Individual turnout

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basilbrush2009

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MY horse is currently on individual turnout.

I am not a fan he has always up until dec2012 been kept in a herd

Since moving him to this yard although he looks alright and does graze ect but he is a completly diff horse.

I feel he is okay now but how is he going to feel in the summer out 24.7 with no friends :(

Has anyone had experience of horses behaving differently ridden when moved onto individual turnout,

What are peoples views on it

I personally prefer herd turnout but this is just what I am used to

I feel guilty, but am i being silly?

Keeping my eyes out for other places at the mo
 
Its not ideal.

Can your horse see or touch others over the fence?

My pony is on 24/7 turnout and has friends during the day, but is alone at night. He seems OK with this as he can see the stable block and the others, but I woudnt want this for him all of the time. xx
 
HaffiesRock said:
Its not ideal.

Can your horse see or touch others over the fence?

My pony is on 24/7 turnout and has friends during the day, but is alone at night. He seems OK with this as he can see the stable block and the others, but I woudnt want this for him all of the time. xx
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They can see and touch but not neccesarily scratch ect
He loves to play thats the thing and i miss watching him play and be happy and generally be a horse
 
At the last yard I was at my boy was in a paddock on his own, he could see and touch other horses over the fence but they couldn't have a good groom etc. I'd only just got him so didn't have much to compare with. However since moving him he is like a different horse. He is so relaxed and happy. He is in a hierachy in the field, knows his place and he seems much more contented, and although he comes in with occasional bumps and bites, they seem to have a ball in the field, they love playing and galloping about. It's the most natural environment for a horse to be in. When he was on his own I always got the feeling that he probably felt like he was on his own as he wasn't in any sort of social structure.
 
For short spells and for specific reason then I could live with individual turnout. For a more permenant arrangement then it's not something I'd consider.
All my horses would turn out alone, but all are by far happier people when allowed proper horse interaction time.
Sadly many yards only offer individual :(
 
I'd move. I would never turn out individually unless for a medical or serious behavioural issue.

In my lot I notice a difference in a small herd from a large herd (more difficult and behaviour goes downhill) and single (near impossible).

In a large herd I rarely have a problem with any of them, chilled out little things.

^ That's not to say they can't be by themselves and all have been at some point as feel it is important that they can without being stupid if necessary.
 
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my mare is on individual turnout (yard policy) and unless she is out in a group 3 + this suits her as gets incredibly attached when she just has one field companion so have to say this suits me and her at the moment :)

it is nice to see mutual grooming etc though.
 
I can see some good things about it but I personally just don't like it to be honest.

We have mares in one and geldings in the other which im not even sure why?!

Plus side to individual turnout is the risk of injury. One of the mares came in with a leg injury the other day. Apparently it was about a mm away from the tendor :eek: Two nights in at the vets and two months box rest ... The owners are just dreading the bill and i cant say i blame them!
 
It sounds like it is not going to be a happy situation long term. Why not see if anyone at the yard wants to buddy up with you. YO may be happy with that if the other livery agrees.
 
They tried to do this to my horse when I went to uni- they very quickly discovered he could wreck a field by pacing up and down the fence, and jump a decent height- over said fence. I asked for him to be chucked out with all the uni horses in the end. Individual turnout was driving him nuts!
 
My horse went onto individual for a month last year and was a completely different horse because of it. As soon as he was turned out with his friends again he reverted back to his usual self.

He became anxious and bargy, which is not like him at all. He is a very playful chap and I always see him playing in the field with his friends. I think he missed that a lot.
 
Most of our liveries prefer individual turnout.
The horses are stabled at night and in the field all day with horses either side of them.
We see absolutely no negatives to this in our experience. The horses are completely calm and happy in their routine.
From a yard perspective safety is the biggest benefit. Less risk of injury to the horses and most importantly the risk to people is minimised should liveries want to pull in their horse from a group.
The downside is having to provide multiple individual turnout paddocks.

We do not object to group turnout and some of the horses are out in two's but the preference to date from our customers has been for individual and the horses across the board do not care.
 
