New Horse Routines!

[ohdearme]

Hi all!

I'm currently in the process of buying my first horse, and have found a lovely yard with experienced owners. Horses are out as a herd (geldings/mares split) 24/7 except for the very worst of winter - there is a large indoor barn. A lot of the horses I've viewed are stabled overnight or 24/7 throughout winter, with once/twice daily hard feeds...so I have a few questions!

-What is the best way to adjust a horse from being stabled to outdoors 24/7? Will most adapt to this fairly easily?
-RE: feeding. Is it best to continue hard feeds if they're used to it, or stop them as they'll be out 24/7? (Lots of grass & ad lib hay at new yard)
-It is a DIY yard but owners do field checks, so was planning on going 5 times a week to ride/lunge. If I continue hard feeds, is it okay to just give a small feed on those 5 days, or is it everyday or not at all with hard feed?
-RE: rugging. Do most horses out 24/7 have same rugs day & night? Or will I need to be going up 2x daily to change rugs?

Clearly have a lot more research to do...but horse market is so difficult at the moment, I'm not convinced I'll find my new horse before Christmas!!

TIA! x

 

[Birker2020]

I'll start by saying I've never had one live out 24/7 as we don't do that at our yard, only in the summer but know from other peoples experiences what they do.

It depends what breed you are looking at buying. That's not to say that WB's can't live out 24/7 in all seasons but its easier if you already have a native type that you have bought.

5 times a week is fine for you to visit as the YO will be checking every day and I'd personally start as you mean to go on and stop hard feed, it will be very hard to feed a horse in a field of others not to mention dangerous as jealousy will abound.

Horses that live out have the same rugs day and night but you do need 2 of each, i.e. 2 lightweight, 2 medium weight and 2 x heavy weight rugs so that one can dry whilst the other is on because they can get wet very quickly in torrential rain.

The worst weather for horses is wind and rain combined when the rain is driving horizontally at them so bear that in mind and make sure there is some shelter, i.e. high hedge or trees they can take cover under.

good luck!

 

[MuddyMonster]

I personally would not be happy with 5 visits a week unless the YO was going to be catching the horse, taking off rugs to check over, pick out feet & re-adjusting rugs, personally. IMHO so much can be missed from just a quick check from across the field.

I've also adjusted day rugs & night rugs with no issue - you just take one off & put another on as you would a stabled horse. Another reason why I would always want someone doing a hands on twice a day check of the horse.

If you have a good doer, you may find although they are hardy enough to live out, they may need to have restricted access to grass in Spring, Summer & Autumn so think about whether you can section an area off if need be.

Good luck finding your new horse though!

 

[Widgeon]

Horses on our yard are all out 24/7 (including in snow and the recent storms) and most adjust without any bother. That inclues the skinny legged show jumpers! I keep mine in the same rug all the time but he's a very good doer and has hedges for shelter, so he has a 100g for the winter and a 0g for spring and autumn. The TB types have more rugs. Fortunately I never seem to have had a problem with drenched rugs - mine's always warm and dry underneath. If I think he needs warmer rugs then I layer them up to avoid needing a massive rug collection - that works fine (obviously so long as the underneath rug is dry to start with).

Re hard feed the problem you might have is routine - if you're only feeding 5 days out of 7 he might get a bit put out at the lack of dinner on the other two days. I'd try to stick to the same routine every day if you can, which would mean popping up every day, even if it's just to bring him in to check all his legs are attached and put a bucket in front of him.

If you do end up with a very good doer then summer can be an issue, you may well need to be going up every day to check and move electric fences so you can strip graze or otherwise regulate grazing somehow.

 

[AmyMay]

Much of your new horse’s routine will depend on what their routine is prior to getting them.

If they’re on DIY you’ll need to visit twice a day, seven days a week.

 

[AandK]

My two TBs live out 24/7, I have a stable but only use it for emergencies and grooming/tacking up.

-What is the best way to adjust a horse from being stabled to outdoors 24/7? Will most adapt to this fairly easily?
*When I got my 9yo (3yrs ago) he was in at night, I kept him in this routine for the first couple of weeks and then moved him to out 24/7. He adapted very well.
-RE: feeding. Is it best to continue hard feeds if they're used to it, or stop them as they'll be out 24/7? (Lots of grass & ad lib hay at new yard)
*Depends entirely on the horse, if they are a good doer then probably best to stop feed and see how they get on. If not, then adjust their feed accordingly.
-It is a DIY yard but owners do field checks, so was planning on going 5 times a week to ride/lunge. If I continue hard feeds, is it okay to just give a small feed on those 5 days, or is it everyday or not at all with hard feed?
*If DIY, you should be visiting twice a day, every day, unless you are paying YO extra to do proper checks. A lot can happen to a field kept horse in 12hrs.
-RE: rugging. Do most horses out 24/7 have same rugs day & night? Or will I need to be going up 2x daily to change rugs?
*No mine don't. Sometimes they have layers taken off in the morning/put on overnight. Or rugs off during the day/on overnight. Especially in Autumn/Spring, the same rug all day will be too much/not enough.

It sounds to me like you would be better off with full grass livery if you only want to visit on the days you are riding.

 

[Widgeon]

It sounds to me like you would be better off with full grass livery if you only want to visit on the days you are riding.

To be honest a lot depends on the setup of the yard and the quality of the "field checks" the YOs are offering - if they are experienced and you can trust them to really do a proper check of every horse when they say they will, that's fine. However if they're just glancing out over the fields every now and then counting heads that's probably not enough.

FWIW I'm on assisted DIY and only go up once a day - our YO lives on site and does morning feeds and checks all the horses then. I tend to go up in the afternoon after work. Every yard seems to have a slightly different definition of what the various livery packages mean though. Can you have a chat with some of the current liveries and get a feel for what they all tend to do? If you can slide it tactfully into conversation you could also ask whether there have been any injuries or incidents in the herds recently, which should give you some idea of whether or not the current setup is safe and functional.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Your new yard sounds lovely but you will need to be clear exactly what you are paying for. On most DIY yards the owner needs to visit 2x daily. I actually can't imagine buying a new horse, let alone a first horse, and not planning to visit every day, morning and evening. It sounds as if you need to find a yard which offers full livery.
As for feed, most leisure horses don't really need hard feed. If yours does it will need to be fed every day, not just 5/7.When I buy a new horse, I immediately get it into my routine, without trying to continue what it is used to. Most horses will be able to live out 24/7 so long as they appropriately rugged (which for some horses is no rug)

 

[poiuytrewq]

As above I think you should probably factor in checking him properly every day x2 personally but once would be ok if someone else is helping. Another thing to bear in mind is that if a horse is out all the time and you just rock up every so often to work it catching really could become an issue fairly quickly!