Keeping hunters out all winter - anyone do it and if so any tips?

Doormouse

Doormouse

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Ok, I am after picking some of the ledgendary forum members brains please.

I have 2 hunters, 1 is a french TB and 1 an ISH (think warmblood). They have both lived out this winter because I had a baby and have been fine but they were not in work.

This coming winter I desperately want to keep and hunt them but cannot really afford to have them in and also the TB hates being stabled with a passion and I do think he would be happier out.

I would be aiming to hunt the TB most as he is the stronger, the ISH is only a baby and very big and weak. I would be hoping to hunt once a week in a fairly wet country that is quite tough on horses especially with mud fever.

My question is, is it possible, would they cope and if how has anyone got any tips on how best to do them?

Thank you for reading this far, all advice would be very gratefully received. :D
 
Have you put this in the Hunting Forum as I am sure there would be plenty there that could advise?

I hunt my horses weekly and prefer to have them in at night over the hunting season, but that is more from the point of view that they are kept cleaner, are fully clipped, and my fields would not stand up to 24/7 turnout whether they hunted or not.

However hunting 'from the field' could be done if they are used to being wintered out and your ground conditions can take it. If you had access to a stable the night before it may be beneficial so that you have them clean and ready for the morning. Also as you mentioned, mud fever could become an issue, so again some hardstanding or stable may be required anyhow.

Also you would need to spend more on feeding and haylage as energy requirements would be stepped up considerably.

Happy hunting!
 
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Thank you Sidney, I will try the hunting forum.

I, like you, far prefer to have my hunters in and have done for 20 years but sadly the finances with a baby and now no other half mean that something has to give and I have put so much work into both the horse and they are both fantastic in their own way I would hate to have to sell them and I know that things will start to improve once I am working again etc so was just hoping it might be an option for this winter!
 
If it is a financial issue, would it be an option to put one on loan, and have the other in at night? With a baby and everything assisted livery may be a lot easier. Other idea would be to get a sharer.
 
I would be aiming to hunt the TB most as he is the stronger, the ISH is only a baby and very big and weak. I would be hoping to hunt once a week in a fairly wet country that is quite tough on horses especially with mud fever.
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I think you'd struggle to be honest with the TB. And would want it stabled.
 
I know someone who does this with a TB he's a very laid back good doer but she does have a stable for the night before and in case of terrible weather or illness or injury.
Horse has big bale haylage in the field and once fit is exercised a couple times between hunts she has several turn out rugs so she can get them dry she did say she was lucky he never breaks out after hunting as she thought that would be difficult to handle .
 
I have a lovely Irish cob who hunts twice a week good wolds country up and down dale he loves his hunting but also likes to be out 24/7 i use the snuggy hoods with ears i have now got 4 so they are always available he has some amigo lightweight rugs on as a 1st rug they are easy to wash and change then he has a heavy weight with neck right up to his ears all these rugs breath so I don't have to worry if he's getting too hot the day before he gets a mane and tail wash (he's hogged) new lightweight on so he comes in clean leg down sometimes all I do is wash off his white fetlock my friends can't beleive that I hunt him off the field when Ive finished hunting he gets wash down (I take a plastic container full of very hot water and baby bath wrap in towels so it keeps warm) put on the trailer in his thermatex and comfort zone rugs eats haylage by the time we get home he's toastie dry snuggy hood back on lightweight etc out in field fed and haylaged he never gets stiff as he walkes it off through the night. I love to hear him snort and sigh when I let him back in his field very content. I would rather him be natural than in a stable seizing up we have had all weahers thrown at us snow wind rain yes I am very sheltered and yes I do have a big stable and washdown to put him in if I need to hope this helps.
 
I always keep my horses on grass livery & have hunted & team chased from the field, it is possible. especially if they aren't grey!
I catch in the morning, if they're dry I brush the mud off, give their legs a quick hose if they're muddy, if they've got wet mud on their head or neck I sponge it off but with a full neck turn out on the mud shouldn't be too bad.
When we get back I turn out straight away, so they can have some time for a roll & chill out while I unload the gear, they're then fed, checked over again & put back out.
I've done this with a full tb, a couple of tb crosses & a warm blood without any problems.
It's worth a try to see if it works out for you, it's so much cheaper & easier.
 
