Do you turn out overnight in bad weather?

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R.A.H

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I got my new boy about 5 weeks ago and have been bringing him in every morning so we can make friends, get away from the flies and bit of extra hay because there's not much grass. So tonight I go to turn him out for the night but it's raining really hard and blowing a gale. So he has ended up staying in. I don't think he's bothered he got a nice full Haynet to munch on. So what do you guys do with yours in bad weather? Am I being soft with him? Should I have put him? He's a traditional cob and is 16 months old. He doesn't have much hair on his face or around the base of his ears, he has a lot of pink skin. so I took pity on him and thought he would be happier in.
 
This is not bad weather. It is still warm so they won't catch a chill. mine is out 24/7 no matter what. If he seems fine to be out then personally I would leave him out.
 
Yep, as long as they have appropriate shelter or a rug if need be, my oldest lad is out regardless of the weather. It piddled down all day today and he was out unrugged and I've seen me leave the yard on a lovely summers evening for it to turn horrendous 2 hours later, all the horses have been fine the next day.
 
So I'm being soft :) I'll go put him out later. I can see his field from my bedroom window and hate seeing him cowarding under the trees. I'll have to toughen up lol
I wasn't this soft with my others
 
I bring mine in when it's really pelting, but that's more for the sake of the ground than the beasties. They are big wimps, 'tho and cower round the gate, rattling it until I take them in. Don't like the flies either and will beg to come in.
 
I must admit that I am terrible when it comes to turning out.

My horses never live out, and I will only turn out if it's pleasant weather otherwise they stay in. I will turn out if it's a bit windy or drizzily but if it's really raining or blowing a storm then I leave in, my boy is a pansy and starts bleating at the gate if the weather gets bad.

Although this summer has been hard as he cannot cope with the flies, he can only go out for a few hours. Any longer and the flies eat him alive, even though he wears a uv fly mask (covers ears and nose too!), a fly rug which covers his ears and stomach and sudocrem and flyspray on his sheath.
Sadly though regardless of what flyspray I use after 3 hours the flies are on him and then he comes out in a rash so I can't win :rolleyes:
 
I'm very mean to my poor grey, here she is at approx 20 months old scraping at the snow to find grass and yes, she lived out 24/7 rugged up and with ad-lib hay when needed. ;) She still lives out now, poor sausage. :)

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Lolly dolly that makes me feel better. He waits at the Gate every morning. The flies seem to love him, I think it's his pink skin
 
Fara, how could you!? ;)

RAF, it's mainly the flies which stop me turning out!! Or else my boy comes in looking like this:
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ETA- Should also be resized when Photobucket works!
 
They mostly come in overnight over the worst of the winter but other than that out at all times, rugged if necessary (ginger pony is very susceptible to rainscald :rolleyes:).
 
Its summer, he willn't freeze or dissolve!

My cob will be out rugless until a)the weather really turns and they have to come in at night to save the ground or b)he gets his Autumn clip, which case he'll either already be coming in at night, and will be rugged anyway or he will be rugged, never ever owned more than a medium weight turnout even when I had my 27yr old wintering out!!

IMO at 16 months it is far more important for him to be out growing and socialising.

My boy has a full face mask now, they are good, he has the nose bit too for his pink skin, mines an eqiblibrium one. maybe having one of these on will mean he stay out chilling in field?

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Ponies like routine and will be much happier and healthier staying out in the rain in summer than coming in and out according to the weather.

If you're getting bad fly bites smother their bits with vaseline or sudocream.
 
More suffering. ;) :p

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LD - that looks very painful. I used to know someone who had a boett style rug that also had a sheath cover, she couldn't turn her horse out without it when the flies/midges were about.
 
Buds_mum I have ordered one of the just waiting for postman to bring it :)
I will probably get him a rug for the winter, we live quite up high up in the middle of nowhere and it gets quite cold and blowy in winter. I'm going to put him out after tea :) I will try my hardest to stop being soft with him :)
 
My warmblood can't stand coming in she gets so stressed, so she stays out and hasn't worn a rug all summer. She is never cold and always seems happy, Compared to when she is in a stable when she weaves, box walks and won't eat. She lived out all winter and thrived, with decent rugs, hay and feed. I bring in our NF at night but purely to manage his weight as he is prone to getting porky and is competing so can't be a fatty! He goes out during the day whatever the weather.
 
