No turnout in winter - thoughts?

I wouldn't like my lot to be in 24/7. I chuck the stabled horses out in the morning, and bring them in back in when they want to come back in. Some of them are happy out all day, and some of them want to come in after a few hours. One would prefer to stay in 24/7, but I pull rank with that one, and insist that she at least goes out for half a day
My heavy clay land gets absolutely mullered in winter, but it always bounces back
 
I have a number of NF ponies, the majority of them forest bred. They are kept as close to nature as I can. I wouldn't keep ponies stabled 24/7 unless injured. Winter is difficult to exercise to suitable standard for stabled horses with working owners. It is not what I would want for mine at all. I would find a sharer to help exercise properly during the week or find alternative livery.
 
It depends entirely on the horse. Some like being out all the time others would happily be in as much as possible. Also maybe consider the size of the stables. We have big barns and mine are very happy with lots of straw bedding and ad lib hay. I’ve one who in theory lives out all the time but seems to spend 99% of this in the field shelter if there’s any chance it will be wet or windy!
 
gallopingby said:
It depends entirely on the horse. Some like being out all the time others would happily be in as much as possible. Also maybe consider the size of the stables. We have big barns and mine are very happy with lots of straw bedding and ad lib hay. I’ve one who in theory lives out all the time but seems to spend 99% of this in the field shelter if there’s any chance it will be wet or windy!
Click to expand...
But he has a choice.
 
Not acceptable in my opinion. A lot of yards by us have restricted winter turnout as we are a very horse populated small area with clay soil. Even so, I can’t actually think of a yard around here that doesn’t have some form of turnout option for winter, even if that’s only an hour or two turned out in a manège.

Although not ideal, I think a lot of horses can cope with a couple of months restricted turnout, provided they are exercised. I don’t mean in 24/7 though, but an hour or two out to play and scratch with friends.
 
Thankfully where mine are the winter turn out is exactly the same as the summer :) Yes, the fields are pretty muddy and the gateways are like walking through toffee, but the grass is always fine come Spring. I'm much happier to compromise on not having amazing facilities and the lack of storage space etc to see a yard full of happy, relaxed horses.
 
in the 60's i kept my horse at a yard which had no land so all were in 24/7 . it was a riding school with a few liveries. this was quite common then and i didnt think it was a major problem. i rode mine 6 days a week and we used to take all of the horses and ponies to a stretch of grass on the edge of epping forest and grazed them in hand as much as we could, this was fine in the summer but as it was dark when i got to the yard my horse had to wait till the weekend for his grass. it wasnt perfect but none of the horses and ponies appeared stressed. we had no crib biting or weaving then either....eventually i managed to find a field with ramshackle stables so he could be out more, his temperament/behaviour/fitness seemed exactly the same....i wouldnt keep a horse stabled 24/7 now but they do seem to adjust...
 
Nope. I couldn't do it to my boy. Last winter I had him on a yard where the only winter turnout was small hardstanding pens, he became bolshy, bargy, rude and downright dangerous and I'm surprised he didn't do himself an injury with the shapes he threw in the school every time I took him in there. He also broke my fingers lunging. Don't know why I did it to him (well I do, it seemed a good solution to have the option of hardstanding turnout in the summer but I didn't think about winter when they would close the fields... also I was about to have a baby and desperate to have him settled somewhere on part livery that would be able to manage his EMs without him being noxed 24/7).
There's a yard near my new house I nearly moved him to, really wanted to, then they told me no winter turnout - I just can't do it to him. He doesnt cope, and shouldn't have to, it's not fair on a horse.
 
I wouldn't keep a horse in a stable 24/7, no matter how much it was working - I can't see the attraction. If other people choose to do it, it may, or may not be a welfare issue, and it's not my business if it isn't, provided it's worked and cared for adequately.

However, it's not what I would do, under any circumstances.
 
I think that livery yards should restrict the number of liveries that they take in so that there is an ability to offer (and give!) adequate turnout through out the year. This may mean having sacrifice fields during the winter. I realise that there is financial incentive to fill yards up to the maximum to make a profit/break even/pay for grooms etc but it should not be to the detriment of the horses' welfare.
 
TwinnyOlive said:
Hi all

I moved to a yard recently which is perfect aside from that with all the wet weather recently (fields don't seem to drain well at all), there is now no turnout until the spring and horses all in 24/7. I've never had this before and really struggling to get used to it, although my horse seems happy enough living in & it is convenient for competing etc.. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips/experiences on keeping their horse in all the time and what other peoples routines are? I ride 6 days a week & we have access to a walker as well as compete regularly so there is some variety for her but still struggling with not turning out.

