Stabled? Individual turnout?

Not always possible.

I believe most people try and do their best by their horses within the constraints of the weather/land where they live.
 
I mentioned in another post earlier that I used to like stabling my horses at night and would do it all year round.

However I now believe the more turnout the better, especially for young(er) horses! I will only bring a horse in over night if the weather is treacherous, i.e. severe, heavy and relentless rain or snow. Better on the joints, mental stimulation, digestion etc etc.

As for individual turnout- I do do this, especially with a young horse during their training. I feel it helps make them mature & confident, cutting out the crappy, clingy, nappy behaviour when with "friends." Always make sure there is a horse next door though, social interaction still very important and a good scratch over the fence!!!

Working animals do need discipline and a bit of order- imo
 
Horses for courses. SOmoe stress being in some stress being out some like the stable in the inclement weather, some can endure all elements.

Yes human feelings can determine what we do but whatever keeps the horse happy and healthy is the best course of action. Im a fan of 24/7 turnout but with an oldie now I need to look to his comfort and health rather than my preferences regardless :)
 
I think the best method is generally out 24/7 with access to shelter and with company. There are times where group turnout is not possible say when a horse needs to be quarantined or as a precursor to being introduced to a group or where you have a poorly socialized horse that cannot cope. Land suitable for horses is scarce and getting more scarce. It just seems more acceptable to offer livery where the horses spend more time in than out and for more owners to think that is better.

However in practice I do not see it changing. If you brought in a requirement that horses had to spend x amount of time with access to a minimum turnout area per day say, even if there were adequate resources to police it you would not have enough room for the existing horses.
 
I don't like horses out 24/7 it's difficult to work them hard they get plagued by flies in summer and have to endure mud in winter not to mentain the higher risk of grass sickness my horses are never ever in the field for a full 24 hours ( we are not talking about Youngstock here .
I have horses that are calm and well behaved in the stable that can cope with box rest if necessary they are always good to catch .
They are however turned each day unless travelling never miss being worked in summer they are out all night and come it to be worked and cared for.
When the weather turns they come in at night and get turn out during the day they get a long days turnout when they have a day off.
Their lives are nice.
The problem I think with all such work as it compares 23 hours and one hours work with turn out 24/7 there's a whole range of care systems between the two.
If there was say a law that horses had to be turned out no more shows , long endurance rides , hunting , trips to vet a distance away so then their would have to be a load of exceptions and the whole thing would quickly became an unworkable mess .
You could only licence livery yards with sufficent grazing you could make a very good argument for that but costs would rise numbers of places would fall and where would all the horses go.
 
Denmark has a high proportion of horses to people, I maybe wrong but I think its 2:1. In 2008 legislation was passed to ensure that horses were kept in a way that provided for their wellbeing. Horses have to have company and turnout. Stabling 24/7 isn't permitted. Loose boxes have to be a certain size and height, with windows covering 7% for natural light (except for those only stabled at night) and well ventilated.
Young stock have to have company from other youngsters and other horses. Although not law yet, individual turnout for adult horses is frowned upon.

My priority when looking for a new yard, is the standard of turnout and grazing. I never consider yards that cannot offer adequate turnout, because unless my horses were working for more than a couple of hours each day, they need time to roam, socialise, graze, breath fresh air and feel the sun, wind and rain on their backs.
 
completely understand it is not always easy to have long hours of turnout as sadly so many yards do not have enough land for the number of horses. i know there may be increased risk on injury as well. but personally i take that risk. for the past 2 years mine have been living in a mixed herd of 11! previously they were out in same-sex max of 3-4 horses. because of being in a herd they don't have really strong pair bonds that cause all the separation issues. they live out, except when it is really hot they go in a barn or field shelter, and when the mud gets bad they come in at night. but they come into a barn together, in the same large section. they are so much happier and more relaxed and can groom each other when they are in.
completely agree that the 23 hours they have not worked needs to be natural, relaxing but also interesting, socializing with other horses instead of being bored in a stable.
 
Cocorules said:
However in practice I do not see it changing. If you brought in a requirement that horses had to spend x amount of time with access to a minimum turnout area per day say, even if there were adequate resources to police it you would not have enough room for the existing horses.
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If owners refused to patronise livery yards which do not offer group turnout 24/7, at least in Summer, and 12 hour turnout, as a minimum, in Winter, they would not exist. There is a yard near us which only allows horse to have turnout on alternate days in winter. That yard has lost its customers and now has empty stables.
The biggest problem is that many owners really do not understand the needs of their horses.
 
ThoroughbredStar said:
I mentioned in another post earlier that I used to like stabling my horses at night and would do it all year round.

However I now believe the more turnout the better, especially for young(er) horses! I will only bring a horse in over night if the weather is treacherous, i.e. severe, heavy and relentless rain or snow. Better on the joints, mental stimulation, digestion etc etc.

As for individual turnout- I do do this, especially with a young horse during their training. I feel it helps make them mature & confident, cutting out the crappy, clingy, nappy behaviour when with "friends." Always make sure there is a horse next door though, social interaction still very important and a good scratch over the fence!!!

Working animals do need discipline and a bit of order- imo
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this ^

mines in at night and out for several hours in the day - shes more than happy to come in

she gets turned out alone for the first half hour of the day (on purpose by me), so she dosent get clingy and needy.... which is vital as at some point in her life she might be on her own turned out if thats beyond my control - who knows!!

shes two!....
 
This is an interesting debate. I have a highland pony kept at livery at ( what I consider, anyway) to be an excellent yard around 15 minutes drive from home. The yard has a routine of bringing everything in, every night all year round. You could argue that a mature M&M type could/should live out 24/7. However, he gets sweet itch if exposed to midges at dawn and dusk, he gets fat on fresh air and his weight would be out of control if out full time inspite of being worked most days, and this yard is the best one in the area where I live. When out, he spends his days as part of a settled group of 4 so gets to socialise with his pals every day.

