Stable - warmer or colder than field?

WelshD

WelshD

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Having a discussion with my husband this evening (sadly being married we are forced to speak now and then ;) )

I mentioned adding an under rug on my stabled pony this evening as its going to be a chilly night

My arguement - he is not able to move around as much as he would be outside and the stable has no top door or glazing in the window

His arguement - the pony is warmer inside (or as he put it 'he is wearing a stable')

So my question is do you rug warmer indoors? Or does it depend on weather? (wind chill etc)
 
i would agree with you - although a stable maybe technically warmer due to being more 'out of the elements', it is markedly colder at night than during the day and if they are out they tend to munch and mooch around keeping warm where as in the stable they dont have that movemnet to keep warm
 
It would depend on how exposed your fields are. The ones I have use of have many dips/little valleys surrounded by trees and bushes so they are able to get completely out of the wind no matter which direction it's coming from so I would say it's no colder than being in a stable. If it's exposed with no form of windbreak then I would say in windy weather a stable would be warmer.
 
My horses feel warmer under their rugs in the stable as they are out of the rain and wind more, which would cool them down. I often find they verge on being too hot in the stables in their big rugs compared to when they are loose in the turnout area around the yard (which has plenty of sheltered areas). They're wet when outside, so I guess they use body heat to dry/keep warm.

Just my observations. (and I have them at home, so often stick a hand under their rugs at midnight when doing final checks/dogwalks).
 
I think it depends on your stable too. Wooden ones tend to be warmer IME. Also the situation of it on the yard as well. My current stable is mainly bricks and old stone farm building with concrete floor. It's very airy which is good and it seems to be out the way of the weather coming in, but I do worry its cold. My boy is fully clipped and he wasn't warm to the touch under his rug tonight so he got another one on under it. It's definitely colder up here tonight. So actually to get to the point in answering your question ! I think it depends on your field location and shelter, and your stable location and what it's made of.
 
Stable deffo warmer than field but as she is in of a night when the temp drops for rug purposes she has the same thicknesses on pretty much day/ night unless it goes to freezing at night when I pop an extra one on.
 
Stable is warmer but they tend to be in at night when the temp has dropped so need a bit more rugs than for turnout. Plus when out if they get cold they can always run around
 
It depends largely on bedding too we used to have two on straw and two on shavings the shavings beds the poo froze as did the water in the straw beds same block it didnt so I would form my very short experience of shavings beds say they were colder I would agree with you too moving about in a well sheltered field will be warmer than standing still in a draughty stable
 
I bought a thermometer a couple of years ago that tells you the minimum and maximum temp reached, and stuck it in the stable at night. Only problem is the wind blew it off the nail and broke it !
 
Depends on the stable and the field...

The winter side of our paddocks don't have much natural shelter. Our stables are L-shaped and quite enclosed.

For those reasons we rug warmer when they're out during the day, than when they're in at night.
 
Mine is warmer in the stable- he wears a full neck medium in the field, which is on the top of a hill, and a medium no neck in the stable.
Stable is wooden all around and inside a concrete barn, so it's fairly well protected. Just the odd bit of wind through the door lol :)
 
Once when poo picking during a blizzard ( daft, I know ) on a field high on a hill and very exposed, I was amazed that along the hedgeline and under some trees, not only did the area offer complete shelter from the driving sleet, the temperature was much warmer than in the open.

An American barn can get quite warm from the bodies of a dozen or so, horses. So, like others have said, it depends on the variables like the type of stable, bedding, forage, weather etc.
 
I think stables warmer, but as temperatures now generally dropping at night and they can't really walk round to warm up if they do get cold mine usually end up wearing the same/ more rugs overnight inside.
 
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