Do we make having horses more difficult than it needs to be..???

[xgemmax]

Probably right, but I like the social aspect of being at a livery yard, don't mind mucking out as the stables are well lit, and like to know that he's cosy in his stable with a nice deep bed He would live out, but gets thrush easily in his feet, so it does him good to come in at night for them to dry out. Also not many places offer grass livery with a nice school, electric, etc!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

What's a mealie?!

mealie (muzzle) = Exmoor.

I think this is a good thread-although (as with the rugging thread) people get a tiny bit defensive and justify themselves where there's no need to. If keeping your horses in and competition fit in the winter does it for you then thats fine. The point is that they don't have to be kept that way-they are (mostly) happy being hairy and feral and at any point in between. So if you are finding it expensive/hard work etc you can do it another way either short or long term. When I had the one, he was mostly on full/part livery and I loved keeping him that way. I now have 3 (my choice!) and I couldn't afford to keep them all at livery.

I don't think that keeping them out, especially if working them and/or on limited grazing is easier this time of year. I would rather muck out a box inside than poo pick in 60mph winds and waste my limited daylight hours shovelling poop in a muddy field at the weekend tbh. Mine are out and feral, I am looking forward to having them in frankly-but I am lucky enough now to have them at home, so will get the best of all worlds-in when I want, out when I want, once the damn stables are in!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

everyone does what works best for them, theres no right or wrong way except if its making you and/or the horse miserable.

i couldnty cope with ours living out 24/7. we have good land but probably not enough acreage to support them out 24/7, and the dark, wet and mud would be hideous to deal with whilst trying to keep them fit enough to compete.

i do have horses to compete, i wouldnt have them if i couldnt compete, so there have to be some compromises: they are clipped, rugged, stables overnight and work 5 days a week. But they go out every day, Fig hacks, and CS does canter work in the field (as he doesnt hack really).

the feed bills for the 2 TB's are bad enough as it is, running in to hundreds per horse, per month excl hay, so if they lived out i think id be MORE broke!!!

for me the part of the pleasure is in producing them,and looking after the yard and i happily spend endless hours tootling round tidying and cleaning.

on the other hand it HAS been enlightening having bruce 99% retired and roughed off-he's not clipped so is snuggly warm in a no fill rug currently, eating just hay and a handful of nuts with his supps in and i think would live out 24/7 quite easily and happily and if i could bear the dirt, would probably be ok un-rugged. but then he's a fatty by nature and a tough irish chap, so copes better than the TB's.

 

[skint1]

I think in some ways we create more work for ourselves with our horses with rugging, supplements, gadgets etc. I personally couldn't keep mine out 24/7 over winter, I think they would hate it because they're always standing by the gate waiting for me to bring them in , possibly we don't have the grazing for it, though they are equally happy to be turned out in the morning.

I

 

[chestnut cob]

I think this is a good thread-although (as with the rugging thread) people get a tiny bit defensive and justify themselves where there's no need to.

Agreed, but there is also a tendency for those whose horses live out, unclipped, unshod, bitless, treeless etc to get evangelical about that too. Swings and roundabouts.

 

[CBAnglo]

As others have said, it really depends on the situation.

Most livery yards in the SE dont have winter turnout period let alone 24/7 turnout. And again, safe fields to rent are rare.

I do however think that other liveries make it more difficult to keep horses. Apart from all the b1thiness/passive agreesiveness etc there are always liveries who keep their horses on DIY but dont actually want to do any of the work. These are the ones who take advantage of a common rule of not leaving a horse out on its own. So invariably they never have to bring their horse in, tunring up 10 mins after everyone else. They are also the same people who never turn up in the morning therefore never have to feed all the breakfasts but think nothing of leaving huge haynets outside their stables for someone else to put in (because clearly they wont be coming down until 10am).

If everyone just got down and did their horse and went away, then it would be fine. I dont understand people who turn up, get their horse out, tie it up and then wander off for 2 hrs of tea. So people who actually need to tie up to tack up/groom etc have to negotiate around a horse who is eating its breakfast/haynet making a mess and generally getting in the way.

I have 3 horses and I can get them all done in the time it takes some people to do one. I can have all 3 groomed, exercised (45 mins each), (fully) mucked out, turned out, hay/feeds all done etc in less than 4 hrs and I look around and people are still sitting about having a cup of tea. I often wonder if they have lives as they rely on the "social" aspect of the yard so much - they only seem to ride maybe once or twice a month, horse acts up and they decide to give it yet even more "time off".

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Agreed, but there is also a tendency for those whose horses live out, unclipped, unshod, bitless, treeless etc to get evangelical about that too. Swings and roundabouts.

*blows raspberry* I'm backing Druid bareback and bitless, did I tell you? nowhere to plug the airjacket into though..

 

[chestnut cob]

*blows raspberry* I'm backing Druid bareback and bitless, did I tell you? nowhere to plug the airjacket into though..

