Is individual turnout good or bad -discuss!

Works for most horses and is less risky than pairs/groups. So long as they are next to others/close to others then there is very, very rarely a problem
 
I'm not keen on it myself, prefer them in groups so they can play and have close company. But I've had Chex on his own on a temporary basis and he's not bothered (usually when the other horses escape and he's left alone lol). I wouldn't choose it as a permenant option though.
 
it is, more or less, what I have now, except that ours are out in pairs. Smaller paddock size makes keeping the paddock clean easier and there no arguements about whose dropping they are.

i have done the bigger herd arrangement in the past, one of the other women in the yard would wait for me to get there to catch her horse as she was always terrified of 10 or so horses galloping towards her at tea time. i liked the fact that there was always company out there for mine in that kind of setup, but catching a horse out of a herd in the dark can be interesting (and dangerous)
 
i am personally a fan as i have been at yards where it is downright dangerous to get your horse out of field gates, should it be lower down the pecking order of the group and the boss id guarding the gate. especially in winter...i am lucky at my yard in that i have two paddocks of my own so i tend to graze my girls together, while resting one paddock, and my new boy who has always been in a group, settled to ind T/O no problems at all, seeing as he has company all around him i prefer this method, as it limits injuries.
 
I like individual T/O, it has reduced alot injuries to my horse since he has been on this arrangement, but he still can say hello to other horses on each side so he has company and is safe from been kicked.
 
I prefer them to be out in a stable group where they can establish a pecking order and socialise and basically act as horses. I have 4 out together - 2 geldings, 2 mares and there is never any problem, but they have been together for sometime and were introduced slowly to each other. However, I appreciate that in busy yards where there are a lot of horse coming and going, this is not possible and individual paddocks are the safe solution. I hate posts on this forum where people buy new horses and are expected to just stick them straight out with a herd of strange horses and then wonder why there is hell to pay.
 
We rarely put a horse out alone if it can be avoided ie the mini shetland has to have restricted grass in summer or a stallion.
My biggest arguement is they never sleep properly if kept alone, as in the natural way of things one horse always keeps guard.
Plus how do they groom their itchy bits?
On a DIY yard I reckon two or three to a paddock is ok, but unless your horse is worth megabucks being with another is kinder for them.
Being next to others isn't the same either, they need to socialise just like humans do!
 
At the risk of sounding like a soft fluffy person, I have to say lone-turnout is one of my pet peeves. Horses were designed to live together & I hate seeing them alone, it just seems so un-natural! Surely the horse might as well be in its stable if it has no friends to play with! I suppose this situation isn't as bad if they can touch noses over fences, but they still arent really socialising! I suppose the ideal in my head is to have 3 or 4 out together, then they are less likely to get injured than when they are in a "herd" but can still form proper bonds!
 
All ours are turned out in pairs (due to size of fields) except sean, he has to be alone.

Different horses need different situation

In contrast back home in Ireland we have had 30 horses out together at one time
 
I am in favour of individual tuenout on a daily basis as they have shoes on and are in work but just geting an hour or two to clear their heads but when mine are going out on holiday I take their shoes off so that when establishing a pecking order no one can get hurt. We turned two out together and they were fine but we added a third and their was a brief kicking session and then everyone was happy with their order.
 
Definately out in the field together, with another horse to keep them company. They need the interaction, grooming, and support from each other, id agree with henry horn about the sleeping arrangment too. Often they struggle to settle when on their own
 
I had a mare who very obviously preferred to be on her own, she was happy to have them over a fence, but not with her, and she was the gentlest loving mare. I do prefer two together if possible (or three to reduce any seperation problems) but not overly worried about single turnout.
 
Hate individual turnout tbh.
I think it's done almost entirely for the owner/riders benefit and not for the horse.
Mine are all out with company, at one stage we had 9 out together and i've never had such happy horses.
Currently have a pair, a trio, and one at another yard in a field of about a dozen horses and its lovely to see them interact.
 
All mine go out in separate but adjacent paddocks. Old pony is safe with all but our brattish gelding. The others are kept apart for their own good as the pecking order has never got sorted and three out of the other four won't back down. They scratch over the fence. Three vet visits from four 'back to back' kicking sessions says it's the best option for all of us.
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My nerves wouldn't stand mass turnout and I don't think their legs or my grass would either.
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Also, three out of five are mares and a different three need restricted grazing.
 
