Firehorse
Well-Known Member
when i bought my pony, he'd lived the life of a prince. warm stabling, deep beds and thick rugs up to the ears. the owners assured me he'd been fine living out 24/7, but he does hate the wind and rain and handed me a bag of rugs including a heavyweight combo rug.
anyway, last winter was his first living out 24/7. i'd bought him at the end of May so he had plenty of time to adjust. all winter he wore a mediumweight rug, with only two days in feb where he was shivering in the wind and rain, so i put on his heavy combo. he was getting ab lib haylage and 2 large scoops of chaff a day. he was always hungry, waiting for me to get there or charging across the field when he saw me coming. but he managed very well and only dropped a little bit of weight.
and now this year, i've really noticed a difference in him. having replaced most of his original wardrobe with detachable neck rugs or various thicknesses and hung onto his heavy combo as a spare. i didn't rug him till the begining of november, just a lightweight. and he stayed in that till i had him clipped at the end of the month, and then i put him in a 40g rug. he stayed in that till we had snow before xmas. during the snow he wore his 220g rug and i put his neck rug on during the worst of it for a couple of days, but i'm sure he'd hve been fine without the neck. anyway, as soon as the snow had gone, he was back in his 40g and has stayed in it ever since. i'm temped to put him into his no fill rug, but as its been so wet and windy, i've held that off for a bit. food wise, he's on the same ad lib haylage as last year, but he is on less than half the food. i give him about 3/4 a scoop of chaff on working days, then the rest of the time he gets a handful just to put his supplements in. he's rarely as hungry as he was last year, sometimes leaving his feed. he hasnt been waiting at the gate for me in months. and he still comes up the same on the weigh tape as he does all year round.
he's really toughened up and adapted to his out door lifestyle. this time last year, he'd have been shivering in this rain we've been getting, but it doesnt seem to bother him at all. i've also noticed his feet aren't as smelly as last year. i was scrubbing and disinfecting them every second day last year when we had all the mud, as they were a bit smelly and his frogs would start to peel when he was due for the farrier. but there's been none of that this year.
anyway, i know all horses are different, but i hope this encourages anyone who's thinking of changing their horses to being out 24/7. as much as i'd like to think of my pony tucked up in a warm straw bed while i'm warm in my house, i know he's fine and happy where he is. quite often in the middle of the field grazing in the lashing rain, not caring a hoot!
anyway, last winter was his first living out 24/7. i'd bought him at the end of May so he had plenty of time to adjust. all winter he wore a mediumweight rug, with only two days in feb where he was shivering in the wind and rain, so i put on his heavy combo. he was getting ab lib haylage and 2 large scoops of chaff a day. he was always hungry, waiting for me to get there or charging across the field when he saw me coming. but he managed very well and only dropped a little bit of weight.
and now this year, i've really noticed a difference in him. having replaced most of his original wardrobe with detachable neck rugs or various thicknesses and hung onto his heavy combo as a spare. i didn't rug him till the begining of november, just a lightweight. and he stayed in that till i had him clipped at the end of the month, and then i put him in a 40g rug. he stayed in that till we had snow before xmas. during the snow he wore his 220g rug and i put his neck rug on during the worst of it for a couple of days, but i'm sure he'd hve been fine without the neck. anyway, as soon as the snow had gone, he was back in his 40g and has stayed in it ever since. i'm temped to put him into his no fill rug, but as its been so wet and windy, i've held that off for a bit. food wise, he's on the same ad lib haylage as last year, but he is on less than half the food. i give him about 3/4 a scoop of chaff on working days, then the rest of the time he gets a handful just to put his supplements in. he's rarely as hungry as he was last year, sometimes leaving his feed. he hasnt been waiting at the gate for me in months. and he still comes up the same on the weigh tape as he does all year round.
he's really toughened up and adapted to his out door lifestyle. this time last year, he'd have been shivering in this rain we've been getting, but it doesnt seem to bother him at all. i've also noticed his feet aren't as smelly as last year. i was scrubbing and disinfecting them every second day last year when we had all the mud, as they were a bit smelly and his frogs would start to peel when he was due for the farrier. but there's been none of that this year.
anyway, i know all horses are different, but i hope this encourages anyone who's thinking of changing their horses to being out 24/7. as much as i'd like to think of my pony tucked up in a warm straw bed while i'm warm in my house, i know he's fine and happy where he is. quite often in the middle of the field grazing in the lashing rain, not caring a hoot!