I have a fatty cob so he comes in during the day to get off the grass which is higher in sugars then goes out at night when sugars arent so high also keeps the flies of
the grass is higher in sugar durin the day as said above (!) and they actually tend to eat less during the night. i have a mare who used to live out at night and in during the day when i was competing her and it seemed to work. it also gave her time to deflate before i rode in the evening! also less mucking out as seemed to be cleaner in the day! although i didnt give her much to eat during she didnt actually want it!
Works for me, both mine are strictly speaking out 24/7 but the older one comes into the yard during the day to get him off the grass. Grass needs UV light to produce fructans and the levels drop at night, it also gets him out of the flies and heat (!!). When the field is very wet during the winter they also come in to dry their legs off and give them some respite.
We have a lot of horseflies around our paddocks and the horses stand by the gate being eaten alive. They also both tend to get rather large on the grass! So they come in by day during July/August and sleep in the cool!
Angel comes in because she burns horribly at the merest hint of sunshine. Even overcast summer days can burn her nose and face because of the level of ambient UV light. She is a coloured cob with tons of pink skin but in addition, she was a rescued horse and had severe ragwort poisoning. She is now healthy and happy but there is permanent damage to her liver which means she struggles to break down chlorophyl, the compound that makes grass green. The chlorophyl circulates in her body and she acts as a giant leaf, actually attracting the sunshine. If she isn't brought in during the day in the summer, in a week her face looks as though she's pushed her head into a bonfire, poor lass.
Absolutely nothing to do with limiting grazing as the horses are in turnout paddocks with round bales. I don't graze my fields, my grass is for hay not horses until September, it has just started to grow in the last fortnight and is way too lush for them.
On warmer days when there is no wind we get dirty great so called elephant flies (think of something with a body an inch long with teeth) they drive the horses wild. That's on top of the deer flies and the clouds of mosquitos. For the sake of the horse's sanity, soundness, and my fencing, they come in and doze in a nice cool, dark barn all day.
Ditto all the above plus, from a lazy or selfish point of view, it is really handy having her in her stable for whenever I can steal an hour for a quick ride - much quicker than having to go and catch her and she has a quick flick over when I get her in so I can arrive and be on board pretty quickly - essential between work and the school run!
Advantages:
No midge bites
Less lotions and potions required
Reduce grass intake as mine are good doers
No sunburn
Stables are easier to muck out than over night ones
Disadvantages:
Cannot turn out until after dark, means no early nights in summer!
Have to get up early to bring in so no lay ins either
Horse doesn't get the sun on their back, which I think is good for them.
I have small paddocks and two greedy tbs .It gives the grass a chance to recover and they have snooze and rest.My tb gets eaten alive by midges in summer plus I need him to rest because of injury.Big plus is I can have a lie in and stables are easy to muck out.
If I had choice I would have field shelter and more grazing but yard is friendly with decent facilities .
Advantages:
- Less midge bites and flies
- Less lotions and potions required
- Reduce grass intake as mine are good doers
- No sunburn
- Stables are easier to muck out than over night ones
- Get to work early and leave late, so don't have to pay mobile groom
- Helps their feet not dry out so much and so therefore keep shoes on
- Have clean horses to ride straight way from work
- Can have lie in and not worry about shut in stables without any breakfast
Disadvantages:
errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr can't think of one at mo
oooooooo bloody evening walker!!