How are you all coping with the weather/field conditions?

Fools Motto

Fools Motto

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We're really struggling. All our RS ponies live out, but come in daytime. It's just their routine, and probably has been like this for years, so it won't change. We've got, maybe 15 acres we use for grazing, plus a further 5 acres, that was once condemned from grazing due to a toxic spillage about 25 years ago. (We've ordered a soil test, but have to wait til it gets drier!!) We've got 16 ponies (and 1 horse who is stabled 20 hrs). Fields look trashed. And to cap it off, two lame, suddenly today due to wet feet, soft soles. Farrier been out. poor things, the've managed so well considering.
We sectioned off a few areas that haven't been grazed over the winter, ready for the spring. I just don't think it will recover any time soon. So depressing. We've moved 5 off the premises over easter while the children are on holiday. I've got two in my old rental field, which never was as wet as it is when I had it previously for my own horses. Its got grass, but so wet.

I know many competitions have been cancelled, more so than usual. So, how are you all coping??!!
 
We've got ducks swimming on one of our fields! Really not funny any more. We're about to get access to a field that's been rested for a few weeks, but it won't take long for that to be trashed too.
 
My fields look awful too. But they could be worse. I keep seeing Facebook videos of horses in beautiful dry fields. Not here in the vale that’s for sure!!
 
We've limited turnout to dry days and less hours out, in a bid to have somewhere to turn out. Its my first winter on the yard and Im told its the best the field has been, its still trashed and any bit of rain turns it into a bog. Tbf, theres nothing to eat, although shoots are coming through and we are using it really to keep them sane and stretch their legs. My horse is more than happy coming in after an hour or so. Im praying for some sun, the grass just isnt growing and the Summer fields arent looking very summery at all!
 
My fields had dried out enough for neds to stay out (the yardstick is is there enough dry ground for them to lie down) but it's getting borderline again. Parts aren't too bad because I strip grazed into foggage and some of the dead stuff is still holding the ground together, but there have been parts that looked like fields look when flood have just about retreated. It always amazes me how it recovers though, and feeding hayballs at the moment means some seed is dropping out and will germinate soon.
 
Field at home is completely bare but it never gets proper deep mud, it's very hard ground so I can chuck hay out and it's not the end of the world.
With one on box rest the others are taking turns at baby sitting so it's not being over abused at the moment.
Two others I'm looking after for someone else are in horrible conditions though. It's getting hard to walk through without getting stuck :(
 
I would never entertain horses again simply due to our winters getting longer and wetter..the UK is NOT a good place to keep horses, not enough land and disgusting weather for over 9 months of the years now.
 
maisie06 said:
I would never entertain horses again simply due to our winters getting longer and wetter..the UK is NOT a good place to keep horses, not enough land and disgusting weather for over 9 months of the years now.
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They are seemingly getting longer and wetter aren't they??!
 
maisie06 said:
the UK is NOT a good place to keep horses, not enough land and disgusting weather for over 9 months of the years now.
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bit of a generalisation there maisie-might be awful where you are and how you kept them, its not the case everywhere and for everyone. I do see a lot of posts on FB though of horses in conditions I wouldnt dream of keeping mine in-mostly fields that are overstocked.
 
My fields had just dried out enough to Harrow, over seed and roll the winter field (bar one boggy part) so Horses have gone onto the spring field. However, is been so wet, they’ve had to have restricted turnout so that it doesn’t get totally trashed, which would then make it unusable.
I have NEVER in over 40years of horseownership actually had mine stabled over night, as long as this winter. They came in at the end of November and still aren’t out 24/7. Most years, they’re in somewhere near Christmas, and out by mid March.
On the plus side, the grass does seem to be growing.
 
maisie06 said:
I would never entertain horses again simply due to our winters getting longer and wetter..the UK is NOT a good place to keep horses, not enough land and disgusting weather for over 9 months of the years now.
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I have mine on a small acreage. Its not my preference but hes a quirky little horse and its how he likes it. They go out every single day and I'm still walking round in trainers. Its a bit muddy near the main gate but otherwise its fine.

Keeping horses doesnt have to be a miserable affair, but you do have to be careful which yard you go to and there are always some compromises. I pay at the top end of the going rate and its worth every penny!
 
