Do yours live in or out..?

My mare came to me as a 2yo and was turned out 24/7 even throughout winter. She is now 8yo and still lives out all year round. I personally prefer having youngsters live out- they can get exercise, can have interaction with others in a herd environment and I think it's more natural.
 
Out 24/7. I walk him in hand, groom and pick his feet up most days, he's rising 4. He's a poppet, follows me everywhere when I'm poo picking field etc, such a gem to handle, I'm looking forward to doing some proper work with him in the Spring/Summer.
 
My (rising) 3 yr old lives out 24/7 in summer in a herd of about 12 other youngsters and in winter he is in a fold yard with the same herd. Handled almost every day and in winter has adlib hay and daily carrot feed. He has lived this way since being imported as a foal. He has on a few occasions been stabled if going to a show etc but only for 1 night at a time.
 
My two live out 24/7, 16 yr old and 4 yr old (nearly) - had kept my horses in at night during winter till last year and then moved yard and they are now kept out 24/7, they are a lot happier, healthier and I very very much appreciate my bed on the cold winter mornings, after 22 yrs of getting up at some scarey hour in the morning to muck out etc :D

Having said that though my previous horse hated being out in a field in the winter when he got older so he wouldnt have thrived out 24/7 so I would say depends on horse...
 
All of ours live out. We have a home bred who'll be four this summer, and a gelding I bought as a feral weanling, who'll be two. They're handled casually all the time, and the next bit of education for them will come in a couple of months when the clocks go forward. They can both be led, feet picked up groomed etc, but whilst they're with us I wouldn't expect them to ever had a night in (bar accidents, injuries, which I sincerely hope they don't get!)
 
Out!:D

Everything I have from 6 months to 23 years is out because I hate mucking out and clockwatching, but then I have my own place, and no rules and regulations about what I can put/leave out when and for how long, so it is easy for me.

I think, as I always do, that it is up to the individual horse, circumstances and personal preference what you do with your own horse.

If a youngster is left by itself fretting in a field then it is best for it to come in, if it needs to be in because of health issues then that's fine too, otherwise I think it benefits a youngster to be out all the time, in a mixed age herd, I never have just babies together, they need someone older, not necessarily bigger, to put them in their place.
 
one of mine is out with two older friends and the other youngster and other horses are in at night & out in day but the reason for this is to get him used to being inside as he wasn't keen on it to start with next year he will hopefully live out.

A study over a number of years in Germany (i think) showed that youngsters kept out all the time in all weathers were less likely to develop problems such as ; ocd when they are older. youngsters stabled part time or fully stabled were found to have increased chances of developing similar problems.
 
Out.

I'm a firm believer that 99% of horses should live out. Only a very small number of horses benefit from being in IMO. People seem to automatically stable (overnight / permanently, whatever) which I find really really odd. I can't stand the thought of horses being kept in permanently (or purely over the entire winter) - they must go absolutely nuts with boredom.
 
I dont have a youngster however have worked with many. I would say keep them out. I have noticed recently people have been commenting on there horses suffering with being bored in the stable. I might be wrong but i would of thought that more horses living out have less vices than horses that are stabled or live in. Such as fence walking etc!
 
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