I just wish there was a way

[Yardbird]

To keep my horse out 24/7 ,even for a short period. It is allowed at my yard but I feel I need to bring him in at night to restict his grazing, I also often use a muzzle while he is out. He is a good doer cob only able to do light hacking. I am nervous riding and the night before last I had asked the Yard to bring him in as I was out that day and he got forgotton, so stayed out. When I rode him the next day he was so calm and chilled. I brought him in last night as usual and although he was fine to ride he was just different, a bit less relaxed, head up , a bit bouncier and I prefered him a bit of a plod. I just wish I could keep him out for a while without him gaining loadss of weight and getting laminitis.Does anyone manage to keep their good doing cobs out? How?

 

[Carrottom]

When you say light hacking, how long do you ride for? Could you extend this to burn up the extra calories? Maybe leave him in for a few hours after riding if you can fit this into your schedule so that he can stay out over night.

 

[JulesRules]

Is he in a herd or individual turnout? How accommodating is your YO?

Could creating a track system or strip grazing be a possibility?

 

[Yardbird]

Is he in a herd or individual turnout? How accommodating is your YO?

Could creating a track system or strip grazing be a possibility?

We are at Livery and he can either be in the field or in the stable. He shares a large field with 8 horses , it is not fertilized or particularly rich, but if I leave him out he will continually gain weight.

 

[Yardbird]

When you say light hacking, how long do you ride for? Could you extend this to burn up the extra calories? Maybe leave him in for a few hours after riding if you can fit this into your schedule so that he can stay out over night.

I only hack for one or one and a half hours some days could extend this but not always possible. I wonder how much I would need to do to see a difference.

 

[monkeymad]

Could you leave him out the nights before you ride and then stable him the nights you are not due to ride the following day? Alternatively could he come in during the day, but go out at night?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We are at Livery and he can either be in the field or in the stable. He shares a large field with 8 horses , it is not fertilized or particularly rich, but if I leave him out he will continually gain weight.

How do you know he will gain weight if left out? Does he have something to eat when he is inside, you surely don't leave him without forage all night? Many horses will self-regulate if they are allowed to do so (not necessarily in the first week). I would give it a try, using a weight tape regularly and re-evaluate . Can he stay out overnight in winter, too. that will be the time to get any extra weight off him.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I would give it a try and see how he goes, I like to leave mine out overnight as much as possible and they are so much calmer to ride and happier for it.

 

[Bermuda]

My good doer is out overnight and in during the day over the summer then out during the day and in overnight for the winter, he is much calmer to ride when he has been out overnight and bringing him in during the day seems to keep his weight under control (I still give him a small haynet). It may be worth a try?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

When you put a horse back onto grass after a night inside, it will almost always gorge on the grass. If it stays on the grass 24/7 that gorging doesn't happen.

 

[Blazingsaddles]

I would leave out 24/7 with the grazing muzzle left on overnight. Use a weight tape every few days & monitor.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Yeah my good doer Welsh cob, who has previously had laminitis, stays out 24/7. Luckily the yard owner is good with those of us with fatties and allows us to use our paddock how we want. This summer it's been Henry and one other, and we have strip grazed about three-quarters of the paddock. We poo pick every day, and are sensible with how much grass we give them, e.g. when it was scorching hot the fence was moved daily as the grass stopped growing, and then when it started raining and the grass went mad we didn't move the fence at all for ages. He's in good shape. It's one of the only downsides of summer for me, constantly worrying about laminitis, although I shouldn't because I always have him on restricted grazing every spring-autumn and he always looks good for it.

 

[ester]

It is tricky when you are limited with the turnout situation, mine does fine on a track system even when in minimal/no work and have had that at home and on livery.

My concern about muzzling for only part of the day would be the gorging after, when I used one he was in during the day and out at night so came in to gorge on hay rather than grass and then once his field mate had sorted most of the grass it came off for F to tidy up the edges. A larger group does sometimes work better in terms of movement but Frank had been in that situation out 24/7 when I bought him and he was very overweight.