once they are in for winter they have to stay in !

H

horseandshoes77

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 March 2010
Messages
578
Location
county durham
Visit site
Ok have only been on 2 livery yards and now back on my own place so i can pick and choose how i keep them, when on one place small yard with only 3 liveries but had owners 4 horses and wives 3 anyway we got into a discussion about when to bring in etc...at home mine live out as much as poss and if its really bad one night theyll come in but if the next night was ok they would be back out and rugged accordingly...however at this yard it was once they are in they are in...end of... otherwise you are asking for problems,they also clip out fully and then leave them for most of the time stood in stalls all day and then back into stables at night so very limited turnout...just usually an hour or 2 on a weekend ..now im not bothered how they keep theirs but mine seem happier and healthier out but i also dont like to leave them miserable in rain and wind .. so..am i asking for trouble just bringing in when i feel they might benefit away from the weather? have done this for as long as i can remeber but when i told them this youd think id just shot one of them lol
 
no I do this, mine live out but when the weather is really awful I bring them in to give them a break from it. they enjoy it too but are equally happy when they go back out again. I couldn't possibly keep mine in all the time, they'd hate it.
 
How odd! Of course you can - do what you want to with them! Sometimes I bring mine in if continuous rain sometimes I don't. Have bought them in during day, for 1 hr or 8 hrs, have turned them back out at 12 midnight just because it stopped raining and I was still up and thought they would prefer to be out. My two horses are completely chilled about it and don't get worked up if they are in or expecting to go out or in.
 
I can see why the "once they are in, they stay in" might apply in a yard where they're trying to preserve their grass as much as possible, especially at this time of the year when it tends to turn wet and a lot of horses hooning around on grass isn't what a lot of yards want or need.

My DIY livery (just the one) is at liberty to decide what she does with hers and I don't interfere; we usually have plenty of grass here but at the moment because we've had one extra over the summer (now gone), grass has been at a bit of a premium; however with the wet weather we've had, and probably more to come, think the blimmin stuff will grow like its going out of fashion.

I tend to keep mine out as long as possible; know that one year it wasn't until early December when I succumbed and brought them in at night, but that was a dry autumn, and a good few years ago. They would normally always be out during the day though - would go totally daft if they were in all the time. Unthinkable!

The last few autumns have been wet and miserable, which means that I've been bringing in round about the beginning/middle of October if my memory serves me correct. Certainly by the school half-term hols at the end of October, I'll be thinking about bringing them in at night. But trying to put it off as long as possible!
 
I've seen yards where all the horses come in at the end of Oct and stay in 24/7 until March/April, I just couldn't have that, with working full time and whatnot I would NEVER be able to ride them enough to keep them happy. I'm spread across 2 yards,both are managed as you suggest, we bring them when they need to come in and turn them out when they can go out, this does work out as they're out 24/7 for most of the time and in most nights during winter, but there is flexibility there.
 
Once my horse comes in for the winter then she stays in (overnight, still goes out during the day) but that is her choice lol. She usually let's me know if she wants in or out. I tried putting her out 24/7 slightly earlier last year and she just jumped the fence and brought herself back to the yard lol. As long as your horses are happy then I dont see a problem??
 
Rubbish. The YO's you spoke to are having a laugh. Horses get used to routine, however if their routine is to sometimes come in one night and out the next, they'll be perfectly happy about it. If you did that with their horses, they'd likely be a bit stressy to begin with purely because they're not used to it, once they were they'd be fine too! I know loads of people who stable all winter (and clip - why?!) but IMO its not for the benefit of the horse. No horse benefits from being shut in a small box for months, there's plenty of proof to back that up (ie. stiffness, respiratory problems etc. and of course mental issues through the utter boredom!). IMO what you're doing is absolutely preferable. Mine stay out all year round (including clipped if they need it, not because it makes them look pretty...) with access to open stables so they can come and go as they like. I bring one in overnight if he has an event early the next day, never had any probs.
 
Last edited:
I think horses can adapt to changes a bit better than that! My lad is stabled at night all year round but if I have to leave him out for the very odd night because I am away or something, he is perfectly fine with that and quite happy. He still goes into his field based stable for his lie down and then goes back out again.
 
well it was not to preserve field as they had good winter turn out but they said that im asking for my horses to get run down and flu etc when they are cosy in the stable for 1-2 nights then turned back out into the cold...however they are always rugged for the temp so i just didnt get this!
 
I do this. My horse knows where shes going to be for the night by her feed...if she's staying in I'll feed her in stable, if out she gets fed and Hayed in field. Plus I say goodbye to her in a particular way each evening, just our thing but she knows and never makes a fuss in or out.
 
The old yard I was at had limited turnout in winter. Your horse was allowed two mornings per week. It was hell. You had to ride every day and I hated it for my horse. Of course YO horses got more:rolleyes: I like to have a stable for when it is really wet and horrible but I would never ever put my horse in that oppressive, grim situation again. Clipping and stabled is understandable for hunters and horses that have to do lots of hard work during winter. But not for the majority of pleasure horses IMO
 
horseandshoes77 said:
well it was not to preserve field as they had good winter turn out but they said that im asking for my horses to get run down and flu etc when they are cosy in the stable for 1-2 nights then turned back out into the cold...however they are always rugged for the temp so i just didnt get this!
Click to expand...

That was a bit of a daft thing to say as the temperature variation from night to night is huge whether in or out. They don't get flu because it is freezing one night and 10 degrees the next! Being in a different temperature will not cause flu. Horses can be cosy in rugs in the field.

My mare had her lightweight rug on yesterday night due to the rain but she is naked again now as it is still not cold and today is dry. I will rug her when she is clipped but she lives out 24/7 as I am a firm believer in the health benefits of living out.
 
padderpaws said:
The old yard I was at had limited turnout in winter. Your horse was allowed two mornings per week. :eek:

Of course YO horses got more:rolleyes: Why ever not? Her horses, her land, her business what she does with them, when, where and how :) My own horses have the biggest stables in the barn and they have a separate winter paddock, more sheltered, more grass, also no lighting and a quarter mile trek from the barn, through a forest to get to it, I'd hate to do that at night, in the snow, in minus stupid temperatures. Boarders have their paddock gates within 50m of the barn - if the Owners don't like it, then tough, move on, sorry and all that.

I don't do DIY, if I did, there is no way I would say that horses had to be in and stay in. Owners would have their own paddocks, what they did with them would be up to them.

DIY is just that, do it yourself, make your own decisions.

My Stall Boarders, pay for use of a stall regardless of whether their horse stays in it or not, they tell me when they want their horses to be in overnight, or, they trust my judgement. It makes no difference to me whether they are in one night and out three if that is what owners want - less work for me ;)

I have been at yards that stipulated dates, usually from about November 1st - May, that's a long time to be mucking out :( I hated not having the choice, but, considering the grazing at the last was a foot sucking mire that was only fit for growing rice I did understand why.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Mine would be in from September to May if this was the rule, I try to get boy in once every so often for a full check over, and for my convenience, also field is saturated now, so it helps field, and his feet, to have him in, it make sense to have him inside in a storm to my mind. Safer.
 
I prefer mine out 24/7 all year but depends on the yard. usually wait until end of Oct to bring in at night when clocks change. Although like someone else said, a few years ago Made it to December!

My mare hates been in so keep out as much as poss! She is getting older now tho and the last few nights been hanging around the gate!

This year had one of the grass most summer anyway on yard either access to stable, so have given in and stabling at night now with turn out in day, although am muzzleing that horse :-( hopefully not for long now tho! If the weather dries up they will give back out 24/7 for a bit as fields will be ok :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top