So you think that your horse likes living in a stable?!

[emmah1979]

So I move around a lot with my job and consequently so does my horse. He's been on yards in Wales, Lincolnshire, Northern Ireland, Northern Scotland, Norfolk, Hampshire and Middlesex! Everyone has different preferences for how the horses are looked after. He's lived in 24/7 (Northern Ireland winter = minimal grazing); and out in the day and in at night. However, the last 2 yards I've been at have been advocates of 24/7 turnout in herds.
The owner of one of these yards used to keep all her horses in at night until someone questioned why she did this. The yard owner responded that all her horses liked coming in at night and when it was wet and cold. The lady said that this was probably because they were used to being fed in the stable and said next time it's cold or wet leave the stable doors open and see if the horses stay in or go back to the fields. The horses all returned to their fields despite the wind and rain. After contemplating this the yard owner decided to completely change her routine so that all the horses would live out permenantly apart from perhaps coming into the stable for a few hours during the day or if ill.
Personally I've never seen such a content bunch of horses. I'm not just talking about happy hackers or cobs. Some of the horses were BE novice eventers, some BD elementary level dressage horses and some showjumpers at 1.3m level.
Anyone else with competition horses an advocate of 24/7 turnout?
Who can justify to me that their horse, which is an outdoor animal, actually enjoys living in a stable?!
Who actually keeps their horse stabled 24/7 and can convince me that it's best for the horse?!
Who keeps their horse stabled 24/7 and then wonders why it is a little sharp (sorry to generalise here but I specifically have dressage riders in mind for this one, who get to shows and then are too scared to put their legs on their totally wired horses)?
Who keeps their horse in a stable at night to keep it warm. Afterall, it's much warmer to stand still all night in a freezing cold stable than it is to be able to keep walking around an equally cold field (if your stable is centrally heated then I take this back)?!

I'm sure everyone will have their own views on this......let's hear them!

 

[HaffiesRock]

I'm with you on this. My pony is out 24/7 and I would never put a horse in a stable unless the vet said so. Horses move around to keep warm and being stuck in a stable with 4 rugs on is not what nature intended!

I would be interested to to hear peoples reasons for stabling though x

 

[MillionDollar]

It totally depends on the horse!

I have a Welsh D, competing at BD Elementary level, working Adv Medium at home and he is currently out 24/7. However, as soon as the weather turns he will be in 24/7 as he will not stay out. He loves his stable. I have liveries with horses who are the same, so a few stay in 24/7 in winter too. Most go out for around 6 hours in winter and are out 24/7 in summer.

I have had horses in the past who want to be out 24/7 all year round, including a WB Competition horse. Had a NF pony who wanted to be in 24/7 in winter. So I completely do what is right for each individual horse. I cannot stand people who make their horse go out in winter and they just pace or gallop around. I hate seeing horses pace, they look so distressed. And most the time it's because the owner is too lazy to muck out twice per day.

 

[true dragon]

i leave my stable door open 24/7 and i agree, as soon as their hay and feed are finished they are straight back out in the wind and rain. so yes, i agree with you... and ive often thought this... owners who say mine love coming into the stable at night are only doing so because they know they are having a feed and net.

of course, if all the horse has is a small muddy patch to live on during the winter months, then its not viable to keep them out. but given a choice , with the correct land. the horse would choose be outside.

 

[Taisypops]

I agree that most horses would prefer to be out in a field, trouble is in Scotland the ground very quickly turns into knee deep mud and my horse gets terrible mud rash She is also a lami pony so I guess she will prob neer be a live out pony....x

 

[emmah1979]

I forgot to add that my horse is a TB, and just to add fuel to fire is usually clipped out during the winter (shock horror!). Plenty of layers of good quality rugs (only rambos) to keep him warm as required. Never seemed cold or miserable and always kept weight on. Good quality haylage and hard feed.

 

[rockysmum]

Depends on where you keep them.

If you have good well drained pasture with plenty of natural shelter and wind breaks I agree with you.

Very few people, especially nearer the cities, have this luxury. Most horses are kept on less land than they need to live out 24/7

So then you end up with the "naturally" kept horses standing outside in wind and rain with no real shelter, up to their knees in mud and bored to tears.

No-one can tell me that the horses prefer this, or that they are better for it.

Mine come in at night whether they get a feed or not. They dont actually care. Often they are brought in and I dont get down to give them their bucket feeds until a few hours later.

Judging by the fact that when I do go down, I can do the jobs with the stable doors left open. I suspect they have no desire to go back out again.

