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

our land gets wet in winter so ours are restricted to a couple of acres (4 of them). they have access to a straw bedded haybarn. They are rugged too, except the highland, but this is mainly for my benefit to keep clean enough to ride! they dont shelter much before late dec, jan but from then on I notice that they do make use of the barn for a good lie down. they have access to forage at all times. they seem to do very well, its me who would love the luxury of a stable yard!!!
 
Mine are out 24/7 during summer, and in at night during the winter. Our yard doesnt offer 24/7 turnout for the horses, but ponies can stay out 24/7 with the riding school ponies if you want them to. I know when my tb is ready to stay in at night as once he's had his dinner he settles down and munches his hay, however if he wants to go out his head is over the door.

My old pony would probably be better off living out but he is too attached to said tb and squeals constantly if he cant see him, so thats not an option.

It isnt harming them to come in overnight. They are happy, warm and well - if they were really unhappy I would have to find other arrangements but this suits them down to the ground.
 
Although mine live out 24/7 I do think your post sounds a bit preachy. Different horses have different needs and, for example, my personal experience is that nothing upsets a horse like changing herds so perhaps moving around a lot with your horse is more upsetting that being kept in at night.
 
When mister jay (sec D) was in work, he would be stabled at night and some of the day. We sometimes gave him the option, leaving the door open, so he could wander out if he wished. Did he? Very rarely - usually he would be dozing inside, whatever the weather, while the other horses munched in their fields. He seemed quite happy with this arrangement.
Now, he's been retired for a couple of years and is out 24/7 for most of the year, ignoring his field shelter, and grazing, or mooching around in the worst of the wind and rain. Silly boy :D
 
Booboos said:
Although mine live out 24/7 I do think your post sounds a bit preachy. Different horses have different needs and, for example, my personal experience is that nothing upsets a horse like changing herds so perhaps moving around a lot with your horse is more upsetting that being kept in at night.
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I agree; moving yards/herds can be very unsettling for horses, and it can take them many months for it to feel like home.
 
My horse hates the rain and comes cantering to the stable/field shelter when it rains, I have on occasion left the stable door open for him and he goes in and stays there. I tend to close the door when he is out as I use it as a stable rather than a field shelter and he has trees for shelter. I have seen him trying to climb over his door to get into his stable when he first arrived with me. Opened the door to let him out this morning and had to go behind him and shoo him out as he was standing there looking out but not wanting to go out. I bring in over night over the winter and during the day in the summer also to save my field and his waistline
 
I would be very surprised if any horse would prefer to be stabled than being out on good grazing with adequate shelter and company....but it does depend on the horse.
I have always stabled my horse at night to get him off the grass for a few hours, being a good doer and always struggling with his weight otherwise. Then one year I got his weight down a bit and thought I would leave him out 24/7 to help his COPD and because he was on a bare paddock.
That was the year he got laminitis and since the struggle to get him back to health, I vowed to never change his routine again - as it had obviously worked before keeping him stabled at night.
He has been fine health wise since stabling him at night again and that is my sole reason for stabling him at all - to keep him free of laminitis. I know very well that he would prefer to be out 24/7 all year but that is not possible in order to keep him healthy - a compromise and shame for him, but necessary none the less.
 
I totally agree and I suspect so would my girl, but finding decent livery round here is hard work. Finding decent livery with 24/7 turn out all year round is just about impossible.

I'm saving up to buy a field.
 
I'm not sure why I should justify how I keep my horse to you.

You have presented a very polarised argument . . . if you want discussion rather than agreement you may want to think about how you phrase the initial premise.

P
 
true dragon said:
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.
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I agree.

To anyone who claims their horses prefer to be in, I would be intersted to see your turnout. Mine is undulating with trees (some edible, my pones love ash and willow), briars and hedges all round. Plenty of plants grow that can be bought dried as supplements (nettles, sticky weed, hawthorn) so my ponies can help themselves. There's shelter from wind, rain and sun and great views. I'd bet that most of these animals who don't like being out are in post and rail squares with limited shelter and a limited variety of plants to graze and browse on.
 