I hunted my horse (french warmblood) from the field all season for the last 8 years. Hunted once maybe twice a week and hacked sporadically inbetween. Not clipped (literally cannot be even with dope) so just the one thick rug (mid neck or full neck if he doesn't rip them!). Brought in the night before hunting if there is any chance of wet mud in the morning. Quicker to muck out than wash off an UNclipped wet muddy horse!
Brought in the night before for autumn hunting otherwise I couldn't find him in the field (too dark).
I am about to attempt the same next season with my brand new poor doer full TB (except he will be full clipped maybe trace clip to keep his back warmer??).
Have a friend who hunts his (8) full TBs from the field too and his always look well.

The key to doing it successfully is to ensure they never lose condition. So over the summer get them nice and covered. Plus a bit extra! Then don't let them lose it, or much of it, as the hunting season progresses.
Feed suitable feeds - my warmblood only ever had build up mix once a day over winter but my TB will be getting that plus beet plus barley all year round. I've only just got him and he was thin but now gradually becoming less thin. Aim to have him 'relatively' fat by September!
Don't let them get cold so rug up well as the seasons turn and keep pumping suitable hard feed into them.
I don't have access to haylage so can't comment on that.
My horses always turned back out after hunting once they are dry. Wash them down with (cold) water after a full day's hunting. That said, our hunting is not quite Shires' hunting so I'm not advocating doing huge days with my approach.
I won't be bringing my in at night for the same reason as you - small children (plus a job)!
 
I've hunted my appaloosa for 4 yrs and he lives out. He is hunt clipped in winter, well rugged, given ad lib good quality forage and 2 hard feeds per day. I get up early on the day of the hunt, get him in and cleaned up etc and you'd never know he wasn;t kept in a stable.
I think you can easily do this; main thing is to keep condition on your TB by feeding for the level of work it'll be doing and making sure you have enough time to clean up your TB on the day of the hunt.
I hope this helps, and wish you a fab season.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies, so very positive posts that do give me hope.

I have found a yard that will let me have just grass livery, nice big area with high hedge and trees but I will also have access to a stable if I need one. I kind of feel with the warmblood mare that because she had a foal a year ago she has been out for so long that she won't be too bothered and the TB is incredibly tough and he hates being stabled so much that since he has been out full time at my friends he has refused point blank to go in the stables they have to feed them even when his friends do and the feed is put in there, I think he is trying to tell us something!

Well I have got the summer to get going and I'll give it a go and if it doesn't work I'll to rethink. I like the idea of washing off at the trailer, very sensible, and I will have to start saving for the snuggy hoods.

Thank you! I'll keep you all posted with how I get on this winter!
 
I think its perfectly feasible if you have a horse thats a good doer and you can keep the weight on. Modern rugs come with belly wraps and full neck pieces so you can still clip, just leave the feathers/legs on. It does mean a little bit more work in getting them ready but I used to hack to meets so a bit of mud on legs didnt notice by time I'd ridden there anyway. Definately invest in a good head torch, trying to locate dark coloured pony in pitch black field at 5am pre cubbing is interesting! :D
 
Doormouse said:
Thank you everyone for your replies, so very positive posts that do give me hope.

I have found a yard that will let me have just grass livery, nice big area with high hedge and trees but I will also have access to a stable if I need one. I kind of feel with the warmblood mare that because she had a foal a year ago she has been out for so long that she won't be too bothered and the TB is incredibly tough and he hates being stabled so much that since he has been out full time at my friends he has refused point blank to go in the stables they have to feed them even when his friends do and the feed is put in there, I think he is trying to tell us something!

Well I have got the summer to get going and I'll give it a go and if it doesn't work I'll to rethink. I like the idea of washing off at the trailer, very sensible, and I will have to start saving for the snuggy hoods.