My fields were going quite firm last week. Back to being a bit slippery down by the front fence - slopes down, other livery's horse fence-walks on its side, mine tend to be fed on their side and wait there when they see me coming so it's always the worst bit. However, the rest of the field is solid, firm and the grass is growing on it. The spare field is looking nicely green for the time of year too, given that they were out on t 24/7 until nearly Christmas.

My 3 are all out 24/7 and have been for a good few nights now, still getting forage in the field, but I'd expect that for a few weeks yet. This was last week - it's a bit greener, but also a bit damper, now, and the ponies are all rugged again, but it's not "give up on horses forever" bad for sure!

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Leo Walker said:
I have mine on a small acreage. Its not my preference but hes a quirky little horse and its how he likes it. They go out every single day and I'm still walking round in trainers. Its a bit muddy near the main gate but otherwise its fine.

Keeping horses doesnt have to be a miserable affair, but you do have to be careful which yard you go to and there are always some compromises. I pay at the top end of the going rate and its worth every penny!
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I did my lot's forage / feed in trainers this evening. Had to turn the hose on the soles, but nothing more :p
 
Yesterday the only real wet part for us was about 2m around the gate. Today there is standing water everywhere, several inches of mud in the gateway and the drainage ditches are flowing too fast for the ducks liking so they’ve bailed into the fields.

It’s just hideous ... and now I’ve got an abscess to deal with in my grass kept - after 25+ years of owning horses I’d like to quit, who do I hand my notice in to?:blue:
 
maisie06 said:
I would never entertain horses again simply due to our winters getting longer and wetter..the UK is NOT a good place to keep horses, not enough land and disgusting weather for over 9 months of the years now.
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I have to say I sadly agree
 
maisie06 said:
I would never entertain horses again simply due to our winters getting longer and wetter..the UK is NOT a good place to keep horses, not enough land and disgusting weather for over 9 months of the years now.
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I don't think that is necessarily true. Yes, this winter has been hideous, but it's far and away the worst winter I can remember in that respect for years. Last winter was fine. I fed no hay at all to my two who are grass kept! Mind you if next winter is this bad, I might be forced to reconsider!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
bit of a generalisation there maisie-might be awful where you are and how you kept them, its not the case everywhere and for everyone. I do see a lot of posts on FB though of horses in conditions I wouldnt dream of keeping mine in-mostly fields that are overstocked.
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Actually, I think Maisie has a point... she may have generalised but actually much of the country IS waterlogged, our climate IS changing and personally I agree that management of horses does need to evolve from paddock kept to dry-track kept at least for the health of feet and joints. It can't be good for joints squelching through mud/bog all day nevermind feet.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
bit of a generalisation there maisie-might be awful where you are and how you kept them, its not the case everywhere and for everyone. I do see a lot of posts on FB though of horses in conditions I wouldnt dream of keeping mine in-mostly fields that are overstocked.
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I agree with you MoC, it's overstocking that is the problem. I am delighted to say that our fields are drying up surprisingly quickly now and the grass is starting to grow, not enough to stop putting hay out but noticeably.
 
We've definitely had the worst winter for years here, and combined with a new small pony who needs to live out, it hasn't been easy. However we have survived.

The two small ponies have a quarter acre paddock each for nighttimes which are muddy in the gateways because they are so small, and a one and a half acre paddock for daytime with mud for 3m in the gateway.

The other two have a three acre field which although soft, has been carefully managed (strip grazing onto foggage) and is still just about OK. Hopefully moving onto summer field in the next week or so, but it will be a good while yet before they get out 24/7 :(

Fiona
 
My winter turnout is also my arena, so it is fine. The summer field is yellowey green though, so I know it is wet!

I reckon May before I get out onto the grass. We are on clay.
 
Gritting my teeth and keeping my girls in the winter field until the spring one has dried out enough for them to not turn it to slop within days. It's pretty churned up around the gate, and quite pitted around the front half, fair bit of water sitting on top as it's clay soil and it's just completely saturated from all this wet weather. There's always a stream running down the lane from the run off of the fields!

I figure it's easier to let them nuke one paddock then two, as at least I can roll/harrow/reseed and then leave it for the rest of the year to recover., as I've got 8 acres evenly split over 4 fields.
 
Cowpony said:
We've got ducks swimming on one of our fields! Really not funny any more. We're about to get access to a field that's been rested for a few weeks, but it won't take long for that to be trashed too.
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I’ve had ducks, an egret that seems to have moved in and I also saw a frog the other day!

