Do you keep your horses in overnight prior to a show?

[Birker2020]

Apologies if this has already been covered by a previous post but do those of you who turn your horses out at night and bring them in during the day, keep them in the night before a show and if so is it to give them adequate rest or is it to keep them clean, or both? If you don't keep them in do you find that they function okay the next day or does it affect their performance? Or do you turn them out for while during the day and then keep them in that night?

What do you guys do?

 

[frazzled]

Ours comes in the night before a competition. Partly to keep him clean although it doesn't really, he is the filthiest horse in the stable I have ever met Main reason is to hopefully zizz him up a bit. He is a very chilled character and when living out is totally horizontal.

 

[Santa_Claus]

depending on what time our dressage is yes. It is for two reasons mainly to reduce any 'grass belly' and remove her oppurtunity to have a hooley (she does like a good kick and a buck ) and secondly as a bi product of being in to keep her cleaner

If dressage is not till the afternoon then she only need come in first thing in the morning, but if first thing dressage then will have her in overnight. Always make sure she has company though as she doesn't like being left in on her own

 

[ace87]

My chap is white.. pure blinkin' white.. so he stays in the night before wrapped up to his eyeballs in rugs/boots etc after his bath and is then washed again the next morning. He is incredibly dirty both in and out of the stable so he's best of in on a big thick clean bed with as much of him covered as possible
He's absolutely fine this way but then he is stabled every night 365 days a year so it's nothing different to him!
If i have late start times I do try to turn him out for an hour or so in the morning IF it is a. sunny, b. dry and c. there is not one speck of mud in sight. He does go out in a small paddock and is on individual turn out so maximum cleanness!

Either way I've never noticed a change in his behaviour at shows

 

[FigJam]

As the owner of a dark bay, older horse, I prefer her to be out if possible- she doesn't take long to clean up and I feel it's better for her to be out moving around than stuck inside overnight. She lives out 24/7 in summer (was out from start of April this year thanks to good weather) and in at night/out during the day in winter.

I would most likely have a different point of view if I owned a horse with large amounts of white though...!

 

[ThePony]

Mine stays out even though she is grey, she does love her poo pillows so bizzarly stays cleaner when she is out! Her plaits are done the night before and she has a bath, then she goes out in her fly rug. The next morning I might need to have a quick scrub at knees, but that is much less than I would need to do if she were in!

 

[MissSBird]

Grey so yes, in overnight. But my guys come in every night all year, so it makes little difference and suits their routine a little better

 

[MagicMelon]

Mine lives out 24/7 but I do keep him in the night before a show if its an early start and I dont have time to wash him that morning - he's grey (white!) so I cant not bath. Mine is fine to stable, but he's generally a little bit more "wired" when I ride at the event so I'll normally give myself longer to warm up and settle him.

 

[Hebe]

I do inhand only, and keep a pony in depending on age, time of year and colour lol

At the moment i m concentrating on a Sec A show filly. Day before the show i bath, hood and rug her to keep her clean and lay her coat. Much easier to bandage and go the following morning, but if its was a FT out pony, i would take off the field, as i would nt want pony bathed the night before, natural oils n all that, so that they can go straight out with pals on return. Some in hand people think that keeping them in gees them up, when all it does is cause more issues. I put my youngsters on a hill to fitten them selves and also presence is borne not made....sorry i totally digress lol

But of course with the ridden horse, there are other issues to consider, and i suppose its very much up to what the individual horse is used to and rathers

 

[Joyous70]

My boys are mainly grey (white) - have kept in before a show, and also fetched in off the field in the morning.

As far as performance is concerned, theyre both horizontal anyway it doesn't make any difference in or out!

However, the old fella when i used to compete would be a filthy beast in or out, he used to deliberately lift up rugs to lie in poo!!! however, my other lad, stays fairly clean either way!

 

[ArcticFox]

When I used to compete all the time, the horses were kept in the night before a show. having spent many weekends BS, I have noticed a difference in a horse when it is kept out overnight, they don't have as much umph the next day imho.

My current horse lives out, but since having stables built I am loving bringing him in overnight before a show - like most other posters, he is white - but this isn't the reason I bring him in. In the morning there is always a flat bit where he had laid down so I know he slept.

out in the field I have seen that the horses don't lie down and have a sleep until around 9-10am in the morning - if I go out with a torch in the dark, they are always standing up. So if I was bringing him in, travelling and competing in the morning and they lived out, it would be at the time when they should be resting so they feel tired to ride. (and I feel guilty!)