Do you keep your Dressage horses in at night?

wellsat

wellsat

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I've always believed that unless the field is getting really muddy that horses are happier and healthier out in the field than in a stable.

I was talking to a friend last night though and she was shocked that I was popping G back out for the night with a rainsheet on.

Any thoughts?
 
Totally depends on the horse. I have one that can't be turned out (or hacked out for that matter). He was a German import and doesn't appear to have ever been outside for any length of time. He's fine at competitions, in lorry parks and in outdoor/indoor arenas. Very level headed chap, not spooky and really works with you and tries hard. He does get turned out, but in the indoor school or in the play pen. My others it depends what they're up to work wise/comp wise. Out as much as possible though.
 
We try to put ours out as much as possible and one of them lives out pretty much all the time (finding that if he lives out at night he is far less feisty at a comp!! :p).

There is no set rules and I don't see why dressage horses should be treated any differently to any other horse.. just go according to temprament etc!
 
Mine stays in at night, i tried to keep him out overnight at my previous yard but he wasnt happy he stood at the gate and came in tired and lethargic. He is from germany and i dont think he is used to long hours of turn out. He seems much happier with 6 hours from 7am to 1pm. Hes then ridden pm so his day is broken up.
 
My 3yo lives out, he will do the YH classes next year and carry on living out. My mare is coming back into work after having a foal mid October and she will be out during the day and in at night and will live out during the summer, although if i could she would be out 24/7 but she can't live out during the winter at current yard as not enough grazing.
 
Ali16 said:
There is no set rules and I don't see why dressage horses should be treated any differently to any other horse.. just go according to temprament etc!
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Totally agree with this statement. Am currently off sick with a migraine and not feeling charitable to the world due to head pain. However, sorry OP, I dont know you, dont have any issues with you, and dont take this personally, but what makes dressage horses such delicate little flowers that they cant go out at night? I know a few dressage riders, who ride strapping great warmbloods and they keep the poor things stabled much of the time because they are 'Dressage horses'. Oh and they are rarely hacked as well. Grhhhhhhhhhh. Same riders bandage the dam things up to an inch of their lives, wear those doughnut boot things and generally wrap their animals in cotton wool. Repeat that they are horses, and most horses need turnout. Our event horse is probably just as valuable as some of the aforesaid horses, but she lives out much of the year. If we kept her in 24/7 she would end up totally insane as she loves her time in the field. OK we do get the old field injury and the odd pulled shoe, but its a small price to pay for her mental health.

Do show jumpers, event riders, endurance riders, carriage drivers, polo players, Trec competitors, happy hackers etc, etc,etc, etc, keep their horses in at night?
 
TheoryX1 said:
Do show jumpers, event riders, endurance riders, carriage drivers, polo players, Trec competitors, happy hackers etc, etc,etc, etc, keep their horses in at night?
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Here, yes! :D But I understand things may be different in the UK.

I will admit that I don't know of many dressage horses who actually live out 24/7, but I am not sure it's because they are too "precious" - I think it's more to do with the fact that in dressage you need a bit of 'spark' and often horses who live out are just too...laid back when it comes to work. I definitely feel a huge difference with mine, when he cannot be turned out because of the weather / when paddocks are too wet he looks and feels a million dollars ;)
 
TheoryX1 said:
Totally agree with this statement. Am currently off sick with a migraine and not feeling charitable to the world due to head pain. However, sorry OP, I dont know you, dont have any issues with you, and dont take this personally, but what makes dressage horses such delicate little flowers that they cant go out at night? I know a few dressage riders, who ride strapping great warmbloods and they keep the poor things stabled much of the time because they are 'Dressage horses'. Oh and they are rarely hacked as well. Grhhhhhhhhhh. Same riders bandage the dam things up to an inch of their lives, wear those doughnut boot things and generally wrap their animals in cotton wool. Repeat that they are horses, and most horses need turnout. Our event horse is probably just as valuable as some of the aforesaid horses, but she lives out much of the year. If we kept her in 24/7 she would end up totally insane as she loves her time in the field. OK we do get the old field injury and the odd pulled shoe, but its a small price to pay for her mental health.

Do show jumpers, event riders, endurance riders, carriage drivers, polo players, Trec competitors, happy hackers etc, etc,etc, etc, keep their horses in at night?
Click to expand...

;):D;)

Hope the head feels better soon!
I am going to agree with you TX as I am sat at home another year older and feeling very grumpy about it:rolleyes:
I am considering doing some dressage this winter so do I have to change the way I keep my horse that we bred 7 yrs ago, buy bandages saddle cloths and bling just to do some novice tests!:eek::D:rolleyes:;)
 
I'm not saying I keep G stabled, quite to the contrary. He is currently out in the field happily munching away and will remain so until it gets too boggy when he'll start coming in at night. I bought him to event and still think about him with an eventing head on even though he's most likely going to be a dressage horse from now on. At the end of the day he's still the same horse as he always had been and I'll continue to keep him in the way that I think he's happiest in.

