Stabled 24hrs

[Lou2006]

Hi, I'm probably (touch wood) buying a new horse soon and it will probably be stabled through the winter due to the yard I'm at. I'm just curious to know how you all manage your horses if you have them stabled 24hrs. Do you exercise them more than once or do you just walk them about, or do nothing at all? What sort of routine do you have for them, feed times, how many feeds etc. Do you think a horse can be happy stabled 24hrs or is it always best to have them turned out? It's just turnout will be very difficult for me in the winter and grass will be impossible. (can turn out in the arena for short periods).
Thanks.

Lou.x

 

[SSM]

Do you have to keep your horse there? I personally would never put my horse somewhere with restricted/no turnout.

 

[Jay89]

Stabling 24 hours is not ideal as it is against the horses nature. Make sure your horse has enough hay as they graze all the time. I know that alot of people ride morning and night. Turning out in the arena would also b good!! Good luck with ur new horse.

 

[Kelly1982]

Ours always get turned out as much as poss through the winter, even if its for only half a day but on some days its not always possible.

If they stay in they have their breakfast and a wedge of hay, then they get another wedge at lunch and then their dinner and 3-4 wedges of hay at night. I am also going to try and buy lickets and a snack ball this year for my youngster as she gets bored easily.

I try to ride every night and on the nights that i dont ride then i either take them for a walk or turn them out in the small paddock out the front of the stables while i muck out so they can stretch their legs.

 

[Tia]

I cannot bear horses being stabled 24/7. No disrespect but I think it is almost verging on being a totally irresponsible owner who allows this to happen (feel free to shoot me down). Horses were never designed to be cooped up in tiny boxes and there certainly aren't many in the world who would be happy with this sort of lifestyle. What a boring life but if this is all that is available - then the least you can do is take the horse out for numerous walks and rides every day.

 

[bandit]

to be honest most racing yards are like this, but everything will generally be ridden once a day and put on the walker once a day - with some restricted turn out maybe once or twice / week.

it's not ideal and personally i wouldn't like it - i prefer horses to be out as much as possible, but you'll find alot of pro yards also have v restricted grazing / turnout, but conversly the horses are generally ridden more than we may do.

good luck - and perhaps look at other options.

 

[CSYMolly]

We have no winter turnout at my yard but have some sand pens. I muck her out in the morning put her in a pen with her brekkie then one of the grooms brings her in about 2 hours later. I ride every day and sometimes she goes on the walker in the morning and ridden in the eve. Molly would hate it if she didn't have her window (in barn but at the end) to watch everyone as she is very noisey but she seems just fine obviously would be happier in a field but we are on clay and it just gets too wet. Depends totally on the horse, my previous pony absolutely hated being in. It isn't ideal but sometimes you just have to make do. If you can give him/her as many small feeds as poss this also helps break up the day not nice if they have to stand about with no hay etc for hours on end.

 

[Lou2006]

Don't know if it's just my area but a majority of the yards round here have no winter turnout, and people seem fine with it. I hate it, went through it last year just turning out in the arena, but I didn't really have a choice. I've actually (hopefully) got turnout for my youngster this year, but that's a big maybe, if not I'm going to have to find a field somewhere and make do for this year. There's a nice yard down the road from mine that lets you turnout most days but they have to be in before 6pm and when it's wet or frozen they aren't allowed out at all, I ride a horse there now, but they've already got more horses than they have stables and it's not even winter yet, so I doubt there'll be any room any time soon.
Thanks.

Lou.x

 

[airedale]

gosh - where do I start - and ducks for cover in advance

stabling 24x7 is NOT the problem that a lot of people will make it out to be - your horse will not die/getstablevices/beunhappy/be unrideable/etc - load of cowdung

it's all down to the feeding and management and if the yard has that routine in winter as a norm then the YO should be able to feed appropriately.

I grew up with horses stabled 24x7 and it's not a problem. Cavalry horses and police horses generally are stabled 24x7 and do they look unhappy/poor/ill/mistreated/unrideable - NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a horse should eat for 16 hours a day and have around 80% of its diet as fibre in the form of hay or hi-fi or readigrass or similar

so check the feed routine. If they feed lots of hay according to the horses needs then the 24x7 stabling isn't a problem.

the arena leap around is ideal and the YO sounds very sensible to me in allowing that. It's what I do myself instead of having my fields trashed. Trashed fields take 2 years to recover to 60% of their quality of grazing and for the grass to have length and root 'bottom' and that is with fertilising as well as natural growth.

also make sure that the horses are fed a slow energy feed - i.e. one with lots of soya - and not a high energy feed such as competition mixes.

grazing in hand or even, at the end of a hack just letting your horse pick at some grass for 10 mins will be sufficient.

I also feed Readigrass so that all the horses get 'greens' even if it is dried - it's still grass.

