Horses living out 24/7

Copperpot

Copperpot

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Until recently I have never done this. Even in summer my boy would come in. He was always fully clipped in winter and still well rugged in the stable. He's been at yards where he got from 8 to 3 hours turnout.

September I decided to retire him. Couldn't justify keeping him on full livery so moved him to friends field with her 3 horses and a shelter.

He's never been so happy! He's whole demeanour has changed. He's well covered and doesn't need rugging up anywhere near the amount I expected. He always looked ribby in livery no matter how much food was pumped into him. He's also had his shoes off and no issues there either.

So, sorry I'm rambling, I got to thinking if my new horse would be happier living out too. He's a hardier type than the retired one and is currently getting 4 hours turnout a day. It's just the living out one seems so much more chilled out and content!

I guess I'm worried about loosing the mod cons such as school, heat lamps, wash bay etc, especially if hunting in the winter.

Do horses in general prefer living out???
 
Both of ours do, my lad is still unrugged and looks like a muddy Yak, our arthritic 18yr old mare is rugged (mw) at night, unrugged through the day weather permitting, they have access to the barn/stables but only use it to eat their hay, or have medicine
 
So much healthier for the horse ...... and for the human carer.

Only proviso that they have some shelter - be it a field shelter or hedging, so they can get out of the wind/have some control over the temperature, clean water and rugs if clipped.
 
mine loves it - she's what would be classed as a hardier type but does like her creature comforts - the only time she seems to want to come in is in really adverse weather and when its really muddy she does seem a bit drained and tired but shes not the type to put too much effort into anything!!
 
My warmblood competition horse spent the majority of his career with daily turn out but otherwise stabled day and night on a professional yard. So, when he sustained an injury requiring a long lay off, the only sensible thing to do financially was turn him out.

I was really worried about how he would cope but I really shouldn't have been...he spent 8 glorious months including all winter out 24/7 with access to a large field shelter and haylage. When we brought him back into work we did so from the field and he was totally chilled out.

As he's now 18yrs and his competition career is winding down a little we can now again turn him out pretty much 24/7 and only bring him in to prep him for an event.

I'm so pleased with how he not only coped, but enjoyed being out that I would definitely consider it for future horses, although each one as we know is a true individual and what works for one might not works so well for another.
 
I love how the last sentence of your OP reads a bit surprised :p of course they blinking do! It what all their instincts and body are designed for, large spaces with a herd, not solitary in a 12x12 prison!
 
It's certainly the most natural and sensible way to keep a horse. All mine live out, and they're happy, chilled, the 20 year old is the soundest he's ever been, and I'm not stressing about being late to turn out or bring in.
 
We have 4, all different breeds living out 24/7. Two currently rugged two unrugged. They all seem to love it. Very happy. The only thing they don't like is the mud we have to tromp through in the gateway to get them in an out but then again I'm not very keen on that myself.
 
Have changed to 24/7 out this year. He has acsess to big stable if he wants but rarely goes in there tbh. Will probably bring in over night thro dec jan. More for the ground than anything but then rest of year he will be out again. The change in him when changed yard was amazing! so glad i took the leap!
 
So far each horse that has come to join me from a stabled background has chilled out when living out 24/7. Sometimes it seems a case of you don't know how different they could be until you actually see it. They looked fine before, but they look better...
A dear little Welsh x Arab came to me 8 years ago for 6 months re-hab due to behaviour problems. (He's still in the field!). His owner gave me this great list of what he had to be fed because he couldn't keep weight on even in the summer. I stopped stabling him and, in spite of some terrible stress behaviours, he never needed feeding up. He's living out at 20 years old now and of course I'm always worrying about him being too fat.
 
It's just a big change for me! I love how happy my retired one is livin out, but it doesn't matter if I have no school or facilities for him etc.

The fields wouldn't be an issue. We have 3 fields totalling 60 acres split into 3. At the moment there are 3 horses and 1 pony living there and the fields are rotated/rested/grazed by sheep.

I could have a stable but he would be the only one to come in, which he wouldn't like. But it would be somewhere to keep rugs etc.

I don't even know why I mind loosing the school as I hate schooling :0

Since I've had horses all I've ever known is livery yards, so it's a big change. I never thought I would have a horse living out. But since I have I'm starting to realise the benefits!
 
My boy has pretty much always lived out although I have had a stable to put him into in the worst of the weather and Ive found hes a much happier chappie out :)

Youngster lives out all the time, I could stable her there is one for her but she prefers to be out and being a coblet is fine out clipped with a rug on :)

Old man look ace being out and hes getting nowt but enough to get his supps into him and is well covered and happy as larry :D
 
I know all horses are different but all of mine are far happier out 24/7. Yes it is difficult keeping them looking smart, yes I do worry when its blowing a gale and p****** it down and I have dozens of rugs. The clue for me was when they had easy access to a brick built warm cosy barn, full of haynets and deep bedding...did any of them choose to go in of there own free will in the most horrendous weather? No and that includes a TB. They will all come in if I fetch them in but none of them choose to, they are all chilled out happy horses and the TB is looking rather 'well' so it cant be doing him any harm!
 
Wow 60 acres split into 3 paddocks - I would love big paddocks to turn mine out in :) Mine are out 24/7 but on 10 acres split into 6 paddocks. Hate stabling I had a horse in Ireland and I felt really guilty having him locked up for long periods of time it also ment (I had just broken him) that he was energictic when he got out which is fair enough but was exepected to behave for a ride.

