New youngster- debate of keeping in or living out!

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QueenDee_

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Hoping a couple of you can tell me what you think! As some of you know, I recently imported a 7month filly from Ireland (Now named Delilah, Lilah for short!) she is currently being kept in at night and out in the day, with a field shelter and plan to move another pony in with her this week for company. Due to practicality I'm debating keeping her out 24/7 within the next week or so as I'm currently getting up at 6 to turn her out.

On one hand I feel she would be ok- she would have ad-lib hay, a field shelter, company, I could put a light-weight rug on to keep the rain off her and she is currently in good health and a good weight.

On the other hand she was acclimatised to milder weather in Ireland and due to loss of grazing had been kept in 24/7 so hasn't got a particularly thick coat. She also benefits from the daily handling-but she is currently so easy to do for her age, leads well, ties up, can groom her all over and she's generally a sweet little girl! Would handle her every weekend if kept out.

Thanks for any views!

&just because she's pretty
lilah.jpg
 
If she has shelter, company and ad lib hay (that noone will drive her away from) then I would turn out unrugged, if you have a period of wet weather then bring her in for a day to dry off
 
I agree with twiggy2 - if they have access to food, water and shelter and assuming she is not underweight/unwell, then she should do fine outside. The weather's actually pretty mild (although depending where in the country your are depends if your fields are a quagmire or not!).
 
My youngsters live out until they are about 4 although they do gave access to. Large barn which is bedded down with straw. I also tend to agree with not rugging youngsters.
 
Thanks for the replies, I'm inclined to agree with you as i do prefer youngsters living out(as my previous ones have done) my only worry is that she hasn't grown a very good winter coat so would I be best putting a light rug on or do you think its best to let her get on with it and hope she acclimatises?
 
Knightleys_Eclipse said:
Thanks for the replies, I'm inclined to agree with you as i do prefer youngsters living out(as my previous ones have done) my only worry is that she hasn't grown a very good winter coat so would I be best putting a light rug on or do you think its best to let her get on with it and hope she acclimatises?
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If she's cold then rug her. All of my weanlings live out 24/7 and are rugged; I would never leave a foal unrugged if they were cold or wet.
 
I would always have a youngster living out - they need to be able to move about freely to develop properly. All the youngsters I've known with growt/development issues have been stabled for some of the time. Personally, I would only bring a horse into the stable if it was working hard and needed some chill time :)
 
Knightleys_Eclipse said:
How do you go about getting them used to the rug? Putting it on for short periods in the stable intially?
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Nope I just put the rug on and that's that. Most foal rugs come with velcro at the front, so I do the velcro up but without doing the buckles, then I do the surcingles and then go back to doing the front buckles and the final thing is pull the bum back and flick the fillet strap under the tail. Very occasionally I have a foal who jumps forward at the last stage, but normally they don't care and are quite intrigued by having their little rugs on.
 
Agree about the rug - I've had quite a few unhandled foals from the sales - I keep them in (and isolated just in case) for two weeks as they're generally not handled (except the day of the sales which can make for a more traumatised foal than without that day) so we spend some time learning that people aren't scary, we learn about headcollars, leading, picking feet up, they have their feet trimmed, they're wormed, and they will learn about rugs.

As long as they're accepting of you touching them all over first, and as long as you read them right to take each step slowly so as to build their confidence, I've never had one not be happy with a rug the first - or subsequent - time(s).

All my youngsters - foals upwards - will then stand happily in an open field to have rugs changed. (Although I do give sweets afterwards so they associate the rug changes with something nice - not totally necessary, but I find it helps to get them thinking that rugs are great more quickly with than without sweets!)

The only foal I've had born with me didn't wear a rug until he was about 3 months old as the weather was good that year and they had good shelter - he didn't bat an eyelid, but his Mum was NOT impressed when her baby changed from coloured to blue - she wouldn't let him suckle initially... He wasn't in the least bit bothered his Mum had changed colour though!!!

Your foalie looks very sweet :-)

(ETA: We do more than just one rug on/off session before they go out - generally when they start to tell me they need a sweet or a scratch for having had the rug on or off then they're telling me they've understood the idea that rugs are fine.)
 
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Thanks for all the advice, shes not my first youngster but haven't felt the need to rug one at this age before (they've all resembled yaks by now!) so always find others views helpful! Think I shall pop a rug on and see how she takes it then get her out 24/7
 
Bless her non-yakness!!!

She really does look very sweet, and good luck with the rugging :-) .

(Mine are all molycoddled with rugs but do live out, meant to say that.)

ETA: Apologies for the chapter and verse, I always give the full story otherwise I worry I've left bits out, wasn't suggesting you didn't know what you were doing x.
 
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