Is Living out 24/7 365 really best for your horse?

Inthesticks

Inthesticks

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As title really...

Is living out 24/7/365 really best for your horse? Is it what we aspire to and if so why?

Giving we have domesticated horses over the years, are we clinging onto this part of their natural life because its easier and cheaper for us?

Does the weather at the moment make you waver on having them live out in winter?

Is the option of shelter in the field, truly enough
 
Inthesticks said:
As title really...

Is living out 24/7/365 really best for your horse? Is it what we aspire to and if so why?

Giving we have domesticated horses over the years, are we clinging onto this part of their natural life because its easier and cheaper for us?

Does the weather at the moment make you waver on having them live out in winter?

Is the option of shelter in the field, truly enough
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Not best for mine, they would come in at 1pm if they could
 
Mine are out and have been for years but even I am wavering at the moment! There is standiong water on top of their hill. They do have a straw bedded field shelter in a barn though.
 
All the horses I have owned have loved their stables in winter, even the shetland and my mare who had previously lived out her whole 6 years of life!
If there is the land, plus good shelter, then I can't see it doing horses any harm, but too many are confined to small areas, standing knee deep in mud. That is not what nature intended, wild horses cover huge areas.
 
It depends on the horse and other aspects of its management. Most breeds of horse today only exist due to selective breeding by humans, so we have already altered 'nature'.
 
Mine live out 24/7 but have unrestricted access to their stables and shelters located in their fields, so they can come and go as they please. If I were a domesticated horse, this is what I'd choose over being locked inside a stable. Certainly not a cheaper or easier option. It probably takes me far longer lifting all the dung from their fields on a daily basis as opposed to mucking out stables.
 
Not for mine. When he lived out over the summer, he was exhausted . . . he just didn't sleep - or at least not until the others were turned out/it was light. He was in a herd of three, no other horses on the property spent the night out (another 26 or so) and he HATED it. Only laid down/went to sleep when the other horses in surrounding fields were turned out and was completely dead to ride (because he was tired).

P
 
I think it depends on the horses and the conditions of their field. The cob HATES being in. He has a free access stable down the field, but in all those gales the other week whenever I went to check on him he was standing at the top of the hill back to the wind. The shettie HATES being out in the wind / rain / snow and is far more content snuggled up in a deep bed in the stable, so is shut in whilst Tobys left to come and go as he pleases. The old one is shut in with a small paddock - but that's because she has fibregy as a hay replacer and it stops the others stealing it - shes OK as long as there is another horse nearby, but will go insane (either field or stable) if she cant see another pony.
 
Depends on the horse.... I have a laminitic tb so needs restricted grazing. Also hugely sensitive with hardly any hair and can't cope with wet ground. Also hates being out in bad weather. It may be more natural to live out but a dartmoor pony he ain't...
 
It really does depend. Mine got to the point when we were last on a yard where getting them in was a nightmare, and I don't mean the catching, they simply didn't want to go inside! They will load and stand on a lorry, but don't really like stables. It came to a head when 4 of the 6 decided they were staying out one vile night, the 2 that came in spent a restless night, and were climbing the walls come the morning. Now they happily live out, will stand quietly in the stable when they come in because they know they are going back out. However, they live as a herd, which I think makes a big difference, and live on 16 acres so have access to a large space to roam over, with plenty of shelter, and a mixture of different forages. However, other horses seem to much prefer coming in!!
 
Depends. For a tb or other hotblood type, its not the best always because they simply can't cope with the weather. For natives i think it is okay, but i'm a softy. Mine are all hardy types but they would knock you down to get in and refuse to go back out.
 