 

[Honey08]

In an ideal world I agree with you, but despite having 16 acres for two horses, its very wet land, and every horse I've had there in the last decade has suffered from something that meant that they had to come in at some point, and couldn't be out. For example, mud rash, sweet itch, laminitis, tendancy to get fat and needing to be fit. So I've never been able to go down the 24/7 route.

I would throw into your theory, that all mine are desperate to come in when its very hot and there are lots of flies - we used to leave them access to the yard in summer, and they nearly all came and stood inside for a good portion of the day.

 

[devonlass]

I think the majority would prefer to be out,it is more natural behaviour for them,and less scary for a flight animal than being confined.
Mine both live out all year,and although sometimes I wish i had access to stable for them I strongly suspect that is more my sentiment than their need.

Having said that,I had a fell pony who far preferred to be stabled,and it was obvious he really did prefer it as amongst other things he would refuse to leave it to go out lol

I guess like everything with horses there are always exceptions to the norm

 

[Charem]

My lad used to have access to his field, part of the yard and his stable before he moved fields. He would spend most of his time out in the paddock muching on hay which was in a haybar however when it got too hot or it started raining he would take himself off to his stable and stand at the doorway with his head poking out.

In his new field he has a field shelter and he does exactly the same, as soon as it's either too hot or too wet/windy he's straight in there. Clearly likes his home comforts!

 

[hoggedmane]

Personally I've never seen such a content bunch of horses. I'm not just talking about happy hackers or cobs. Some of the horses were BE novice eventers, some BD elementary level dressage horses and some showjumpers at 1.3m level.
A

^
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This
I'm a 24/7 out advocate. Have kept my mare in and out overnight in previous yards in winter and she now lives out along with all the other horses at the yard except two arabs (owners choice). I completely agree about the horses being content. They don't stand and look miserable when it rains they just keep on grazing. Hay is not put out and there are no man made shelters although there are good thick hedges. We are lucky to have super grazing and plenty of it. There are horses doing BD and BE and BSJA at they yard from the field all living out clipped (and well rugged). There are many types of horses including several Tb ex racehorses, some very old horses and ponies (in their 30s) and warmbloods. The mares and geldings live separately and there is one big herd of geldings but two smaller ones of mares.

My mare is 21 and has had a snotty nose and cough by the end of the winter when kept in. No sign of this now. She can move around to keep her joints flexible and keep warm. She comes in for food every day but as soon as she has finished she has her head over the door looking to go back out. A haynet lasts me about two weeks at the moment as she is not interested. She is fed Simple systems (as most of the horses are) and looks great.

 

[emmah1979]

Thank you everyone - some interesting points being brought up here. Would agree that perhaps not all land is suitable for 24/7 turnout. My experience of field shelters is that more often than not, when it is cold and miserable, you think to yourself, "he'll be nice and cosy standing in the shelter out of the rain eating his hay", then you take a look in the field and he's standing right out in the middle with his bum turned into the wind. Typical!

There's a retired ID x pony at my current yard, which is obese - massive crested neck, fat-layered body, laminitis evey summer - and yet in the winter it comes in every night and has a feed, haynet and is rugged up summer and winter. In the summer I can understand bringing it in to control its grazing. But why do they bring it in and rug it up in the winter? As it's not being ridden anymore wouldn't it be better to leave it out all winter, preferably without a rug when possible, to help it lose a little weight naturally?

 

[emmah1979]

^
There are many types of horses including several Tb ex racehorses, some very old horses and ponies (in their 30s) and warmbloods. The mares and geldings live separately and there is one big herd of geldings but two smaller ones of mares.
My mare is 21 and has had a snotty nose and cough by the end of the winter when kept in. No sign of this now. She can move around to keep her joints flexible and keep warm. She comes in for food every day but as soon as she has finished she has her head over the door looking to go back out. A haynet lasts me about two weeks at the moment as she is not interested. She is fed Simple systems (as most of the horses are) and looks great.

My current yard sounds similar to this. Huge, well-drained fields with good natural shelter. All the horses out in herds. The grazing is so good that last winter my horse only came in and received a hard feed and a haynet 3 or 4 times a week and the only time the horses got hay in the field was the 2 weeks over Christmas when it snowed. He'd lost a little weight by April, but actually that was perfect because he's retired now so it meant he was able to stay out all summer without having to restrict his grazing at all.

