Given up! Ringing livery yards tomorrow.

[billylula]

Torrential rain outside. Paddock was terrible yesterday so this will finish it. Can't afford it but will have to take money from new pony savings :-( and that's if I can find any where with spaces.

 

[Nari]

To be fair I think most yards that are still allowing daily turnout now have trashed looking fields. They will recover though, & I'd far rather keep mine somewhere they can go out every day, even if it is muddy, than where they stand in their stables looking out at nice green fields. I'm very lucky that my YO takes the view that horses need turnout & fields get muddy this time of year. Spring can't be far away now & hopefully everywhere will dry up & green up soon, in fact the grass is already poking up shoots in sheltered spots!

 

[noodle_]

tbh ive changed my view re;turnout...

mine is happy in - and stays in - she gets turned out in a sand paddock -has a blast then wants in with her haynet!... shes happy - im happy


so yes turnout all year would be wonderful and i know id love it but her standing (with 4 white legs who adore mud fever)! in mud dosent appeal to either of us....especially as theres not a lot to eat this time of year!

spring is round the corner = all day turnout!..

 

[billylula]

Mine are off to livery tomorrow :-( will miss them but hopefully paddock will recover in next 5 weeks. Can't afford any more than that!

 

[maxapple]

We gave up our yard in nov and moved to livery. So very glad - I drive past the old yard and even with no horses on it it's muddy and flooded.

Good luck with your move.

 

[liz4949]

Mine has also got fed up with standing in mud and is perfectly happy. for the short term, being stabled. Turnout is natural for them but not natural to have to stand in mud for hours on end when in the wild they can move to find different, drier, areas.

 

[flirtygerty]

My two have the choice to plough through mud to a rapidly drying field or staying in the barn area, they are chosing to stay in a lot, helped in that decision by ad lib hay in the barn, but will go out for a mad half hour.
My fields have underground streams going through them, so are wetter than most, they can't hold a plastic post, so we can't portion fields off, but spring is on the way and I will deal with the fields then.
One of my two has four white legs, the other is dark bay, it's the dark bay that had mud fever

 

[marmalade76]

I've been thinking about it too. I've kept mine out for eight years now and have coped with the winters well, but this one has been something else. My boy has had both mud fever and an foot abcess that has taken forever to clear up and just when I needed a stable, my YO has filled them all. Had to move my boy to friends for box rest and it broke my heart to turn him out agian (though have to admit that he was delighted)!

Yes, living out is best as a general rule, more healthy, etc, but it's not healthy to be constantly standing in wet and mud :'(