I was just interested in people's opinions and why they differed. The more time I spend with dressage people the more I'm finding that they keep their horses in more than I do.
 
with mine its mainly weight control, CS is a skinny minny who needs plenty of grub, if out he spends as much time galloping,fence walking and playing as eating, and if he was out 24/7 id never get enough food in to him to keep his weight on, and would struggle to stop toby scoffing it all in any case!!!

bruce is the opposite- a fatty, who would explode if out 24/7 esp in the summer.

being in half a day allows me to control the calorie intake more accurately.
 
Mine is only 16 months old so nothing yet and probably not relavent to this convo at all but i think this is really funny!

We have no grazing at all at the moment and although we put hay in the field she is quite low in the pecking order and i hate her being hungry so I always bring her in for a feed and some hay, if she wants to go out she will take a mouthful or 2 of hay then walk around the box and stand at the door and keep doing this (quite calmy) until i put her out, when she wants to stay in she just eats and if i approach her with her head collar she just avoids me! LOL Its so funny how obviously she lets me know what she wants to do! xx
 
I believe Carl Hesters youngsters live out all year round and compete from the field.

My 2 live out from May til October, during the winter they are stabled at night and have a few hours out during the day. The length of time depends on the weather and if I have to work.
Im suprised at the amount of horses I have seen with rugs on already. Its not been that cold here, even overnight.
 
I would love to have mine out at night and in during the day because she reacts really badly to flies and she is a total fatty. Unfortunately this is not an option at the yard I am on so she goes out at 8am and comes in whenever I get down in the pm to ride. When I had my own yard I always had mine out overnight and the RS ponies out during the day(would have had 24/7 but not enough land)
 
My boy is out at night probably for another couple of weeks and then it will become to cold...for me :D
During hot spells he does come in during the day.

At the moment he is out buit comes in every morning and evening for feed and hay and to be worked.

He is better in his attitude when he's out, he will let me know when he's ready to come in and stay in.

Carl Hester has a dressage horse that lives out 24/7 I think doesn't he?
 
We have a Holstein at home who is in at night also for weight control.... My Shetland is on the same regime, and it suits them both very well.
My mums other Dressage horse is in livery. Primarily because she needed help with him, but also wouldn't settle if left out for more than an hour. He would become very reckless and start to gallop about till he was bought in.
The livery yard are great, and he's turned out in the school in the morning, is ridden, then out for the rest of the afternoon.
It's taken 2 years, and he will stay out for 5-6 hours on a good day. I think there's an element of a huge comfy stable and easy grub when he comes in... He is genuinely happier in this routine to being at home and kept out all day as the others are.
PS our Dressage horses are hacked out and are not wrapped on cotton wool. However there is an element of hearing mouth watching a £25k horse thundering around. And to add, he was a very sad, nervous, stand offish chap when he arrived. He's now devoted to my mum and has turned into to real kissy kissy happy boy.
As other posts have said, it depends on the horse
 
at the moment they are out 24/7
normally in at night and out all day (ie 6am to 6/9pm) or visa versa in hot weather.
mostly to stop 2 of them getting too fat really
the 7 year old is better out more
i think each horse should be treated as individual.
 
from when to clocks change beginning of spring to when they change back in oct/ nov they are pretty much out 24/7 but usually come in a few hours in the day to rest and get exercised.
From autumn to spring they are in at night and out all day from 7am to 4pm ish.

But from the looks of the weather atm they may start coming in at night sooner.
 
My dressage horses lived out 24/7, 365 days a year, and only came in if they were broken, or if they needed a break from the grass. When I had them at home, they had free access to their stables, but rarely chose to be in - apart from the odd "three in a bed" incident, which they only did to give me palpitations! Only issue I had was lack of oomph during the summer - but I cured that with lots of oats...

Similarly to a previous poster - I also had a German import who wouldn't go out, or hack - but he was a special case! I was regarded as completely mad when I was training in Germany - they really don't see the point of turn-out.

I'm lazy and don't like mucking out - that's the reason why mine were managed like large expensive bog ponies
 
One of my liveries worked for Carl Hester for 18 months a few years ago and loads of his horses are out 24/7!!! Or just come in for a few hours.

Mine is out 24/7 atm, mainly to give me a break from mucking out, but as soon as the weather worsens he'll be in 24/7 as he refuses to go out in the mud :p If he could he'd be in his stable 24/7 365 days per year, ha ha.
 
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