 

[noodle_]

mine lives out- end of!

they donthave stables - nor do i need/want any - they love being out - they have hay/good rugs and natural shelter - i hate mud but they are happy, therefore so am i!

they are not comp ponies anymore- ones chilling out for 12 months - the others a future show jumper....i hope!!

they will continue to live out for the rest of their lives (as long as its feesable!)

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

A couple of years ago one of the big horsey mags, can't remember which, ran an article that challenged owners to swap the word "cage" for the more usual "stable" for a week. So instead of saying "My horse is stabled 24/7" it would be my horse is CAGED 24/7 and instead of "I've just put new bedding into my horse's stable" it would be I've just put new bedding into my horse's CAGE. You get the idea. Try it.

 

[sarahann1]

No, I don't think he does, but its for his own good and I keep his hours in a short as I can to balance up his physical needs against his sanity needs. I make sure he has enough forage for the night so he can still trickle feed, he rarely runs out, and if he does he moves on to his bed which im ok with. So far I have a sounder pony who is in less pain so needs less bute than he was on before I started bringing him at night. He's not soured with being in either there is no change in his temptement from being out 24/7 to being in a night.

If I had the choice he would be out, but medical needs first.

Just away to put him out now.

 

[Jools1234]

mine are the only 2 on a yard of 50+ that live out and people often tell me I am cruel (it falls on deaf ears).

when it snows all the horses that are in get stuck in for up to 2 and half weeks- mine stay out having hay when needed-they think I am cruel leaving mine out in the snow! even when those stuck in start colicking through lack of movement people comment that my poor horses are stuck out

mine come in for a few hrs each day so my daughters one is dry to ride and mine can spend time without grass and thats it

 

[Merlin11]

I agree that you can find out if horses really like living in a stable if you give them the choice. Mine are out 24/7 but can chose to go in their stables if they want - stables are open to the fields like a shelter. They tend to go in more in the summer when the flies are bad. There has to be driving wind and rain for them to go in otherwise and even then they often prefer to stand under a tree. Some prefer the shelter more than others. Sometimes you have to keep them in for medical or health reasons or due to lack of grazing and muddy conditions but the majority of horses much prefer to be out as nature intended.

 

[TGM]

All three of ours are out pretty much 24/7 now, although if it is really wet or very hot they come in for a few hours during the day. They used to be in at nights in the winter, but I found the two bigger horses actually ate better when out in the field. I have to put haylage out in the field for them as we don't have a lot of grass, but luckily the fields are well-drained and have excellent natural shelter.

I do agree that the majority of horses that owners claim "are dying to come in" are just wanting food. Once the grass has gone from the field, by the end of the day's turnout the horses are hungry and stand by the gate as they know there will be hay in their stables. When I just had my old mare and pony, I used to leave the stables open so they could come in and out at their leisure and they were nearly always found out in the field, even in the snow!

However, if you do keep your horses out 24/7 you do need a proper set up - standing in a grassless patch of mud with not much in the way of shelter and little or no forage supplied will result in miserable horses. I'm sure we've all seen horses kept out in these conditions and that is what get 24/7 turnout a bad name.

 

[Slave2Magic]

I would love my 2 to live out 24/7. The youngster does as he is on youngstock livery but there are very few livery yards near me that offer 24/7 turnout in winter. It's only possible with your own land and if I could find some then they would not be stabled.

 

[touchstone]

Mine is out 24/7 with access to a stable and is an ex-laminitic on small 1 acre field

I must confess I did put her in overnight when we had the recent floods, but that was because the field was underwater.

She takes herself in and out at will, but always sleeps in her stable and does stand in it in bad weather. Ironically she is a hardy native.

 

[meesha]

I think you also have to factor in the fact that in really bad weather if there is no forage in the field shelter then eventually the horses will go back out into the fields.

I have gotten down to my field in really bad weather and my 2 have been in the field shelter - no poo in the fields or on the arena - but they have haybars in shelter full of hay or haylage and water drinker opposite shelter on yard so if it is bad the only time they go out is to wee on the arena which is about 10 steps away - it is open to the fields so they have the choice although if we have enough rain my fields turn to mud so they are then shut on yard/field shelter/arena.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

We always kept our horses in at night and out in the day until we had an elderly Arab that was becoming stiff when kept in over night so the vet suggested that we leave the stable doors open and the gates into the fields so that she could decide where she wanted to go. Needless to say she chose to stay out most of the time and only came in to eat her feed and her hay. Since then although we lost her many years ago now the horses live out 24/7 unless they are unwell. They choose to come in if its a hot summer day, doesn't happen very often in Wales! Horses definately prefer to be out, all the horses we have had since that Arab have choosed to stay out. I realise some people haven't got the choice but I wouldn't keep a horse if it had to stay in 24/7.