Definitely best for my oldie. He has EMND and now cushings. Since living out 24/7/365 he has never looked so good :D and is fitter and healthier than most. 7 years ago, my yard owner thought he was on his last legs - fast forwards with Dr Green and he's amazing :)

It's best for my 4 yo traditional, because a) he's a filthy pig in the stable and b) he gorges himself less being out all the time. Again he's looking fab :)
 
Scatterbrain said:
Mine live out 24/7 but have unrestricted access to their stables and shelters located in their fields, so they can come and go as they please. If I were a domesticated horse, this is what I'd choose over being locked inside a stable. Certainly not a cheaper or easier option. It probably takes me far longer lifting all the dung from their fields on a daily basis as opposed to mucking out stables.
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This is how my three live, unrestricted access to their stables and to a field shelter. They come and go as they choose and some days/nights it's clear they have spent several hours in their stables whereas other times their beds are untouched. There doesn't seem to be any logic with regards to the weather and where they choose to be. They do all have different preferences, F likes to wander in and out if her stable but does overall spend more time in than the others, J prefers the field shelter and doesn't poo in her stable at all but likes to hoover up the others leftover hay and B will go in for a couple of hours at a time for a nap.

What is clear is that they all have different routines and preferences so an unrestricted system works best but having them living out is by no means the cheaper option or at least not with the price of land in Surrey.
 
My old girl box walks and kicks the crap out of any stable she is housed in. She is hardy and happy to live out, keeps her weight ( a bit too) well and I believe that having her moving around is best for her old joints.
My youngster however is happy in or out, again holds her weight well and is never cold or miserable. When she was a yearling/2yo I was adamant that she must stay out and live like a proper baby horse. Now, I keep her out as it is convenient and cheaper for me. She had to stay in on box rest earlier this year and was just as content kept in.
When the old girl eventually goes I may be tempted to bring the young one in but at the moment they are both happy and healthy out in v good quality rugs and checked twice daily. So for me it is both for my convenience and their wellbeing. If at any point I was worried that the way that they are kept was detrimental to their health then I would take steps to change it without hesitation.
 
amymay said:
Horses for courses. .....
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That.

Also, very few people are in a position to keep their horses out optimally, with a large varied area, good shelter, proper company, no mud etc. and also in a way that allows them to be clean, dry and easily accessible for work. Chucking a horse out in a small field is not the same thing, from a horse's point of view, as being in a perfect outdoor home.

Horses are very adaptable, some more than others. Very few of us get to do what is BEST, so we do the best we can.
 
Tried turning out 24\7 with coblet, he turned semi feral! He needs daily handling which means bringing in/turning out ect daily, if you leave him be he just gets unmanageable.
However you can't stable him as he climbs out! But he lives in his stable/ on the hard standing most of the time during the winter and hes quite happy with this...
 
mines gone from being in a very rediculous 20 hours a day....to being turfed out for the next 18 months :)

shes 3 and had no company for 4/5 weeks which wasnt good for her as she was miserable, she loved her stable tdont get me wrong but theres nothing like chucking out and leaving out



she now lives out on 20 acres (which is rotated)! with 6 other mares :)

Shes checked daily for me, i get a break and she can go be a horse until its time for her to do some work at 4.5

so yes - each to their own but mine will live out forever if i can find the right place :)
 
I think it depends on the horse. I have two, one who is a bit of a fair weather lad! Wants to come in at the first sight of a cloud, other who is out 24:7 until the yard asks for them to come in at night to help the grazing. Until we moved we were out 24/7 and she was fine
 
SuperCoblet said:
Tried turning out 24\7 with coblet, he turned semi feral! He needs daily handling which means bringing in/turning out ect daily, if you leave him be he just gets unmanageable.
However you can't stable him as he climbs out! But he lives in his stable/ on the hard standing most of the time during the winter and hes quite happy with this...
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My little mare gets like that, and gets really hard to catch. But if shes brought in every day even for an hour, she is okay and will come to you purely cause she thinks there is food lol
 
Depends on the field. My horses winter out very well, but its a very large field, hilly bits, flat bits, streams, varied shelter from forest, woodland and hedges and its well drained so is never mucky, rocky areas, varied plants to browse, they even have a little waterfall to admire. My horses are delighted. If you stuck them in a small boring muddy field they might not be so happy. I've never had an unhappy horse here, regardless of how institutionalised they are before they arrived. Few horses are lucky enough to have such surroundings though
 
I've also gone with free access to stables, yard and field and they seem to spend 90% in the field whatever the weather. I only put hay in the yard to minimise waste so they come in the yard then but the beds in the stables are largely untouched. They come in more in the Summer to get away from the heat/flies.

If I was a horse I think I'd choose this way to live
 
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