Don't allow a horse stabled 24x7 to be on haylage - if yours need haylage for it's breathing then a 24x7 routine won't be good as you cannot feed as much haylage as hay so the time taken to scoff the haylage will be insufficient.

also look at the yard design. Can the horses see each other? is a radio playing ? is there something to look at - I have poultry running around so always something going on to watch.

don't be bullied into thinking you are cruel for going to this yard. So long as a lot of hay is fed and you are sensible about exercise and use the available arena for playtime and join-up and loose schooling and take every opportunity to hack out and do your 'schooling' whilst hacking rather than in the schoool your horse should be fine.

Personally I'd rather see a horse stabled 24x7 then see one get laminitis !!!!

ducks for cover now - but I've done horses on 24x7 stabling all my life and out of hundreds only known less than a handful to have any problems - started when horses were still kept in straight stalls rather than loose boxes as well

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
people seem fine with it

[/ QUOTE ] If they truly are then they can't know much about horses! I would suggest that they just don't say anything because they know they have no option. Like you I would hazard a guess that they feel very guilty about keeping their horse in such an un-natural manner.

[ QUOTE ]
I hate it

[/ QUOTE ] At least you have a conscience. Perhaps you could enlist the services of someone to come and take your horse out through the day? Does the yard have make any allowances for this?

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
I grew up with horses stabled 24x7 and it's not a problem. Cavalry horses and police horses generally are stabled 24x7 and do they look unhappy/poor/ill/mistreated/unrideable - NO

[/ QUOTE ]

That is COMPLETELY different! These horse are worked daily for hours almost every single day.

 

[airedale]

sensible not to allow turnout when fields are frozen

any number of horses each winter break legs in fields like that or suffer serious injuries

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
Personally I'd rather see a horse stabled 24x7 then see one get laminitis

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh for goodness sake! We are talking about healthy horses here.....unwell horses are managed completely differently.

 

[Tia]

Oh sorry but what utter rubbish!! I have over 20 horses here - our ground is totally frozen to 4ft below ground level for at a minimum of 4 or 5 months of the year - ALL of these horses (and most other Canadian horses) live out 24/7 all winter!

Bollox, bollox.......gotta go - this discussion is just turning into ignorant drivel now.

 

[sillygillyhorse]

I'm going to shoot you down Tia. I have one I have to keep in 24/7 due to sugar intolerance. I prefer to allow my horses turnout but with this particular one it would kill him!!

He is happy to be in as his tummy stays right. He is given ad lib hay and a snack ball so is able to "graze".

 

[miamibear]

I have struggled with years of no winter turnout. This is the way i managed. Get up at 5.30am to go down to stables. Do all jobs turnout in sand school whilst nobody is there, not always possible if school is frozen! Then feed all horses in my barn. Go to work. Go back down after work and ride skip out and feed.

My horse gets ad lib hay, i find that haylage turns them a bit scatty when they are in but thats just personal opinion. Ad lib water in a feeder and a rather large stable to walk around. Feed low sugar and starch feeds and high fibre feeds are good.

Hay gets placed in as many areas as possible in the stable to stimulate the natural grazing of the horse.

I have to be careful to ride as much as i can to keep energy levels down and sanity levels up. Lunge as well or loose school and try to hack at weekends both days for decent length hacks.

This year we have been told that we can have winter turnout but it is our own fault if we have no grass and trash our fields! Come summer if theres no grass the grazing wont be supplemented!

So ours will probably be out from 2pm or 3pm until i get down to the yard at 5pm, every day if we can!

I have a feeling the fields will be like a mud bath anyway so there will be no grazing and it will just be for a run around!!

I am in East Yorkshire and the yards are all the same around us too!! We are on clay too!!

 

[amzy]

This is just my opinion for my horse... if I ever had to stable him for 24 hours most of the winter then I would rather sell him to someone who has turnout and keep him happy!

 

[Stasha22]

Would just like to point out that you are actually meant to feed more haylage than hay as haylage has a higher water content.

And i completely diasagree that horses are happy being kept in 24/7. If you gave the horse the choice between a stable and a field I think 9 times out of 10 he would chose the field.

 

[Lou2006]

Thanks that's helpful. The stables are seperated by bars so the horses can sniff and see each other and the boxes are a really good size, also I've got an end box with a window that he can see out of. We only have haylage available, but I feed it from a hay bag or two small mesh haynets together so it takes him longer to eat it. I can split his feeds to 3 a day, morning, noon and night and can probably exercise very early mornings, turned out sometime in the day and then exercise again on the night.

Thanks again.
Lou.x

 

[samerlin]

Quote
Don't allow a horse stabled 24x7 to be on haylage - if yours need haylage for it's breathing then a 24x7 routine won't be good as you cannot feed as much haylage as hay so the time taken to scoff the haylage will be insufficient.



