Do you think horses get fed up of winter like we do?

Supertrooper

Supertrooper

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Ours looked miserable today out in field even though they still have some grass left. They are wanting to come in by half two but we're not getting them in till half three. I guess it's just that there is no nutrition in the grass but hate this time of year as they look so miserable!

Are yours the same? And what time are yours wanting to come into their stables?
 
My greedy swine has taken to running away at catching time since the weather has got worse! They were out all summer but now we have them in at 5pm for the night. The grass in our field is still pretty good I reckon as my naughty boy would far rather be out gobbling grass than eating soaked hay and chaff in his cosy warm stable! The other horse (a tb type) that lives with mine, on the other hand, wants to come in as soon as dusk falls. i think it depends on the type of horse you have!
 
yes I reckon so.... if I were a horse and had to stand out in rain and cold and mud all day with my hooves going soft and my legs rotting I'd rather be in a stable, yep.
 
If ours go out first thing in the morning, they are usually ready to come in 2 hours later! Then they keep coming back to the gate every hour or so until they are finally brought in (weather pending) at around half 3.

Complete opposite in spring/summer!
 
Never have mine wanted to come in like they do at the minute, they start waiting around about 1pm, theres nothing in the grazing now , it was miserable today so they came in early
 
My two stood in yesterday which I rarely do and I thought they'd be mad keen to get out this morning. Well both of them dragged their feet on the way up to the field and were waiting at the gate at half three (they usually come in at half five) so I gave up and caught them in. Both marched back to their boxes at two million miles an hour. In the summer both infinitely prefer to be out. Can't say I blame em frankly.
 
I think, apart from the lack of goodness in the grass, a lot of horses find the change in the weather stressful. It's more when it's wet and windy for days on end, having water poured on your head and the wind howling in your ears can't be very nice. Horses rely on their senses to be aware of predators (being prey animals) and when the weather is bad it's harder for them to use those senses to know if a mountain lion or killer plastic bag is about to leap on them. I'm sure it's reason that horses can be a lot spookier in the winter. And of course...it's quieter and more secure for them in stables.
 
I wish mine wanted to come in..i moved to a new yard & he has settled in with his new herd so well..he literally loves them all & plays with them all day & doesn't wait for me at the gate anymore..:( I turn him out at 8 & he comes in at 3 in winter. Mind you, we still have lots of nice grass & we'll be opening up the boys second field the end of Dec/beginning of Jan to give them some more grass.. When the weather was really bad I put him out for just an hour while I mucked out, rugged him up to the eyeballs & let him stretch his legs.. he wouldn't come in & I got soaked!!
 
My boy is definitely ready to come in by 2-3pm (he goes out at 7.30-8). He's started trotting to the gate when he sees me this week (had the week off work so been around) - i like to think it's cos he loves me but I think he loves his haynet more! He's a fell - I dread to think how he'd cope on a cumbrian mountain! :D
 
I suppose... even if you are meant to be hardy, once you have experienced a stable, dry grass in a bag and a warm dry bed there is no going back.

I mean, I wouldn't go back to a cave would you???

:D
 
Very true and considering when they come in ours have in no particular order -

The old girl (not many teeth) - a tub trug full of readigrass/hifi lite and hifi senior. A bucket of fast fibre/veteran vitality. A bucket of hifi senior + veteran conditioning mix!

The B monster - hay. Hifi lite. Happy hoof. Fast fibre and his toy with some chaff and treats in and finally his salt lick.

Now can you see why they want to come in and why it costs us lots to feed them....... Xx
 
Mine isn't stabled at all but now the barn is full of straw and boredom stoppers he seems to like hanging in there with his pals, seems when the weather is bad they only step out for poops, most considerate of them i wish the donkey's would copy that!
 
My mare who loves to be outside and still has a paddock full of grass is starting to wait at the gate now to come in. She knows that when she comes in she has good haylage and a nice deep bed to sleep on!

I think that coming in during the winter becomes a routine for alot of horses and if we didn't start to bring them in and they had suitable shelter and food in their fields, most would be happy to stay out full time in all but the very worst of the weather.

Todays horses are often a victim of circumstance and by that I mean we are only able to keep them on limited land etc which means most have limited time out as well.

If I had a very large well sheltered, well drained piece of land my horses would definitely stay out all year round, suitably fed and rugged.
 
Row def does. He hates being out and in! apart from when hes in long grass field but we are trying to save to last the whole winter. I feel so bad cos he wants to be fussed etc but i just dont have time when its getting dark at 4 :( at least next year he def will wen hes ridden.
Dancer has started running away when being caught cos she knows im gonna ride her *sigh* she is opposite to most mares who are better in winter... she is worse!
And lola doesn;t have a stable yet so shes pretty miserable as shes out in little field by herself at night. if we put her in any other field she escapes!
Bring on beginning of dec when she has a stable at last and end of jan when we will have a school put in :D and then summer! 2011 really excites me!
 
Ours live out 24/7 and rarely use their stables which they have free access to. When the weather is bad I bring them in for a few hours to give them a break from it and they are always mad keen to get back out again.

A friend has a horse who will not tolerate any rain whatsoever. Even a bit of drizzle in summer. He screams his head off, bombs round the field completely stressed out and has even gone through electric fences to bring himself in. (And that's a horse with a field shelter and lots of hedges).

So yes I think some horses get fed up with winter and bad weather.
 
Definately Rosie hates the mud.
They go out 7.30ish and are standing at the gate ready to come in by 1.30 and that is with hay/haylage in the field and plenty of shelter. She is even grumpy when I go down later to give her a massage/groom.

I def think horses get SAD!!!!!
 
Nope. Mine is rarely waiting by the gate for me tbh. I think they just get bored of no food - if they had food, they likely wouldn't care - providing they were in a field with shelter. (our have good natural and artificial shelter, and hay)

If they liked being in their stables so much I wouldn't have to shut their doors ;)
 
Definately, Nadia watches me from her paddock and when she thinks I'm heading in her direction she starts scraping her foot and then when I don't go in her direction she stops and looks and probably thinks "Oi where are you going" lol
 
My boy isn't too bad at the moment, out at 6.45 and in anywhere between 3.30 and 4.30 depending on if i get held up at work. He rarely waits by the gate but does meet me at it when i go to get him. Last winter was a different story tho, YO was turning him out for me at 10am (hence me now doing it b4 work) and he was waiting to come in at 2pm which was insaine!!!!!
 
Absolutely! I've wondered for the last 3 years if Ted suffers from SAD!

He will only go out for a max of one hour/day through mid-winter, even if the weathers not that bad. At present he is out for a few hours/day, and comes in when either me or my sister drive past his field when working.

If we don't get him in when he wants to come in, he goes mad, he completely looses the plot! He trashes the field, weaves digging a trench at the gate,and gets completely sweated up. It's very distressing for him and us. He'd much rather be in his warm, cosy stable eating his hay, than outside with his hay. Personally, I would prefer him out, as it's less mucking out, bedding and time, plus I think it's better for him as he's now 19 and gets stiff! But Ted has decided otherwise!

He also finds the changes of the all seasons stressful and goes a bit strange wanting to stay in his stable, even when we go from spring to summer? He seems to be a mare stuck in a geldings body! He's far more marish than the mares I've worked with in the past. He is the most sensitive TB I've ever known!
 
Mines a bit of both, he loves his stable and is waiting for me at 4 to get him in, brush him and feed him, but then in the mornings he desperately wants to be out with his friends eating lots of grass!!

In the rain he looks miserable, all of the horses on the yard seem to, fair weather ponies clearly! Lol

=)
 
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