Competition Horses out 24/7?

[Ambers Echo]

My 3 are out on 4 acres of steep, hilly ground. I love their turn out: Plenty to explore, natural shelter, enough space to keep out of each other's way and hills for exercise! There is more than enough grass for them to be out 24/7 on it and my YO does not mind if I turn them out 24/7 which I have always done before in summer. But no-one else on the yard has their's out and the prevailing view is that competition horses would get bloated with unrestricted grass and should not be out all the time if you want them to be competition fit.

They would still be worked daily and competed regularly. I can't see that grass is any different to adib haylage and none are overweight at all. But this is the first year where I am actually competing a fit horse. Up till now I have just been bringing on youngsters/dabbling in the odd event. I am taking it much more seriously now.

Thoughts?

 

[TheMule]

Old fashioned views and absolute rubbish. Mine all live out and have for a number of years since I decided keeping horses shut in a small box for hours and hours was not in keeping with my standards of animal welfare. I've evented uo to BE Intermediate from grass.
The only time it's inconvenient is when you have a very early start!

 

[Ambers Echo]

Old fashioned views and absolute rubbish. Mine all live out and have for a number of years since I decided keeping horses shut in a small box for hours and hours was not in keeping with my standards of animal welfare. I've evented uo to BE Intermediate from grass.
The only time it's inconvenient is when you have a very early start!

Much as I thought! Thanks!!

 

[dixie]

Old fashioned views and absolute rubbish. Mine all live out and have for a number of years since I decided keeping horses shut in a small box for hours and hours was not in keeping with my standards of animal welfare. I've evented uo to BE Intermediate from grass.
The only time it's inconvenient is when you have a very early start!

This exactly. I also evented from 24/7 turnout, never had any problems and had a happy horse.

 

[Cortez]

It's perfectly possible to compete horses from grass, and you are fortunate to be able to maintain their correct weight on it. Unfortunately it cannot work in every circumstance and if, like me, you have horses which gain too much weight on pasture, then some form of restriction is required.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Thanks for replies. I suspect Ginny may gain weight and I'll need to keep a close eye on her. Max and Amber both struggle to maintain weight despite ad lib haylage and 2 fairly large bucket feeds a day. So hopefully they will be fine on grass 24/7.

 

[be positive]

I have had several event living out 24/7 with grazing managed appropriately for the individual, most have been more than happy to come in for a night if required for an early start, they tend to spend a few hours in on hay most days anyway so the odd night in never caused an issue, one Int horse positively thrived here having previously been fairly difficult to maintain weight living in more of the time in his last home.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I just show mine but they do live out most of the time if I have an early start they will come in the night before just because I want to keep them clean if I bath them the night before, but I have dragged them in on the day of a show and never had any problems.

 

[ihatework]

Depends on the horse, the set up and the level of work.
Some will thrive, some won’t. But there is nothing wrong with it if it works for you.

 

[Mule]

My competition horse does fine out 24/7. Although he would be a lot cleaner if I had to stable him

 

[Wheels]

Go for it!

I competed up to 1.20 SJ on a horse who lived put 24/7 - no probs.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

IME, it is easier to keep horses fir when they can exercise 24 hrs per day, rather than being exercised for 1-2 hrs and then standing in a stable for the rest of the time.

 

[stencilface]

IME, it is easier to keep horses fir when they can exercise 24 hrs per day, rather than being exercised for 1-2 hrs and then standing in a stable for the rest of the time.

The horse I had as a teenager (tb) kept himself ridiculously fit being on full time turn out on our hilly field.

 

[Carrottom]

The only situation I would be worried about is if I had to stay away at a competition where there was no access to grazing, e.g. a 3 day show, as this would mean a complete change in forage.

 

[Shay]

I've had both. You need to do what works for your horse. Some horses come out with more fizz if they've been in the night before. Some stress heads settle better if they are out. Stay away shows are an issue and if you do these you have to be sure your horse will settle in competition stabling and not try to jump out or stress themselves stupid. But they are just as likely to do that from being stabled at home to being out 24/7.

The only issues I had were keeping enough weight on a fully fit eventer - and the risk of field injuries / pulled shoes at the wrong moment. Personally I prefer my horses to be horses. But I do know owners who prefer only very limited turnout to avoid the risk of injury.

 

[criso]

The only issues I had were keeping enough weight on a fully fit eventer - and the risk of field injuries / pulled shoes at the wrong moment. Personally I prefer my horses to be horses. But I do know owners who prefer only very limited turnout to avoid the risk of injury.

What I would say with that is that horses can are out part of the time tend to be a little more unsettled as they often have a moment when they first go out and see each other after being in overnight. A small stable herd out all the time would probably have fewer injuries.