Thank you! I'll keep you all posted with how I get on this winter!
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snuggy hoods do have sales on from time to time I also buy in summer when they are cheaper if that helps but the are worth every penny they do tumble dry as well !! they breath and are water proof good luck and most of all have fun .
 
Well rugged, with additional haylage as necessary there is no reason they can't live out. just make sure they are in good condition, i.e what you normally have them at. There's no reason they need to be in apart from for human guilt and cleanliness point of view so long as the mud isn't knee deep in your field.
 
I hunt both mine weekly and they live out on very wet grazing. One is a cob x hackney and gives me no problems but the other is 7/8ths TB who suffers from mud fever and struggles to maintain condition. Both are hunter clipped during the season.

After a few years of trial & error I've found a routine that keeps them both happy and enables the TB to keep good condition during winter. I bring them in first thing in the morning, wash feet and legs and put them into a decent stable rug. I leave them in with breakfast and haylage and they will then be in until about 2pm, although they will be ridden during this time for roughly an hour. Before turning them back out the TB gets lunch and they are then left out until the next morning. I do however come back & give them both tea and they get hay in the field at teatime.

By washing them off early they are then clean & dry when I come back a few hours later to ride. This way I can disinfect their feet a few times a week and treat any mudfever if necessary.

Plenty of quality hay/haylage and 3 meals a day seems to do the trick for my TB but it does mean 3 trips to the stables a day and this is my routine Nov - Feb inclusive. After that I cut her back to 2 meals a day until spring.

On hunting days they come in earlier than normal so will get an hour or 2 of haylage before being loaded plus breakfast. I do offer my TB a meal when we get back but she rarely eats it as she's usually still hyper and just needs turning out. I then return to do tea & hay in the field although if it's been a really tough days hunting I may leave them in overnight after they've had a few hours turnout. She's normally tucked up after a hard day but returns back to normal within about 24 hours.

Good luck with finding a routine to suit you, it's certainly possible to hunt horses that live out but you just have to find what works for you.
 
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I have an 18 yr old Sec D who I have had since she was 10 lives out 24/7 365. Lives in an apple orchard (cider apples - to sour to eat!!) so plenty of shelter. A selection of turnout rugs and under rugs for every type of weather. I hunt her so she is fully clipped, I even took her legs off at final clip end of Jan. And before I get any negative comments about this her summer coat has barely started to come through yet so she can't be that hard done by! I'm convinced that if she was stabled she would be showing her age rather than acting like a 10 yr old.

I also got a 10 yr old TB at the beginning of Feb. She had been stabled 24/7 on Exmoor over the winter as the ground was to wet to turn out,when she arrived to me it was during the cold spell and was turned straight out 24/7. She was fully clipped but well rugged and she loves it. Had been told that she can be fresh and spooky but since being turned out all the time she is a changed horse. She also hunts.

They both have 2 hard feeds a day over the winter - chaff, barley, nuts, beet the cob also has some oats. And ad lib hay.

On a hunting day if mud is dry I just brush it off, if the weather is wet I give myself extra time and take horses home and wash of muddy legs. Giving the legs and belly a good dousing in baby oil works wonders for keeping the mud at bay when hunting. I also take a container of water to wash off at the end of the day. However I only do this if horse is wet and muddy. If the mud has dried I leave it and give a good brush off the next day. When I get home it's out of the trailer straight into the field, swap rug to turnout, evening field and that's it til the next morning.
 
I have hunted my ID mare from 24/7 grass for the last 8 seasons with no problem at all, she is fully clipped out and a grey. I have lots of different weight rugs with the turnouts all being combos so keep her as clean as possible. I do not keep her in the night before just get her in early on the morning of hunting and clean up then. She has 2 feeds a day plus ad lib hay, all quite normal, beet & nuts, and gets hacked between hunts so keeps very fit. We always wash down immediately after hunting then have tea so by the time I am home and have fed her she is dry, if she does break out I keep her in until dry and then turn out, I am lucky that I keep my horses at home and have use of stables, even when its raining and cold she pulls me up to the field at night, i think its better for her to keep moving round the field grazing than standing still in the stable.
 
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