Two of ours are turned out together as they love each other and then Spot couldn't cope when Tino was introduced to the group and booted him so Tino is by himself. My horse as she is a mare goes out by herself, shes the only one we have. She is also a natural born fattie and has been on restricted grazing all summer which is the last thing the others need.
 
It has its place I think. Our neighbouring yard (we are basically conjoined) and they turn theirs out individually. All their eventers are worth mega bucks and I can kind of see why they are so precious with them. The positive thing about the way they do it is its the large fields are divided by electric fencing so the horses can interact and groom. We however turn out in groups no bigger then four and having experienced turnout of up to 17 it works well.
 
The hackers that stay 24/7 are all together.

But my two got out at the same time every morning but in seperate fields next to each other, just because Ulrich has a mad fit as soon as he goes and bucks and leaps all over the place, so its safer really!
 
My argument to anyone who says that its natural for horses to live in a herd is that in the wild they do not have lovely big metal shoes and so when they do kick out, it is not nearly as dangerous. I have no choice with my mare, she has to live alone as she's a baggage.
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Personally I think its best to turn out in pairs. But it isn't always possible. 2 of mine are always out together and I would never take away that from them. They have 'play time' at about midday, they sleep side by side and regularily groom each other. I hate to think some horses would never get that! I used to keep mine all as one 'herd' of 4/5 horses and never had any problems (no injuries etc.).

However, one of mine is lame just now and also very prone to laminitis so obviously has very different requirements to the other 2. She is kept on her own at night but during the day I put her in with my other veteran pony (who goes out with my other 2 at night) - so my horses always get some time with another horse.

Overall though, Id FAR rather see horses turned out individually than not turned out at all
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I think horses should go out together more for the grooming side of it, saying that my horse is now on his own. He can touch as he is seperated from his friends by electric fencing. I do feel sorry for him at times but he seems fine and after having his leg fractured by his best friend, I couldnt see any alternative. They played nicely at first but the games got worse and for how bad they got, looking back Im suprised nothing happened sooner. He was lucky and is now fully recovered but I just know they would be up to no good if they went out together again.
 
Four of ours are always together but the retired racer sometimes goes into the next field with more grass. The others definitely don't need any more, even the elderly arab gelding.
 
I always turn mine out seperately but would never turn one out without another in an adjacent field for company.

When we used to turn them with two or more in the field, they seemed to be constantly getting knocks and cuts!
 
It depends!

With my own horses that I know well I generally have them in groups or at least pairs. Howeber I wouldn't stick two alpha's together.

I am going to stick ours in a herd and keep one up this winter, which will be a bit lonely for him, but won't risk keeping him in the herd system and competing (plus he is the lowest underdog)

However if I ever went to livery I would insist on individual turnout, you never know what the YO is going to do and I don't want injury from their experimentation. Friends of ours put horse in livery and in the first week the YO went from individual to sticking another horse with theirs (without asking). Their horse ended up with a broken back leg and had to be PTS. Cheeky livery yard also expected them to pay a full month when they killed off the horse in under a week!
 
My boy likes to groom with the other horses in his field and seems to enjoy their company but I do worry about having to introduce a new horse as he generally picks a fight with them. If he was on his own it wouldn't happen, but on balance I prefer to let him have contact with other horses.
 
Before Tarquin I would have said always in a group as Murphy was such a stress head on his own or even in a two. But due to livery yard politics I actually believe it is better to have horses on livery in individual turnout as it stops the b*tching about poo picking and horses getting injured. At my last yard they would mix mares and gelding during the day without telling you when they were moving you horse from one field to another and this was not nice for Mr T as he never got a stable herd and was accuse of kicking but he was only playing. Also myself and one other livery would poo pick but the other three refused therefore combined with the lack of paddock management and horses swopping field regularly our worming routine was useless, also they never wormed together.
I now have Mr T on his own, but he can touch other horses and he had lived in a stable herd all his life, he is fine, never worries when other horses come in and seems happy. I poo pick and worm to my own standards and have no b*tching that my horse has caused injuries, despite being the only one without hind shoes. In a perfect world I would have him with other horses but I have not found a livery yard here that has nice stable herds where everyone poo picks and worms together.
 
I can see arguments for both sides, but both my horses live out in a herd of about 10. Neither of them are shod, only one horse in the herd is and then only fronts. Both mine are very very happy, the gelding in particular who is a sensitive type. I would never keep mine individually.
 
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