Do horses use their field shelter? How much do you rug up during winter? & grazing???

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imogen345

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Just wondering if field shelters are as needed as people make out? I have a yearling who is a welsh section D, and a 2yo welsh section B living out all year round...

I've asked a few friends and my other mare who was an arab had a field shelter for a short time and she hated being cold yet she'd much rather have her bum to the wind and rain and stay out in the bad weather. I'd feed her in shelter and then she'd be off out in the rain again (or even summer she'd rather be out in a swarm of flies and heat)

If i don't get a field shelter, there is a section of the field I can set up fencing where there are tree's which can offer natural shelter...

Also, do I bother with rugs? They won't be clipped and already have natural thick coats and neither have been rugged before.

Lastly, I can't strip graze my field as you have to section off areas that are suitable as parts I have to stay clear off due to walnut trees ect... How do people rotate their grazing and what has been a life saviour for horses that live out all year round?

Thanks for any help.
 
Yours are native so unless there is a distinct lack of natural shelter, there is no reason you need one....that said, if your horse were ill, would you be able to use a stable somewhere? If not a shelter would be a handy thing to have!
Fencing.....just strip graze using electric tape.... it is more than possible even if you have area's you need to avoid.
If you dont need to rug, dont! They evolved to live in our climate, so unless you plan to clip I would leave them be.
 
Mine have a field shelter and again never use it in the bad snow the oldie would stand in it on the rubber mats for a feed and hay. But the minute she finished her grub she'd be out in the wind, rain and snow! Typical! This year I have baught to 3 Year old colts, thye have never been rugged or had a field shelter so the will be going eu natural-- unless I find them shivering and just a waterproof rug with no fill will go on them. They aren't in work as being turned away and oldie is retired so none are clipped. Oldie is rugged up but she's 26 next year. I find good hay is the best thing for them and in the snow the have hay all the time and 3 small feeds a day to keep them warm. In other weather they have a net in the morning and net in the evening. I don't feed them off the floor as the kick it around and pee on it haha! So a hayledge net is used it also keeps them occupied for longer. The oldie is on good feed- fibergy, vetran vitality, alfabeet and her joint supplement and two scoops of benevit plus. Babies will be on hifi lite, Fibre nuggets and unmollassed sugerbeet and benevit. They are a good weight and still growing.
Sorry for the essay hope its helpful. Try not to worry about the babies they will be fine. I will find it really hard not to rug them as I'm terrible in the cold really feel it so will feel bad- but they have never had rugs on and were out in the snow last year.
 
My boys dont have a field shelter. One of the paddocks has only one hedge for shelter but the other one has loads of hedges and trees. Though they dont actually use the trees for shelter much but they are there if they want.

If your horses are not going to be clipped and are not normally rugged I would say that they would be fine. I would go on how the horse looks and feels before deciding to rug up.

Can I ask why you have to stay clear of the Walnut trees? As long as they are English Walnuts and not Black Walnut trees they are not harmful to the horses. I have 3 English Walnut trees in my paddock and the horses love eating the leaves!

My boys are going to live out this winter (hopefully!) but I have a seperate paddock that they will be in for the duration of the winter then will move to a different paddock in spring to allow their winter one to rest and recover.
 
I would avoid rugging if you can and this goes hand in hand with NOT strip grazing. They will need as much space as you can offer to move around to keep warm and to find patches of shelter. Its interesting to note that shelter is not always by a hedge or under a tree,on certain days there my be a pocket of shelter right in the middle of the field.
Feeding lots of fibre helps to keep them warm. With natives I would recommend late cut meadow hay and straw. I also feed mine twigs and logs. They love stripping the bark and munching the twigs,so providing this saves the trees in the hedge(a bit:o)
The only problem with this system is that the land does look terrible in the spring. I harrowed and reseeded and was lucky enough to be able to rent another field for the summer. Pasture now looking better than ever.
 
My old TB has a field shelter overnight, and is well rugged, he didn't seem to use it that much last year in the snow, but he does use it in the rain. He is fed in it and has a haynet, so stays in to eat those. He seems to have spent more time in it recently, as there are always at least three poos in overnight. He is the only one that has access to the shelter overnight. The other two, welsh and exmoor, have natural shelter which they do use.

I do restrict grazing for these two in the summer, but not inthe winter. They get to move around, use whichever line of trees they fancy for shelter (depending on which was the wind blows!) and don;t churn the field up so much if they are on a large area.

I personally wouldn't rug yours, and am sure they will be fine with the natural shelter.
 
Ours tend to use the shelter more for escaping the heat and flies, and even then prefer just to be under the overhang. Generally they will happily shelter under trees and walls. Don't worry if you see them standing in pouring rain with their backs to the wind and heads down looking miserable - thats just what horses do in those conditions, it doesn't mean they're miserable or desperate for rugs!

I wouldn't rug natives at all unless they are doing a lot of work and need clipping. Let nature do what it does - they grow a long coat and use their bodyfat to keep warm. In the wild thats what Welsh ponies would do - go into winter a bit portly and burn it off over the cold weather, ending up slimmer by Spring, ready to put weight on again.. If they live naturally they should be a lot less prone to lami etc. As yours are young you'd be training them to be good hardy ponies without rugs. Just keep an eye out for rain scald etc.

I wouldn't section any of the field off in winter - if you need to section it, it would probably be in Spring/summer when you need to cut down what they eat..
 
I agree with abitodd, my boys live out all year and I dont strip graze at all. I prefer to let them have the whole field, the ground does not seem to suffer as a result but at least it means that on hot days they can find shade as the sun moves and the reverse in the winter. The top field got a bit mullered last winter from driving through it with the haylage but nothing a roller couldnt deal with. I do rug my boys because I had complaints from nosy neighbours who threatened me with the RSPCA (not that I think they would have done anything cos the ponies were fine) but also as I have no facilities, I wanted to try and keep them a little bit cleaner. They always seem happy enough, I just put a bale of haylage in the field and let them go for it, last year I did not really have a problem with wastage so didnt have to worry about supplementing with hard feed but I will see how cold we get and how they hold their weight

Good luck xx
 
Ours have a big barn but really only use in during the summer. If my WB X TB can manage a light work load over the winter without sweating up, she'll remain unclipped and unrugged, although might have to rethink that if we have lots of heavy rain. She's not keen on getting soaked.
Basically, any horse we have that is fit, healthy and unclipped will be rugless. They have access to hay in the field 24/7 and during the big freeze last year, they put on weight when riding was impossible.
 
My Welsh D has access to his field stable all year round and never uses it in winter at all. He is in there a lot in summer to get away from the flies and heat, but stands out in all weathers in winter. He is not rugged at all, grows a woolley bear coat and came out of last winter looking 'well'.
I would avoid rugs if possible as natives should not really need them and can maintain condition well on not a lot of food.
I strip graze my lad all winter but that is becuae he has had laminitis in the past and I need to keep a check on his weight. I also bring him in at night in order to give him a break from the grass and let his feet dry out a bit...or thaw if it is snowy!
 
I'm going to say the complete opposite. I have 2 and am about to buy another. All mine use theirs all the time. My fields have no natural shelter though. The only exception was that when one blew over (before I put a hole in the back) my very careful mare wouldn't go in for about 2 years.
 
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