 

[WestCoast]

Generally I'm a fan of out 24/7 in herds for normal behaviour. But because I had to go full livery Bree has been in during the day and in single turnout with other horses around her at night. It will swap im winter. It avoids the flies and she seems quite content watching the comings and goings, having a roll and being dry - but it is a 15' stable which gives her plenty of room to do this. Certainly her dermatitis healed up pretty quickly. I don't like the single turnout, but they don't want horses injured which I can understand.

Paula

 

[Caol Ila]

My horse insists that she has to be kept in the lifestyle to which she is accustomed. She hates the flies, the midges, the rain, and must be brought in at night.

Before I got her, I resolutely believed horses were better off out in a herd 24/7. This horse firmly put paid to that.

 

[Kat]

I am in no doubt that mine prefers to be out 24/7 and I would love to be in a position to do this all year round, but I simply couldn't keep the weight on her in winter if she didn't come in to a haynet or 4 and some hard feed. As it is she spends as much of the year as possible out 24/7 and will come in over night only through winter. She's still out now and I'm trying to leave it as long as possible before I bring her in.

Of course having her in makes it quicker and easier to ride in the evenings but the big issue is keeping her condition.

 

[cptrayes]

Mine have the choice and on a bad winters day will put themselves inside a barn 24/7 There are a lot of horses who prefer it, and even more horses who don't care one way or the other. It is possible to anthropomorphise about the wonders of "freedom" too much. To the lead horse, "freedom" means a life constantly on the lookout for predators that will attack his herd. Being inside closed walls means s/he can relax.

I have also found that my horses very rarely lie down in soggy ground and never in the rain. The only time they get to rest their legs is when they are inside. A wet winter for a 24/7 turned out horse is quite probably a pain in the legs.

 

[Spangle]

A couple of years ago one of the big horsey mags, can't remember which, ran an article that challenged owners to swap the word "cage" for the more usual "stable" for a week. So instead of saying "My horse is stabled 24/7" it would be my horse is CAGED 24/7 and instead of "I've just put new bedding into my horse's stable" it would be I've just put new bedding into my horse's CAGE. You get the idea. Try it.

This is an interesting perspective. Shutting them up in a stable is quite different to allowing the horse itself to choose whether to use a shelter in the field.

 

[Honey08]

In an ideal world I agree with you, but despite having 16 acres for two horses, its very wet land, and every horse I've had there in the last decade has suffered from something that meant that they had to come in at some point, and couldn't be out. For example, mud rash, sweet itch, laminitis, tendancy to get fat and needing to be fit. So I've never been able to go down the 24/7 route.

I would throw into your theory, that all mine are desperate to come in when its very hot and there are lots of flies - we used to leave them access to the yard in summer, and they nearly all came and stood inside for a good portion of the day.

Thank you everyone - some interesting points being brought up here. Would agree that perhaps not all land is suitable for 24/7 turnout. My experience of field shelters is that more often than not, when it is cold and miserable, you think to yourself, "he'll be nice and cosy standing in the shelter out of the rain eating his hay", then you take a look in the field and he's standing right out in the middle with his bum turned into the wind. Typical!

There's a retired ID x pony at my current yard, which is obese - massive crested neck, fat-layered body, laminitis evey summer - and yet in the winter it comes in every night and has a feed, haynet and is rugged up summer and winter. In the summer I can understand bringing it in to control its grazing. But why do they bring it in and rug it up in the winter? As it's not being ridden anymore wouldn't it be better to leave it out all winter, preferably without a rug when possible, to help it lose a little weight naturally?

Yes it definately would do it good to use it's weight to keep warm rather than rugs.

Argueing against what I wrote earlier (my honest findings with my own horses..), there is a horse in the next field to ours - still wet land (although does have a lot of hill, whereas we are in the valley) that lives out 24/7. She is a retired brood mare. She is kept the opposite way to everything we learn - on her own (with sheep and cows), never ever brought in, whatever the weather, never wormed, injected or fed forage, gets haylage or silage with the cows in snow. She is nearly 30, and a picture of health. Never seen her with any sweet itch, and despite being white with pink skin, never has mudrash or sunburn.. So I do wonder if we have created our own problems over the years..

 

[Sparkly Snowdrop]

I changed to 24/7 turnout last winter and my horse was so much happier for it. So I agree.