Daily Routine – How do you care for your horse?

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dancingbay

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Mine involves going to the yard before work, putting him on the walker whilst I muck out (I know it’s not the best, exercising before his breakfast but if I didn’t do this he would be stuck in all day!). I then go back after work, ride and do my jobs.
 
On the yard by 6am at the latest (I live on site so am lucky I can just roll out of bed!), tie horse up on the yard with his breakfast, feed the others on the competition yard, muck out. I leave everything ready for the evening - hay bar full of haylage, bed down, waters done, feeds made for evening and next morning. Then change rugs and turn out by half 6/quarter to 7.

If I'm riding I feed after he's worked as he is always still munching haylage in the morning so isn't empty, but I always muck out first. then back into the house for breakfast, and back out on the yard by 8 for work.

He comes in at 4pm at the moment and I finish teaching between 5 and 7, so just have to dump him.

Evenings after work I bring him back out of his box, hose legs and tummy off, take overreach boots off, skip out and replace water, put feed in his box and then groom. If I haven't ridden already I'll ride then, then put him in. I then go out and skip out and top up haylage and water and check rugs any time between 10pm and midnight.

Same thing Every day. I like routine, and like to know that everything is done first thing just in case something goes wrong. I never have to drag myself out of work to go and muck out - my idea of hell!
 
Mine live out, on the doorstep.

I feed anywhere between 6.30 - 7.30 at the moment, replace empty nets, check blankets and that's it for the morning.
Sometime during the day I will top up water butts and skip out the run-ins, I may or may not ride, depending on how much work I have on.
Evenings are the same, at some time between 4 and 6, feed, hay, that's it.
I like my life simple, without having to clockwatch, done that for too many years to count.
 
Enfys said:
Mine live out, on the doorstep.

I feed anywhere between 6.30 - 7.30 at the moment, replace empty nets, check blankets and that's it for the morning.
Sometime during the day I will top up water butts and skip out the run-ins, I may or may not ride, depending on how much work I have on.
Evenings are the same, at some time between 4 and 6, feed, hay, that's it.
I like my life simple, without having to clockwatch, done that for too many years to count.
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Ditto - simple life and also horses seem to be much happier too
 
Different between winter and summer and for the various horses:

Winter (i.e. now): three up at the stables behind our house are fed/watered around 7-7.30, the gelding usually gets turned out in the morning and the two fillies go out in the afternoon, mucked out whilst their out, evening feed between 5-7, hay and that's it. If it's dry enough to work the fillies then they get put in the crossties, groomed, tacked up etc., all in lasts about an hour and a half each, then they're in and the gelding goes out for the afternoon.

Two mares in one field have ad lib haylage and are fed hard feed between 11 and 1 daily.

The other six are in a big field with ad lib haylage and just get checked daily over the fence, twice a week get a thorough check down in the field. All 11 horses are unrugged.

Summer (brief version): those in training are fed between 6 and 7 in the morning, 12 and 1 at lunch and 6 and 7 at night. On training days at home worked individually on a rotational basis (or doubled up when I'm at home), turned out daily for a couple of hours after their lunch apart from on workout days and race days, full bath twice a week, hacking twice a week in the evenings for those broken to ride (fed later those nights), mucked out after their work but before going back in, daily leg washes etc. Quite a lot of work with 4 or 5 horses in! Lucky to have OH's father working night shifts so available most of the day and OH is self-employed and works bizarre patterns which makes him available at the stables most of the time.

Mares and foals - in the field, hard feed daily around lunchtime.

Empty mares/horses not in training - checked daily over the fence, twice a week thorough checks and treats (and usually photos!)

It doesn't ever feel like work, because we enjoy it!
 
I have two horses just behind house.

Winter
6am turn both out with feed and hay in field
Muck out and get both stables ready for the evening
4.15pm bring in to a feed and haynet.
Fetch dogs and poo picked fields.
Ride the youngster and groom both
Back out at 8pm ish to skip out, top up water and hay and get feeds and hay ready for morning.

spring/ autumn
Ride at 5am.
Turn both out
Get home from work, muck out, poo pick fields, bring in. Check again later in eve.

Summer
Hopefully out 24/7, ride at 5am and poo pick twice a day. Groom both in the evening
 
Depending on what time I have to be at work I'm normally at field between 6.30am to 7.30am. Pony is out unruggged so check him over (with or without head torch) give him tiny feed of sugar beet with his joint supplement in and either half his ration of hay or all of it depending on if I can get back up again.

Check water & poo pick if time. Again depending on work I'll go back again pm, if not though he is checked pm by yard.

