Possible debate - is stabling 24/7 cruel?

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Ours are in most of the time now, they get to play maybe once a week but they want to come in after half an hour because the field is so rubbish!
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So, what are your opinions on keeping horses like this?
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I'm not a fan, its not something I would do. Tbh I think horses are just really adaptable - if they're kept in then they want in after being turned out for only a short while, if they're kept out they don't like being kept in, etc.
 
yes i think it is. Horses need time out to stretch thier muscles, gallope round and generaly bee horses with other horses. Playing, mutual grooming, haveing a good buck in the field, relaxing. Its not good for thier psyce to be in 24/7, they dont get chance to just be a horse.
 
I prefer to keep my horse out as much as possible. I think most horses will adapt to being out. Mine wasn't used to it at first as he had been an ex-racer and then was kept in alot by his previous owner. He took a few months to get really used to it and didn't know how to interact with the other horses in the field. now he loves it, and has lots of friends. I think if they are stabled 24/7 you can get alot of health and behaviour probs unless you are able to give them lots of stimulation etc
 
You have to admit, you couldn't be further from nature by stabling them 24/7?

For me personally, I think it is cruel for a majority of horses. I do know of several horses who are conditioned/love being in their stable.

Some people have very little choice in yards and so get stuck with 24/7 stabling.

For me personally, I couldn't do it. Horses are animals that travel many miles in a day, they are herd animals and they like to mutual groom etc etc. I don't need to tell you that, you know all that stuff already or you wouldn't have posted this.
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Yea I totally agree, but unfortunately we don't live in ideal world do we!
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My horses live at home, and the fact is that we don't have grazing in the winter and they seem to cope fine.
 
Keeping them in 24/7 is fine IMO, so long as they have daily exercise. Afterall Hunters are usually in 24/7, ridden for a good hour or two daily, and most have a good sized stable. Certainally the ones I know show no ill effects and positivley look foward to coming in in August.
Last winter we had quite a bad time for turnout, and ponio ended up staying in sometimes. Either it was very wet (and his hooves werent so great at the time) or it was too icy to get out of the yard safely, or there was frost (won;'t turn him out on frost due to risk of Lami). In those times he was walked out when possible (and safe), and seemed fine with it.

I did know of someone who just left her horse stabled 24/7 and never exercised him or let him out because she didnt have time. That's cruel IMO. We were facing the same possible predicament with OH changing hours (which would have lost me the time i usually use to turn out or exercise daily) so we advertised ponio for sale right away because I didnt feel it fair on ponio to be standing in for too long.
 
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Yea I totally agree, but unfortunately we don't live in ideal world do we!
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My horses live at home, and the fact is that we don't have grazing in the winter and they seem to cope fine.

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I am sure you do the very best by them. Giving them plenty of exercise and attention.
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I still couldn't do it though. lol
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I've ridden a few horses from Claremont Academy, which was (until last April) the last remaining stable in Manhattan.

Basically, you hired a horse for an hour and rode it on one of the bridlepaths in Central Park. Of the six horses I rode, all were impeccably schooled, responsive, fit and seemed happy.

But I was never truly comfortable with the set-up, and once I discovered this place, I switched.
 
Well I'm guessing that you exercise them at least a couple of hours every day? I guess horses kept like this for years would likely get used to it and so long as they are getting out every day to stretch their legs and have a loosen-off then I wouldn't say it was cruel, just not preferable. Horses who are stabled 24 hours a day who spend days on end stuck in that stable.....yes I think that is mental cruelty to do this to an animal such as this.

I would be very sad to see any of my horses end up being stabled 24/7. I am given immense enjoyment all day long, watching my lot frolicking and running around all day. My guys love to be out, they love to play and they enjoy their work.

Horses who are worked a number of hours a day might be content to live in a stable 24/7 I suppose, but this isn't something I would ever consider; and silly as it may sound to some people, I'd never sell any of my horses to someone who planned to stable them 24/7. My lot would hate it - they have not grown up in that type of environment and I firmly believe they would become thoroughly depressed at that sort of life.
 
Not ideal obviously, but grazing/ground condition may be such that it would be worst for the horse to be turned out. I am fortunate that most of the time I have access to grazing, however last year there were a few days I choose to leave Sparks in to stop her patch getting too poached as it was so wet, even the sand soil at the yard couldn't drain fast enough. Provided they have adequate exercise and stimulation then I don't believe is a problem.
 
