Horses who hate being in the field in winter...

[Erehwemos]

Does anyone else have one, or am I alone?

My darned horse is being a nightmare at the moment. I'm not able to turn her out most of the week anyway due to early mornings/late night combinations, but on the few occasions I do get her out, she wont stay there! Last week, I turned her out on a lovely sunny day, and initially she was fine - head down grazing, perfectly happy (and all three horses in the surrounding fields were out too, so she had plenty of company). But at 1pm, she decided she'd had enough and the poor YO had to bring her in to stop her doing herself a mischief - she got in a right state

Three times in the last week, I have had the chance to put her out (i.e. I am home at a sensible time, and there are other horses out in the fields around her) but she just insists on galloping round like an eejit, bucking herself inside out and powersliding up to the gate. For the sake of the field, Ellie's legs and my sanity, her field forays have thus only lasted about 15 minutes

Is anyone else having similar problems? All I can think of is that she must have become a bit too comfortable during her period of box rest, to the point that she now prefers being in her stable

I dont so much mind her being like this now...I just hope I can get her back into field mode for the summer....

 

[Bowen4Horses]

we have ours turned out in the small paddock in front of their stables during the winter. so i leave their stable doors open so they can go in/out. little shetland (unrugged) stays outside til bedtime but raff rarely leaves his stable. so much so, i have had to put hay in his stable as well as outside otherwise he wasn't eating!

 

[Evadiva1514]

My 6 all love being in their boxes to the point that they'll all have an hour or so out in their paddocks and then start charging around in unison until we give in and get them in. It is lovely to see them all cosied up in their stables and happy but i do wish sometimes they'd all toughen up a bit and actually enjoy being outside mooching around, munching grass. Mucking them out this time of year is like painting the Fourth Bridge, no sooner have you done the sixth one, the first one needs poo picking again!! Still it's saving my paddocks for the spring so i can't complain too much!

 

[cindydog]

my horse is good so far for being on her own I thought she would be worse when we go to put her in she is standing waiting at the gate and all I do is open gate and stand back and she walks across yard and straight into her stable...the snack thats waiting for her has nothing to do with it I'm sure!

 

[xxmariexx]

mines exactly the same!!
wont stay out for longer than 20 mins, evan with his girlfriend! (he's a bit riggy) but i feel awful as he also wont stay in with out her! he's had stress lami so we have to do everything in our power to keep him happy, evan if it means both only go out 20 mins, although today mare went out first and i turned him out after and he stayed there for an hour! but could never risk leaving him longer as he gets in such a state he has white foam under him rug and then wont settle for th rest of the day! its a bit of a night mare but as long as he's happy..im happy! evan with mucking out twice a day!

 

[Nando]

You certainly aren't alone!

All 8 of ours are now in as the paddocks just wont drain & cant cope - if any of them are put out they just stand in the mud by the gate (usually putting feet through the gate to try and open!) They just dont seem to want to stay out even for an hour!

I have been struggling with my TB since sept trying to keep him out with the others (even in the sun!) He would tear 20m across the field to the corner and stand there staring at the floor all day (he is a bit of a freak!) so is now the happiest horse around being a lounge pony all day.

The only one that quite likes to still go out is my WB, but then again he doesnt really care if he is the only one out! Will only last about 2 hours tho before he decides enough is enough!

Sometimes it is just not worth the hassle in trying to put them out if the dont want to, half the time you just cant win!!

 

[lhotse]

Mine is happy for a couple of hours, so long as it isn't raining. If you were to try and leave her out any longer then she gets herself in a right tis, running about and trying to come through the tapes. She just would rather be in her nice warm stable eating hay!! She is old though.

 

[quirky]

Mine is the same

She goes in, nice and steady, head down and eatting the grass.
I walk all of 100m back to the stables and she is hooning round the field like a loony

.


I have given up with her now, she goes into the lunge pen for a leg stretch and that is it.

She's moving to another yard between Xmas and New Year, where she'll be turned into one of the sand paddocks for a while in the morning. I'm just hoping she doesn't disgrace herself when we get there

.

 

[DunRoamin]

Yep Buzz, there is no chance of keeping him out more than 2 hours coz he jumps in and puts himself to bed,

Clipclop - Raffy didnt have any winter turnout at K.O as there's not enough fields, so once the weather changes there all in till the sun comes back

 

[Tamba]

yep, my horses terririse me, allday, they hang around the gate, the only way I can get them out in the morining, is to put out bundles of sweel haylage, that contents them for about an hour, then, thats it, they wine and gurn until I take them in at 4 , and i dont put them out to 9.30, am its a nightmare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!