I thought that you were supposed to feed more haylage than hay due to the fact that haylage has more moisture therefore feeding at least 50% more than the weight of hay that is feed

 

[brighteyes]

Avoid this at all costs. Poor thing, to be in 24/7 when horses are programmed to be out and moving freely around. You may end up with a grumpy, bored creature at best and at worst, an unrideable, frustrated and very unhappy horse. Do try and find somewhere else to keep it and read a few books on how horses think. Good luck.

 

[Tempi]

well said!!!!!!!!

 

[lordflynn]

I think its a shame if horses get no turn out-they need it for play and social interations apart from anything else. Yes, horses in the past were kept in 24/7 but it was also traditional to let horses down for a extended holiday each year, roughed off properly and allowed to be horses.
Personally, I wouldnt keep a horse at a yard that had limited/no turnout.
there is alot available to help horses kept in-maybe invest in a stable mirror, allow plenty of forage, feedballs etc and as much contact as you can-even just grooming. its not a real substitute for turnout though. Back when I was a groom and had horses stabled all the time they were loose schooled/lunged daily plus ridden and I would sneak them turnout whenever I could.
I dont really understand livery yards that have no turnout-I'm at one which doesnt have the most room in the world but every horse gets turn out all year round. If we can cope with it in Scottish weather conditions I dont see why they cant down south?

 

[Sooty]

Horses are designed to live outside 24/7. If looked after properly, they will suffer no physical ill efects from being stabled 24/7. However, mental ill effects is another matter. Personally I would never keep a horse like this. I know some horses have to live this way, such as cavalry horses, but that is the nature of their work. They are ridden a lot, and retired early. As for racehorses being kept like this, they are not always the most relaxed of animals, are they? Plus they get regular exercise. Grass is not necessary for winter turnout, just space and some sort of forage if no grass is available.

 

[Lou2006]

Thanks, this is a reply to anyone/everyone by the way.
I might be able to get into this yard where there is some turnout. But I have a query would it upset a horse if it was allowed out one day and not the next, i.e. sudden change in it's routine, because this is what happens at the other yard, if it gets wet then no turnout until it's dried up. I worry about this as my youngster has been colicy when I've changed his turnout routine before, even though I've changed it slowly, he's still become tucked up. I think I could manage it alot better at this other yard as there is some turnout and also there are a few places you are allowed to graze them in hand when there is no turnout.
Thanks for your thoughts.

Lou.x

 

[pottamus]

What a mine field!!!! Unfortunately all our horses have to accept short comings and compromise around us humans and our routines! I feel a horse should have as much turnout time eating grass as possible...it's what they do best!
These yards seem to inflict these rules of no winter turnout because on the whole they don't want their paddocks trashed. But really (perhaps in an ideal world) we should not have too many horses for the grazing available and then this would not be an issue??? The first year I had my horse he completely trashed about half an acre of his paddock...more or less ploughed it up so there would never be any grass growth again! I had it harrowed, seeded and rolled in the spring and it was thick dense grass by the following autum and usable right through the winter...it can be done and land can be recovered...in my opinion.
If a horse has to be stabled 24/7 they need to have access to constant roughage food and be exercised daily in several sessions...whether that be ridden, on a horse walker, turnout school etc...otherwise I cannot see how it can do their health any good from a respiratory or circulatory point of view...
Good luck, I could not do it to mine and I don't know how you cope with it TBH.

 

[MillionDollar]

i would never put a horse in a stable 24/7, all of mine are out 24/7. But this is just my opinion and it does depend on where you keep your horse. I would really try and get turnout for at least a few hours a day, its really not fair on them otherwise. Its not just for exercise but for mental health as well.

 

[clipclop]

Yup, same here.

I couldn't imagine anything worse.

I think the only reason for 24/7 stabling is due to ill health or the odd freak horse that doesn't like going out because he/she knows no different!!

I just couldn't live with it, but then I have never had too.

JMHO

Cheers
C x

edited to add.
It must be lovely to have a horse that never gets muddy or gets a shoe pulled off in the mud!

 

[Stasha22]

The fact that racehorses are kept in 24/7 largely explains why so many of them suffer from Gastric Ulcers (think its about 90%).

At the end of the day, horses are not designed to spend their lives in a small box. How would we cope if we were cooped up like that?

 

[Oaksflight]

Really depends on the horse. Mine had to stay in his stable 24/7 for 3 1/2 weeks straight earlier this year. He's laid back, he began to box walk but that's all, so managed. And when I say 24/7, I mean 24/7, he wasn't allowed out of his stable at all except when vet came, and he could only have the top of his stable door open when I was there with him. It can be handled easily if the horse is laid-back or used to it. Do you have a walker at this yard? There a must for horses with no turnout.