lynspop
Well-Known Member
Bit of a trivial one but would appreciate everyones comments.
I keep my 20yo IDxTB on DIY livery and currently he is stabled beside a friends 2 horses on the yard (there are about 12 horses on the yard, split between 3 fields but not all are stabled together as it is an old farm building converted into stables. Mine plus my friends are the only 3 ones stabled in one area of the yard. My usual winter routine has been to keep him in overnight from about now till March time- friend does the same. There are several reasons for this-there isn't much grazing in the field (we put hay out twice a day over winter. Mine is top of the pecking order in his part of the field,so has plenty access to it), no shelter during bad weather and also, since being at this yard (2yrs) he has suffered from mud fever. I have started my normal routine as of a few weeks ago BUT out of the blue at the end of the week my friend told me she is moving her 2 horses asap to a field closer to her house (they have just bought a house and are moving about 10 miles away from yard).
This leaves me in a dilemma for the rest of the winter, as my old boy will be the only horse stabled in our particular part of the yard and he generally doesnt like being kept in without company. Due the way the stables are built/ the owners who keep their horses in/out over the winter, I cannot move mine to a stable where he has company so I have to make a decision out of these options-
1) Persevere with keeping him in overnight, but as he is will be alone, I run the risk of him weaving and getting stressed/sweated up(this is not guaranteed to happen, as he has been in overnight alone and been fine) thus un-doing any benefit of being in (plus I'll be stressing about whether he's stressing or not)
2) Attempt to winter him out by keeping him well rugged/fed, lots of hay (which the 4 on "my" side of the field get anyway), and to try to keep mudfever at bay as much as possible (have already made inroads with this). BUT if the weather is bad, run the risk of him losing condition as he's an old wimp when the weather is bad.
Neither situation is ideal, unless by some miracle we have a mild winter (Im in Scotland) and he is OK wintering out, I'm just not sure what to do for the best! At the moment, until his stable mates move I am keeping him in at night as normal.
Thoughts on how best to tackle this?
I keep my 20yo IDxTB on DIY livery and currently he is stabled beside a friends 2 horses on the yard (there are about 12 horses on the yard, split between 3 fields but not all are stabled together as it is an old farm building converted into stables. Mine plus my friends are the only 3 ones stabled in one area of the yard. My usual winter routine has been to keep him in overnight from about now till March time- friend does the same. There are several reasons for this-there isn't much grazing in the field (we put hay out twice a day over winter. Mine is top of the pecking order in his part of the field,so has plenty access to it), no shelter during bad weather and also, since being at this yard (2yrs) he has suffered from mud fever. I have started my normal routine as of a few weeks ago BUT out of the blue at the end of the week my friend told me she is moving her 2 horses asap to a field closer to her house (they have just bought a house and are moving about 10 miles away from yard).
This leaves me in a dilemma for the rest of the winter, as my old boy will be the only horse stabled in our particular part of the yard and he generally doesnt like being kept in without company. Due the way the stables are built/ the owners who keep their horses in/out over the winter, I cannot move mine to a stable where he has company so I have to make a decision out of these options-
1) Persevere with keeping him in overnight, but as he is will be alone, I run the risk of him weaving and getting stressed/sweated up(this is not guaranteed to happen, as he has been in overnight alone and been fine) thus un-doing any benefit of being in (plus I'll be stressing about whether he's stressing or not)
2) Attempt to winter him out by keeping him well rugged/fed, lots of hay (which the 4 on "my" side of the field get anyway), and to try to keep mudfever at bay as much as possible (have already made inroads with this). BUT if the weather is bad, run the risk of him losing condition as he's an old wimp when the weather is bad.
Neither situation is ideal, unless by some miracle we have a mild winter (Im in Scotland) and he is OK wintering out, I'm just not sure what to do for the best! At the moment, until his stable mates move I am keeping him in at night as normal.
Thoughts on how best to tackle this?