Who can justify to me that their horse, which is an outdoor animal, actually enjoys living in a stable?!
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I don't think any of us have to justify anything. As long as our horses are well cared for, happy individuals - how they are kept is entirely up to us.
 
marmalade76 said:
I agree.

To anyone who claims their horses prefer to be in, I would be intersted to see your turnout. Mine is undulating with trees (some edible, my pones love ash and willow), briars and hedges all round. Plenty of plants grow that can be bought dried as supplements (nettles, sticky weed, hawthorn) so my ponies can help themselves. There's shelter from wind, rain and sun and great views. I'd bet that most of these animals who don't like being out are in post and rail squares with limited shelter and a limited variety of plants to graze and browse on.
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i am very lucky because my set up sound like yours. ive got 3 horses on 7 acres, and my fields are undulating, mixed sward and plants, surrounded by high hedges and trees, on the side of a hill so i get no standing water and my stables open out onto the land so i can leave the doors open 24/7

unfortunately, most horse owners dont have this luxury, and have to use post and rail squares which turn to knee deep mud this time of year. also most livery yards dont let you turn out at night in the winter.
 
marmalade76 said:
I agree.

To anyone who claims their horses prefer to be in, I would be intersted to see your turnout. Mine is undulating with trees (some edible, my pones love ash and willow), briars and hedges all round. Plenty of plants grow that can be bought dried as supplements (nettles, sticky weed, hawthorn) so my ponies can help themselves. There's shelter from wind, rain and sun and great views. I'd bet that most of these animals who don't like being out are in post and rail squares with limited shelter and a limited variety of plants to graze and browse on.
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I have 15 acres of hillside wild flower meadow with good shelter and my horses will still choose to be in. I don't claim they prefer it. They just do it.

Some horses do. Probably moreso than ponies.
 
Spangle said:
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.
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But it's no different from leaving a stable door open and seeing if the horse walks out. One of mine has to be forced to leave!
 
Obi chooses to come in at night by August.

This year he left it till the end of August as he was content with being bucket feed by the gate all summer.

He leaves the herd and waits by the gate at 5 pm onwards and becomes increasingly frantic if I am late.

Some days (in winter) he will refuse to go out.

With me, he will walk up to the field gate and then refuse to move.
With my friend, he refused to leave the barn at all.

He is happier to graze inhand and then go back in his stable.

Do I like it? No, I would prefer him to be out.......

I am sure if he had dry standing, haylage and a field shelter - he would be happier to stay out....but I do not have such facilities to hand.

My other horse, The Tank, is happy to live out and would stay out 24/7 if that was an option.

Each horse is different.
 
i tried to stable my horse once.....

came back 2 hrs later to check her and her door was broken and she was back in her field. after that it took some pursuasion to stay in her stable even to be tacked up - as soon as she was untacked she'd kick until i took her back to the field.

did rent a field with a shelter for a while - she never used it even in mid winter - and would rather stand under trees in mid summer.

so no = my horse does not like being in a stable and has not been in one for over 4 years now (bar that fateful day) and is hunter clipped every year - meany that i am
 
The majority of horses live out 24/7 in New Zealand, even some of the racehorses may be paddocked and almost all will get some form of turnout each day.

My mare loves coming in if there is a feed available BUT when I tried to diet her by bringing her in and only giving her hay, she planted herself at the door.
 
PolarSkye said:
I'm not sure why I should justify how I keep my horse to you.

You have presented a very polarised argument . . . if you want discussion rather than agreement you may want to think about how you phrase the initial premise.

P
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Firstly I have no interest in whether people agree with me or not. My understanding of a forum is a place for discussion:)

I think if you have read all the comments that you will see that my initial 'polarised' post has generated some interesting and constructive points of view and discussion. Of course my argument was biased! I wouldn't have started the debate if I didn't have a view on the subject! That doesn't mean that I think that my view is right and everyone else is wrong. In fact I think this discussion has shown that there can be many factors and influences to consider when deciding on the most appropriate way to keep your horse.

