Converting a stabled horse to living out - help!!

Laura-Maybe-IV

Laura-Maybe-IV

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Hi there just a general question,

I have mare who I think is showing signs of broken wind, with coughing when being warmed up and turned out first things (RAO) we are getting her tested for this. Her current regieme is out during the day and in at night all year round. She is a TB so likes her routine very much, however I am considerng all round year turnout to help alieviate symptoms and she is 22, so is showing some signs of stiffness so I think that all year round turnout with adequate shelter would be a good move to help with her well being.


How can I tempt her to outdoor living, I know she has lived out but she was literally chucked and left so she didn't have much of an option. The hard line approach doesn't work brilliantly with her she gets a bit wild, but has lived out.


If she won't be turned out what else could I do to help with her possible condition? I have changed her hay to haylage and have had her on NAF respirator boost which has defiantely helped, as well as dengie medi bed, which is yess good but extremally pricey cost me £60-£70 a month currently.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or tips to help me convert her to outdoor living? Thanks
 
You'll need a good selection of rugs and feed her ad-lib forage in the winter. Will her field mates also be living out? I have found that if the whole herd is doing the same thing, then you don't get any upset at bringing in time.
 
I turned my tb away at the beginning of Dec and he took to it really well, in fact throws a strop if he has to come in.

He went out with other horses that are living out so a stable herd, they get hay in the field and I make sure he is always warm enough and he's been fine.
 
Have you got access to a field shelter? I started my 21yr old TB living out last February in snow by stabling my horses in either side of the field shelter and on the third night I brought them in and hayed and fed them and then left the gates open. For the first month they used the shelter a lot, there were several poos in there each morning but then gradually used it less and this winter they've hardly used it.
 
LynH - Hi there we don't have a field shelter at the moment as I will be moving yards with her as I am going to move in with my partner so we will be looking for yards with good field shelters and stabling should any accidents happen.

She has a good selection of turnout rugs she has two medium combos, two light weight standards and two under rugs as well as a fleece and a few stable rugs. She also has a fly sheet for the summer so we are well prepared for all weathers.

The problem with my horse is she waits at the gate and likes her routine, I was thinking of doing what you did Lyn maybe bringing her in too feed and then leaving her stable door open to start with and letting her roam around (we have a small field enclosed around our stables) and see what she thinks. She did escape one night and spent the entire night out grazing so I think she comes in more for the feed than anything!!
 
If you can get a field shleter, part of your job will be done.
I have lovely livery's 20yr old Selle francais with me - all 18hh of him & he has been stabled for all his life with short turnout.

He also needed to be out 24/7 due to stiffness probs.
He's just doing his 1st full winter out & is coping very well & looking better than he did at any point I've known him in the past 3 years. He came to my yard in March last year & was in at night & out all day, then when I turned mine out 24/7 she did the same for him.
He used to be wearing 400+g weight rugs, so far this winter he's had a 200g rug & on very rare occasion has had a 300 & been toasty under it, tho he has got matching hood to stop the draughts!
Since then he's only done around 5 or 6 nights in since May.
He has his hay in the shelter & his feeds too. However, it took him a while to be adjusted to it & I admit she was in tears at him roaring up & down the fence but after a couple of weeks of doing this every time one of mine moved or went out hacking, he eventually got the idea that he was not involved in being the 'yard overseer' and he could be a horse.
Take your time & I hope it works :)
 
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Laura-Maybe-IV said:
The problem with my horse is she waits at the gate and likes her routine
Click to expand...

Mine used to wait by the gate every evening when it was time to come in as that was what he was used to doing. He would virtually drag me back to his stable.

When I moved him to grass livery it coincided with the first cold snap of the year and was a sunday. He gets fed every day with his supplements and I had arranged for him to be checked and fed while I was at work.

The monday I texted to see if he'd coped with his first night out and ym texted back that as soon as she approached him with a headcollar he ran away as he didn't want to come in. He had to feed him over the fence.

We don't have a field shelter because there is plenty of natural shelter.
 
We brought home the never been stabled New Forest one day and his new pal a previously stabled 4pm-8am 19 year old ex show pony the next day - which was a rainy day. We thought we'd leve the stables open and see what happened Of course even with a stables left open it wasn't used. At all. However it rained pretty much every day for a month. Then it snowed. So we bought a very nice field shelter, of course they both ignored it and continued to shelter in the lee of the hedges and under the trees (depending on the direction of the wind). We rug the oldie as appropriate to the weather, and he is fed extra too.

