horses don't want to be out anymore!? shall I just leave them in

charlie76

charlie76

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I am a huge fan of daily turn out, even if just for a couple of ours. My horses are getting more and more reluctant to go out each day. I have to drag them out, they then eat for a bit and then either run about or stand by the gate.
They have plenty of grass considering the weather and I put hay out for them but they are fed up.
I am tempted to keep them in for a few days and work them twice or hand graze them once and ride once.
I have a show on Sunday so they would be in anyway.
So sick of this weather!!
 
Yup mine doesn't much fancy going out so they're only going out some days they're not being worked- no good them standing fighting when they don't even want to go out
 
rara007 said:
Yup mine doesn't much fancy going out so they're only going out some days they're not being worked- no good them standing fighting when they don't even want to go out
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That's what I'm starting to think. I keep thinking one will get injured before long.
 
I have 3 that are barned together overnight, they run out, or are supposed to run out, each morning into the field.

Herding them out resembles a laurel and hardy moment, so I now put head collars on and tow them out.
 
s that not telling you something? Whats the point of forcing them to do something they clearly dont want to?
AdorableAlice said:
I have 3 that are barned together overnight, they run out, or are supposed to run out, each morning into the field.

Herding them out resembles a laurel and hardy moment, so I now put head collars on and tow them out.
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benson21 said:
s that not telling you something? Whats the point of forcing them to do something they clearly dont want to?
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Because sometimes in life horses have to do what we want them to do, not what they want to do! I don't know AA's circumstances but there could be all sorts of reasons these horses have to go out. For example, the barn might need mucking out if they have been in all night, and that will be much easier to accomplish with the horses out in the field. Also, if the horses are youngstock, or brood mares, or out of work for any reason, so not getting ridden exercise, then it is good for them to go out and get a leg stretch. Leaving horses in in wet weather is fine if you are doing what the OP suggests and giving them ridden exercise, hand grazing, school turnout etc., but that is not always an option depending on the owners circumstances and facilities, so grass turnout is better than them standing still all day.
 
My horses have been out once in the last 4 weeks....its horrible, and they don't want to wade through the mud any more than I do. They hate the rain, and they don't like standing in soggy boggy mud either! I am trying to ride at least 5 times a week and they can wander round the barn whilst I muck out on the other days. To be honest, I can't see them getting out for another month at this rate!

Its foul, but I really feel for those further South who are *really* suffering....
 
One of my horses is on box rest anyway and the other one just does not want to go out so his been in for the last 3 weeks, I am one for turning out everyday even last year in the snow and ice they were out everyday, but if they are not happy being out what can you do, I am also finding it difficult to ride the one that can be everywhere here is just a bog and the mengage is a lake.

Just had a call from my oh he left our house at 9 and his still in Hatfield trying to get on the M25, everywhere is flooded and the roads are gridlocked, there are abandoned vehicles just left on the side of roads the water is higher than the bottom of the doors, and we have a load more rain forecast for tomorrow, I really feel for those in Somerset it must be terrible luckily I have no need to go anywhere in the car today.
 
My mare loves to go out but her face when she has to walk in the mud, she is not amused! I have been leaving mine in and they seem much happier. I make sure they are ridden when they are in and have plenty of hay and water.
 
How would YOU like to be forced to go out and stand in a bog? As long as horses are being exercised sufficiently they are much better off being in with this kind of weather and ground conditions.
 
I have just turned mine out today after being in for quite a while, the sun is actually shinning and amazingly it's not raining and they are having a whale of a time. The paddock they are in has been rested for months, so there is grass and currently no mud, this will probably be a different story next week :D
 
My girl seems to hate going out at the mo, popped her in a nice grassy fenced off bit of field while I mucked out the other day and she shouted and paced the fence to come in after just 10 mins! Luckily she has a field shelter but its in a muddy bit of the field, just pop a t/o rug on an leave it to her to decide now
 
Cortez said:
How would YOU like to be forced to go out and stand in a bog? As long as horses are being exercised sufficiently they are much better off being in with this kind of weather and ground conditions.
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There are lots of assumptions in your post! Firstly, that the horses will be standing in a bog - a lot of fields have muddy gateways but often once the horses are further out in the field there is grass and dry land. One of ours hates walking through the wet mud in the gateway and if you didn't know him you would think he doesn't actually want to go out, but once he is through into the field he is quite happy out on the hill, grazing, picking at grass and haylage, wandering about, playing with his mate etc. Also you assume that it is possible to always exercise the horses in other ways - this may not be an option due to time constraints, lack of facilities or due to animals being too young or too old to work. Ours didn't go out in the fields yesterday but were ridden and/or turned out in the arena, however if that was not possible then they would have gone out in the fields for at least a couple of hours.
 
