Decision made, I am no longer turning out

Not every horse enjoys sharing boxes or being able to see/touch another horse when stabled. When we were in an American barn, some horses had to be moved out to the yard as they just could not settle. My mare does enjoy this sort of set up in her retirement, but the caveat is that she is just with 2 other mares, they have been together for over 3 years and it was the best part of a year before my friend would let them interact in this way - they were turned out together but stabled separately but now, she will go up and find them all crammed into 1 stable or even better, my 16.3 mare seems to prefer the pony stable which she can just about get into and leaves her own large box empty.

We all have to make the best of what we have and there are precious few yards which can really cope with this weather and hope to have any sort of grazing left as they don't have the acres to do so. My own horse is currently not being turned out but that is because he is recovering from an eye infection, under vet care and a trip to the AHT, so he will have to lump it. Other liveries are now choosing not to turn out when the weather has been torrential as the horses tolerance seems to be short lived and our fields are getting water logged.
 
My own live in a large field which is great, but on a hill, and still quite wet. However my friend who shares the field has one away on box rest post surgery. He was supposed to be coming back at the end of January, so that another can go off for surgery, then box rest (it never ends) as only access to one stable at third party yard, but we are now looking at alternative options. Thankfully I rent the field from a farmer who has a livery yard, so i'm hoping she can fit us in as a grass livery at the yard. Amazingly her fields are still very dry!
 
Reading all the replies on here Im actually thinking Im quite lucky. Im on diy and each owner has their own paddock, how you manage it is up to you, YO never restricts turnout as we have no other facility for exercise or leg stretching although we can lead out in hand into one small field that is en route to the turnout paddocks and not grazed permanently by anything. Most of the fields are on a slope, mine is the only one that isnt so does lay quite wet but is about 1.5 acres so once you get away from the gate its not too bad for my 1 pony. Tbh, as hes a very very good doer I let him have access to all of it through the winter and then shut it up section by section through spring and summer to recover. Even so, at the moment Im only putting him out from 7am til about 2pm as theres little left to eat and hes more than happy to come in and eat hay. Hes not a rushing about sort of chap so doesnt cut it up too badly but I see little point in leaving him stood in mud when hes obviously ready for his bed :)
 
I chucked mine out in our 10 acre field a few days ago, which was like a swamp, and that was BEFORE the biblical downpour on New Years Day :( - I thought that being cobs, they'd both be happy to be out and enjoying some grass and freedom.

Within three hours they were both back up at the gate, they'd obviously found some knee-deep mud which they'd been poodling around in, and were obviously not happy, especially mare who has arthritis.

So I brought them back into our "Holding Pen" which is a hard-standing area on one part, combined with about 5 X 7m of grass, which they've totally ignored and all they want to do is stand on the concrete bit of the area and chomp hay! They're in at night, and corralled into the hard-standing area during the day.

So they've chosen where they want to be, and I shall not be turning out again until the ground gets significantly dryer.
 
My horses have been kept off the fields now for a month. I'm lucky that my stables are in a large barn which then leads to an arena so they have the run of it all. I don't think I could see them confined to a stable though.
 
This is funny. Our four remaining horses (mine now in rehab) were let onto our far field today which hasn't had horses on since June (sheep were on it til end July) Officially at least the mule keeps getting in there!

The whole thing is a huge hill, 5 acres with lots of trees, and they couldn't be coaxed back over for hay or stables tonight, so they stayed out. There is a lot of grass there!
 
Mine live out 24/7 and so rarely run about and cut up the grass they meander around scrubbing for shoots and grass (stil strip grazing as far too fat and far too much grass) the fields are sandy so drain well usually but are now covered in water. No mud though. I do think they would like an hour to dry out but I also know that the old girl would last about that hour before she was jumping over the stable door. We dont have stables, shelters etc it is just the lea of the house and the sheds that provide the small amount of shelter they have
 
Some.of us have to do what the livery owners say, ours have shut feilds for the day. Might be a bit longer but that's what they want. In the six years we have been there its only happened twice.
 
Im on DIY and we have our own paddocks, to do with as we please, however, for the first time in 6 years, we have been told the fields are now closed until further notice, sadly for me, my horse doesn't like being in, but we will have to do as best we can. No point looking for another yard, as ours is by far and wide the best for turnout in the area and me and my horse are very happy there.

I think there are many livery yards that are struggling to cope with this type of winter.
 
I have my own fields & have what would appear more than sufficient, 12 acres for 3 horses & a pony.
However I'm limiting turnout. I have one small field which they have trashed & a woodchip turnout plus with some graft from me I can get them exercised. So for mine it's not as bad as it could be.
IMO it's no good telling people at the moment that horses shouldn't be shut in stables. We all know this but for a lot of people at tge moment there truely isn't any other option.
Is it ideal, no. Does it make them bad owners, no.


I have to laugh at the girl who posted on a local FB group about this very subject. She was very high & mighty declaring those not turning out 'cruel' & that they shouldn't have horses. She was very smug saying hers were still living out absolutely fine & happy.

The funny thing is I hack past her place. The horses are out on a paddock which is far too small, no grass (but do get hay), they are past their fetlocks in mud in all of it, with no where dry to stand. There is no real shelter.
Everytime I ride past they are stood heads down, bums to the fence. They look utterly miserable & fed up.

Not how I would keep a horse. I'd rather be 'cruel' & keep them stabled longer than submit any horse of mine to that miserable existence.
 
glamourpuss said:
I have my own fields & have what would appear more than sufficient, 12 acres for 3 horses & a pony.
However I'm limiting turnout. I have one small field which they have trashed & a woodchip turnout plus with some graft from me I can get them exercised. So for mine it's not as bad as it could be.
IMO it's no good telling people at the moment that horses shouldn't be shut in stables. We all know this but for a lot of people at tge moment there truely isn't any other option.
Is it ideal, no. Does it make them bad owners, no.
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Completely agree!! For many, if fields don`t get shut off now, then there will be no grazing for the horses to enjoy next season!!

I have just had to relent and bring my cob & forester youngster home from the field up in the village as it was getting trashed and they were miserable. On a normal winter it can cope with 24/7 turnout with no problems as usually it`s free draining with a gravel base. But it was fast turning into mud soup which is no fun for anyone :-/

It does mean I now have 3 at home, stabled most of the time. They do each have a small turnout field of about a third of an acre that they go out on for a couple of hours every morning. Not ideal for a 2 yr old but he`ll live! Luckily the home paddocks are chalk so as long as I`m sensible they should get to enjoy this routine until the weather improves. I just get the joy of three to muck out twice a day, arghhh!!

Everyone who is struggling has my full sympathy!
 
My horses came in at the beginning of the year from being turned out 24/7. They are now on the hard standing with free access to their stables and ad-lib haylage. They did look a little bored yesterday when I went to give them their dinner so I got a 'feed ball' today and they seem to love it. My youngster obviously thinks he is the next David Beckham as he kicks it around the place. Mine will now stay off the fields until they dry out or we at least get a hard frost so that they can go and have a stretch for an hour or so.
 
Well it's now officially the wettest December since records began. I've 'sacrificed' a patch so they can get a leg stretch but it's horrible and they're all pleased to come back in after an hour or two. I know it's hard but you can't blame yards that don't want their land completely trashed.
 
wrt toys-all three of my geldings play with their jolly ball and the mirror is a hit with the youngster. I am still getting them out for 6 hours a day but after the rain this afternoon and that due in tomorrow night, I expect the next couple of days to be harder.
 
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