horses in 24/7 in the winter- anyone do this??

charlie76

charlie76

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Just wondering as mine seem to hate being out at this time of the year. field has plenty of grass, trees for shelter, they are rugged but they seem to go out, roll and then stand by the gate waiting to come in or break the fences. It goes against my thoughts but I am tempted to not turn out over winter. They are ridden every day and can be turned loose in the indoor school.
The drag me back to their stables when I get them in.
Anyone else not/not allowed to turn out through the winter?
 
I kept my horse in for about 3 weeks (not for the same reason but still) and he was quite happy, so long as they are excercised enough and are happy, I don't see why horses shouldn't be treated on individual merit, just the same as all other species are.

Some like being in. Some don't. :)
 
I'm sure they would be fine.

On the yard I am on we will shortly have limited turnout. they will get about 1-2 hrs per day in a small paddock which will soon turn to mud. I find that they really do not want to stand out there and are just waiting by the gate until it's time to come in again.

I think if you can ride them everyday and maybe break up the day with a lunchtime feed too then they will be absolutely fine - alot of horses live in 24/7 (I am thinking of army horses or police horses etc).
 
the horses that are still in work over winter pretty much are. They have an hours turnout at lunch if it isn't snowing or raining too heavily, but they are perfectly happy this way.
 
My old yard didn't allow turnout during the winter months in order to preseve the ground, and although it wasn't my preference, the pony really wasn't bothered about being in 24/7 and oddly was MUCH better behaved in the school, and generally better to handle whilst in 24/7. He was exercised everyday and turned out in the school while mucking out in the mornings!
 
I think an hour or two somewhere they can stretch their legs and nibble something is OK, but no out at all isnt. Even if they look glum, it does them good to go out, after all not all school pupils look thrilled to be there but it's still in their interests to go!
 
Interesting thread. My new livery has restricted turnout, where they are out from 8am until 1.30pm. I'm interested in knowing how I would break up the 18 and a half hours in time in case of stiffening/boredom issues. What we think? What would you do?
 
charlie76 said:
Just wondering as mine seem to hate being out at this time of the year. field has plenty of grass, trees for shelter, they are rugged but they seem to go out, roll and then stand by the gate waiting to come in or break the fences. It goes against my thoughts but I am tempted to not turn out over winter. They are ridden every day and can be turned loose in the indoor school.
The drag me back to their stables when I get them in.
Anyone else not/not allowed to turn out through the winter?
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do you think they might associate the stable with something more yummy
 
I suppose treat all horses as individuals and you know your own horses better than any one. But i think NO turnout at all is not good. As others have said even a couple hour turnout in the school or all weather paddock is better than nothing. I know some yards have the policy of no turnout in winter, which may work for some. But not something i would ever consider.
 
Our yard can be quite strict about turnout over the winter, sometimes they were in for a fortnight at a time and as long as they were ridden, turned out in the play pen once a day for a stretch of their legs and had hay to munch on they seemed fine. Lacey was 4 at the time and she coped well.

There's a yard close to us that does not allow turnout at all over the winter from around november - march and all the horses (it's a large yard) seem to do well.
 
Sounds like they haven't got anything to eat in the field? If they have forage to keep them amused there they'll probs be better out. If they're getting (hi-energy) food inside and nothing out there you can see their point. Personally I think most do better out as much as poss with as little hard feed and as much bulky, feed to munch on slowly.
 
At our yard we have limited turnout over the winter. Sometimes the horses aren't turned out at all for a couple of days. They do however go on the horse walker. I don't think they particularly enjoy staying in 24/7 as they are always really happy to go out, but some horses cope better than others.
 
Mine are in for about 23 hrs a day when ground is bad. Generally out for half hour in am and pm whilst muck out. They cope ok but much prefer to be out. They are always very keen to get out of stables, but then keen to get in as know so much food is in there. I find whe they go out they are fine even with no grass and only start hanging at gate when see me arrive.

when in stable try to supply lots of forage and stuff to entertain them just to keep them entertained.
 
I kept mine in as the land was clay & poached. All the yards locally were the same. i did not like turning out in to a foot of mud on trashed fields. i preferred to keep in. My last yard had a walker, so they would go on that twice a day & be ridden or lunged. they coped fine.
 
I had to do this for a few months when I had bailey at college with me, and then after that we had an hour or 2 of turnout a day. It was ok - I would turn him loose in the indoor first thing every morning with his friend for a roll gallop and a play. I would also ride every day and put him on the horsewalker for half an hour or so while i mucked out in the evening. I would also handgraze and take him for walks. When we had a couple of hours turnout I found it was enough to just ride once a day and horsewalker while I mucked out. However - that may be fine for a student with horse living on campus but not so practical for people that work!!!!!
 
What about turning them out once a week say on a rest day ? it doesn't have to be all day every day. Mine live out 24/7 now but once the foal is weaned he will winter out up the top field and she will ccome back down to theyard and go out 8 till 1.30 each day maybe longer at the weekend.

We were on a yard for quite a while where winter t/o was Sat/Sun Tuesday and Thursday. I think they need to get out once in a while for a buck and a fart when I first got her I had very limited T/o and it wasn't much fun at all. but each horse is different.
 
I don't have daily turn out for mine over the winter, I rent summer grazing that we have to vacate at the begining of Nov and then I have a small paddock for a bit of daily excercise but it very soon turns into a mud bath.