Apologies if my initial post has upset you.....
 
Booboos said:
Although mine live out 24/7 I do think your post sounds a bit preachy. Different horses have different needs and, for example, my personal experience is that nothing upsets a horse like changing herds so perhaps moving around a lot with your horse is more upsetting that being kept in at night.
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I agree with you. I hate having to move my boy around so much and I have no doubt that it is much more unsettling than remaining at the same yard, whether stabled or not. Sadly, I have no choice due to my job if I want to keep him. I'm very lucky in that he is a remarkably placid and friendly animal. I don't quite know whether this is simply due to his nature or because he has been moved so often. Either way he can be turned into a field of strange horses and within a few hours has buddied up with one of horses, and is usually part of the herd within a week. He doesn't appear to have been too adversely affected by all the travel over the years:)
 
Booboos and Polarskye - if you have nothing constructive to add to the discussion - don't post.

I am finding it very interesting reading about other peoples horses reactions to the stable or paddock. I don't think the OP was preaching merely telling us what she feels her horses prefer.

One time mine - having spent the night at a very swish establishment was quite positive that she didn't wish to leave the roomy comfortable box with a deep bed of shavings to go back out in her paddock in the pouring rain! She planted herself at the foot of the ramp and tried to return to the stable.
 
If I had my own land I would certainly give her the option. However I'm on a livery yard and it's not an option plus with al the rain we've had the fields are swamp like.
 
Mine had a full clip last week, he had been staying out 24/7 but after clip was bringing him in at night. One night (being very lazy) decided to leave him out, he's fully rugged up, but on driving passed the livery yard saw he was stood at the gate looking miserable!

Soft sod that I am turned around and went to bring him in thinking he must be cold....lo and behold he was snuggly warm and just wanted to be brought in for a haynet!
 
I go with the standing at the gate, if it is cold and wet, he is at the gate, he wants in to have his grub, and a lie down with a big haynet, if he is reluctant to come in [he gets a treat at the gate if he comes to call] then I may leave him out. I rarely go to catch to him as I would have to paddle through a river.
We are in Scotland and his summer field has been waterlogged for two months, it would never do for winter as it would poach badly.
Winter fields tend to be a bit drier but would also poach if used 24/7.
Horse gets mud fever, and he needs a few overnights to control this anyway.
It might be possible to manage this one horse out 24/7 with a few nights in to prevent mud fever, but really, in West of Scotland most horses are stabled overnight in winter, some have no turnout November to March.
The girl I bought him off tells me that when she brought him home [from a traveller type farm], he lay down in the stable and ate his grub out of his bucket, he had gone to heaven! He has never shown any stress being inside but is much calmer when ridden if out as much as possible.
 
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In my case it's not all about the horse but me too, I work full time and after work want to be able to go to yard to find horse dry in its stable all done can pop tack on , ride then put it back and not have to troop around dark fields looking for it. As if I could not have my horse on full livery I could not have one.
 
emmah1979 said:
I agree with you. I hate having to move my boy around so much and I have no doubt that it is much more unsettling than remaining at the same yard, whether stabled or not. Sadly, I have no choice due to my job if I want to keep him. I'm very lucky in that he is a remarkably placid and friendly animal. I don't quite know whether this is simply due to his nature or because he has been moved so often. Either way he can be turned into a field of strange horses and within a few hours has buddied up with one of horses, and is usually part of the herd within a week. He doesn't appear to have been too adversely affected by all the travel over the years:)
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I think that people who keep their horses in either overnight or 24/7 would give a similar reply to this...i.e. needs must and their horses seem fine by it :)
 
emmah1979 said:
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)?!
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And this isn't asking for justification or being a tad judgmental/provacative? This doesn't invite debate, rather it implies that the only way to keep a horse is out 24/7 and those who don't had better answer to those who do.

Tnavas - there was no need to be rude - I wasn't (and I wasn't addressing my comment to you anyway).

P
 
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