For OP's purpose then I'd say personal choice - as long as sufficiently exercised then up to OP.

Personally I like even working horses to go out for a few hours irrelevant of the weather, but then I can't exercise twice a day as I have other committments.

But youngsters / non-working horses. No chance I'm afraid would you have me agreeing that being stood in a box 24/7 is better than being out. I can't think of anywhere worse for them. If I didn't have suitable land for non-working horses to be out pretty much 24/7 then I wouldn't have non-working horses. My opinion/choice, others may feel differently.
 
My horse has got to the point where he is really difficult to get out! I've been putting him out pretty much every day and towing him through the mud, but when I'm at work he's starting tone really silly and charge around the field to get as close to the gate and make someone bring him in! If I could give him just a few hours I would but I work from 8 til 6 so when I'm working he's either in ir out for 11 hours :/ I can also muck out and leave the door open and he won't leave his stable lol he doesn't roll in the field because he doesn't like getting wet and muddy - such a princess! He's stayed in a few days this week and is fine, left him in this morning thinking it would be wet and lo and behold the sun shines!
 
The vets will soon see a massive increase in colics with all the non working horses being left inside. The gut and intestine are muscles that need movement.

I have a paddock adj the barn that is trashed, water running through the middle of it and deep mud at the gateway. Once out the youngsters play, the broodmare searches under the hedges for tasty bits and the two other horses roll and look for strands of grass. It's not ideal but from the horses mental point of view they are relaxed, do not box walk or have any vices. The ridden horse stays in if she has done in excess of an hours hacking, schooling/lunging.

I went to Venetia Williams's yard a few years ago on a stable visit, depths of winter. Everyone of her racehorses go out every day. The mess was beyond belief, loads of small electric fenced mud patches, staff dealing with plastered horses and rugs. Venetia merely said they are horses they need freedom.
 
AdorableAlice said:
I went to Venetia Williams's yard a few years ago on a stable visit, depths of winter. Everyone of her racehorses go out every day. The mess was beyond belief, loads of small electric fenced mud patches, staff dealing with plastered horses and rugs. Venetia merely said they are horses they need freedom.
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When I win the lotto (obviously after I start buying a ticket ;) ) I would love to own a NH horse or 2, and VW would be top of my list of trainers for that very reason
 
Mine have no choice as they're out 24/7, although they have a field shelter which they completely ignore. They are totally fine; the field is 80% mud free (sloping, so good drainage), they're wearing thick waterproof rugs, they have one hard feed per day each and plenty of hay. I would be way more concerned if I had to stable them for days on end. We do humanise them a lot - yes the weather is appalling, but in my case I'm pretty certain it's bothering me more than it's bothering them.
 
I am a big fan of turnout every day, and mine went out last year in the snow. My two (both at the older end of the scale) have been going out every day over this winter as I think it is good for them to move around and have a bit of socialising. However, on the really bad days they have been coming in at lunchtime, and on a couple of Sundays, when it has been absolutely torrential, the six of us in our barn decided to leave them all in. My oldie was absolutely delighted!
 
A difficult one - mine are happy to go out (thank god for a well draining hill field!!) but only for a few hours. I am lucky as have them at home and work Mar - Nov, so at this time of year can be at their beck and call.

Today they have been out already for about 4 hrs and were happily grazing when I last looked - the sun is out and they are chilled.

However the down side of hill grazing is it gets crazily windy and that is when I am very careful re turning out. I have a 5 yr old that turns into a monster in the wind and can be very difficult to lead in and out, so on these days I keep them in and hack/lunge/hand graze depending on how bad the weather is.