Find this time of year hardest as so dark when I go up in morning :-( No light at all in field so have to use head torch which can be fun when pony is playing hide & seek ;-)
 
Mine all live out 28yr old 19yr old and 13yr old I get to the yard between 12am/1pm feed them all in field and hay/haylage as needed, we have lots of grass still at the mo. Check the rugs and remove if weather permits whilst I poo pick, fill the water butts. Take my mare into the yard if Im riding her and turn back out afterwards. I give the retired horses a groom in the field sometimes. Put the beet to soak for the next day, coffee and chat if anyone at yard before going home I spend on average 3hrs a day during the week with the horses longer at weekend.
 
I have one gelding on DIY livery.

AM
Groom
Tack up
Ride
Untack
Trek to the field a long walk away to turn out (sigh!)
If weekend, poo pick field
Muck out, get hay and evening feed ready
Go home

PM
Bring in
Check over, change rugs
Feed
Go home!
 
Before work:
Feed hay, exercise, muck out, turn out.

After work:
Bring in, groom, feed.

Summer out 24/7, winter out 6am to 6pm.

Keep same routine week day and weekend (although come in earlier at weekend so I get an evening!)

Horses happy.
 
Horses in at night, out during day

Get to see them about 6.30 am, they are at the end of the lane. 1 needs feeding in the morning so he gets food whilst we put hay out in the field, they they all get turned out. Stables mucked out.

If I am not working I ride my horse in the afternoon.

After school - 3-5pm ish, bring them all in, kids ride in arena or around fields whilst I do haynets, feed and water buckets etc. They all go into stables with hay and food.

They wear the same rugs day and night, we have several in case they get soaked/ripped; saves loads of time not having to change stable and field rugs.

Weekend; muck out field plus all the above.
 
Winter Weekdays-
I go to school and have to be there for quarter to 9. We live in the middle of the countryside so have to leave at 8. So at 7 I will get up and (in my PJ'S) go out and take down night nets and replace with morning nets that I made the night before. Top up their water and check rugs (give Dusty some titbits so she doesn't get jealous of my dad's horse) all while dad has breakfast.
My dad turns them out into the small overgrown sand paddock (had to do up our stables, complete wreck so some jobs not finished but have the basics) at lunchtime if he can (he can walk to work so we are fairly close, I am very grateful for him). After school I say hello to the ponies and do all my jobs (mucking out, water, haynets, feeds) then bring them in. I will groom Dusty and gie her half her tea, Shannon just goes in and has her half of tea. At 8:00 clock, before I get ready for bed, I go down (my dad has already groomed and fed shannnon hay earlier) and do Dusty's rug, and feed them.

Winter Weekends- Ditto to weekdays except at 8:00 clock. Do homework and jobs. Ride. They go out in the sand paddock and have their lunch spread out in there (don't worry its so overgrown with weeds they can't get to the sand I'm not that cruel :)). Do jobs. Groom and ditto to weekdays from there.

The reason we only ride at weekends is because our paddock is VERY small and overgrown we have to use the yards across the road. Its five pounds for every use, fifteen pounds to board there, no thankyou. Hopefully we will the paddock up soon so we can ride alot! :) Sorry this is so long :( x
 
PonyclubmumZ said:
Horses in at night, out during day

Get to see them about 6.30 am, they are at the end of the lane. 1 needs feeding in the morning so he gets food whilst we put hay out in the field, they they all get turned out. Stables mucked out.

If I am not working I ride my horse in the afternoon.

After school - 3-5pm ish, bring them all in, kids ride in arena or around fields whilst I do haynets, feed and water buckets etc. They all go into stables with hay and food.

They wear the same rugs day and night, we have several in case they get soaked/ripped; saves loads of time not having to change stable and field rugs.

Weekend; muck out field plus all the above.
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My lovely husband wants it reported that he does late night stables and hay whilst he walk the dog, obviously that is not on my routine as I have delegated that job :-)
 
In a winter I go down 6:30-7, Put on walker or tie up whilst I muck out and do waters, bring in and put daytime rugs on and hang their nets.

I go down after work at 5ish, and groom and ride, do waters and skip out and put in night haynet and tea, make haynets for the following morning.

In a summer its pretty much the same but they go out in a morning for the day instead of going on the walker! they come in to be rode on an evening and stay in over night.
 
My horse is on assisted DIY which is just as well as I live 40 mins drive from work and 30 mins from the yard and am at work for 7.15am. So they breakfast and turn out and bring in. In the winter he gets mucked out for me and I skip out in the evenings after work. I get to the yard normally about 4.45pm unless I want to work over as I am hourly paid. Then I tack up and ride for half an hour. Then skip out, do his nets and make up his two feeds for the next day.

