Half a day t/o during the summer! I'm shocked

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HappyHorses:)

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I ran into an old friend at a tack shop today and got talking about the horses.

She was a bit upset as her horses old owner came to see her and was a bit concerned that the horse had lost weight and seemed a bit stressed.
Long story short it turns out her horse has been brought in at 12pm throughout the summer and on occasions when she has gone up there early found her horse in at 11am. :confused:

Now I know we have had a dry summer so grazing has been sparse but to have half a day out in the summer is, in my opinion, not good enough.

Now before I get shouted down if your horses needs limited grazing because of lami/injury etc then fair do. If you have a lack of grazing which may result in horses fighting in the field then again fair enough, but if the horses are in individual paddocks and the owners are willing to hay the field then why would you insist on dragging them in just to be standing around in a stable? :mad:

No wonder her poor horse is stressed!

I asked if she had brought up haying in the field but she didn't want to upset the y/m. :rolleyes: I told her she owed it to her horse to bring it up! she's on part livery and it's not cheap there so ask for a bit of sevice.

Now I am in a bit of a mood today but it can't just be me that finds this ridiculous??
 
I have four horses. The retired gelding and my filly foal stay our 24/7 in the summer. The other two come in at 8am and go out again at 6pm. One is a very good doer and needs a rest from the grass (I have already lost one lovely horse to laminitis). The other is doing some pre-backing training and is happy for a chill in her stable after working. They both have hay so are not hungry and seem very happy with the arrangement. I suppose every horse/owner has different needs when it comes to turnout.
 
Now that I managed to convince my loan horse that being out all day with a muzzle is better than standing in all day, he is out during the day now...and we're both happier for it. Personally I prefer to only muck out once a day, make up one net etc....but before "the muzzle" he was on about 2-3 hours t/o thru the summer. Hard work but very necessary. Can't really imagine why someone would want to keep them in unless they "had" to (due to weight, injury etc).
 
I agree with OP, i would rather have my horse in a sparse field and give it hay then bring it in to stand in the stable.
Oviously, if flyies, or injury etc is a problem then yes bring the horse in.
My stay out oretty much all of the time in summer, they have fly mask, maybe stay in for an hour after riding and get hay.
 
Mine stay out 24/7 as much as poss in summer - hot days/flys/downpours excepting! A break from the stable for them, and a break from mucking out for me! I wouldn't consider a yard that wouldn't allow me to turn out. Some on our yard have had hay in the fields this summer due to the sparse grass (ours are v good doers so the sparse grass is actually fab for us!) - don't see the point of bringing in though, you may as well just give the extra hay in the field and allow the horses the freedom and exercise.
 
Mine are out 24/7 and start coming in at night when it gets quite a bit colder.

This is what actually stopped me moving yards, I wanted an indoor school for the winter but the only yard near us with one hasn't got 24 hour turnout and I thought this wa unfair on the horse to be kept in out of the lovely sun.
 
Your friend needs an explanation as to why the horse is being brought in.

There may be an apparent lack of grazing, but we all know how well some horses can do on very little - so that's not an excuse.

But if that is the reason - i'd be upping sticks.
 
agree with Amymay.

Also, my horse goes out from 12 to 5pm usually - As I normally ride in the morning for 2-3 hours.
If it is a nice day, he can come in at 9. He is doing too well on grass to stay out at night :p

But then, he is never stuck in his stable - he has his own yard to walk around.
 
I had this at my old yard, horses only out for 1/2 day. Wasn't very nice for him and he spent most if the time fighting. I moved yards as there were a few other issues too, but horse is now out overnight and the happiest I've ever seen him.

Inane to be honest I did feel pretty guilty :(
 
I'd be wanting a very good explanation otherwise I'd be losing yards. I've come across all sorts of bulls&*t over the years at yards. It usually comes down to money as mentioned before. Owners making a fortune over hay and bedding when they insist on buying theirs at hugely inflated prices and one yard insisted that horses were in most of the time as they wanted to make hay out of one of the fields and there wasn't enough grass for all the horses they had there.

I had a friend with a big Arab who was concerned he was losing weight as he wasn't allowed much turnout. Know-it-all yard owner insisted it wasn't the grass that put weight on but feed and that's why she wanted him kept in so she could 'feed him up'. Friend eventually moved onto 24/7 and hey-ho the Arab started putting weight on.

Stingy livery yards really aren't good enough. I feel very strongly on this matter.
 
I have had both situations. My old mare was out 24hrs throughout the summer and looked great. My old gelding however wasa nightmare. He is the only horse I have even known to loose weight when turned out in the spring! He spent so much time herding the rest up and patroling the field he didn't eat. Also in the summer he would stand under the tree looking pathetic as he hated the heat. He was turned out all at night in the summer and was in from about 9-4.
If she doesn't know why her horse in though that is strange. My YM and I discussed what was best for my boy and we were both happy with the decision.
 
I dont see the problem in restricted turnout tbh but if the owner wants the horse out id defo speak to who evers in charge as your paying for there services.
Mine can only go out in the field when im there at the yard as if people bring horses in and leave him alone he goes mental and injures himself, even when out with company he always comes in with a scratch here and there so its the best option for him and he doesnt seem to mind as long as theres haylage to munch on :D
 
Why all our horses aren't out 24/7 unless there are exceptional circumstances is beyond me. IMHO it should be the norm that they are out for as long as possible, yet many yards seem to think the opposite.
 
