Change of winter system

[Magicmillbrook]

My daughter has just started A levels. I went to parents evening last night and it seems that things have changed a lot since my day, no more 1 3/4 years of dossing follwed by a few months of frantic cramming. Anyway I am trying to work out how to pare down our routine to make minimal work as daughter is going to have to study a lot, plus get a part time job, I work full time amnd OH is strictly non horsey.

In the past we have had our horses out 24/7 but during the winter (nov - march/april) they are in at night and out on our home paddocks, just outside the back door . We have them in to preserve the paddock and eke out what grass is on there, its usualy gone by the end of January so they only have a month or so on hay only.

Our other paddocks are up the road, not far but not ideal when you are pushing barrows of hay and water
barrels in the dark and icy weather, the road is narrow and the main throughfare in and out of the village, also it is the one and only hill in the village and gets very slippery with even the slightest frost.

So new plan is to build another field shelter (so one in each home paddock) and leave them out 24/7 on the home paddock, just bringing them in if it is very wet/snowing. On weekends and holiday we will take them over the road so they can have some grass and will be able to take hay/water etc in daylight, bringing them back up to the house on sunday afternoons before it gets too dark.

We have four in total, 2 x welsh A's a Cob x TB with Arthritis and dust allergy and a young TB. I was thinking I could separate the littlies from the biggies,that way I only have to soak the hay for the biggies or give haylage which will save more time. I can then also mix the littlies hay with oat straw and make up ther hay nets over the weekend. I have some massive small holed haynets to keep them going over night. The cob x and TB will be rugged.

How does that sound - I am trying to convince myself that spending time in a field with no grass, just hay is not much different to standing in a stable every night with just hay. It will be better for the old girls arthritis and COPD. Do you think I am being a mean cruel mummy? Will the TB be ok? Are they likely to get colic from being in a paddock mon to fri with virtualy no grass?

Any comments welcome - also does anyone else have any other 'time saiving advice.

 

[Alibear]

As long as you are prepared for your fields to be trashed (in the nicest possible way) and feed plenty of ad-lib hay , it sounds like a very good idea to me. You have the stables as back up incase it doesn't work out. Even if you end up with one wimpy one that needs to come in that'll cut down on the work load.
I think out and about is always best if you can manage it.
Good Luck

 

[Law]

I think it sounds perfectly feasible to me and the most sense too! You aren't being cruel at all and I wouldn't think they'd colic but you know your horses well enough I should think to know if something goes wrong. I still don't think they'd colic when there is little in the good grass in winter anyway.
Plenty of adlib hay and out sound best to me!

Good luck

 

[RobinHood]

You could consider putting some scalpings down in a corner of the paddock to make a dry area and then using rounds of hay. That way they would have ad lib hay and you wouldn;t be forever pushing wheelbarrows of hay around. Our horses happily live out 24/7 minus a field shelter fully clipped with big rugs and rounds of hay just on the ground but the field drains well so it doesn't get too muddy.

 

[kerilli]

mine live out 24/7, all winter, with a field shelter, and i don't feel cruel. i feel more sorry for stabled horses! i make a holder for the hay (someone suggested using 2 tractor tyres, which is a great idea) so they don't trash it all over the field. i have 2 x 2yr olds (16h ish) and 1 x18h nanny all together, having about a small bale of hay every day, between them, and fed twice a day. the big horse has a rug on, the babies don't. i don't even bring them in if it's vile, except for one wimpy 2 yr old who shivers if she gets drenched, so then i take pity on her and bring her in to dry out. but they stay out even in snow, thunderstorms, etc.
one thing, your older/arthriticky one might like coming in occasionally for a proper sleep. when i bring mine in very occasionally, they tend to lie down and sleep all day!
if you could get all of yours on the same hay or haylage, that would be much less work. ditto putting a whole bale in a holder, rather than faffing around filling haynets. just a thought though.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

When my daughter was doing A levels our regime stayed very much the same. There were times when we did more for her but moist of the time things were unchanged. We & she found that doing the horse, going for as ride etc gave her a much needed brake from the studying & coursework. She returned refreshed to her studies after chilling with the lad & having a ride.
I'm not saying this will work for you but it's worth thinking about....oh & good luck with the studies

 

[ISHmad]

I think your horses would love living out 24/7 as long as they have adequate shelter, rugs if necessary and ad lib hay or haylage. Ours certainly would, but unfortunately they have to come in at night in the winter, yard rules.