The only thing they decided was worth using the field shelter was to get away from the flies in the summer. So long as your horse has company I'm sure will be fine and adjust easier than you think..
 
My just turned 23yr old TB is on his second winter living out and it suits him better.
We have a routine, fed and hayed in same place of paddock etc. This year we've got a field shelter (although we have lots of natural shelter) and I can't get him out of it - hopefully this will be a passing phase as I am getting tired of mucking out the shelter twice daily :)
I put his hay in there and he is always fed in there, after one day he decided that it was easier to wait inside when I approached with the feed bucket instead of coming out to mug me for it.
Feeding inside but leaving the door open is a good idea, she'll have complete freedom to choose what she wants to do and will transition easier that way. Also bring her in to groom if you're not riding, or to change rugs (mine will happily have his rug changed and feet picked out in the pitch black and untied, in a howling gale, if needs be, although I try to avoid this).
 
Laura I think your mare will be fine.

I only do 24/7 turnout here, and my liveries range from a high-maintenance 17.2 TB to two tinies through a cob and a Welshie.

My mare is COPD/RAO and the outdoor regime suits her prefectly.The principal thing is for your mare to have constant companionship. Then make sure she has good quality warm rugs, with detachable necks if possible, and a good range of rugs so that she can feel the benefit of the warmer ones when necessary.

We do have a big field shelter/open stable into which our horses can go at any time, and which they do use. Because they run as a herd and because of my mare's ex-problems (now completely gone) they are all fed haylage (the tinies go elsewhere at night or they'd be bursting!) and two good hard feeds a day, and they are all pictures of health. The regime obviously suits them and they came through the snow brilliantly. They don't care for the rain and do put themselves in the field shelter (where their haynets are huung, either inside or under the overhang roof), but they usually prefer to be grazing.

The one things that would be important, I think, for your and your OH's horses is to have some hard standing. Horses hate standing around in mud, but if you have a concrete yard or track where they can get up out of the wet they will appreciate that hugely.

I really don't think your horse will mindd the transition - though ideally I think you should do it at the end of next summer, so that she just doesn't come in again. But even if you need to do it now - dont worry!!
 
I am sure she will be fine. TBs seem to be some of the hardiest horses in my experience. Yes you would need rugs in bad weather and if you're going to clip her in the winter.

as for the "waiting at the gate" - that's only when you can see her and when she knows it's feed time. Ours will do this when they know it's feed time. However, if we are ever a bit late then they have disappeared across the field again (if they were ever waiting at all). If we are early down there then again, they are not waiting. I don't believe horses wait to come in to the actual stable, they associate it with feed as generally when a horse is brought in to a stable that's when they get fed!
 
But do have a back up plan. My old mare, who is a TB x cob, will not live out and she is most certainly the type that would do well. I have tried all the suggestions and she will not settle. We have a herd, they have plenty of forage and shelter but oh no, she would not settle.

A previous precious ex show horse who I wanted out as he cribbed..with a bit of planning he wintered out really well so you just don't know till you have tried!
 
You could look into Coolheat rugs - if she's not going to be clipped. A friend tested one out on a polo pony for a whole winter and the horse stayed warm and dry throughout, using it's own fur as insulation. I've just ordered one for my oldie because certainly in theory it should take away all the anxiety about getting rugging right. You know - looking out of the window when at work and realising the poor old thing is probably boiled!
I agree with what the others say, this might be easier than you think, especially with company and shelter available. If it doesn't work and you feel you have to bring her in, can you set up a stable with the door fixed open and a pen outside that's at least the size of a stable? I used that idea for a couple of years with mine and noticed that they spent a lot of time outside the stables, and when they were "in" it was often standing in the doorway with their heads out. I encouraged them by hanging the haynets just outside the door, so they could be eaten from inside, but the horse didn't have to go in to access them. The bonus was that mucking out became really easy, they didn't mess their beds much, so most mornings the bulk was dealt with by sweeping from one side of the yard to the other and shovelling up as I went.
 
Do you have a field shelter? If so, put a bed down. My rather spoilt mare, who used to spend a lot of time stabled loves this arrangement. She puts herself to bed at night - but normally only spends an hour or so in the shelter before wandering off. Annoyingly though she still sometimes goes back to the shelter to poo - be warned!!!
 
Thanks all lots to think about there, I left her stable door open during the day and she really liked coming and going as she pleased. So fingers crossed she will take to turnout no problems :)
 
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