Changing to 24/7 turn out anyone done it......

[Jezzerbell]

I am thinking of swopping my horse to 24/7 turn out in the Spring. He normally reverts to being in during the day and out at night from April - Oct. Have done this in the past as he has to be worked in the evening andused to come in stuffed full of grass and not wanting to work. Just wondering if they get past this stage if out all the time? He would be out with a friend and they have good natural shelter in the field. What do you guys think has anyone swopped over and what have your experiences been. Would be really interested to hear from anyone whose horses live out and compete .

 

[MrsMozart]

Mine have lived out 24/7 and been fine, in terms of what I needed them to do

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Timing is the thing. I needed to feed Dizz at least twice a day, but due to distance of yard from home, I needed to do two in one visit. I brought her in and fed straight away, then sorted out gear, groomed, faffed about, which took an hour so then she was fine to get on and work

. Daughter1's Little Cob didn't need the feed (but got a v. small handful in a bucket so he didn't feel left out!); the hour-ish resting time meant he was also fine to get on and go.

There were a few times when we had to bascially get them in and just get ready and go, but on those occasions we'd start the work very gently (a good walk - bearing in mind we were mainly hacking out, but it was hacking to get fit so most of the time fairly intense). There didn't seem to be an issue so long as we had that good warm-up

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The other thing was rugs... Unles hot, we kept them in rainsheets so as they'd be dry for saddles. When they had days off we'd leave the rugs off (dependent on weather/time of year/clip/weight).

Only competed LC from the field, but he was fine

. Dizz certainly always had pleanty of energy to spare!

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I like the horses being out 24/7. I found that they were less stressed and easier in their movement. Did bring them in independently from field buddies though, as they are more likely to suffer from seperation anxiety if they are with the same horses effectively 24/7.

Edited to add: the only issue is the chances of kicks, etc., but such is horses

 

[Booboos]

Mine spend as long as possible out 24/7 (last year we managed 8 months out) before they start coming in for the night. They usually go out Feb/March time, they tend to let me know that they want to be out so I go with what they want, and come in Nov time when it really starts pouring with rain. The horses are all clipped (2 full, 1 trace) and in work, two compete BD with no problems.

I keep an eye on the grass and their weight and I do have to restrict their grazing at times, but it can depend on the horse. C will eat until he dies, R will put on too much weight if I don't keep an eye on him, but F and M are not greedy at all and can be trusted in lusher fields.

 

[Rebels]

My two eventers manage through the summer with 24/7 turnout and they should move up to intermediate. When they first switch to 24/7 turnout ( in at night at the moment) they do put on a little weight with the extra grass but this conincides with the start of the season so works in their favour as they work harder. they soon stop stuffing the grass when they realise that noone is going to steal it!

 

[GypsyGirl]

My mares out 24/7 all year round. Bring them snow - wind - heavy rain yup shes out in it all. But if I put her in a stable (although we dont have stables) she will now jump out where she doesnt like them lol.

She used to be in a stable but now I have her shes out all the time. I compete her aswell and shes fine. I am wanting to start hunting aswell soon and to be honest shes fine.

I find her a lot cleaner (and shes the muckest horse you will ever meet!) in the field the next day after baths etc then I do if she was in a stable. Because she may have dry mud or grass stanes on her that are easy enough to get out - but if shes poo'd in her stable and then laid in it all its harder to get out. (past experience)

The only problem ive had is the fact that she has put on weight as its forever grazing - BUT - we can put them into a section of the field where there grazing is limited. And aslong as your working them it shouldnt be a problem. But then again we have loads of retired horses in my field and also some horses that dont get worked that much and they are fine.

I prefer them being out to be honest - Gypsy wouldnt go back into a stable as she freaks out lol. We have lots of trees etc for shelter and they all managed just fine. In the winter they get fed twice a day - and lots of hay if its snowy etc - but other from that they all manage really well.

good luck xx

 

[marmalade76]

I used tyo bring my horse in at night from November to April and turned out 24/7 the rest of the year. When I had my first child (she was born in October) I left the horse out 24/7 and have not changed that since, I have changed the horse though!

My horse and his elderly full TB companion have been out in all the snow and are quite happy.

I have competed from the field and had my horse hunter clipped whilst living out (well rugged of course!) As long as they have natural shelter (not all horses will use a field shelter, no matter how cold or wet) and plenty of good feed and hay, they should be fine.

My horse does get a bit fat in the summer, but I would not say he comes in bloated.

 

[SheadonSaffron]

Mine stays out 2/7 and seems quite happy. I bring her in every so often for things like farrier, and she's happy to be in as well. She certainly doesn't seem to get bloated, although I have been feeding her ad lib hay so through the snow she has been eating nearly 2 bales a day! (She's Shire x so she can get away with it!). In the summer I have to restrict her grazing as she does get overweight, but then I don't get the opportunity to work her enough to get her fit to get the weight off, which I think would be the better option.
Sue