Hunting off grass?

[Danesvolkov]

Has anyone experience of hunting a horse of grass? I think I'm going to have to keep our horses out all winter (which will be no problem for two cobs) but I'm not sure how practical hunting will be - or am I being too precious about the whole thing?

 

[autumn7]

I'm not sure whether you mean entirely off grass (no hay/haylage) or just no hard feed but I have a hunting cob who doesn't tolerate stabling. She's turned out in a paddock by day and brought up to a totally bare paddock with haylage at night and her stable door propped open field-shelter style which she does stand in at times, although isn't 'stabled' as such.
The day paddock also has to be supplemented almost entirely by November through to March (haylage again) though, as by then I have no grass left.
My mare is an exceptionally good doer and survives well on haylage and Lo Cal balancer whilst hunting 3 - 4 times a month throughout the season.
I'm fortunate that this cob is bay, no white, so is straightforward to keep clean. The hardest times re. hunting her from the field are right now, early mornings, as she's unclipped, unrugged and if I wake up to her absolutely soaked and muddy I simply can't take her. I clip for opening meet and from then on that is not a problem as she's rugged and I've ample time to clean her up on hunting mornings. She's also hogged for ease of keep.
However...would have found it difficult with my old retired coloured cob with the cleaning effort and glad she would stable. I had to wash her the night before and still titivate in the morning. Bay is so much easier. I think I'd have resorted to a rain sheet on the night before early morning hunting if she'd been a non-stabler though.

 

[turkana]

My horses always live out, so I've hunted & competed from the field, like autumn7 the only issue I've ever had was getting them clean in the morning if they've managed to get themselves really wet & muddy.
I've always had chestnuts & bays so I've either washed the mud off or if there's time I wait for it to dry & brush it off.
I also think turning them out after a day hunting helps to keep their muscles from stiffening up too much.
Turn out rugs are so good these days a clipped horse can mange well in the foulest of weathers, my tb stayed out last winter blanket clipped in just a heavy weight, full neck rambo & she was snug as a bug, no matter how cold it was.
With the right diet & good shelter most horses can stay out all winter.

 

[Danesvolkov]

Thank you so much for those two very constructive replies. Sadly I have a grey and my husband a piebald so keeping clean is an issue but I think I can get over that. They are both good doers, living on air, so ad lib hay and some balancer should do the trick. I feel much braver about the whole enterprise now. I've kept them in full time with yard access and exercise with great success (from their point of view) for previous winters but now feel I can't cope with the constant skipping out, collecting bales of hay (no storage) etc etc. I know that I'll still have to poo pick but... If the stables and the land weren't three miles apart, how easy life would be!
Roll on this season!

 

[Addicted to Hunting]

Yep they definately can live out and hunt, and I actually often find it easier to hose of mud off grey legs than stable stains, normally a good blast will get the at least the worst off, even with out shampoo, stable stains are a law to themselves!! I would suggest full necked rugs tho, mud in the mane is not easy, and a cayuse cloth or similar for mud. When you get home I would just make sure they are as dry and clean as possiable before turning them out, and keep an eye out for any cuts signs of mud fever. I tend to wash mine off when they come back with a drop off dettol or hibiscrub in the water to help clean any cuts, straight away. Have also found Keretex mud powder to be very good

 

[oakash]

I believe many horses were hunted off grass throughout the Second World war. Think there is a book about it somewhere. Anyway, solutions seem to have been offered by people with experience, so good luck and good hunting!

 

[Ella19]

Mine is grey and lives out and up until this year I have hunted her off grass. Full neck rugs are a MUST. I wash tails the day before and coat in mane and tail so the mud slides off the next morning. If you and your horse get on with snuggy hood turnout hoods then these are a godsend but my pony didn't. Don't worry too much about legs, I often hack to meets which often defeats the object of washing legs off anyway! A quick flick on legs will do so no clumps or patches of mud are present.

After I wash off, throw on a cooler, if time i'll wait until she's dry, if not I make sure it's well fitting and leave it under her turnout rug and change rugs later. I've never had to bandage legs after as she's moving about and potters off any stiffness or swelling.

 

[star]

have hunted both my horses off grass. they live out full time with hay and normally just one hard feed a day. full clipped and well rugged. they are both chestnut so not normally an issue to get them clean as we are on sand so no mud, just brush off the dry sand (if not dry when fetch in then it's normally dry by the time we're at the meet)