How important is turnout to you?

So who's it to be?

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Turnout is absolutely essential for me, could definitely not be somewhere that didn't have turnout. He's out for about 13 hours a day. If I had my own land (and money) he'd be out 24/7 but with a big field shelter. For just a stable and a field I think my livery is £20 a week, but I pay £30 including haylage and straw.
 
Mine live at home, but I only have a relatively small field so I have to be careful in the winter. My old girl is given the run of the place (except in very bad weather) during the day and at night comes into the yard and has the stable door open so she can wader about.
My Welshie has about a quarter acre of field that many moons ago used to be a menage. It has layers of soil and grass on it now, but the hardcore is still under there. This means she can razz about all day in the winter, and in the spring/summer I roll it and it is as good as new. It doesn't really have much grass though so she gets turn out for a couple of hours onto one of the grassier parts of the field. So basically, she has all day turn out but not much grass!
 
Turnout ultra important for us as believe breeding mares and youngstock need to move about as much as possible.
Have plenty enough of our own grazing to rotate and a bit more besides.
We feed top quality haylage but i dont think there is any subsitute for grass really.
There are days mine look out and think no way but they have only stayed in 2 days this winter to date and only come in early about the same.
Yearlings just been turned on 12 fresh acres and you have to shout them to come in they are never waiting.
 
mine lives out 24/7, dont have use of stable unless injury etc. Left a yard that had very little turn out so would not consider only seasonal turn out

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There wasn't really an option for me so I put 7 or more. My boy is out 24/7 summer and winter. However my girls are only out 24/7 summer and are out 8-9 hours a day in winter. YO has so much land its unreal and my yard is one of the cheapest in the area.......shame its so gossipy!
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have winter turn out for about 8 hours and she goes out everyday whatever weather for this time of year feidls are fab! lots of small feild with few horses in each. wouldnt consider having no winter grazing, my mare gets really touchy, and i wouldnt like to be wanting to ride but having to wait for another person to take their horse out of the arena. 1 would pay up to £20 as i think we're puting a horse in an unnatural environment permanently and they deserve some time to blow off some steam and i pay £26.25 a week ($105 monthly) for DIY at a place with 12 miles hacking, xc jumps around it, stripgrazing, floodlit 25x60 menage and 10x12 stable with large area to pt whatever we nee, and horses find it very easy to settle and they have hardly any issues, not much livery yard bitching!
 
The ones who live out, obviously 24 hours per day. The stabled horses have 7 or more hours outside every day.

I would never ever consider a yard with little or no turnout and would never consider a yard with only a school to turnout in.

Turnout is very very important to me as we have a lot of youngsters and some pregnant mares so I just wouldn't ever consider keeping them stabled for most of the day.

I would expect to pay around £5 extra for a field on my own.

I would expect to pay around £5 extra for a stable.

I keep all my horses at home so I don't have to worry about paying or lack of turnout etc. We have lots of land for the amount of horses we keep and board for others, so plenty of grazing fields here.
 
I wouldn't contemplate going to a yard with no winter tunrout. Where we are at the mo allows us to turnout 24/7 all year round if wanted although this is the first year that this has been allowed. My youngster comes in for 3/4 nights a week which is great around my job.
 
we are lucky to have our own place with a few liveries, who are allowed 24/7 turnout, our youngsters and broodmares are out 24/7, the stallions however are in but go out reguarly.
i think it is important for the horse to have regular turnout as i feel it allows the horse to exercise freely
 
I too would never go to a yard with no winter turn out, unless there were no other yards.

Finnbo would be climbing the walls
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Saying that, he only goes out for 3-4 hours as our fields are mud patches and at any other time of year he is on restricted grazing due to colic.
 
Grazing is paramount for me. my mare lives out 24/7 all year round. she gets stressed when stabled but is in her element when out. i could never go to a yard when my horse has little or no turnout. in fact i doubt i would ever willingly stable her overnight again.
 
Turnout is the most important thing to me. All my horses live out 24/7 even the fully clipped ones, and I wouldn't keep them any other way.
 
Mine goes out as much as poss in winter, and will only come in summer when it is really hot, and to keep his weight down!! Wouldn't consider a yard wiothout t/o, as is unnatural, and my boy would be a nightmare.
 
I wouldn't ever consider anywhere without all year turnout. Mine is out in the day atm and in at night but could stay out 24/7 if I wanted. Livery is £15 a week for grass and stable. We buy hay and straw separately.
 
