Has anyone swapped from overnight back to day turnout

Ours our out overnight still, YM decides when they change and it's usually beginning of Oct - ditto the dry lot though, they are nibbling but there is very little out there. They are coming in keenly to get to hay in the morning but Dex especially after his time off could do with slimming down somewhat so I'm not super worried.
 
Mine have come back in as there is no grass and the fields are absolutely worn out. With the prospect of rain we have brought horses off fields, harrowed and are now praying the weather forecast iis correct. If so we might have grass again in a couple of weeks. As I type I look out of window - it is raining!!
 
No not yet but I kind of feel like I should. I'm definitely going to have to do so at some point. Some winters I've been able to stick to day's in nights out all year round and love it. Not going to happen this year for sure.
 
I swapped mine over this weekend. I was hoping to hold out a bit longer as it is going to make for a verrrry long winter!

They are now out in the day with fly masks in the field with large barns so they can get out of the flies if they wish. I put hay out in the field (was also doing so when they were out overnight) but they are very keen to come back in.
 
No, but we ve just started putting hay in the fields which is unheard of..I’m usually the first at the yard to bring in overnight, usually mid September ish. Everyone else stays out til mid October.
 
Gosh I want to leave Lari out at night until at least October if I can manage to find someone who is prepared to leave theirs out for a good stint still at night. Especially with the increase in hay and bedding costs.
 
We left ours out in the day one day at weekend because they’d just gone into a new field with loads of grass and somebody broke down and left their car in the gateway. My cafe looks out onto the field. They were all trying to get shade under the sole tree and getting bugged by flies. They still seem happier out at night.
 
yes, today.

it was cooler and dark by the time i got home yesterday and id rather be skipping out and checking rugs in stables than messing around turning out in the dark.

they are on the grass (or dust bowls with hay to be more accurate) for roughly the same time whether out day or night.

as soon as the dust bowls start to get wet or slippy they will move to the rested fields (knee deep in grass but very rough and yellow) and i envisage then on to tracks and pens with hay again end of dec.
 
Nope, not yet. i will leave it as long as possible so possibly end of Sept and just pop a rug on overnight. She is on a small track and i feed hay all summer as she has EMS so it doesnt matter for me. I will start bringing her in more during the day but as long as the ground holds she will stay out on her track and out over night.
 
My main herd can come and go as they please, and I don't plan to 'bring them in' as such, just shut them in the yard area on wet wet days to preserve the land. They tend to be fairly sensible and are using the stables more so in the day than the night atm. The other smaller herd will winter out on our back field with a round bale out and we will sort out that field in the spring. In an emergency we have a small penned off area and shelter they can come in to if we get desperate.
 
Mine have been in at night since Polly went. I found it easier to manage their weight with less hours out, and we were due to have some work done on the yard so I decided it was easier having them out of the way during the day.
It’s worked well for me this year but the lack of lie-ins have left me a bit shattered.
 
I never changed mine over - both were happy to stand in middle of field away from all shade in the hottest of temps this year! If they’re out overnight they’re eating the grass so much more (and we were predicted a long hot summer). Plus, Mally (my companion for Rooni) was so so so so fat when I got him I was very wary of lami and Rooni I like to ride first thing so it was good it worked out. Luckily with my job I have scope most days to turn out and bring in later / earlier / to my own choosing.

However, Rooni is on his winter paddock already (and this is the least it’s recovered from last winter too) as poor Mally has a v small summer paddock (can’t be moved) and has no grass… he’s hoovered the walk way and the grass pen off the turnout pen… Rooni usually has plenty to see him through winter therefore Mally is now grazing his summer paddock down (loads on it but v dry and dead).
 
So I swapped over - most are still out at night two are out in the day. But what I’ve found is that the two out in the day come in about 3 and the others don’t go out til 4.30 which means mine is on his own til then and he doesn’t like being on his own so not sure whether to swap back 🙄
 
No - I will never make the winter longer than I have to! I’m lucky in being able to rotate fields though so I have just moved mine off the bare fields and onto part of the field that was cut for hay about 3 weeks ago and has a good six inches of grass growth. Just watching they don’t get too fat now but want to rest the other fields for a couple of weeks even though they are the most convenient as the field shelter is there…. feeling a bit mean that it’s raining and they haven’t got the shelter to use but they have got trees and a thick hedge and it’s not cold.
 
spotty_pony2 said:
feeling a bit mean that it’s raining and they haven’t got the shelter to use but they have got trees and a thick hedge and it’s not cold.
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If it helps mine have the choice of a shelter but have been out in the rain every time I’ve looked over today, having practically lived in the shelter away from the heat and flies for weeks (months!). And as you say it’s not cold.
 
94lunagem said:
If it helps mine have the choice of a shelter but have been out in the rain every time I’ve looked over today, having practically lived in the shelter away from the heat and flies for weeks (months!). And as you say it’s not cold.
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yes I’ve noticed they don’t always use it in the rain but they do use it most days. It’s only for a couple of weeks as I’m hopefully going away for a long weekend and I want them back in that field then to make things easier for whilst I’m away. It is also the winter field but I ended up having to use it for part of the summer with one having a suspensory injury and needing to be in the flat field and the filed they are in now hadn’t been cut yet.
 
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