At the yard I'm at most of the liveries prefer individual turnout too. I can see all the benefits which Lark has outlined above. My horse was turned out in her own paddock with horses either side for the first year and a half that I owned her and she always seemed happy enough. However, when I got a second horse and turned them out together she became a much happier and more relaxed horse. I prefer them to have company where possible.
 
Reading all these replies with interest! My boy is currently on individual turnout and I'm thinking of moving to a yard where they are all turned out together.
 
My boy is in individual turnout with horses either side. Wouldnt have it any other way! He has company but just can't get kicked. I'd never have him in a herd situation, just too much risk. Each to their own but he has never shown signs of unhappiness!
 
My Horse hated it.

She was such a laid back girl before. I moved her yards and she was fine there in the summer living out in the herd, in the winter they have individual paddocks and come in at night. She started getting very stressy, she then started jumping out her field and into the others, she then just decided to run through the fencing, she became a handful to lead, she would try to canter off, rear up (I don't mean small little rears either) bucking, striking out etc. She was very nervous all the time, could no longer tie her on yard as the littlest thing would cause her to spook and then she would snap the twine and run loose. She didn't want to go in the stable either, I had to turn her round and back her in. I had to stop riding as she became so stressed and she became too much for me. One day she got out the field and got kicked, she was lame so I kept her in for a month (it was also due to snow) she was alot more settled and easier to handle. But still not my Horse. I was even thinking she may have a tumor as she was just so different. I did ask to go in with another Horse but my YO said no :rolleyes: so I moved back to my old yard.

That was almost 3 weeks go and I see more of my old Horse every day. She can tie up on the yard and hasn't spooked, I am back riding her, she goes in the stable nicely, turns out fantastic, doesn't try to escape the field, just looks happier in herself. She is better to bring in, she hasn't reared once and only bronced once. She just tries to rush, but we are getting there.

So yes I would say some Horses aren't suited to it.
 
chestnuttyy said:
Reading all these replies with interest! My boy is currently on individual turnout and I'm thinking of moving to a yard where they are all turned out together.
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I think if you have options that is the key.
Individul or groups

The settling in period in large groups is the most dangerous time. And if you have ever seen two horses go bum to bum it is quiet an unnerving experience. It is not common but 2 dominant horses ascerting themselves is not pretty. If they come out the other end unscathed it is a huge sigh of relief.

I still do not like liveries having to pull horses in from the field with a group.
It is not the safest job in the world so we would insist on a hat going on first.

Although it is more work to facilitate individual turnout it does give us as YO a peace of mind.
 
I don't think it is that bad personally if there are horses either side but obviously would rather they had actual company.

I have my horse in on her own in the middle of two other fields and she is ok but doesn't really like it when the other horses go right to the other side of their field, the horse I had before that I had moved from somewhere completely on his own (he was on loan and that was where his owner had him) so obviously was an improvement for him although he wasn't as bothered.

Amazingly he managed to sustain quite a large wound which needed the vet from a kick through the fence by a small unshod youngster next door! How he managed it I'm not sure!

I am actually hoping to have a young pony delivered this weekend for a companion, yay! It has always been the plan but as there were horses all around I decided we would make do without for a while until I was ready financially for another. Also one of the neighbouring fields is vacant now so my horse will get very upset if the two remaining horses go out.

So basically I think it is ok for most horses as long as there is at least one horse over the fence at all times.
 
I wouldn't like my horses on their own, it's just not natural for them. I think being able to actually interact, groom, play etc with others is good for their minds & manners - especially for youngsters. At my old yard we had individual fields where each livery kept their own - i decided to share with a friend & we had a small herd of geldings - it worked really well - same sex, small group, nobody was ever left alone. In saying, horses are so adaptable - i've seen 50 in a field/open yard at a blood bank & they all so chilled & happy, no squabbling whatsoever.
 
I wouldn't like it, mine's lived with the same friends for many years.
I think the worst thing though on livery yards is when horses get turned out with different companions every day with no chance to settle into a proper group. That is what causes fights and injuries, when they are settled in a herd there are no problems.
 
I'm not a fan of individual turnout and avoid yards where this is the norm. I've had my three in a paddock surrounded by other pairs and singles and my lot were stressed and miserable.
A good established herd is the safest option and my preference. The horses keep fitter and mentally healthier and are safer to ride and handle without being submissive or compliant(depressed).