In the summer they are out at night for a few months, so will often go for a long hack after work before turning out and doing a ten minute muck out.
 
Our current routine is:

I go to work in the morning with farm clothes in the boot.

Hubby does horses - he gets to yard about 7.30 - puts first 2 out for a few hours and does jobs. About 11 puts the 2nd 2 out and brushes of the first 2. About 1pm he brings in 2nd 2, makes sure they all have hay and water and he goes either home or work.

I get to the yard about 5, brush off, rug up the ones not being ridden, ride, rug up, put night nets up feed and go home (normally about 7.30) they each have 3 large nets put up at night in various places in the stable.

Weekends are slightly different - we both get to the yard about 9am, jobs done and all ridden (apart from the oldie) by 2, hay them up and go home for a few hours then go back later and do night nets and feed.
 
meandmyconnie said:
My dad turns them out into the small overgrown sand paddock (had to do up our stables, complete wreck so some jobs not finished but have the basics) at lunchtime if he can (he can walk to work so we are fairly close, I am very grateful for him).

They go out in the sand paddock and have their lunch spread out in there (don't worry its so overgrown with weeds they can't get to the sand I'm not that cruel :)). Do jobs. Groom and ditto to weekdays from there.

The reason we only ride at weekends is because our paddock is VERY small and overgrown we have to use the yards across the road. Its five pounds for every use, fifteen pounds to board there, no thankyou. Hopefully we will the paddock up soon so we can ride alot! :) Sorry this is so long :( x
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Mine goes into a sand paddock daily with a horse next to him separated by electric. Its brilliant, no mud for a start so its better for him than to have to trawl through thick gloopy mud on a daily basis, as paddocks get in the winter. Sometimes when the weather is bad he goes out for an hour, but he is nearly 19 so doesn't mind the comfort of his stable which is nice. I wonder if many use sand paddocks.
 
Up at 5.30, out of the door by 5.45.
The yard's only about 2-3 miles away so I'm there before 6.
Feed both horses.
While Jazz eats his feed I rinse his water bucket and fill his night haynet.
Turn out Jazz.
Turn out Harley (he takes SLIGHTLY longer to eat his feed).
Muck out Jazz.
Clean Jazz's feed buckets.
Empty wheelbarrow.
Hang night net in stable.
Fill a barrow with hay and haylage and dump it in the field. Where we are there is basically no grass at all, it's dreadful, so they need forage when turned out!
Go home - normally in just before 6.40.

My mum and sister bring them in and feed them at night as I don't finish work until after 5.30 and am rarely home before 7.30. I've been riding at night when I can but I'm thinking about trying to do it in the mornings ...
 
I normally get to the yard for about 7 and turnout. Muck out, do haynets, waters and feeds then bring in the two big ones. Go for a hack riding one and leading the other. Normally poo pick while they are cooling down. Feed and turnout. Some mornings I'll bring the youngster in and do some work with her, or don't ride if I have to go into work early.

I've tried feeding before turnout or not turing out and they get stressy so have found an hour out before riding makes my life a lot easier!

My hubby generally does evenings, which is just bring in and feed. Weekends I normally ride all three individually, catch up on any other jobs from the week and make feeds/ haynets for week ahead.
 
applecart14 said:
Mine goes into a sand paddock daily with a horse next to him separated by electric. Its brilliant, no mud for a start so its better for him than to have to trawl through thick gloopy mud on a daily basis, as paddocks get in the winter. Sometimes when the weather is bad he goes out for an hour, but he is nearly 19 so doesn't mind the comfort of his stable which is nice. I wonder if many use sand paddocks.[/QUOTE

Cool, sand paddocks are great aren't they? I think lots do, the two yards down my lane have sand/rubber paddocks but no turnout and in winter the ponies go out just like ours! x
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Drive to yard on lunch break. Feed bucket, pet pony, visual check on the other 3 in the herd. Optional: ride. Otherwise: poo pick. Go back to work.