My horses are in 24/7 in the winter so turnout not a prob. Wouldn't dream of putting my hard working horses out in the winter. They come in sept/oct time and don't go out again till april/may!
 
I rent a field and have a mobile stable so my boy will be out hopefully 24/7 from May to Nov (tummy expansion dependant) and in winter he is out every day for 13 hours come rain, hail or shine.
 
We have very very restricted T/O in winter... basically a muddy square about 1/4 acre that we can use for a couple of hours a day but not whilst lessons are going on (as it makes the lesson horses leap about if they can hear ponies going wild outside LOL). We are allowed to T/O in the school but only if we stay and watch our horses, we can't leave them to go nuts and rip up the surface.

Personally, this doesn't bother me as my horse copes fine with this little T/O but I am very very strict about exercising my horse EVERY DAY come hell or high water. I also get her into the T/O paddock at least twice a week.

There are lots of people in the barn who only ride their horse twice a week. They won't use the T/O paddock because 'it is too muddy'. So their horses are in the stable pretty much 24/7. IMO this is just plain lazy and cruel.
 
Turnout is very important to me, particularly as one of my horses is retired so can't be exercised in other ways. I wouldn't keep my horses at a place where they couldn't go out for at least a few hours a day in the winter.

I now have my horses at home, so they can have as much turnout as I want them to!
 
QR. Turnout isn't hugely important to me.
I have a small paddock I can use through the hunting season, but i do have to be respectful of it and not TO when it's very wet. But ponio doesnt gallop about or eat alot so it's not too bad. I specifically kept the fact I don't have lots of turnout in mind when I bought the pony, his temperament was very important there.
He's quite happy to stand in for a couple of days, but I ensure that he gets walks and inhand grazing. Obiously on those days the kids don't ride as I'm wary of him being a little fresh.
From march he'll get 24 hour turnout with the hunters, which he'll love. I'll get a lie in, the kids can ride more and no more frozen toes and stinky clothes for another few months yay!!
 
Winter T/O is not an option at our yard. YO doesnt want her fields being trashed because they get so wet.
In the morning they get an hour on the walker, and then about an hour in the school. He also then gets ridden most evenings a week, and competed/taught at weekends.
We thought it would be dire as he was used to living out - however he settled very well, and TBH it doesnt seem to bother him.
I would probably pay £5 extra p/w if he did get grazing though.
 
I could not be at a yard with no t/o. My reason for leaving HPF but I think that is being changed.

My two go out four days a week between 8.30 and dark. On the days they are in they can go in the school for a hour in the morning and a few hours in the evening.

Our winter paddock is now very muddy but I put out hay and they have time for fresh air, a bit of grass and time to be a horse.

In summer from May to October we have 24 hour t/o if we wish it.

I pay 27.50 a week for stable and grazing with use of the indoor school included.
 
24/7 turnout is essential to me. I wouldn't consider a yard that didn't offer that. The horses have a huge sheltered field, plus a field shelter, big bale hay and are happy as Larry. I have the use of a stable for tacking up etc, illness or injury.
 
This is a majoy bug-bear for me: I think ALL horse owners should consider as much turnout as possible THE most important thing! Sadly many do not......

I realise some people do not have the option as some yards dont offer winter turnout etc. but I could never ever do that to my horses - keep them stabled for all those months? No way. I felt terrible keeping one of my horses on box rest for 4 days last week! Horses are deisgned to live out and all prefer it, I dont care what people claim - once they get used to the routine of being out 24/7 they love it and its so much healthier for them, the evidence is there. Obivously there are some exceptions like an ex-racehorse for example who has always been used to being in from a very young age - thats different.

icemaiden113 - your comment "wouldnt dream of putting my hard working horses out in the winter", what?? That's the craziest thing Ive ever heard! My horses do BSJA and BE etc. yet they live out all year round! They are clipped yet extremely well rugged and fed. One of mine was imported from a hot country abroad yet he also lives out! ANY horse can and should live out IMO.
 
While I agree that horses should be out as much as possible, realistically not many people have the facilities to turn out for long periods never mind 24/7. I know where I live there is no where I can think of (and I have looked at a lot of yards within a 3 mile radius) that have 24/7 turnout, and many do not even offer winter turnout.

I would like mine out a lot more than they are getting out at the moment, but as one gets VERY bad mud rash I could not have her going out for long periods as it flares up horrendously, whereas if she is just out for an hour or so I can keep control of it.
 
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