearing full chaps !)
They went through a round bale every 2 days (heard of about 10/15) had a field shelter & were perfectly happy.
You need to have a bloody good sized field though, not sure how many horses you have but even for 2 I would want at least 4 acres ideally 5 or 6 for 24/7 winter turnout.
if you have an auto drinker remember if we get a bad winter they freeze, but then so does a hose pipe & buckets ! a kettle is your friend to get things going again
also i would suggest putting hard standing at the gate or outside of the gate, that way you have somewhere to pull her out onto to do your checks etc :)

She has turned wimpy now though & the first sign of rain she is whinnying to be in! then after a couple of hours realises its not all its cracked up to be !
 
No she doesn't have company in her field, she does either side of the fence. She has been on individual t/o for years as she is a moody girl and kicks. I would have to poo pick also x
 
I think given the correct conditions enough well drained acerage with shelter, adequate feed, hay and rugs then pretty much any horse can live out 24/7/365 but it is not always cheaper as they typically need more hay and feed and also more spare rugs but it also takes more time as you are haying, feeding in the field and having to poo pick.
 
I do think almost any horse can live out 24/7 given the right set up. Unlike those who have said it takes more time, I find it far quicker to poo pick than muck out properly. Everything else is about the same. It does depend on your set up though.
 
I think most horses CAN live out all year but not all of them WILL :)

Before we moved to our current place we had the option to leave them out over winter so we tried it. They had plenty of shelter and are all hardy cold bloods (friesians) they did OK until we got icy cold driving rain and then they broke through 2 sets of fencing to bring themselves in. We repaired the fencing and put them back out for them to repeat the performance a couple of weeks later.

As we couldn't put a proper field shelter in the field we then left the gates open to give them the option of being in or out, as soon as we did that then without fail by 6pm each day they were in their stables - I'd go up each night and they would all be stood in the correct stables with the doors open.

Now we don't have an option of 24/7 turnout in winter so they are in at night anyway.
 
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