Moving horses from living out 24/7 to stabling at night, advice

[micra]

Hello, I currently keep my horses living out all year round at a nice yard but it is 20 miles away and the petrol means I am spending a lot of money, especially as hay is bought from the yard and costs me £30 a week for both my small ponies, it financially ruins me in the winter! 😂 All the yards closer were stables 24/7 which I know they'd hate - however one has now changed ownership and allows 24/7 grazing in the warmer months and stabling at night in the winter in an indoor barn, is 3 miles from my house.

I think moving them will be a good idea when I could get spaces - however I haven't stabled in 5 years and I'm slightly less clued up than I used to be! I was thinking rubber mats covering half the stables with shavings, is this a good less-smelly way? what rugs are used when in an indoor barn in the worst of winter, they're blanket clipped, usually have medium weights on but I don't want to boil them 😜 Are your horses just as happy going in at night, I was always up for natural living but I think they'll be happy enough in ! Many thanks

 

[Shay]

I keep mine under this mixed system and it works very well. The yard might have restrictions on what bedding you can use as it can impact who is available to remove the muck heap - and the cost of doing so. Whatever bedding you use rubber matting really reduces the amount you need and the time it takes to much out. Go for the thickest you can afford - thin matting is a false economy. If the stable is large enough and the horse not too restless bedding in the back 1/2 to 1/3 is fine. If they are messier or box walk then you might need more.

For rugs - you really have to just gauge the temperature locally. Barn style will be warmer because everyone is in together - but if the barn is at an angle to the prevailing wind you might get drafts. My horses are fully clipped because they hunt in winter and I manage with a mix of under rugs and turnout rugs. It would probably be worth getting a fleece you could use either instead of the rug or under it if it is particularly cold.

 

[Welshie95]

Ditto Shay, I'd hold of on buying lot of rugs and maybe get a fleece to use under the turnout rugs you already have, as long as they come off and the horse can have a groom there is no reason why they can't be stabled in their turnout rugs - dries them out much quicker and keeps the filling fluffy compared to hanging up for days on end imo. Bedding and matting wise, this depends on the yard restrictions, your horse's bedding habits and your preference.. I have used both mats and no mats with straw, shavings, wood pellets and wood chip. My choice is dictated by the yard I am on at the time, stable floor type and size and how clean my horse is (I have been known to do straw one year, shavings the next and then back to straw in the same stable just because he changes his habits year by year!).

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Check the drainage before you invest in rubber mats. In a barn there is sometimes no drainage at all, meaning you can't wash out the stable because there's nowhere to sweep the water out to. Rubber mats that are never cleaned underneath are disgusting and smelly. Also, if the stable floor is on a slope and you don't use much bedding, when the urine goes through under the rubber it either pools at the back (if the floor slopes that way) or runs out under the stable door (if the floor slopes forwards) and the barn aisle ends up covered in it and stinking.

 

[Translationsneeded]

Take a look at wood pellets if you want a reasonable priced / easy to muck out bed. Not for everyone but I'm a recent convert from shavings

 

[windand rain]

make sure you soak or wet the hay for the first few days they are in at night the only horse we ever had get colic was because we went from 24 hours out to in at night never thought about the fact they were going from wet to very dry food. I hate rubber mats but they are warm and softer for a horse standing in but need a full bed on top or they stink

 

[Beth206]

My mare is turned out 24/7 all year. They do have access to their stables at all times if they require and in winter we will bring them in on the occasional night to let their legs dry out. I use rubber matting in half my stable and shavings. I clip her in winter and she wares a 100g rug throughout winter and I just change her into a clean, dry one if we bring them in. Fed soaked hay in winter and they are a very happy little gang.

 

[Nik90]

Ours are kept on this routine though we don't bring them in until the weather turns nasty at which point they're normally happy to come in for a break. One has a thick shavings bed on the back 2/3 and the front is rubber matted. The other one has the full stable rubber matted and wood pellets with only a gap of about 2' between the pellets and the wall at the front. We do use stable rugs but they're not a necessity and will sometimes leave turnout rugs on. We do have an excellent drying area for wet rugs and most days they come in with rugs dripping wet and muddy which just seems unpleasant to leave on.

 

[Annagain]

Ours are kept like this - they have full rubber mats and wood pellet beds on the back half which works for them. We leave their turnout rugs on as my friend and I share turnout and bring in so it saves time. Although being in is warmer the temperature will obviously drop overnight and they can't move around so much so the same rug for out in the day and in at night seems to work.

 

[Orangehorse]

Mine has a small clip, half neck, chest and belly and I mostly just use a rainsheet with a neck cover, unless the weather is really bad and cold and I find this warm enough.

I tend to judge rugs by how many clothes I need! I see many horses to my mind "over rugged" but I realise that if people go out to work and see to the horses early it can be cold, but warms up later in the morning.