I feel that if your horses are at home and it is down to a grazing (lack of) issue then you either need to manage your grazing better so that you do have enough for the winter or you have too many horses for the grazing available.
Even having some turn out would be better than none. I am afraid I do not agree with all this sillyness over ground getting messed up in winter, heaven forbid...it is grass and grows back in spring if left to rest properly. My horse trashed some of his paddock the first winter I had him but with a bit of seed, harrowing, rain and shine it was fully recovered and grazable by the following autumn. It can be done.
P.S this may be a bit blunt but it is an open forum and we are entitled to our opinions...before the flack starts!
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Horses are naturally herd animals, and travel long distances, I have to agree with the folks who say that out is definately preferable, all mine are happiest out 24/7. I only bring them in in at night the worst of the weather, and that's to make me feel better, not them.
 
During the floods and last winter my horses only got out 4 days a week for half a day if they were lucky, on the other days I turned them out in the morning in the sand arena together for a buck and a roll then rode in the evening, they were stressed and I was stressed trying to muck 2 out twice a day and ride 2, I just couldn't bear them in for such prolonged periods, hence we moved yards with all year grazing, if I had my own place and no suitable grazing, I think I'd create a sufaced area perhaps woodchip, so the horses could eat their hay outside together and I wouldn't have to worry about wrecking my grazing.
 
Alot of yards still operate this type of "lining up" policy, come the end of October. (I say lining up, because that's the term we use to describe when we go from summer grazing to having our cows winter housed).

I always thought it was originally more common on hunting yards. Horses were exercised hard daily but remained in the stable where their feed was carefully monitored to maintain stamina and fitness on the hunting field. I wouldn't think those horses would find it so boring to be in as they were well worked daily.

Today's leisure horses aren't all ridden daily, and when they are it could just be a gentle stroll out for less than an hour. I'd hate to think my horses were stuck in for months.

I keep mine at home, so it's not an issue for me. However, if I had them on livery they would have to go somewhere that offered 365 day turnout.
 
My horse suffers from mud fever and our turnout is literally a bog. Last year she was in End Dec to End March, she got to go in the school on her own when I mucked out, then again later with my friends horse and then she was exercised. She was more than happy with this. If the ground is ok she'd be out more but no amount or prevention stopped the mud fever and she was happier in.

Before I had her she was in 24/7 and rarely ridden so I think she's pleased for some freedom and adlib haylage. She was a serious wood chewer before I had her and she rarely considers this now
 
I currently have 3 horses at home, and because of poor drainage I turnd half of my 1.5 acres into a sand menage. In the summer when its dry they go out on the field part and in the winter they are turned out in the menage, with hay. I try to leave them out for as long as possible, most days they are out for at least 8 hours, if the weather is crappy they go out for half a day. It is hard work, but I poo pick every day so the menage doesnt become full of poo, and the hay is kept at one end, so for the sake of making a bit of mess I lose 2 metres of menage, but sooner that than bored stabled horses. I wouldnt be thrilled about having to keep a horses in 24/7.
 
I think it depends from horse to horse, some can't stand being out 24/7 (my boy for one) and will just stand at the gate, which kinda defeats the object of being out to stretch their legs. We have no onsite turnout during the winter, there is a 30 acres feild a 10 min wlak away that we can use, so my boy gets every Sunday afternoon out during teh winter so he can have a proper role. All the other horses don't seem to suffer...
 
I agree that there are circumstances (horse health related, or issues with lack of grazing) in which it really cannot be done any other way, however I also agree that it isn't natural and should be avoided where possible. At my yard our horses are out overnight (about 14 hours) in summer, then I can't understand why YO brings hers in for the winter and puts them out in the day for only 5/6 hours. We certainly don't have a lack of grazing! My share horse is out for about 8 hours, and fair enough when the mud comes she'll be in for longer to save the ground, but right now it's not necessary to stable her for that long IMO. My friend has to keep her German TB stabled as he was never turned out in his early years (they just don't turn out where he came from, it's not the "done thing"). She turns him out in the tiniest paddock for as long as he'll stay settled, which is usually about 20-30 minutes a day. Put him in a bigger paddock, or leave him out longer, and he will do his best to attempt suicide. It's just not practical or safe to leave him out, so she doesn't.
It's all about compromising, if it were a choice between having a horse stabled a lot of the time and well-cared for, or not having a horse at all, I know which one I'd choose.
 