In Op case, if you have the time to excercise them, and can afford additional bedding and hay, I would leave them in, but as soon as you get a window of better weather, then try turning them out again, and see how they react. I know mine will only tolerate 48 hrs in, even with excercise, so is a real juggling act atm.
 
benson21 said:
s that not telling you something? Whats the point of forcing them to do something they clearly dont want to?
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AdorableAlice said:
Because they are two year olds, one of which is massive. They are both well mannered and peaceful types and that is they way they must stay.
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I have to agree with AA. Here, the people make the decisions, the horses comply.
My Draft mare was brought up on the Continent and obviously is used to being barned in winter. We are on the top of the Pennines but she has to go out every day, unless it is physically impossible - either because the snow is so deep that we can't open the doors/gates (as happened last year) or if the wind is so strong that it is dangerous. I have neither time, inclination nor facilities to exercise every day.
She was thrilled to bits last week though when her field-mate needed box-rest for an abscess and we kept her in too. I justified it in my mind because she has very itchy heels if they get wet - normally she is oiled up to protect them and the youngsters don't stay in without a VERY good reason. They do come in overnight because I want them to be used to being stabled and to think of the stable as being somewhere nice to be.
 
It is intersting how they all differ in feeling about being out in all weathers. I arrived at my yard yesterday and saw at each gate there was a poor down trodden looking horse waiting to come in in the peeing rain, this was at 5pm and is when most owners arrive.

I'm thinking my poor girl will be desparate to get out of this rain as it had been torrential all afternoon and she'd been out since 6am. So I rush myself along get her stable sorted for her arrival and go down to her field, umm where is she? No where near the gate and as far from where she comes in as she could be happily mooching about in the rain, I call she ignores me, I stride out across the field, nothing, I get wihtin 10 feet and she looks up, neighs and comes trotting over! She could not have cared less about the weather.

She's welsh born and bred so I guess this rain is normal to her??
 
Thank you for the replies. My field is a bit muddy but not a bog in the slightess. We are lucky in that all bar one paddock slopes down to a stream so they drain pretty well. They also have plenty of grass in them. I put them out for a couple if hrs today as its sunny!! And they were OK today. Even came in clean with just muddy feet.
 
If I am riding then I will potentially leave my 2 lazier horses in 24/7. The last couple of weekends they have been stabled from Friday lunchtime till Monday am, because they are worked.

During the week at the moment they aren't being ridden much and so have to go out whether they like it or not.

The 2 lazies are on a pretty bad field and can't have hay out. Nonetheless they will pull me out to the field where they proceed to stand at the top of the field looking sorry for themselves until I go back a few hours later to bring them in.
My more energetic horse, never wants to come in and would happily be out in all weathers regardless, I am keen to let his legs and feet dry off though so he is in at night most of the time.

It's ludicrous to make sweeping statements about what is best for other people. It entirely depends on individual circumstances, facilities, finances and what pleases individual horses.

We have been putting round bales out this year, which has proved invaluable in the mud. the horses have created nice islands of hay which they sleep on and keeps their feet out of the mud while they eat. It's wasteful but I figure with the cost of straw these days, comparable cost wise to stabling them. We'll just have big ugly bald patches in the field this Spring I suppose.
 
Mine is declining to go out - he has free access to yard stable and field, he is spending his time parked on the yard. I relented and turned him out in summer grazing today - has grass and little mud although wet, it is sunny. He was really pleased but still brought himself in after an hour ! And is now happily back on his yard. I give up !!
 
Mine's had a total of two hours turnout in the last seven days, and doesn't seem the slightest bit bothered - no door kicking, barging, nothing, and seems reluctant to even walk out in hand.

It does bother me a bit, as I equate it with someone locking me in the bathroom for days on end, but the fields have large areas of standing water, the areas round the gate are like bogs, and all they do is stand looking miserable at the gate. I work full time so if she's out in the morning and needs to come in I have to rely on the goodwill of others to bring her in.

Usually I muck out around her, and she shows no inclination to try and leave the stable when I'm filling the barrow, so I don't think she's unhappy. That said, last night I was standing chatting in the yard and she wanted her tea. I hadn't bolted her door, so she wandered out into the yard, heading for the shed where the feed's kept - I think curiosity got the better of her! I left her mooching about while I finished off the stable, then she followed me back to the stable when I brought her bucket out.

She has plenty of hay, water, her treatball and a Luciebrick, and most of her pals are in as well.
 
It's hard isn't it, most people do the best they can with what's available. I too have been dragging my three out past the mud everyday. I think it's made a huge difference to my youngster, she's grown up a lot this last month having to cope with the weather and endless mud in gate way. None of us like it, but it's necessary for all our sakes to go through it.
Nothing like a winter to make a relationship with your horse, no one else is going to turn up and sort them out if I don't...
 
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