First stable had turn out the competition one I worked out he hardly got out in a paddock. I would try and give him a free run in the arena if I could before hand so he could have a yippy without getting in trouble for doing it with a rider on board.
 
I've got a young TB ex-racer. He came to me as 'dangerous'. He also had a reputation as being nutty in the field & not liking much turnout.
Hmmmmmm well he's currently living out 24/7 & I can honestly say hand on heart his whole demeanour has changed!
I think his problems stemmed with not being (controversially) being rugged/kept warm enough so he ran about to keep warm & lost weight. So his old owner pumped him full of high starch conditioning feeds to put the weight on....which made him difficult to handle & his behaviour in the field worse.
Warm rugs, high fibre & 24/7 & he's such a sweetie to handle I let my young son lead him :)
I think I will have to start bringing him in at night but we've created a stabling system which is a large barn separated into 3 big 'stables'. The walls are not full height so the herd can chat to each other over them & they aren't isolated.
This way they are separated for food etc but still in their herd & not in isolation in their stable (my utter pet hate!)
 
I always think stabling exists for the purposes of saving the ground, which is fair enough but no point in it otherwise if you have shelter. I would like a field shelter to do stuff like tack up in but we have good hedges and trees which she mostly ignores being a hardy hoss! I think it is good for lots of TBs and similar types too as they are eating all the time and helps keep stress levels lower.
 
Am loving all the positive replies! Have looked on eBay and found some nice field shelters, although all the fields have good hedges, be nice to have an extra shelter some will always have a choice to go in.

The more I think about it the more I like the idea. My new boy is a slight worrier and whilst well behaved in the stable, I think his mind would settle if he was able to wander about etc.
 
Here in NZ, most horses live out 24/7, mine do.

I compete mostly in endurance, but also show and do a bit of dressage now as well. If I am riding thru the winter they are clipped.

I know we don't quite get the weather here that you do in places in the UK, but we have had three big snow falls here in the last two winters, my paddock is regularly under water or just mud during the winter and we get some decent frosts. As long as they are rugged or have decent shelter and are fed appropriately, they do just fine.

My two that are ridden are covered 24/7 and they each have three paddock rugs, for different times of they year. My old retired mare now gets covered during the winter, but has been naked all year around until recently.

To us here, having horses stabled with only limited turn out is just weird, so I guess the reverse can apply too. :)
 
I have a lot of horses living on my farm from weanlings to geriatrics in their 30s and all of them live out 24/7. Many are competition and ex-competition horses who all took to living out beautifully. I have two who took a little longer to settle into this routine but within a week they thrived and no longer hankered at the gate to come in. All my fields are large pasture fields and they each have big barns in them so the horses can come in or out as they please. I have a beautiful stable block which is only used during breeding season for breeding the mares. The rest of the year it remains totally dormant of equines. I think if you have large fields on good draining land then there's so many benefits to keeping horses outside 24/7. Many people keep their horses in little paddocks which often don't have free draining soil this so I think that's mostly the reason so many people bring their horses in.
 
I agree too. There's a world of difference between a reasonably dry field with shelter & enough forage, & a tiny exposed mudbath, where any horse would want to come in very soon. There's a yard near me that has no turnout over winter, no arena, & several miles of twisty one track lane to get down, with low visibility in daylight. So unless you don't work or have a death wish, you can't even exercise in winter. They have a tiny arena size paddock, knee deep in mud. This year they all came in early September. People use tiny paddock whilst mucking out, & not suprisingly, after a quick roll the horses all want to come in. Thus they conclude the horses prefer to be in. Which is funny, because a few used to be very happy at a local grass livery, & others have moved off mid winter to same place without problems. My mare reaches a point when the weather is cold & wet enough to overcome her dislike of a stable when she decides she will stay in overnight. But if we had a proper shelter with hard standing, rather than a natural one that can get a bit muddy, then I doubt she'd bother.
 
Of course horses prefer to live out.
Provided they get all they need.

being stuck in a horrible muddy field with no grass, being cold and hungry they ofcourse would rather be in a stable munching hay..

But in a field with enough grass, friends and protection from the eliments (be it rugs or natural shelter etc)
they would definatly prefer being out.
 
Would it be sensible to wait until the spring? Or as he would have access to a field shelter, has many varying weights of turn out rugs and the fields still have loads of grass, would he be ok to start his living out life coming into winter?

Currently fully clipped apart from legs, face is off. He seems a fairly warm horse thou and exists on very little hard feed.
 
My event horse used to live out when in work - he has plenty of hedges and a field shelter on hardstanding. He was clipped (although I always left his legs and half head and ears). With the choice of rugs nowadays it is possible.

He is now retired due to injury and this year has grown a thick coat - he sweats slightly at times. Last year he had a light rug on - this year he is going to live out without in hope he will lose some weight.

I was converted to having them living out 24/7 eight years ago and have never looked back!
 
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No idea horsesatemymoney. There's plenty of others to choose from at about the same price. Nearest yard to it charges same price, but has an arena, & turnout that's at least dry even if no grass.
 
I'm feeling quite positive about it now! Mud shouldn't be a problem as so much land per horse. And the farmer puts wood chips down regularly for us in all the gateways. It has electric and water too which is a plus. And can keep my trailer there.

It has an arena marked out on the grass with some jumps. I guess I could easily get a generator and some portable lights set up.
 
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