So surely this is about balancing the horse's needs with other practicalities such as location, cost etc. If this world were the mythical "ideal" world, then I'm sure we'd do things differently for our horses, ourselves, our familiesetc etc, but sadly we all have to make acceptable compromises in order to live. Stabling horses for some time every day might not be the perfect way to go but it allows us to keep our horses and our horses to live in our modern world.
 
I wonder if you have been to a yard in Denmark. I spent some time at a top trainer's yard. It was April it was still snowing. Dressage horses went from their box to the indoor school, after being ridden they went under lamps the back to this box. The ground was frozen out side and plenty of snow lying. They may go out in summer but not in the long cold winter.

Back in the UK I have 2 they are out and in during the day currently when the rain and wind begins they go out after breakfast and in at night.

They are out alongside each other never together. If you have a horse you want to compete you are mad if you turn out in a big herd. It is difficult enough to get a horse to P.S.G without adding to the chance it might be kicked!"
 
Roland1987 said:
I wonder if you have been to a yard in Denmark. I spent some time at a top trainer's yard. It was April it was still snowing. Dressage horses went from their box to the indoor school, after being ridden they went under lamps the back to this box. The ground was frozen out side and plenty of snow lying. They may go out in summer but not in the long cold winter.

Back in the UK I have 2 they are out and in during the day currently when the rain and wind begins they go out after breakfast and in at night.

They are out alongside each other never together. If you have a horse you want to compete you are mad if you turn out in a big herd. It is difficult enough to get a horse to P.S.G without adding to the chance it might be kicked!"
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OH works over there during the week and spends time at a yard locally, so his experience is based on North Jutland mostly. The legislation passed in Denmark relating to how horses are kept was passed in 2008. From the descriptions of the yard, my OH goes to and attitudes of the staff there, I'm impressed and would love to get my lot over there.

The Danes have a different approach to life in general and the ones I know, live up to their reputation for being from the the happiest country to live in.

I suspect, the poster that asked what would happen with a horse that cannot socialise and therefore needed individual turnout, I don't know, but I suspect, they'd approach the problem with common sense and manage it with the best interests of the horse.
Different culture, different approach, very unlike the UK.
 
horserider said:
I suspect, the poster that asked what would happen with a horse that cannot socialise and therefore needed individual turnout, I don't know, but I suspect, they'd approach the problem with common sense and manage it with the best interests of the horse.
Different culture, different approach, very unlike the UK.
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It was me who asked that, as I am the proud owner of such a horse, and I can assure you that I too approach the problem with common sense and manage it in my horse's best interest. I am not from the UK, although I now live here. ;)
 
Caol Ila said:
It was me who asked that, as I am the proud owner of such a horse, and I can assure you that I too approach the problem with common sense and manage it in my horse's best interest. I am not from the UK, although I now live here. ;)
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Sorry, I thought it was, couldn't scroll back.
I'm sure you do, I wasn't criticising, I've seen enough horses over the years to know that there are some horses who don't function in a herd. My point was simply to say that the Danes are pretty pragmatic in their approach.

I'd also like to point out that I'm not an authority on all things Danish, I was responding to the link in the OP's orginal post with a point about legislation in Denmark.
 
In an ideal world I would like them all out 24/7 in company. In reality ,they get ill and need stabling, it gets wet and windy and they beg me to stable them, or some are just antisocial beasts that like a groom over the fence but won't share their paddocks without trying to kill any others!
 
Ok i have not read replies. i understand for management of health sometimes 24/7 turnout is not poss wasnt for my lass due to grass but i loathe indvidusl turnout. ok ok some may not have socialised young to understand herd politics so spend time adjusting. We can not replace the pure bliss of being groomed by another horse.or grazing near to your buddy muzzle to muzzle till one decides enough pleas.yes accidents happen. injuries happen . would have i denied my lass that in last years her eyes failing. hell no . she loved her "herd" she often got a swipe a cut here(yep could have been worse)but morning she left me i have photos of her grooming her friends leo and TJ . priceless moments .she was a horse :) )
 
texas said:
In an ideal world I would like them all out 24/7 in company. In reality ,they get ill and need stabling, it gets wet and windy and they beg me to stable them, or some are just antisocial beasts that like a groom over the fence but won't share their paddocks without trying to kill any others!
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I don't think any-one, not even the writer of this report is saying that an ill or otherwise vulnerable horse should be thrown out in a field and left there 24/7.
It does amaze me though that the Standard-bred foals at the stud near me can live out in a field with little natural shelter and no man-made field shelter in the worst of our winters, on the top of the Pennines and yet other horses in the area are rugged up to their eye-balls or kept in every time there's a drop of rain.
I freely admit that ours *have* to come in overnight in winter because we need to get them off the land but they certainly can learn to stay out in bad weather. Mine was brought up on the Continent where she was kept in over the winter and yes, she would love to train me to bring her in after a leg-stretch but instead I've trained her to stay out and shelter from the weather.
 
I had my horses on part livery for a number of years where they had 6 hrs turnout a day in summer and half a day in winter. Since buying my own property they have been living out 24/7 all year. They have a decent field shelter and it has been interesting to see how and when they use it. I did struggle without stables in the really long wet winter last year and have since started building a yard. My plan this year is to allow my three to have access to the communal field shelter and to the stables. It will be really interesting to see how they react to the different options and to see how much time they spend indoors.

I'm lucky to be able to give my horses this lifestyle, it really isn't practical when more than a small number of horses are kept together and probably not financially viable.
 
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