Naturally said:
Why all our horses aren't out 24/7 unless there are exceptional circumstances is beyond me. IMHO it should be the norm that they are out for as long as possible, yet many yards seem to think the opposite.
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'tis true! Many yards seem to regard it as an added extra to have reasnoble turnout rather than a basic need! I think it comes from being able to fit more horses in a stable block than many yards really have the acreage for. Comes down to £ at the end of the day rather than the healthiest for the horse. Ours look so well being out, no reason to bring them in generally! Being in makes them snotty and stiff (and we are v careful with management). Being out works best for them and me (not a natural lover of mucking out!).
 
Either way, it should be the owner / carer of the horse that sets the agenda.

I would be just as upset to find my horse has been left out all day than the OP was to find out the horse was coming in at midday. My horse comes in at midday for various reasons. Must add, he is ridden everyday.

So, not wanting to get into the 'out is best or in is best' debate, I would say that if you want your horse managed a certain way then, providing it is reasonable to do so, the yard should be trying to meet those requirements. It is the fact that they seem to be structuring the horses' routines round to suit themselves that is worrying, and I would be tempted to look elsewhere before finding any more evidence of corner cutting.
 
Well mine are out 24/7 all year!! (please don't yell at me for being a mean Mummy :( ) Obviously in winter they are rugged up to the nines :) My horses are much happier for it as this is what they're used to. I agree that unless there is a good reason, a horse should be out as much as possible during summer as so many people have to have their horses in a lot in Winter.
 
JVB said:
I wouldn't be surprised if it's to do with money, on part livery they may make more on bedding/ work/ feed etc by having the horses in
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Depends on the package-if hay and bedding is included it is definatly not in the yards intrest to have horses in!

I can see 101 reasons why an owner or YO may only offer restriced turn out,and while it may be easy to lable YO's as money grabbers for having more stables then acres in a lot of places if they only offered places as per the land avalable a lot of owners would have no where to keep their horses ;)
I also agree that turn out is a basic need,one of the most basic and would rather see horses out in a bare field with hay then in and TBH unless a field is being rested don't see why you would keep them in-extra hay has to be provided either way!
 
Ok a little update . . .

Got a txt from my friend saying that they had brought it up with the y/m and there response was . . .

'well if they are left out they will eat all the grass rather than the hay and if you were to leave I would be left with a bald paddock and that's not very nice for a new livery is it' :eek: That's just priceless!

Well erm I think it's time to move and friend agrees. So much for the happiness and welfare of the poor horses!
 
er, that isn't a fab reason really!!
if you want bowling greens for paddocks then don't take money from people wanting livery with turnout!!!
 
Awful IMO. I dont see why so many people so so ridiculous about bringing their horses in. Why?! I wonder when the day will be that the question is "why bring in" rather than the current "why leave out" way of thinking! If there's a lack of grazing in the summer then IMO that means the land has way too many horses on it - simple. Why they cant just give hay I have no idea. Even if a horse is laminitic, it can still stay out (just electric fence off a tiny area stable-size if need be, better than keeping them boxed). Mine live out 24/7, that includes my 2 old ponies who are lami-prone - they are kept in a special hardcored yard area (probably about the size of 10 stables) where they get as much hay as they want.
 
If there's a lack of grazing in the summer then IMO that means the land has way too many horses on it - simple
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To be fair - that's not strictly true. During the prolonged dry spell grass simply stopped growing. So even a correctly stocked field is going to stop supporting the appetite eventually. Get a drop of rain though, and the fields burst back in to life very quickly
 
all mine are out 24/7 except if lots flies they come in for few hours. my retired one is out from 7-dusk and in at night in during day for bit too if v flyie he would happily be in 24/7 tho as he likes his food given to him not have to find it!!
 
Turnout is a major issue for me...I believe horses are better for it, even if they are in a bare paddock or need a grazing muzzle. Luckily when I was on livery turnout wasnt restricted- just very muddy in winter....

Now I have my own place, I don't have a huge amount of grazing- 2acres for 3 horses ( well, 2 now - one died, but soon to be 3 again hopefully). I manage by bringing in at night and fencing the grazing off, rotating and poo-picking daily. They have enough, but not too much- and need no hard feed.

Horses are much happier and relaxed with ample turnout. IMO anyway.
 
Hm each horse and owner has different circumstances lami, fat, flies etc,,, my boy has a sarcoid hes getting treated end of month i went up early today as not riding and brought him in really hot and flies out in force fly cream and rugs dont matter they still attack it its between front legs .
I would be upset if paying for all day turn out and horse was only getting half a day my boy would prefer to go out 24/7 anyway .I would rather he was in a fat paddock with little /no grazing than in a stable if it wasnt for the flies !mY NED IS A FIVE STAR ALL INC. HOLIDAY RESORT FOR FLIES
 
mine is out 11-7pm daily.... sometimes 1pm-7pm if im riding.....

on a weekend she gets dumped out at 9 lol./...


id move,,,, for part livery thats wrong !!! a yard near us puts out at 10 and brings in at 1pm on the dot.... (full livery).... to keep the fields looking nice.................... wtf.
 
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