restricted turnout?

[Vicki1986]

we have just been put on restricted turn-out, out at normal time but must be in by 2pm. as the fields are getting a bit poached with all the rain we've had. is anyone else yet?

any ideas on how to stop my mare becoming too stiff with the extra few hours a day she will be in for? i have got her a snak ball to help relieve boredom. any other ideas appreciated! luckily she doesnt mind being in but she does get a little stiff

 

[ru-fi-do]

Ours usually go on alternate days when the ground gets really bad but thats not usually until January as we have still got lots of fields to graze at the mo, can you not ride her in the evening. When ours are on alternate days i make sure i ride the days they are in.

 

[Vicki1986]

i do ride most nights but riding 7 days is a bit of a jar after a 10 hour day at the office. at the moment she is being ridden 4-5 times a week so just want some ideas for the other 2/3 days.

some people have recommended magnetic boots? but these seem quite pricey so was wondering what people thought of those?

 

[Nailed]

you have a school?
Turn her into there for a bit.
But i would say she wont get too stiff if she is out some of the day and a walk out at night will releive this.
lou x

 

[TequilaMist]

Have always had unlimited turnout on yards we have been on,only limit is if you wanted yard staff to do it.Never realised (until internet came on go)how many yards actually restrict in winter or how lucky we are to have it!!

 

[TequilaMist]

Meant lucky to have unlimited turnout!!

 

[Dogbetty141]

mine is in all day every day now as the fields are just too bad! once its gone colder and less wet they will be out 1 hour per week bettert than nothing!

 

[jayvee]

If unable to ride, can you take her for a walk in hand? Even if only 15mins with a pick of grass. That would sweeten her mind and relieve abit of stiffness.

 

[RachelB]

My yard is turnout 8am-3pm until it gets a bit wetter (usually October), then 8am-1pm throughout winter. They're now on 1 hour per day (and not every day) as the fields are absolutely sodden. I spent most of this morning in-hand grazing horses at work as only a couple can go out at all at the moment, the fields are literally under water!
It's really horrible... and I think there's more rain still to come!

 

[Theresa_F]

We are out from 8.30 to 4 Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

On the days they are in, the boys get put in the school for about 45 minutes in the morning and Chancer makes sure Cairo gets plenty of walk, trot canter exercise whilst playing.

In the evening they again go in the school for 30 mins to play then get 20 - 30 mins riding/loose schooling and then another 30 mins to an hour play time whilst we finish jobs and mooch around.

 

[Tierra]

My boy is out from 8am until about 1pm at the moment. He could have another 2 hours if I left the grooms to fetch him in.. but if I want to ride, I need to do so around lunch time. Like everyone our fields are sodden at the moment

Im fortunate in that the field my boy is actually turned out into is only bad around the gateway... a couple of the others are far far worse. We're having the odd day where they wont go out at all depending on the weather.

After being out Im schooling him for an hour. They've then got ad-lib forage and he always has a lickit in his box. He does have a snak ball also, but he gets quite violent with it so I dont always put that in To be honest, the time he has out currently seems to be plenty for him. We've still got a lot of grass but he doesnt seem that bothered about it and he's starting to get bored by the time Im going for him.

I do use magnetic leg wraps to help keep his circulation healthy and ive used them on a number of horses over the years. I personally swear by magnotherapy but I know many will disagree. If you do buy some, make sure you go for leg wraps if you intend on using them in the stable. The brushing boot variety (generally neoprene lined) will just make her sweat. The leg wraps have the additional benefit of keeping the joints warm and slightly supported also. Try and look for ones that have a durable outer material and not the ones made of the thermalux / thermatex sort of material (at least not on the outside). Everything will just stick to them and they're not as durable. The veredus magnetic stable boots seem to be popular on here with people... Ive not got any first hand experience with them but they're certainly the set im going for next I think. I cant rate magnetic boots enough but i do appreciate that they're pricey.

Have you got somewhere you can lunge her? Since its harder work than riding it can give them a good leg stretch with less time required from you. You could try long reining her too which can be fun and something different for most horses.

To be honest, I dont think my horse is that bothered about the cut down in turnout. I think he'd hate being stabled 24/7 but as it is now, he's coping fine. I share my stable block with one other girl and we've put a radio in there for the horses (some people say it helps anyway!). One of us also pops her equissage machine on them most days which i think helps to keep their muscles loose. I make sure to give my boy a really good groom everyday and just spend a bit of time with him but i think he's pretty content with life as it is.

Your horse is still getting out quite a lot so I wouldnt be too panicy if I was you. Compared to some horses that dont see grass from october through til march, shes quite lucky!

 

[Chex]

I've never been on a yard with restricted turnout. I don't really get it, yeah the field gets a bit churned up round the gate, but providing the field is big enough, thre's still plenty grass. The grass is pretty dead in winter, and it will regrow in spring anyway, might just need to be reseeded a bit if it doesn't. I would go mad if Chex couldn't be out at least 12 hours a day, as would he! But I guess they get used to it.

 

[mrdarcy]

We're restricting ourselves at the moment... we rent 7 acres but it's on the side of a moor and at the moment is like one big bog with no grass. After a couple of hours the horses just mill about the gate getting mud up to their stifles until we bring them in. So until we get a drier spell they're restricted to a few hours here and there. If not ridden they either go in the school for a hoolie or I let them out into our yard which is a huge, hardcore area with patches of grass at the edges.

I'm praying for a spell of dry weather. It seems to have rained every day for the past month.

 

[magicgirl]

I have a mixture of ridden and young stock and my own land. The fields are so wet that I have mine on restricted turnout. If things are too bad they hve to stay in for a few days. I cut out the hard feed and they just have hay. It doesnt course problems

 

[MagicMelon]

Make sure she's always warm enough to try to stop the stiffness, also maybe buy a magnetic rug? some people think they're brilliant.

Otherwise, obviously try to turn the horse out in a school to blow off steam and try to exercise as much as often, maybe lunge in the morning, let out in school at lunchtime, ride in the afternoon etc. Or even just taking them out for a walk on the lead is better than nothing.

Try and get her things in the stable to keep her amused like a Snack Ball which should keep her moving about.