The problems of herd turnout occur when the YO does not have the knowledge to a manage herd and know what horses will work well together.

The other problem is novice owners who do not understand how a herd interacts and cannot safely remove their own horse without putting themselves and other horses at risk.

However, I avoid yards that aren't managed by experienced and perceptive YO's.
 
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I don't like it as a permanent arrangement, unless the horse itself is a danger to others. If they can interact over a fence & are adults, then I don't think its cruel, but I think they are happier with company.
Op, from your other thread about your horses confidence, I would say its likely individual turnout is contributing. Because they are herd animals, they take it in turns to either relax or be on alert. If there is no other horse to take over whilst one relaxes, then it has to be on alert all the time, because its vulnerable. If there are horses over the fence nearby, most horses on individual turnout will be happy to relax while another is alert. However some aren't, & with one that has become jumpy like yours has, I would suspect he is one of the ones that won't relax on individual turnout.
 
Hi,
My horse was being beaten up daily at my old yard by his 2 field buddies, so I decided to move him to individual turnout at a different yard.

Well my once positively horizontal horse turned into the neediest and biggest stress head I have ever. Endless fence walking, galloping around just generally had a meltdown.

Completely out of character for my boy so decided within about 6 days that enough was enough, bought a suitable companion and moved them both to a yard where I have sole use of 4 acres and stables etc.

I have not looked back. Paddy was visibly relived to have a buddy and after the initial hooney around they relaxed and began grazing. It was like night and day within about 30 seconds of arriving at the new yard. Says it all for me really.
 
I disagree lark. We don't have a single field with less than 15 horses in it.

The only time we've ever had a problem introducing ending in getting bum to bum was when two were introduced in a field alone (had been side by side for a while and one was in individual).

The large herds (varying from 15 to 30) frequently have horses coming and going between fields - depending on now additions, new youngsters, ones being brought into work or finished their job for the time. They've yet to have more than a good excuse for legging round and then deciding who to pal up with or in some fields which herd to join. One of the fields has a definite two herds, but will mingle for food and when you call them with absolutely no fuss. A good herd leader will quickly nip anything dangerous in the bud. With the two herds the two field leaders get on fine. Tell eachothers lot off as if they were their own herd and yet to do anything worse than a vigourous groom to each other. The fields are a mix of geldings, mares, breeds, jobs and ages.

The other bad introduction ive seen was in a small (4) herd where one took offense to the new horse.
 
I think my horse must be the exception to the general rule. He us individual turnout and much prefers it. He is not a social horse, doesn't engage in mutual grooming and hates other horses in his space. He likes their company over the fence, buts thats it. Since I have owned him he has been in group and individual, he seems much happier with his own field.
 
Serephin said:
I think my horse must be the exception to the general rule. He us individual turnout and much prefers it. He is not a social horse, doesn't engage in mutual grooming and hates other horses in his space. He likes their company over the fence, buts thats it. Since I have owned him he has been in group and individual, he seems much happier with his own field.
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I've had two like this but more extreme - neither of them liked other horses near their fence either. Hated being with other horses and loved being by themselves. Both enjoyed hacking out with other horses on occasion though, just didn't like living with them.

I think horses are like people - they all like different things and you have to work out what works for you and your horse. What works for one may not for another.
 
I've been at various yards with my horse due to moving around with my husband's job and I'm now at a yard with individual turnout and I'm sure my horse is happier. He's always been at the bottom of the pile with other horses, with him getting kicked (£2000 vets bill) and his rugs torn to shreds. He can still see horses over the fence and does indulge in a bit of mutual grooming occasionally but most of the time is happy to ignore them. However, he is now 12 years old and perhaps if he was younger he would want friends to play with.
 
My friends horse is turned out individually as he's a bit nasty with the others. It seemed to make him braver and more independent hacking and he seems fine! He's in the exact same routine as the others tho (small yard) and still gets to groom/scratch/grab rugs in the turnout pens/going past the stable. Suits him well! I wouldn't turn my horse out alone tho as he really enjoys the company of others and is v playful. Completely depends on the horse I think
 
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