Is 24/7 grass turnout a no-no for some types?

[Ambers Echo]

Some horses of all types self regulate with unrestricted access. But some just don't. My old yard was a good example. About 30 RS horses on 100 acres out 24/7/365 in hard work as they were all used the RS. Most were fine. A few just weren't and got far too fat and needed managing separately.

I think your best bet is to ask how any horse you are interested in is kept and see what the current owner says. Ideally buy one who is already out 24/7 in the summer and ask for pics from summer to make sure the horse was not hugely overweight on that regime.

 

[HollyWoozle]

We have absolutely rubbish grazing and I love it for this reason. We have three living on a few acres 24/7 all year and they don’t work but don’t get particularly fat. Their weight does fluctuate throughout the year and we do have to feed hay most months of the year to make up for the grazing, but it’s much easier to feed up in that way! They also have a balancer. I can imagine it is very difficult if grazing is good and that you really do need to let them lose a good bit in winter.

Having said all of that, I think finding a yard with 24/7 turnout all year is a rarity and that it’s better, if weight can be managed, for them to be out as much as possible. I would consider the grazing quality and horse’s workload carefully before making a decision but would definitely see if there is a way to make it work.

 

[cauda equina]

My old cob could live out 24/7 with no problems, everything else I have to micromanage for much of the year; so much depends on the individual horse

I'd be wary about muzzling in a large herd as they wouldn't have teeth to defend themselves if the others started to pick on them

 

[conniegirl]

I have kept natives out 24/7 and bot had any problems at all. That said i had 4 to 5 on 3 acres.

my current welshie is out 24/7 on reasonably good grazing and its never been an issue. So it can be pony dependant

 

[J&S]

If your horse goes out into a large herd I would have thought that the field/s would be grazed down quite quickly. Perhaps you could ask for an area to be taped off to make a "slim bin" for emergencies?

 

[Muddy unicorn]

Our ISH is a ridiculously good doer - when he was in a decent amount of work he lost enough during the winter to go into spring at pretty much a perfect weight. He's been out 24/7 for the last year as we decided to turn him away for a while to see if that helped him come sound - he has mild hock arthritis, occasional flare-ups of asthma and a niggling historic suspensory injury, all of which needed him to be moving about as much as possible as he wasn't being exercised.

He's spent all winter unrugged and unclipped and is now fatter than I'd like him to be, however he's just had the OK from our vet to come back into work so I'm keeping my fingers crossed we can at least stop him from gaining any more and ideally start losing.

He's in a large, hilly field with six other geldings - they rotate fields every three months and they've been having a bit of supplementary hay in crates for the last six weeks or so. He has no feed at all so his metabolic system is pretty impressive! If he were in proper work, he would be fine being out 24/7 and apart from a few days when it's been horizontal, freezing rain he's been much happier and healthier being out. He's got very sensitive skin (pretty much the only thing he's inherited from his TB side) and I would very much not want to put a grazing muzzle on him as I suspect it would make him miserable and cause other problems.

 

[PurBee]

My welsh dXarab mare is prone to weight gain tricky management if she’s on 12/12 in/out system. She gorges when going out, after being in. Whereas if she’s out 24/7 (when weather/field condition here allows) she self-regulates eating grass and actually looks fab Weight-wise.
(It almost like they have the mentality daily of “we’ll be pulled off grazing soon, so must eat as much as i can”)

I dont have rich grass though, but do have lots more trees/bushes they eat from too and plenty of calories out there, they just seem to self-regulate better on 24/7 than half in, half out system.

In winter theres almost no grass growth and theyre on a mix of haylage low sugar forage 24/7 they also look fab weight-wise as i manage their whole intake.

It’s the 12/12 in out system thats trickier to manage for me/mine.

 

[JJS]

I have a Traditional Cob and her Welsh D x daughter who both live out 24/7 all year round. What I’ve tried doing in the last couple of years is being super strict in winter. That means this year, rather than putting a round bale out, they get one haynet between them a day and aren’t rugged in even the worst weather. They then drop off nicely in winter to mimic natural seasonal fluctuations.

 

[Leandy]

Of course it is doable. Native types are designed to live out 24/7. Whether it is doable at the yard you refer to is a different question as it will depend on the type of grazing. Given the grazing at the vast majority of livery yards is very much not too rich, I would think you would be ok. What sort of horses and ponies are at the yard already? What condition are they in? That will give you a clue. Personally I hate grazing muzzles but many use then successfully. I would not be selecting the type of horse I want by reference to the grazing conditions though. There are far more important considerations in selecting the perfect partner for yourself.

 

[Tarragon]

I keep my two native ponies out 24/7. The principle being the largest area possible that still leaves them hungry enough for a bit of hay. So in the winter (December to March) they have access to 10 acres of well grazed down grass, and for the rest of the time I use electric fencing to reduce the grazing according to the grass available.
I think that if they are out all the time they tend to self-regulate more because they are not trying to eat as much as possible in the time allowed. I had heard of some research done that weighed ponies before and after grazing to get a rough judgement on how much they had eaten and found that some ponies turned out for a couple of hours a day would binge eat.
A nice feature of the grazing I have is that summer grazing might start off as a small area, but by the end of the summer they have access to three small fields and are constantly moving between them in their search for grass.
Another factor is how much exercise they get!