Leave out overnight in Summer??

Hi all, My 22 yr old welsh C has slight arthritis of the hock and I have been managing it with cortaflex, devil’s relief, magnetic therapy and regular exercise. However, I do have the option of having him left out at grass overnight in the summer (he is currently stabled overnight).

I have another gelding who is 23 who lives out all the time and is in the very best of health, it really suits him to be out.

I have the perfect set up for this also as I have 2 small paddocks either side of our stables which the 23 year old lives in at night and then goes out with the other 2 in the bigger paddocks during the day.


Last night was the first night I have left my 22 year old out overnight and I must say I hardly slept worrying about him. There is plenty of natural shelter in the paddock and of course he was with his friend and could see our other horse in her stable.

What worries me is that he is a little but of an anxious pony and I’m worried he won’t get proper rest when left out overnight. The 23 year old has a lay down in the paddock during the day to get a little rest but my 22 year old certainly wouldn’t do that. Will he get enough rest being out overnight??
 
AmyMay

AmyMay

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Leave him out. As long as he has company he'll be fine and will sleep and rest when he needs it.

Just watch the very hot days, and maybe think about stabling him over the hotest period of the day if you are really worried about him.
 
Sorry but LOL!!! HES A HORSE!!
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leave him out and stop worrying, he'll be fine, and will appreciate the freedom to move about if he has arthritis!! I really wouldnt worry to much about how much "rest" he's getting, if hes tired he'll sleep!!!
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he's no ordinary horse though, such a fretful thing. Chilled is not a word you can use for him. He gets upset if one horse goes out without him lol!! He is always on edge and always had been, all his life even on calmers ... I just worry that he won't chill out at all if he's out in the paddock as he may think the bogey man is coming to get him throughout the night ... he does believe in the bogey man!! I suppose I'll soon know if it suits him or not by his behaviour. :-)
 
I think he should stay out. My friend has an arthiritc pony who stays out 24-7 and he is much better for it. 12 hours in a stable for him is too long and he gets really stiff.
 
Don't want to sound critical but are you sure you are fretting more than your horse? We are all guilty of this on some level but really I doubt your horse is that worried and they get plenty of rest don't worry about that. They don't have to lie down remember to sleep! I have a pony who is a stresser but he's out 24/7 all the time, we have 4 together. You find they don't generally all lie down together there's normally a 'watcher' who'll rest standing up to look out for danger (you know, killer sheep, crows, leaves that sort of thing!
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I find most horses stress less when they get used to being out as it is natural for them and cetainly a horse with arthritis of any kind is a lot better off being able to move about as opposed to being shut in a stable.
 
yeah thanks, you are probably right and I am aware about it being better for arthritis hence me giving it a go. Fingers crossed he survived ok, just waiting for the groom to update me!! He was looking at me with a strange expression when I left him out last night as if to say eh??? Bless, he's been stabled overnight for all his life so he must find it strange at first but hopefully he'll thrive on it!
 
Welshies will thrive on it - all you have to watch is he doesn't thrive too much on the grass!!!
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The only reason not to is if you are in a high risk grass sickness area like me (NE Scotland) , the risk is decreased if they eat something other than grass for part of each 24 hr period so we bring them in overnight. Or if the grass is too lush. Other than that, I think most horses love it and it just takes them a little while to get used to it - but not very long! Catching them again is another matter!
 
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