My fields dry out quite quickly and a few days of sun will do it. I had no soggy mud just before it snowed last time but now they are worse than ever. The grass had started growing and I need it to dry so I can put my track up. The worst bits of mud are round the edges so need to roll it before I can do that.

On the plus side, I’m enjoying the soft ground for building fences :)
 
tallyho! said:
Actually, I think Maisie has a point... she may have generalised but actually much of the country IS waterlogged, our climate IS changing and personally I agree that management of horses does need to evolve from paddock kept to dry-track kept at least for the health of feet and joints. It can't be good for joints squelching through mud/bog all day nevermind feet.
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so owners need to be proactive, say what they want/need and then pay for it. I myself do without an arena and facilities so my horse's arent kept in a bog (and I'm in South Lanarkshire which I would bet money on being wetter overall than anywhere else I've lived and I have peaty gleys. before long those down south will be moaning about heat and hard ground and we up here will be expected to sympathise lol) and so I keep mine cheaply but in the environment they were bred for.

If people want track systems, hardstanding areas at livery then they are going to have to pay more for it and too often we hear horse owners moan about paying the modest amounts that they do. I have two ponies on 7 acres over the winter-the farmer has been asked repeatedly by another horse owner if they can put 5 out 24/7/365 on it and he just laughs at how stupid (and tight) they are.

It is perfectly possible to keep horses well in the UK, it just takes a shift of attitude. but to say that it can't be done in the UK is just plain wrong.
 
I'm in Cumbria. It's really wet. The winter fields, which are big (My two horses have maybe 4 acres at a guess) are pretty trashed. There's still grass down the bottom but there's a lot of mud too. The summer fields have been mostly rested but YO has been putting them out in them in drier or frozen spells to give the winter fields a bit of a break and to save horses from frozen rutted ground. I'd say on average they've been out 5 days a week over winter. I don't think they'll be going out overnight for a while yet as the grass isn't coming through very quickly, summer fields are not very green yet. I think my YO does a Stirling job in bad conditions, they don't overstock and manage the grazing well. But I compromise heavily on hacking and a slightly dodgey school surface (much better now it's dried up a bit) in order to get the turnout at a price we can afford. Other yards in the area in a similar price bracket they just don't go out or just go out alternate days in muddy pens. More expensive yards do better, because they aren't over stocking and have installed all weather turnout pens etc.
 
Fools Motto said:
We're really struggling. All our RS ponies live out, but come in daytime. It's just their routine, and probably has been like this for years, so it won't change. We've got, maybe 15 acres we use for grazing, plus a further 5 acres, that was once condemned from grazing due to a toxic spillage about 25 years ago. (We've ordered a soil test, but have to wait til it gets drier!!) We've got 16 ponies (and 1 horse who is stabled 20 hrs). Fields look trashed. And to cap it off, two lame, suddenly today due to wet feet, soft soles. Farrier been out. poor things, the've managed so well considering.
We sectioned off a few areas that haven't been grazed over the winter, ready for the spring. I just don't think it will recover any time soon. So depressing. We've moved 5 off the premises over easter while the children are on holiday. I've got two in my old rental field, which never was as wet as it is when I had it previously for my own horses. Its got grass, but so wet.

I know many competitions have been cancelled, more so than usual. So, how are you all coping??!!
Click to expand...

Fields are ok considering as we rotate them and no horses living out full time, horses get turned out everyday regardless
 
Our winter field is trashed, but there's no point moving them til it dries out and then we can move them, otherwise everywhere will get trashed. We still have 4 out 24/7. The other field you have to walk over the trashed field to get to, so we like to be able to walk over easily before we move them

Mine is currently not fully sound, has a warm coronet and puffiness around the fetlock. I've poulticed but nothing and I'm a bit stumped! He's not unhappy with it, just not quite right. Sigh.
 
Despite only being out in the daytime, the big horses' field is pretty trashed as they are both shod and tend to hoon around a bit. Both ponies' fields are fine and dry, the grass is short but edible; they are out 24/7.
I've had a walk around the summer paddocks this week to see what needs doing in them. The grass is still very short and the ground is very soft. There is no point in turning out in it just yet as it will just get trashed within days. By this time its usually a good foot high and the ground good and firm.
 
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