Must admit, because of R's tooth issues, one of the reasons I wanted the Micklem bridle (that didn't fit, because he has a freaky head shape) was to try him in the bitless version as was interested to see what, if any, difference it might make. I'm not against it, not against treeless either (though I've yet to see a treeless saddle that didn't roll around on a horse's back like a ship in a storm at sea...). Not against no shoes. R currently has no shoes because I am riding less, it is winter, and TBH if he copes well then I see no reason to put them back on. He is certainly more sure footed on slippery roads than shod horses we're hacking with. But I don't want to be evangelical about it. I have been about stuff in the past but now I just think I do what I think is best for mine, and leave others to what they want to do. Whereas there are a lot on this forum in particular who just love an opportunity to tell you everything you are doing is wrong.

You won't need an airjacket... don't your feet already touch the floor on Druid?! ;p

 

[MotherOfChickens]

You won't need an airjacket... don't your feet already touch the floor on Druid?! ;p

*snorts* depends on how fat I let him get!

 

[Patterdale]

My sec D lives out 24/7, hunter clipped in a medium rug and not fed.
I don't enjoy being a slave to horses!

ALL my horses have followed this regime, from ex racers to my old horse who evented up to CCI* and lived out throughout, even the night before an event (no stable stains!). The only difference is that some would get hard feed.

I truly believe that all healthy horses are capable of living out happily year round.
However, some owners prefer to bring them in and that's fine too if that's what they want to do

My horse costs about £10-£20 a month to keep and if I haven't got much time it just takes 5 mins either end of the day to check he's still upright and mobile. I probably wouldn't have horses if I had to spend hundreds of pounds and all my time to maintain them.


ETS Current horse is a lovely sec D with lots of mane and tail which are kept plaited at all times, and he's always clean, so they don't HAVE to be scruffy if they live out!

 

[chestnut cob]

*snorts* depends on how fat I let him get!

Well I suppose if he's fat he's less likely to be able to move fast enough to chuck you off!!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Well I suppose if he's fat he's less likely to be able to move fast enough to chuck you off!!

lol,hadn't thought of that!

 

[SarahF]

Hi all - I'm a forum newbie. I didn't get time to read all the posts on this thread - but I liked the OP.
I'm about to buy a horse in a country where apart from basic food there is literally nothing in terms of equestrian facilities or experts!
Brave or foolish - I'm yet to find out (as its my first horse I dont have much to compare with)
I'm sure it's gonna be an adventure regardless!

 

[pinklilly]

Haven't read through all the replies but last winter I had a youngster out at grass on diy grass livery and a tb stabled at a livery yard with turn out during the day. It was far more pleasant, quicker and easier to do the stables one and I stayed clean and dry. I absolutely hated doing the field horses, filling and dragging dumpy bags of hay over the field through knee deep mud to where it got trampled and wasted. Dragging water containers from home to fill up trough. Feeding in the field. It took a lot longer than mucking out a stable, doing a couple of haynets and feeds and I ended up with mud up to the eyeballs and covered in hay. Never again.

I dare say if you have your own place you can have it set up as you wish, hard standing, track systems, decent shelters but livery yards tend more to be standard stabling with turn out. At least you can have a cuppa and a chat too.

 

[skint1]

Haven't read through all the replies but last winter I had a youngster out at grass on diy grass livery and a tb stabled at a livery yard with turn out during the day. It was far more pleasant, quicker and easier to do the stables one and I stayed clean and dry. I absolutely hated doing the field horses, filling and dragging dumpy bags of hay over the field through knee deep mud to where it got trampled and wasted. Dragging water containers from home to fill up trough. Feeding in the field. It took a lot longer than mucking out a stable, doing a couple of haynets and feeds and I ended up with mud up to the eyeballs and covered in hay. Never again.

I dare say if you have your own place you can have it set up as you wish, hard standing, track systems, decent shelters but livery yards tend more to be standard stabling with turn out. At least you can have a cuppa and a chat too.

There is all this too!

 

[Doormouse]

Where does everyone find these horses that love being out??? I have picked very badly with mine obviously.

I have a tb who is convinced he will melt in the rain or be blown away by the wind or turn into an icicle if its cold, absolute nightmare. Enjoys out until lunchtime, then wants in and in the summer wants to be in all the time because he can't stand the flies and comes up in lumps all over with or without very expensive fly rugs / sweet itch rugs.

24 year old pony with cushings, would lie down and die on purpose if I left him out 24/7 in the winter and can't leave him out in the summer because of the grass and his sweet itch.

Shetland x welsh pony of unknown age but certainly not young, loves being in at night and when I tried to turn her out with my youngster 24/7 she spent a month looking miserable until I gave in and brought her in again.

Even my 2 year old who has lived out all her life seems to think she needs to come in at the moment, hanging over the gate every morning and evening looking bored and cross. She and her friend have a 6 acre field with plenty of shelter, hay put out and she is wearing a rug!

They must find me I reckon!!!