Is this the norm nowsays

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sherbet

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Have just started looking at new yards and all seem to close fields for winter or limited turn out. Think we have found somewhere she has been very honest about turnout fields closed dec to April but can turn out in school alday
 
There would be no way i would go anywhere that limited winter turnout.

A lot more yards are doing it because they have too many stables for the amount of land they have.

I used to get upset if my horse was kept in for 2 or 3 days in a row in winter, its not fair or normal!
I
Now i have my own place they are out everyday over winter. God help me if i have to go back to livery !
 
I wonder if it's mostly clay in your area? Clay is easy to trash and hard to fix so it's not surprising if winter turnout is limited. I do sympathise though
 
I totally understand!!! I've moved from an area where it's abnormal to keep horses in, with the majority 24/7 in summer and over night in winter. With the odd day in when really icy/snowy.
The area I've moved to regard me as abnormal!!! I've been called cheeky, unreasonable, unrealistic etc etc
It's very normal round here to only have turnout during summer, with no turnout at all in winter and winter at many yards lasts from September until mid/end of May!!
There are at least 2 yards I know of near me who only allow 2 hours turnout per day may - September and nothing the rest of the year. These yards are full!!! With waiting lists!!! All I can put this down to is pure greed, too many stables, unwillingness to pay out on land management.
I would love to see licensing and strict welfare standards to put an end to such practices. I think worst of all is the number of owners who pay out and accept this!!!
Rant over!
 
In some bits of the country it is sadly the norm but looking at your location you should be able to find somewhere. I moved from the London side of Essex to Kent to get good turnout. Some big yards round my way do limit turnout but plenty of smaller private yards dont't. I did a year with limited turnout and hated it. I felt so cruel so I made my husband move counties - never again.
 
I think it is greed/the high cost of land. And also (present company excepted) a lot of YOs don't have a lot of experience with horses. Leaving out does trash some areas round gates etc but not as much as turning out after hours stood in, but keeps ulcers, stress, stable vices, behaviour issues at bay. And land does recover, with a little TLC.
I would hate those kind of rules too, my lot are out all year round except in the worst weather because they are mostly geriatrics lol, but I have 13 acres and only 4 horses on it.
 
Yes it does seem to be common and I agree it tends to be too many horses vs land available. I am so lucky in that I am on a private yard and we turnout every day in winter. The field does get trashed but at least they are out and we have a spare field for summer
 
I'm afraid it is the norm around here. We're on heavy clay and damaged fields take a lot of time and money to repair. I'm not sure it is greed so much as just recognising the actuality of being on heavy clay. If we trash the fields one winter we'll have nothing come summer - we just have to balance.

I've had horses for years and have never done 24/7 turnout (although we can in the summer - I prefer not to). There are loads of ways to keep horses and loads of opinions about what way is best. And different things suit different horses! It would be a boring world if we were all the same!
 
I personally think that livery in many cases is too cheap and that this is part of the problem

There are several places round here where there are too many horses for the land, local livery prices have been driven down by yards that overstock and its a vicious circle

One place had 6 horses on three acres a couple of years back at £25 a week now has eleven at £15 a week each so the owner is only pocketing £15 more overall

I think expectations v livery money are too high sometimes

I know that's a bit general and a lot of more expensive yards will also restrict turnout before anyone complains!
 
Personally I would not keep a horse that was not turned out atleast 8 hours a day it is my view that it is cruel and akin to crating a dog 24/7 and should only be used as a result of veterinary advice. Mine live out 24/7 but I would stable at night if needed but I would hate it as would the ponies. I agree it is overstocking that causes this there should be at least 2 acres for the first horse and an acre each for every subsequent one might be too much in summer but would be usable after sinter in just about every case flooding damage excluded of course. Clay soil recovers quickly and is brilliant for grass growth in most cases there is far too much if stocked correctly about time the needs of the aninals came first. I would rather not have horses at all than cage them
 
It outstounds me the amount of huge yards 20-40 stables with only several acres if that of grazing land, ive even seen a few private ones with an acre or 2 and several stables I just don't see the point fo more stables than land for livery. Competition centres / vets where animals are in for a reason and short term fair enough but for general healthy animals on livery I just cant stand it. I have worked at a big yard which actually had turnout but many of the full liveries wouldn't allow us to turn there horses out because they didn't want them dirty or injuring themselves! they wanted them stood in 24x7 looking immaculate and ready when ever the fancy took them to be saddled and handed over too them, these same people barely patted or looked at their horses let alone said a kind word to them! truly saddened me didn't understand why they owned them they could of just booked a lesson once or twice a week.
My horse is kept privately with tonnes of turnout and a big airy stable and if I couldn't keep him on a yard like this I sadly wouldn't want to own a horse. I know am lucky to have cheap private livery and thankfully am only a happy hacker so no facilities is not a concern, my one priority is met lots and lots of lovely green fields natural fields with hills and lumps and trees and a variety of vegetation not a flat cube of perfect lawn grass. but then am a happy little weirdo as appreantly this isn't a normal thing to admire lol
 