Put him out!!! Its only us humans who anthropomorphise our emotions and needs on to them oh they want to come in there stood at the gate etc etc :rolleyes:

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That neck cover has since been burnt once I realised I was roasting the poor buggar!
 
LD - that looks very painful. I used to know someone who had a boett style rug that also had a sheath cover, she couldn't turn her horse out without it when the flies/midges were about.
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Ooh that's a good idea, I will look into that!

My perlino pony also has that fly mask, it's wonderful!

If you're getting bad fly bites smother their bits with vaseline or sudocream.
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I already mentioned in my first post that I put sudocrem on his sheath, it still only lasts 3 hours :rolleyes:
 
Mine won't shelter, they're quite happy standing out getting soaked! The other night it was really lashing down for hours and the diet paddock was flooding so we brought them into the covered yard. But they still chose to stand in the area with no roof, in the pouring rain munching nettles instead of a freshly filled hay rack under cover! The gelding has pink skin and his sheath does get a nasty rash from flies but he's much happier out and slathered twice daily in sudocrem.
 
My Cleveland bay never bothered being out in any weather, I had a really heavy taka rug for him and he rubbed againest the wire to get it off, he was roasting in it. With new boy any sign of rain and he is at the gate waiting.
He is now out in the field with his buddies :)
 
I'm a "horrible" owner :D
My 3yo New Forest filly lives out 27/7, all year round.
She's in a herd of around 40, on 100 acres of mature old pasture.
There is no man made shelter in the field, but the ground has hills, dips, open flat areas and is surrounded by mature native hedgerows and woodland.
She will only ever have a rug on in winter if there are prolonged icy winds and driving rain. Otherwise, she's naked and has no additional hard feed. They get haylage in the field in winter...ONLY if there is deep snow or the ground is frozen solid. :D
 
Everything lives out at our yard - in for feed and some hay for a few hours in winter and some come in out of the sun/ flies in summer. Otherwise TB ex racers, dressage warmbloods, 30+ year old ponies, eventers etc. The only two that come in in winter at night are arabs.

My mare is 21 shire x TB and lives out rugged and fully clipped all winter even through all the snow 2 winters ago. She looks fab and prefers to be out. Never rug her in summer as she gets too hot so she goes out in the rain.
 
Yep. Three of mine live out all year round (two TBs and a ISH x Andalusian), one of the TBs wears a heavyweight with an under rug in the winter as he's clipped out and in full work but hates coming in, and the other two only get a rug when it's truly foul, and even then it's only a medium weight.

My old boy comes in at night in the winter, mostly to help his arthritis, and to get some extra haylage and feed into him as only one of my lot who live out gets fed in the winter, the other two just have haylage when it's really frosty or snowing and they do fabulously.

I have three grass liveries who all winter out - one of whom was the most mollycoddled pansy of a horse on the planet when he arrived. He came to me to be box rested for a check ligament injury, and then turned away for his retirement. Now, this horse belongs to someone who was conviced he would die if there was a slight breeze whilst he was in her care. He didn't go out in any rain, wind, frost or snow, and he didn't go out if it was "too hot". So basically, he spent about 80% of his time in his stable, wearing too many rugs, and looking terrible. Since coming here he's been chucked out and gradually weaned off the rugs, to the point where now he doesn't wear one at all, and won't until the winter. He's getting one feed a day for the first time in years, and it's just chaff with some sugarbeet as he's looking great and doesn't need to add any weight, just maintain it.

His owner came to see him the other day and asked me how I got him looking so good..... I turned the poor bugger out!

They won't melt, it's not bad weather yet in any case!
 
I'll bring mine in if it's been foul for a few days in a row, just to give him a break. If not he's out rain/shine/snow and just gets on with it!

To be fair though, I don't think he was really that bothered!
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