has anyones yard stopped turn out due to the wet?

[kty82]

I'm with ladyT25, I couldn't tolerate this no turnout rubbish. My mare is a horse afterall, she should be out! I recently moved yards where I had amazing facilities but no all year turnout. Left within 2 weeks. My mares well-being comes before anything.

My current yard has lovely big fields one for summer and one huge field for winter.

Pony heaven

 

[Rosie'smum]

Ours have managed to be out xmas day and boxing day but been stuck in since. Even then on boxing day I wouldn't of turned out as rose runs around and trashes the field but was made to be YO's partner.

Havnt been up to check the damage to my field yet or how wet it was but judgeing by the state of mud that was on her its quite bad.

 

[ConnieLove]

Ours has been really reasonable considering.

The youngsters are still getting turned out during the day for a good 7 hours in one of the drier fields.
Due to plenty of cancellations in the riding school most of the liveries are allowed to be turned out in our sand school in selective groups with hay. Only problem being horses not getting on with other horses so you get around 2 hours per group, sometimes more though, but I think this is plenty reasonable.
We still have our 'top-school' what basically is a unfinished menage (no surfacing, just mud) in use for some of the hardier, non-shoed horses and ponies. Although understandably it's not very popular, being nearly up to your knee in places. But it's there for use if wanted. I think there is a group of 3 that go in there, that get a good days turn out.

Like I said, considering how bad it's been, I think the YO and staff are being really reasonable, working turn out around lessons must be a bother but their doing it for us

 

[Holly Hocks]

I'm with ladyT25, I couldn't tolerate this no turnout rubbish. My mare is a horse afterall, she should be out! I recently moved yards where I had amazing facilities but no all year turnout. Left within 2 weeks. My mares well-being comes before anything.

My current yard has lovely big fields one for summer and one huge field for winter.

Pony heaven

You could look within a 30 mile radius of where I am and you would not find any yard offering all year turnout at the moment......you are clearly very lucky with where you live.

 

[Chellebean]

We have turnout but Sailor has done a decent job of cutting his new field up! So I have decided to leave in for a couple of days to rest it and let it drain abit...

I am pondering just turning out over night for a bit and then I don't face the issue of him going off on one when the other livery swap the horses over... he seems to do 5 out 3 in and then swap! Gives sailor a 20min galloping window during the day :S

 

[ISHmad]

We can have our horses out 24/7 but are choosing to have them in for a few hours each day at the moment. There is plenty of grass but I want to know they have got hay in their bellies as well. These conditions worry me for GS or AM and I understand one of the pieces of advice is to feed hay to help try to prevent these. They don't eat hay in the field, prefer to eat fresh grass.

 

[Spit That Out]

We are restricted to four hours a day turnout but we do have an indoor school to ride in, a horse walker and if you don't mind the rain then also a large outdoor so the still get to stretch their legs!
We have a three acre paddocks per two or three horses and the gateways are deep sticky mud, the grass just slips away underfoot as if it's no longer rooted to the ground and most of the fields now have a pond somewhere in them!
Most of the horses want to come in after half an hour of being out!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

We have unrestricted turnout, which was a major factor when choosing this yard. The land is well maintained and not over stocked, its squelchy in parts but mud free.


Having done the hell of 'no turnout due to weather' livery yards, I'll never do it again.

 

[LouandBee]

We have our own little yard (8 acres for 4 horses, divided into 2 little herds) and ours are out during the day. They're ready to come in fairly early tho so we've been bringing them in about 4 over xmas but next week they'll have to wait until I get back from work about 6. Hopefully it just might stop raining by then? One of ours is retired and one is a baby so wouldn't consider keeping them in as they're not in work.

The majority of the fields are o.k but the gateways and the track to the field is awful welly sucking stuff. Really hating pushing the wheel barrow through it!

A yard down the road from us which is close to the river is still turning out and I think they still have the retirees out 247. Two other yards in the area however didn't have a single horse out when I went out for a hack yesterday Was just thinking how glad I am my mare goes out as she's quite lively enough to ride as it is.

 

[Wundahorse]

We can turn out but tbh i've got to the point where the paddock is so wet and muddy i worry about spring growth.We have never had rain like this and usually our paddocks,which sit on top of a ragstone quarry drain brilliantly,are fine in the winter.The horses don't want to go out and when they do they stand around and stare at us to bring them back in.My Section D who in the past hated being stabled,now loves her stable at this yard so much she prefers to stay in the warm and dry with a belly full of hay.Today we hacked out,a longish ride,then put the horses back in the stable,which they were grateful for.

 

[Molasses]

Glad i'm not the only one who's horse spends the days lately doing this

 

[Laafet]

Round here I am at the only yard that offers group turnout all year round and in the four years I have been here the fields have only been closed for weather twice and that has been just this year. In Newmarket full day turn out is rare on any of the livery yards which is why I do a 16 mile round trip my home to the yard as turnout is important to me. Everyone here has just sucked it up, we have two sacrifice paddocks so if you want to walk your horse down the road for a couple of hours turn out then you can, amazing how many people can't be bothered considering. We have had an unbelievably wet year and at the farm it is all standing water. The horses go out and an hour later they are waiting and fighting to come back in. So it is a case of looking after our grass which as in the two previous years has been very dry and so really stressed and helping the horses not get injured.
My horse is not at all bothered, he's not in work so stripped and with no shoes. I hide carrots in his hay in the Hay bar to give him something to do. We've been on very restricted turnout for a couple of weeks here, today as it was super windy they were allowed out as the wind had dried the ground up a bit and they were all very pleased, we turned them out in dribs and drabs so by the time the last few went out the others were bored with going crazy and so the galloping about was minimal even from the ex-racer crew.

 

[EventingMum]

It's easy to criticise yards for restricting turnout but it very much depends on where you live. We are in a notoriously wet area and our ground is low lying clay so we always stable horses at night over the winter - all our liveries know this when they come here.

We try and ensure daily turnout but this year it has been impossible, the wet summer followed by this dreadful winter have meant we have had to curtail turnout. In a normal winter there are usually only a handful of days that the horses are kept in but this year is completely different. We are currently operating a turnout rota with most horses going out 1 day in 3. The youngsters get out every day and on the days the others don't get turned out they either get on the walker or turned out in the outdoor or indoor school school for a roll and run around. It's not ideal but it's the best we can do and other yards in the area are struggling equally as much if not more so. At the end of the day we are doing our best in difficult circumstances.