I personally think that turnout doesn't have to be on grass. I would be happy with daily turnout on an all weather corral in the winter with hay feeder etc... So the question is, why don't yards on clay soil, or with a bad horse/acre ratio have all weather turnouts? Not just a school, but a proper turnout area and more than one if they have enough horses to require it? I guess it comes down to money.
 
I'm in the north west many yards round here have no winter turnout or turnout for an hour or so on a trash paddock. I chose my yard because there is 24/7 turnout in summer and daily winter turnout. It is clay so sometimes I keep in if its badly frozen or rutted and it isn't really big enough for the number of horses. However there are plenty of liveries who keep in when it rains despite rugging up to the eyeballs. There also seem to be a lot more laminitics seeking very limited grazing who don't want 24/7 . I would pay more for even better grazing but round here more money buys horse walkers,a fancy school, luxury stables , automatic drinkers, rug driers etc but poor grazing. I've nothing against facilities I just don't want them over good turnout .My horse would not thank me for a yard like that
 
njc said:
I'm in the north west many yards round here have no winter turnout or turnout for an hour or so on a trash paddock. I chose my yard because there is 24/7 turnout in summer and daily winter turnout. It is clay so sometimes I keep in if its badly frozen or rutted and it isn't really big enough for the number of horses. However there are plenty of liveries who keep in when it rains despite rugging up to the eyeballs. There also seem to be a lot more laminitics seeking very limited grazing who don't want 24/7 . I would pay more for even better grazing but round here more money buys horse walkers,a fancy school, luxury stables , automatic drinkers, rug driers etc but poor grazing. I've nothing against facilities I just don't want them over good turnout .My horse would not thank me for a yard like that
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I'm in the NW too. The Yard I'm at has a Summer and Winter routine. In the Winter half of the horses out at 8.00 am and in at lunch, the other half out at lunch and in at 4.00pm. In the Summer the hours are longer or you can opt for overnight turn out so the horses are brought in at 8.00 and turned out again at 2.00. The horses do well on this system and enjoy their routine. The yard has sufficient grazing and manages the ground really well an the only time the horses have been kept in in two years is due to very high winds. When 'winter' arrives is weather dependent but roughly October - April. The ones I have at home are out all day in at night all year round. IMO a half day out is enough to keep them sane provided they are working but is as low as I would want to go. I do think they need to be in work though so they have exercise and mental stimulation outside of their turn out. I wouldn't be happy with a horse standing in for the rest of the 20 hrs.
 
Agree it's likely to be driven by type of ground and how much land there is to the number of horses. I'd hate to have a horse on no turnout during winter, although around here it's fairly common for half day during winter, and sometimes 6 days turnout out of 7. Part of the reason I moved was to try and maximise turnout time, although would ideally still like longer turnout.
 
Hawks27 said:
It outstounds me the amount of huge yards 20-40 stables with only several acres if that of grazing land, ive even seen a few private ones with an acre or 2 and several stables I just don't see the point fo more stables than land for livery. Competition centres / vets where animals are in for a reason and short term fair enough but for general healthy animals on livery I just cant stand it. I have worked at a big yard which actually had turnout but many of the full liveries wouldn't allow us to turn there horses out because they didn't want them dirty or injuring themselves! they wanted them stood in 24x7 looking immaculate and ready when ever the fancy took them to be saddled and handed over too them, these same people barely patted or looked at their horses let alone said a kind word to them! truly saddened me didn't understand why they owned them they could of just booked a lesson once or twice a week.
My horse is kept privately with tonnes of turnout and a big airy stable and if I couldn't keep him on a yard like this I sadly wouldn't want to own a horse. I know am lucky to have cheap private livery and thankfully am only a happy hacker so no facilities is not a concern, my one priority is met lots and lots of lovely green fields natural fields with hills and lumps and trees and a variety of vegetation not a flat cube of perfect lawn grass. but then am a happy little weirdo as appreantly this isn't a normal thing to admire lol
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Faracat said:
I personally think that turnout doesn't have to be on grass. I would be happy with daily turnout on an all weather corral in the winter with hay feeder etc... So the question is, why don't yards on clay soil, or with a bad horse/acre ratio have all weather turnouts? Not just a school, but a proper turnout area and more than one if they have enough horses to require it? I guess it comes down to money.
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I agree with this providing it is a decent size & there is ad lib hay it is a great alternative to turn out & sometimes a lot better if you have mudfever suffers!