So far mine have always coped (and even quite enjoyed) with being in 24/7. They get the occasional day out over winter in a friends sheep field but that isn't guaranteed it's all weather permitting. Last winter because of the snow and our location they didn't set foot off the yard for 4 weeks.
 
Mine was stabled 24/7 from july to jan due to injury and bringing back in to work and didnt mind one bit. But his usual turnout routine on the winter was out on sat and sun 2-5ish. Maybe if you reduce there turnout then when they do get out they'll think "Oh yea were free!!" lol
 
I would at least try and turn them out for a couple of hours if they were mine just for a good roll and chill out and leg stretch. I personally hate the thought of them being in 24/7 but thats just me!! My new lad was in 23hrs a day at his old owners and seemed to cope fine with half an hour out and being ridden once a day but I would say he is happier now being out from 8ish-4. But its horses for courses and you need to do what suits your horses best.
 
GoneBust said:
I suppose treat all horses as individuals and you know your own horses better than any one. But i think NO turnout at all is not good. As others have said even a couple hour turnout in the school or all weather paddock is better than nothing. I know some yards have the policy of no turnout in winter, which may work for some. But not something i would ever consider.
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Agree with this~~~~~you need the turnout and time to treat each horse as individual. Some of mine only like to go out for a couple of hours,some only want to go out if a certain friend is going out. They all know to come to the gate and look miserable if they want in and fortunately I am here to oblige!! Can see the field from kitchen window so know whats going on.Must be really difficult if you have to turn out or not before work knowing that horse is stuck with whatever you have chosen to do.Having said that if we have any being left out we try and seperate them from those coming in and put them in best field together with feeding them in field. They never stand at gate waiting for in so think a lot of it with the other wimps is habit maybe!!!
 
some horses cope. some dont.

i personally think mine would be fine but shes going out everyday - today she will be out for about 8 hours....

but she is off work for the next month so i want her out and about.... but in a few weeks they will only be out for 4/5 hours a day as the fields get too bad - but its still a legstretch :)

roll on summer :)
 
Mine are out 24/7 in summer and in 24/7 in winter.

I am the YO (so my rules ;)) and it's just mine will not go out in the winter. They hate it. At the moment they are ok and going out for 4 hours per day, but as soon as it gets wet/windy that will be it!

Some horses have to go out, but others hate it. As long as they get exercise I see no problem if they are happy. Mine go on walker in the morning, then get ridden midday and then go on walker pm. They also go in the round pen naked for a roll every few days.

So just see how it goes! A few of my liveries also keep in 24/7 but all the others go out in the day.
 
My Warmblood and his Welsh cob x TB cob friend go out at 5am in winter and come in at 4pm. They have about 5 acres which we tape off sections at at time so it doesn't get too muddy. They always have grass and are quite happy to go out. They are rarely stood waiting to come in - usually just muching a little way away from the gate. They come in willingly but then they do in the summer too. Both are fit and have fantastic coats. They are fully clipped and as the weather is mild are out in lightweight turnouts which seem to keep them plenty warm enough. They are ridden 6 days a week and their routine is the same summer and winter. It works for us!! My warmblood can tolerate 10 -11 hours in then goes bonkers, I get up at 4am all year round to muck out and make sure he's out by 5. Like I said, works for me though I understand it may not work for everyone! :):):D
 
thatsmygirl said:
I turn out all year round and rent extra fields to allow me to turn out. If I was on a yard with no turn out I wouldn't stay.
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sensible reply above. I am shocked at the amount of yards not offering turn out. Horses should be outside, to keep them in 24/7 is nothing but cruel. No wonder there are so many 'problem' horses, being cooped up all the time would send most horses nuts. Get real and give horses a natural environment to live in. Rugs and feed are so good these days, there is NO excuse not to turn horses out and let them be horses. I will be villified for this, but i actually am beyond caring.
 
It seems to be common where I ride (an hour outside NYC), with horses out for only an hour or two a day, or in 24/7 with all riding done in indoor arenas attached to the barns. That lack of daylight seems depressing to me. I'd like to think, when I get horses, that winter turnout won't be an issue, but the ice here during winter is perilous, and often comes without a healthy cushioning of snow. Even the places that offer 24/7 field livery are reluctant to do so in winter.
 
A also am a yard owner but have plenty of my own. For me it is a hard slog through the winter with a load of horses in who spend all day poo-ing. Yes in an ideal world they would be out, but it isn't. To winter out, I would estimate that each horse would need 2 acres each to limit poaching, which is far more than they need in the summer.
I try my best to
a) look after my horses and think about the welfare of the livery horses
b) look after my land so it doesn't get poached and full of weed.
A difficult balancing act, and I make sure anyone who comes to me re livery knows there is no winter turnout (the exception is if we have lots of snow on the ground and then they all go out for a play).
I have a 20m x 40m playpen where they can go out, have a roll, stretch their legs and have some freedom. They can also go on to the arena for a free school/play.

My horses, which include broodmares and youngsters, LOVE coming in for the winter and become real bed bugs, don't ask me why.

Incidentally a friend who had space for a couple of liveries picked 2 up from me because she offered all year turnout. They stayed there for the winter, wrecked the fields and then moved in spring because there was no grass.
 
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