TIA!
Click to expand...
It’s sadly an all too common scenario up and down the country. I’ve been running my yard for 24 years and I can honestly say, in all that time I’ve NEVER once kept horses in. If I had to run my yard like that, I’d close I’m afraid, as I just refuse to imprison horses day in day out. I accept my winter paddocks will get annihilated, and they’ll cost me a chunk of money to put right, but tbh, I just suck it up🤷‍♀️ Breaks my heart to think of horses living like this. Owners can tell themselves their horses are ‘happy’ with it, but imo, what they are is ‘conditioned’ to it 😔 I’ll prepare myself for the nasty responses. Sorry OP, but I would be looking for another yard if it was me 😏
 
SatansLittleHelper said:
My opinion might not be popular but I believe this is a serious welfare issue. This is no different to leaving a dog in a crate 24/7 😥😥😥
Click to expand...
I completely agree! On my yard, we don’t even do ‘box rest’! If a horse has to be confined for medical reasons, I will either make a small pen within their paddock, just so they’re out in the fresh air and not looking at 4 walls, or we have a large sand pen that can be used depending on the type of injury. Thankfully, it’s rarely used for that though 🤔 I literally despise seeing horses stuck in stables, it makes me so sad for them 😔
 
I have a slightly different problem in that my horse hates being out in the winter weather!! He is ex NH soon would have spent winters in racing. He is currently out for 5 hours a day which he seems happy with but as the weather gets worse he wants in. He spent a long time in last year with daily exercise and was happy as Larry in eating his Haynet. If the whole yard is in and are happy and settled in cannot see a problem with it.
 
I wouldn't do 24/7 no turnout but that's me and I have a choice at the yard that I am at. Yes its annoying when their legs are muddy and rugs are wet through, etc. etc but I consider it my horses time out at liberty and to take that away from her is just not fair.

But not everyone has a choice. Some areas of the country are a bit sparse for livery yards.

Before condeming folk that don't turnout in the winter... as an example, say there are only say 3 livery yards in a reasonable commute from your house/place of work and you ruled one out for no safe hacking, another out for no assisted DIY, that would only leaves you with one, that might have limited or no turnout in winter. And of course there could be a whole host of reasons why you might rule out particular yards, not just travel time, but budget too.

It's not like folk always have a choice to be honest............
 
It wouldn't be for me I'm afraid.

I like horses to have the chance to be horses, mooch about, socialise, graze, get a bit of sun, get wet occasionally etc.

I also would not have a life worth living myself if I had to exercise him daily without fail - working full time and doing the chores is a long enough day at this time of year for me. With 12 hours turnout daily, he will occasionally get lunged or will hack out with someone else for an hour in the week but I can't really find the time or energy to ride after a full day's work and I never have to feel guilty about it because he's had his 12 hours being a horse.
 
J&S said:
I think that livery yards should restrict the number of liveries that they take in so that there is an ability to offer (and give!) adequate turnout through out the year. This may mean having sacrifice fields during the winter. I realise that there is financial incentive to fill yards up to the maximum to make a profit/break even/pay for grooms etc but it should not be to the detriment of the horses' welfare.
Click to expand...

How about rephrasing that? Horse owners should be prepared to pay an adequate amount for the facilities they want so that yard owners can "make a profit/break even/pay for grooms". Why on earth do you expect any business to run at a loss so that you can enjoy a subsidised hobby?
 
baran said:
How about rephrasing that? Horse owners should be prepared to pay an adequate amount for the facilities they want so that yard owners can "make a profit/break even/pay for grooms". Why on earth do you expect any business to run at a loss so that you can enjoy a subsidised hobby?
Click to expand...
Why would horse owners be prepared to pay, say, £100 more for the same service they could get at another yard that’s cheaper? If most yards in an area are cheap then that is what people expect to pay. I absolutely agree that we should expect to pay a fair amount for livery, and that means that many people aught to be paying more, but it is up to the yards to raise their prices. Horse owners are not going to offer to pay more than they are asked for.
I will say again that I completely agree that livery yards should not be run at a discount - my livery is 220 for DIY a month, I know some places are far cheaper but I think it is perfectly fair as that is paying for an awful lot of land to be maintained (we have a full day of turnout during winter) - but you can hardly blame owners for simply paying what they’re asked to.
 
I viewed a yard once, she said they had turnout all year, great! When I viewed and asked the question about winter turnout she tried to avoid it, but eventually she said they were in 24/7 from October to March.. although she said her 3 horses had daily turnout. No thanks.. avoided like the plague and amazed me how she tried to lie about it.

Previous yard they stayed in a lot, it was such hard work. Riding every day, they'd always be fresh and full of it. At least I rode daily and then on a evening they went for a in-hand walk and graze, 80% of the horses didn't even leave their stables for x amount of weekss - not even to be mucked out. When they were then turned out those horses would be dangerous. Its no good for them, even a couple of hours a day is better than nothing.
 