I have a hard standing paddock which was full of rubbish when i moved in but i have cleared it all & done some maintenance & now i can't wait to be able to use it on horrible days in winter! Its in front of my stables so if i want i can leave doors open so they can come in & out as they please :)
 
Sadly it is getting more common but with the price of land and the cost of insurance and maintenance etc going up its not going to get any better unless the cost of livery almost doubles and if that happens a lot of owners will be having problems financially and there will be a lot less places to keep horses
 
Meredith I wouldn't worry about egs the summer and winter fields are different. So aren't horse sick and there is always grass I wouldn't want 24/7 in winter but in an ideal world it would be nice if the winter field was bigger and we used to have a spring/ autumn field the horses had that for daytime turnout from March to May and then again for oct and nov so the winter field was only used for the 3 winter months. The grazing is still pretty good for round here. I suppose what I'm saying is if there were fewer horses on the yard and we paid a bit more we could go back to that. It's difficult for YO s though trying to accommodate different grazing requirements
 
I agree with Faracat that grazing and turnout are different things. I'd quite happily manage without the former, but not the latter. At my yard they're out 24/7 roughly from April to November and in overnight from Dec - March, but we're at the top of a hill with decent draining land. My friend's yard less than half a mile away (at the bottom of the hill) is a swamp as soon at there's a bit of rain. They do however have a hardcore turnout area right next to the yard so they leave the stable doors open, open the yard gate and let the horses do as they choose. Although I'm much happier with what I have, I could put up with their arrangement if I had to. I wouldn't go somewhere where they had to be in their stable 24/7. 4 weeks of box rest has left me frazzled and my normally incredibly laid back share horse grumpy, bored and destructive. I'd hate a whole winter of it.

My only concern is how long you could leave him in the school, an hour wouldn't be enough for me. Could you turn out for longer? What if other liveries want to ride? A dedicated turnout area would be better if you could fine one.
 
The high price of land is really the issue .
My land is clay and the grazing is around 13 / 14 acres I have no more than five horses and it's just enough land for rotating and stopping the place looking like a tip.
The sacrifice pasture is just over five acres and it works best if I can turn them all out together .
There are three other paddocks and fatties track another two acres would be nice .
I don't consider my place suitable suitable for not in work horses partcularily youngsters prior to them starting work the fields are too small and too flat .
And I dislike having the horses out of work in winter where I work on around three hours out daily but with work and longer on rest days .
I spend a lot of money and time on paddock maintence far more than some liverys I know with many more horses an the same area .
The economics of livery are harsh. Fewer horses but pay much more is the choice that owners would face I don't think the market would take the raise in costs .
And where would all the horses go as we build more homes land near to population centres for horse keeping will become more and more limited where are all these horses going to find homes .
 
it is becoming the norm around us, i would never be on a yard that restricted turnout, grazing they can do without but they must be able to go out, socialise and have some freedom and ad lib hay. luckily i rent my own yard so my lot are out 24/7/365 my cobs would love to come in at night but im a mean mum, my anglo was in at night he prefers to in but my sec A would have an absolute meltdown if he was stabled for any longer than it takes to eat his dinner so some horses cope well with it and others don't
 
I think every yard round me has no/limited turn out over winter. Ours is limited, my old yard was none at all oct-may. We have schools to turn out in though. I do agree every horse is different,mine are showjumpers and one of them will not stay out, she can manage about an hour in the field max before jumping out/causing havoc regardless of field size or if she is on her own/with horses/next to horses. Horses for courses I guess.
 
Round here (South Manchester, Stockport, and Cheshire) there are mostly too many horses on too little land so it ends up a mudbath and then closed.

I guess because it's such an affluent area, land is expensive so yard owners overstock to still make money.
 
Im in kent, and our yard has all year turn out with the majority of liveries living out all year, but one or two in over night in winter. Maybe we are the exception, but I know of a few other small (4/5 horse) type yards where there is no limit to turn out, probably because its so tiny theres no real space issue! We have 4 large fields, and the horses rotate with the season and 4 boxes to stable whenever you want... seems to work quite well, but I suppose smaller yards are spread more by word of mouth so hard to come by.
 
OP, can you try local farmers to see if you could rent a field? Might suit you better. I'm very lucky that I've always kept my horses at home so they're out 24/7, I would never consider keeping them in for months on end (I feel bad bringing them in overnight once in a blue moon if I've got a show early the next day!).
 
As long as horses have sufficient excercise and work they can adapt to being stabled very well, including without turnout. A horse is only in 24/7 if you don't take it out and exercise it.
 
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