Horses living out and competing BD?

Mine is out 24/7 - we have no stables, arena or hard standing and I compete BD. I sometimes wonder why I bother, and then I get to the events and remember why.

You may laugh, but I actually do one of two things:

1) I will long plait the night before and put a lyric hood on
or 2) box him back to my parent's driveway to wash off the mud to enable me to plait
 
My cob who is currently competing BD Novice and playing with elem at home lives out all year round as I don't have a stable for her. I just scrape the mud off on the morning of the show :) if it's cold enough to justify a full neck rug then I can wash her body the night before. But she has white legs and likes doing hippo impressions, so the legs always need washing on the day unless it's been dry weather with no mud.
I always like being able to turn horses out after travelling anyway, I think it's good for them to mooch about with their heads down when they have travelled and worked hard.
 
Mine are outburst in the south of France. Having said that we have horrible clay soil that sticks like glue on everything. I just pop them in on the day and give them a good scrub.
 
Mine does everything from living out - aff eventing/dressage etc. If it's a competition he does come into the stable the night before so I can wash him (he's a gigantic coloured and there is lots to wash! :p) and do all necessary trimming :)
 
mrsh2010 said:
Mine is out 24/7 - we have no stables, arena or hard standing and I compete BD. I sometimes wonder why I bother, and then I get to the events and remember why.

You may laugh, but I actually do one of two things:

1) I will long plait the night before and put a lyric hood on
or 2) box him back to my parent's driveway to wash off the mud to enable me to plait
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Sorry to hijack post but YOU LADY need a medal just for that!!!
I don't have an arena or hard standing - but two stables in my field and I think that's difficult enough!!!
I suppose there really isn't any excuse!! (I will take this on board) Good luck with the comps!
 
janinek1981 said:
Sorry to hijack post but YOU LADY need a medal just for that!!!
I don't have an arena or hard standing - but two stables in my field and I think that's difficult enough!!!
I suppose there really isn't any excuse!! (I will take this on board) Good luck with the comps!
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lol - thank you!

He's got a barn he can get it, but he's much happier out 24/7 and the look on people's faces when they are half asleep and see a horse on the driveway is worth it! especially as my parent's estate is a one way system, and they often drive by for a double check
 
My horse (Novice BD, elem unaffiliated) lives out 24/7. I bath and rug him the day before, and sometimes leave him in that night if it's an early start (he's coloured but mainly white so it's about managing his grubbiness!). Also plait down the night before. He much prefers to be outside; that keeps him happiest :D
 
I also do everything from living out and wash legs on the day and use full neck rugs all year round for my coloured cob (because frankly there's a lot more white and coloured bits going on!).
 
I wanted mine to be live out all the time and he was at first but he rapidly lost weight and had to come in at night. Since that he loves his stable and sulks for at least a week if i leave him out at night. He isn't spoilt honest...

I am gonna try again next year during the summer to leave him out all night but he comes in absolutely knackered and falls asleep lying down in his stable. Will see he might be better when slightly older.
 
:) glad I am not alone in washing down on the drive!! I have a hippo and he does everything from the field. I am fortunate he is black BUT despite getting a stable for him he does not want to be in it and stresses.

He dressages, jumps and shows from the field, summer is easy, but winter is hard and I have to confess with all this mud I am tempted to hibernate for winter! We have a tie up, not under shelter....no hard standing (hence I take him across the road onto the drive for washing).

Biggest help was getting him clipped so I can wash him and dry him fast without him getting chilly...

I know of HOYS competitors that produce from the field so anything is possible!!
 
Well Carl and Charlotte dont have their horses living out 24/7, however Carl's Nip Tuck is out overnight - I think he comes in around 7am for breakfast and to be kept in for a couple of hours until he's ridden, then he's back out in the field again in the afternoon. He's a very hot horse though and I think the living out most of the time is to help keep him a bit saner. They do have the most amazing facilities however when they do bring him in, so not quite the same as what us real folk have to hand!

There are many people, competing in all disciplines some up to very high levels, that make do with limited facilities and with their horses living out 24/7. It all depends what you are prepared to do and how much time you are prepared to spend scraping mud off in the winter before a show! The eventers at least have the bonus their season ends in October before the worst of the mud but then again a lot of them go out and jump and dressage over winter for practice so they dont have it that easy!

As someone else said, anything is possible....providing you can find somewhere to wash legs off the morning of a show and dont mind a bit of elbow grease with your grooming routine then there is no reason why a horse cant live out 24/7 and compete BD. If you dont have an arena most of your schooling can be done out hacking - facilities are not the be all and end all.
 
kc100 said:
Well Carl and Charlotte dont have their horses living out 24/7, however Carl's Nip Tuck is out overnight - I think he comes in around 7am for breakfast and to be kept in for a couple of hours until he's ridden, then he's back out in the field again in the afternoon. He's a very hot horse though and I think the living out most of the time is to help keep him a bit saner. They do have the most amazing facilities however when they do bring him in, so not quite the same as what us real folk have to hand!

There are many people, competing in all disciplines some up to very high levels, that make do with limited facilities and with their horses living out 24/7. It all depends what you are prepared to do and how much time you are prepared to spend scraping mud off in the winter before a show! The eventers at least have the bonus their season ends in October before the worst of the mud but then again a lot of them go out and jump and dressage over winter for practice so they dont have it that easy!

As someone else said, anything is possible....providing you can find somewhere to wash legs off the morning of a show and dont mind a bit of elbow grease with your grooming routine then there is no reason why a horse cant live out 24/7 and compete BD. If you dont have an arena most of your schooling can be done out hacking - facilities are not the be all and end all.
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Carl is on low lying clay fields, by a mill / stream. I think he does turn out a lot, and younger horses live out. But I think in the depths of winter, none / few of his wet clay fields are safe to turn out in. So I dont think he is able to turn out all winter. I think someone asked this of him at the open day I went to.
 
My two horses lived out for 3 years, fully clipped, and competing including BD winter regionals with no problems. Good rugs including necks, and is fine. We have moved to a yard without 24-7 turnout. But as clay is now more grooming!
 
I can't really say I compete having done a total of two dressage tests this year but I would prefer my mare to be out 24/7 as mud is much easier to clean off than poo stains! She's stabled overnight for reasons of weight control.
 
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