As a teenager I used to compete a horse that lived out most of the time, however I usually kept in the night before a show for convenience - the fields were a long way from the yard and I would often plait the day before.

 

[BBP]

Back in my grooming days in New Zealand, all of our horses lived out 24/7 on steep hilly fields hat were all cattle pasture, including the ones SJ at 1.45m and the ones eventing at 3*. Never had any issues with it, other than the pig pony being permanently on the fat side (called the pig pony as prior to switching to a career as a top level SJ he had a career carrying wild pigs off the hills after a days hunting!). The rest were all TBs all fit, happy and healthy.

 

[SusieT]

old fashioned view. I have always competed horses out 24/7 with no problems

 

[Ahrena]

My mare lives out 24/7 in summer. She’s not a fatty and being out really chills her out, helps her keep her weight and makes her so much happier. I’d of struggled with my old boy as he’s a good doer and does these days get a bit fat when living out but he’s 20 and just hacks now so it’s not too bad (he isn’t SO fat that it will be harmful for him and he is muzzled at night but I wouldn’t of liked him this round for eventing)

 

[redheadkelj]

I compete affiliated medium on a horse out 24/7. He's happy in or out, provided he's rugged appropriately and if we do away shows, we make sure we find some grass for him. I must admit, I do get some strange looks when I tell people he's out 24/7 as a competition horse!

 

[MissTyc]

All mine are out. I only compete at BE90 and elementary level dressage but that's because my main horse is a 14.2hh cob with some physical limitation. If anything, moving 24/7 keeps them free and supple. And happy. Happiness accounts for a lot. I've found that horses out fully time tend to self-regulate in terms of grass. Mine are on 40 acres in a herd but also have ad lib hay all year round. At the moment, they don't care much for the hay but occasionally on a super stormy night last this week, they'll opt to huddle around the feeder for a few hours.

 

[wkiwi]

Back in my grooming days in New Zealand, all of our horses lived out 24/7 on steep hilly fields hat were all cattle pasture, including the ones SJ at 1.45m and the ones eventing at 3*. Never had any issues with it, other than the pig pony being permanently on the fat side (called the pig pony as prior to switching to a career as a top level SJ he had a career carrying wild pigs off the hills after a days hunting!). The rest were all TBs all fit, happy and healthy.

This ^^^^
Plus no problems at shows staying in boxes/pens as just made sure that horses were eating hay daily before going away to a 3DE and hand grazed for a period each day. Even the racehorses spent a lot more time outdoors than many horses in the UK (including the winner of the NZ Cup who only came in at nights) and far less behavioural and metabolic issues than some of those given highly restricted grazing and lots of supplements to 'replace' the things the horses miss out on naturally.

 

[BBP]

This ^^^^
Plus no problems at shows staying in boxes/pens as just made sure that horses were eating hay daily before going away to a 3DE and hand grazed for a period each day. Even the racehorses spent a lot more time outdoors than many horses in the UK (including the winner of the NZ Cup who only came in at nights) and far less behavioural and metabolic issues than some of those given highly restricted grazing and lots of supplements to 'replace' the things the horses miss out on naturally.

Good point, I worked with Mark Todd’s racehorses for a short while and they all lived out in groups too. We would bring the whole lot in to open pens in the morning, then work through them in lots and lob them back out when they were done. They were all relaxed, fit and happy.

 

[MagicMelon]

This exactly. I also evented from 24/7 turnout, never had any problems and had a happy horse.

This. Although I will admit that I usually stable the night before if its an early start as I have a grey (white!) so I have to bath her the day before. Ive always competed mine up to CIC* eventing and BS 1.20m's no problem.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Well they are out. 2 nights so far. Seem a bit bemused and are by the gate a lot but I am sure they will soon realise they are not coming in! Amber and Ginny were asleep by the gate this morning! Pony party last night??!!

 

[Ambers Echo]

 

[AandK]

I have evented and done general RC stuff from the field. I do have a grey though, so if we have an early start (last year went to Tweseldown twice and had to leave the yard by 6.30am) I keep him in overnight.

 

[Branna]

Mine doesn't rest well enough in the field to compete from 24/7 turnout. Overnight turn out makes her very lethargic so if I want to do anything productive I stable her overnight before. Doesn't seem to be grass related, she has been the same for the 7 years I have had her.
Plenty of people have them out 24/7 successfully but it has to work for the horse!

 

[CrazyMare]

I bring mine in during the day. One hates getting hot, the other two gorge themselves. I find they are much more energetic to ride after a few hours in sleeping and picking at hay.

 

[alexomahony]

I'd love to keep mine out on huge hilly fields with natural shelter - OP, you sound like you've got fantastic T/O so use it well... it's very hard to come by these days!