New here and need advice re pony going out/in or staying out!

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emjason

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Hi, I'm Emma and I have a pony called Jason, he's 8 and I recently purchased him for 2 of my children who are learning to ride. He is a lovely pony and he has a history of being a good event pony and being out 24/7 then 9 months or so ago was changed to the popular out during the day and in at night for the winter and vice versa in the summer and now I have changed him to the latter for the summer. I would like to be able to decide for myself what my pony does and doesn't do without the need for interference from my stable friends. He is on DIY livery and when in he eats normal hay.
I am fairly new to all this and I've learnt very quickly and use my common sense as a guide as well as info from more experienced owners etc, but like I have said that advice often comes with "you should be doing this."
I have done lots of searching for advice on what to do with Jason but the summer out at night in during the day is making it awkward for my children to ride him after school as he just wants to get back into the field for the grass and has so much energy he's very frisky. My children aren't ready to jump yet and I've had to let another girl release some energy so he can be ridden without being frisky but it's not something I can expect her to do every day!
Id appreciate any advice please..... I'm totally open I just feel I'm being forced into everyone else's routine!
Emma

 
Hi Emma and welcome to the madness of the H&H forum!

Is there an option for out 24/7 for the summer mnths, as that would seem the ideal?

If not you have 2 options - either leave him as he is and hopefully he will get into the routine of being ridden from the stable, or turnout during the day and hope he is quieter for having had a day in the field before he is ridden.
 
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Are you sure it is the routine that is the problem and not the fact that the rich spring grass is giving him extra energy? Do you give him any bucket feed at all? If he was a good event pony in the past he might actually be the type that is naturally active and needs a reasonable amount of work. How long have you actually had him? Have you thought of lungeing or loose-schooling him before the children ride to help settle him down. Are the children having lessons on the pony at all?
 
Hi, yes he can be out 24/7 but might not have company all day but for some of it and of course all night he will.
I have thought of trying this.... But how do you cope with comments about being a lazy owner?

He hasn't been ridden every day in the past so it's not like he's been shocked by lack of jumping etc.

I've had him 6 weeks now (I have owned a horse previously) but the previous owner is also teaching my 2 to ride so it's helpful as she knows him well.
He has settled in lovely as he only moved to the lower stables from being at the top and I've stuck to the routine he has become accustomed to as closely as I can.

I think 24/7 would be beneficial to him especially now as the weather is mostly better. I know he's a horse and they are meant to be outside but we've all had a particularly hard winter with flooding.
I am however putting my foot down as I'm not usually the type of person who gets told what to do lol.
I suppose I just didn't want to rock the apple cart.
I have kept him in today as he was pretty cold this morning when I collected him from the field and he is staying in tonight and I'm going to put him out in the morning then get him in for his ride tomorrow afternoon and see how he seems?
However, I am tempted to trial a 24/7 and just get him in for lessons etc..... Would this confuse him too much or would he just be happy to plod along?
 
Ignore every one else - you have to do what is best for YOUR pony. If it were mine I would have it out 24/7 pdq - this will hopefully make it more settled when the children ride, and if the pony has been used to being out 24/7, should adapt back again quickly.

Mine are all out 24/7 from march to nov and it certainly helps keep them calmer and happy - the only time they get a bit silly is if they have enforced stabling due to poor winter weather, and if I had more land they would be out 24/7 all year round.

Good luck and stick to your guns!
 
I can honestly say that I have never been on a yard or know of anyone that has kept their horse in during the day in the Summer. Most people around here keep their horses out 24/7 during the summer and if not then they keep them in at night. Mine is living out as it is the best thing for him and like you say they just want the grass. I wouldn't worry about what others say. I would only keep them in during the summer if there was a need eg needs to put weight on with hay, has a problem with flies, respiratory problem, etc.
 
Or needs to be off the grass during the day to keep weight down. Could he be put out from lunch time then brought in for the children to ride after school and turned back out again for the night, and brought in in the morning to keep off the grass and have a brush, fly repellant applied etc. ignore others, but do listen to what they say there might be something there that could be beneficial to you, i like the expression "use it dont use it the choice is yours but dont say you werent advised."
 
It is worth trying him out 24/7 if you can, and I would just ignore those who say you are being lazy! However, you do say he may not have company all the time if he is out 24/7, and this may be an issue as a lot of horses and ponies can get quite unsettled if left alone. Will he be able to see the others in their stables if he is the only one left out at times?

I would also try lungeing him before the children ride - if you are not sure how to then I'm sure the old owner can teach you in one of the lessons and it is a useful thing to be able to do with a child's pony. Then if he is a bit frisky you can just lunge him for ten minutes or so just to get any excess energy out of his system. You don't say if he is getting any bucket feed or not, but if he is then I would cut it right out or just give him a small handful of unmollassed chaff.
 
If he is full of energy the best thing to do is to turn him out 24/7 in a field with a controlled amount of grass and not feed anything else.

However one thing you need to keep in mind is that an event pony is a pony that is fit and used to a lot of work. Some of them are not suitable for novice riders as they are just too hot and even the ones that are suitable need a long adjustment period to calm down to their new level of work.
 
Hi, no he doesn't get hard feed at all he's just on grass and hay!
Yes he is an event pony but not to the extreme that he was heavily worked.
He will have company out in the field as I believe there are 1 or 2 others still out in the day time!
I put him out this morning after a night in and tbh he hated being in, he is definitely an outdoor pony!
I'm going to do what he is happiest at doing as his well being is more important than what every other owners do with their ponies!
Thank you all for your advise it had been much appreciated :)
 
The reason I mention it is that "event pony", even one that was not worked that hard, just rings alarm bells. Ponies tend to fall under general descriptions "First ridden", "Novice ride", "Happy Hack" are the kinds of descriptions you want for a first time owner, "Allrounder", "Second pony" would be descriptions for a more competent rider wanting a step up from first pony, "Competition pony" (I'd class "event pony" under this heading) would be for an experienced rider.

Hope things improve with the turnout.
 
Hiya, he's been a riding school pony in the past was sold to me as a good all rounder!
The kids ride him and he's ok once he gets going but like I said he likes to work plus he's still getting used to his new riders! Hopefully he will settle down with his new routine :)
 
My mare has to be out 24/7 or else she goes mad with energy. So putting him out 24/7 with no additional feed seems to be best. If this cant be possible for what ever reason try lunging him for 15/20min before the jockey's get on. I personally think 24/7 is best tho as it lets them run about till there hearts content and it lets the 'hoomans' get a break by not having to get up at 6am in the hols or weekend ;)
 
You should do what you want as long as he's not distressed on his own if her were out 24/7. My friend keeps hers out all the time but if it were boiling hot or extra wet he'd be in. If he'd fizzy then he'd be better out. What are you feeding ?
 
Keeping him out 24/74 isnt lazy!! Loads of people keep their horses out all the time - winter and summer! You can still visit him twice a day to see him and he will be much happier to be ridden in the evening. Livery yards can be a NIGHTMARE but, you have to nod and smile to peoples 'advice' then just get on with your own thing :-)
 
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