This is only a welfare issue if you are not able to ensure adequate exercise for your horse. Horses are kept perfectly successfully in 24/7 where they are in full work. If you are able to provide medium or hard work for your horse this is perfectly doable. If you are not then it will be a problem - a mental/physical issue for your horse and a safety issue for you when you do ride. I agree it is not ideal and I prefer some turnout, even if only for an hour or two or a couple of times a week but for a fit competition horse I would be ok with it. Having said that, I would be cross if this was not disclosed to me up front when I agreed a contract. I have been caught like this before and was none too pleased because I was not able to provide the exercise required and this was a child's pony so was a safety issue when she could ride. I left that yard. Your horse will likely be fine if it has ad lib hay and you can provide sufficient exercise.
 
Leandy said:
This is only a welfare issue if you are not able to ensure adequate exercise for your horse. Horses are kept perfectly successfully in 24/7 where they are in full work. If you are able to provide medium or hard work for your horse this is perfectly doable. If you are not then it will be a problem - a mental/physical issue for your horse and a safety issue for you when you do ride. I agree it is not ideal and I prefer some turnout, even if only for an hour or two or a couple of times a week but for a fit competition horse I would be ok with it. Having said that, I would be cross if this was not disclosed to me up front when I agreed a contract. I have been caught like this before and was none too pleased because I was not able to provide the exercise required and this was a child's pony so was a safety issue when she could ride. I left that yard. Your horse will likely be fine if it has ad lib hay and you can provide sufficient exercise.
Click to expand...

Another thing to remember with horses that are on limited/very limited turnout as mine was. When mine was only out for 2 hours a day in a paddock she was actually not in for 22 hours. Se was outside her stable being groomed, legs washed, tacked up, ridden, rugs changed, stood in washbox whilst I mucked out her stable. So she was probably in for a max of 17 hours, which although is an awful lot and far from ideal is not the straight 22 that most would think.
 
My horse is now on slightly less turnout than he was at my previous (previous!) yard. He went on track livery between the two yards as he had laminitis.

I have to restrict grazing in summer. That was difficult on yard one. In winter at yard one he was at the gate by 12/1pm wanting in. He had hay, friends and lots of space - 5 horses on approx 7 acres. He stayed out as long as possible but mostly stood in mud 🤨 I couldn’t work him a lot due to no lights in the school and working full time.

Current yard he goes out from 8:30-2:30 and is exercised 5/6 times a week as we have great facilities- indoor and floodlit outdoor. Summer they get 24/7 turnout or overnight turnout, or they can stay in the winter routine entirely up to the owner. The land whilst muddy now, does drain well and is sand. Whilst this is less turnout on paper, overall, from a welfare perspective it suits my horse much better and means he hopefully won’t get laminitis again.

On yard one he’d be in almost all summer as I couldn’t section off any grazing for him to reduce his intake and he wouldn’t muzzle there as there were trees to get him self stuck on. This I think would have driven him mad to stay in all summer.

In current routine he’s happy, he knows what to expect and I can keep his weight down. Ideally would have kept him on the track but logistically I wouldn’t get to ride there during the week and it was a good journey from home. No one (id hope) intentionally deprives their horse of the fundamentals and in some cases it’s about understanding the individual horse!
 
Oh forgot to add he also goes out with others and has hay if needed in the field at current yard. So really not all that much different, give or take a few hours except I can ride him more 😊
 
hopscotch bandit said:
Another thing to remember with horses that are on limited/very limited turnout as mine was. When mine was only out for 2 hours a day in a paddock she was actually not in for 22 hours. Se was outside her stable being groomed, legs washed, tacked up, ridden, rugs changed, stood in washbox whilst I mucked out her stable. So she was probably in for a max of 17 hours, which although is an awful lot and far from ideal is not the straight 22 that most would think.
Click to expand...
Stood in a wash box or tied to the yard is really no different though .
 
hopscotch bandit said:
Another thing to remember with horses that are on limited/very limited turnout as mine was. When mine was only out for 2 hours a day in a paddock she was actually not in for 22 hours. Se was outside her stable being groomed, legs washed, tacked up, ridden, rugs changed, stood in washbox whilst I mucked out her stable. So she was probably in for a max of 17 hours, which although is an awful lot and far from ideal is not the straight 22 that most would think.
Click to expand...

Agree with this, and on a busy competition or livery yard there is generally lots going on for them watch etc. Some of the replies here seem to assume that a horse kept in 24/7 is in solitary confinement. Whilst they can't interact as they can loose in a herd in a field, they will still have plenty of equine company around. If they are fed several times a day and have access to forage for most of the time, they have plenty to keep them occupied. Routine is also absolutely key. If they know how the day pans out and it is always the same routine, they will be settled.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top