He lives out 24/7, with two other owners sharing chores and am/lunch/pm checks. I do the lunch time check. We've just stopped strip grazing (moving fence was my job until recently), and we're only feeding hay once a day at the moment as the grass is growing still. This is done by the person doing evening check for now. If the weather turns, we'll feed hay up to 3x daily. I only have enough time to either squeeze a quick ride in, or do chores (mainly poo picking), so I try to alternate days depending on the weather.
I wouldn't want to have to cope with a full time job and a stabled horse on DIY.
 
winter, normally live out 24/7, visually checked 6 30am, pm, hayed in field, checked over, TB's rug adjusted (poor doer), brought into barn at weekends for grooming, hacking etc. However, currently in the barn due to field flooding, so my new routine is, 6 am, skip out poo in feeding area, check water, give them a pile of hay, 4 pm, rope off the barn yard while mucking out bed/feed areas, take them for a walk and graze on the field edges, back to barn, small portion of hay, 8-9pm last check, skip out feed area and hay for the night, lights out and back to the house.
Summer they live out, checked twice a day, brought in if riding/grooming and back out
 
Horses are out 24/7 - so much easier. After work I ride/poo pick/feed depending on the weather and time of year. At the weekends I do it all when it suits.

Reading some of the routines on here, you girls are Super Woman!
 
Weekdays:

Horse turne out in morning by YO.

I get to yard at 6pm, muck out, do water, do haynet, bring horse in, feed, groom, pick feet out and go. Usually about 30 - 40 minutes.

On a weekend I turn horse out in the morning, then I will chuck her bed up to air, do her water and hay ready for the night. In the evening I will bring her in, pick feet out, feed and put bed down.

My horse never takes more than 45 mins a day but then I don't ride her. If I rode it would be closer to an hour and a half - two hours by the time I have tacked up, ridden and cooled her down, untacked her etc.
 
Horse fed a bowl of chaff and a few nuts at 6.20 a.m, mucked out and bits done for the evening. Ride for an hour+ at 7 a.m. Turn out at 8.30 a.m for day. Get in at 6 p.m, groomed, fed and bedtime.
 
I have two on DIY (assisted).
They both go out daily, in separate paddocks to one another but with other horses.
Yard is 13 miles from my house.

Alarm goes at 5.35 AM
In the car by 5.40 AM (in pjs and coat!)
At the yard by 5.56 AM (I drive fast, with no traffic)
My adult goes out immediately. No feed. She loves to be the first one out.
My foal gets a bucket of food sometimes, or left in until the below step.
I muck out the mare (worst job)
Fill water
Wheel the barrow to the foal's stable
Have a quick chat and rub with the foal
Put foal out (she is out in her field alone until 8AM, so don't rush to put her out (although she's happy out alone!))
muck out foal, inc water
go and make both nets up and tie up
make both feeds and put in the stables
empty wheelbarrow

Leave yard at 6.47 AM
get home at 7.25 AM (lots of traffic on the way back)

Have breakfast and go back to bed for 7.40 AM
NAP
set alarm for 8AM
Get ready and leave for work at 8.35 AM
work at 9AM

Pay £3.50 to have them both in at night for me.
I don't change rugs day/night as really not necessary.

Out 24/7 in Summer!
 
Live out 24/7 so drive to them make up feeds and feed them, while they are eating move the fence on the strip grazing, collect up feed buckets and poo pick when needed top up water and check them over while they are grazing the long grass they dont go far. I do a once over when I feed them and make sure they have eaten up when I collect buckets. Then spend time just watching them and or doing maintenance on the fences. If we have a rider I tend to watch how they are going and put jumps up etc
 
Mine has to be flexible as I have to work the horses in round my 3yo son to a degree. Mine live out 24/7 (with open stables) and are on my doorstep - I literally walk through my back garden to their field. I try to keep things as low maintenence as possible so both fields have big round hay bales in so I dont have to do haynets. I feed them between 7 and 8am and do a quick muck-out of the yard (where they gather round the hay and stables). Then it depends on my son and what his schedule is as well as my 2 days of work, basically when he's at nursery then I take the opportunity to ride (if weather allows), groom, check water etc. then I feed them again just before it gets dark at this time of year (4ish), or in the summer I ride once my sons in bed and feed after etc. My horses aren't in a set routine and they've always been very easy about it. It works in my life ;)
 
I am lucky and mine is on full livery but I have no time for diy thanks to work. I go after work to ride. Once summer comes though I am hoping since he will be in an area more suited for him that he can live out all the time and not lose weight. We shall see though I may have been too soft with him up until now.
 
Summer here atm!

It really depends on what time I have to be at work - but its usually like this:
They are permanently out, both on 'starvation' paddocks with turnout into the rest o their paddock together for about 5-8hrs a day.
I ride my mare most days, my gelding gets ridden when I've got a spare half hour or so.
I'll feed out around 7-9pm, depending on when I finish work, poo pick, and ride if light permits.
My two are rugged year round (very wet here), so will take rugs off in the mornings if its not going to rain and will sometimes chuck cotton sheets on if its breezy/very sunny to keep the sun off.
 
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