i personally don't like horses being kept this way. one of mine was kept in one winter while i was doing A levels, and the yard didn't allow winter turnout. she never behaved that badly ever, before or since... she was bucking grooms off every day.
horses kept out do not weave, crib-bite, wind-suck, etc - these are all symptoms, not bad habits.
i happily let my horses trash parts of their fields every winter. they don't get to trash the whole thing, and i'm realistic that there'll be nothing but mud by next summer, but they can amble around, play, groom each other, snooze in the shelter, roll in the mud, scoff the hay, stand around, snooze... they have a lot of choices, which stabled horses do not.
sorry, but i wouldn't be happy keeping my horses in all winter. at my last place, with clay fields, if it was really wet and they had to be in for a while i used to let them out in the arena in batches to kick up, play, roll, etc, for hours. didn't do the arena much good, and was more work for me, but kept them happier.
 
I prefer my horses out a much as possible and i would generally only keep them in 24/7 if advised by a vet. In the winter they come in over night but during the spring/summer/autum they just come in for a few hours to have breakfast and be ridden. If the weather is really nasty we will sometimes leave the stables open and they can choose if they want shelter or not. Luckily we keep them at home so we can do what we like. Our fields do get trashed in the winter but when we run out of grass we put piles of hay out and by the spring the fields recover fine.
 
I spent many years at a yard with limited winter grazing. This was not the fault of the lady running the yard. The Owner who was not involved would not let the majority of fields be used in the winter. The horses went out for half a day once a week or if they had a friend then two half days together. Although this wasn't ideal the horses were all exercised daily and we all took the opportunity to spend time with our horses. Luckily we had good hacking!
 
Mine will be in pretty much 24/7 from about Novemeber to the end of March as there is no T/O at my yard. We have a limited use winter T/O paddock which she will go in a couple of times a week though for an hour or two and I will turn a couple of my boss' mares out with her. Although it is convinient having her in 24/7 for me, I don't like it because I know that she is happier living out. She is a real herd leader and loves the freedom of being out in the field with her posse of girl friends bossing them about. Last winter I noticed a definite change in her personality when she was stabled 24/7. I'm going to ride her every day plus have her one the walker so she gets out as much as possible but its not the same. I hate winter for her.
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However, I do feel that I make a lot more effort to make life bearable for her than some liveries. There are plenty at the yard that either never put their horses in the winter T/O paddock in case they get dirty, or only turn them out on their own so they don't charge about and get injured. Plenty of people don't bother to exercise their horse every day and one girl doesn't even come up every day to muck out - she just asks someone else to hay and water her pony. I find this SHOCKING.

I do think horses are adabtable and can cope with living in but they are definitely happier living out and it takes a big commitment on the part of the owner to manage a stabled horse.
 
I don't think its very fair! It's certainly not natural for them and ours are out for at least 12 hours a day every day, the only time the would stay in 24/7 is if they were on box rest or if it had snowed a lot and the yard was very icy.
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i think of it in terms of a human living in a room the size of an average bathroom...would you like to be in your's 24/7????

makes you wonder why some people would think it's ok?
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I personally wouldn't keep my horses in all the time. Imagine being shut in your bedroom all day with nothing to do.....
I would feel cruel.
If you can't turn a horse out at all, taking them for several walks in hand or hand grazing several times a day would be something?
 
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i think of it in terms of a human living in a room the size of an average bathroom...would you like to be in your's 24/7????

makes you wonder why some people would think it's ok?
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totally agree
 
as someone earlier said - might not be ideal but it is not cruel

all horses should - as part of their training - be taught to be stabled 24x7 for periods of time. Then - as happens with riding horses - when they are injured they don't undo healing work by behaving like total morons 'cos they aren't turned out.


if you goto a showground in temp stabling you could be there for a week with no turnout
similarly PC camp has no turnout round here

there are situations other than the issue of winter grazing that require horses to be stabled 24x7 and it isn't 'cruel'
I'd hardly say that city stabled police horses with no turnout except for their 2 week a year holiday are 'cruelly treated'

real cruelty is what is there for horses in need of ILPH rescue and for those horses abroad tended by the Brooke Hospital and similar situations.
 
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