Stabled vs 24/7 turnout in the winter, thoughts.....

Pidgeon

Pidgeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 April 2009
Messages
3,168
Visit site
Ok so moved yards in April last year and now have a summer and winter field. So decided to make the move to leaving the horses out overnight in the winter and see how they coped. Pidge has been stabled at night for the last 6 years so wasn't sure how he'd cope TBH. They have a field shelter with two hay bars crammed of hay all the time as have always fed ad lib.
Must admit to be extremely surprised, he's maintained his fitness very well and as for schooling well that has been a revelation! He has gone from being sharp and buzzy to chilled out and relaxed whatever we do schooling wise. Instructor has even noticed a marked difference in this and more so in how much more supple he is, of which I am :D
He is pinging when we have a jump like round Somerford XC Farm Ride last week but are confined to quarters this week as the lorry clutch disintegrated :eek:
So my point is how many of you have yours out 24/7 and for those that do have you noticed a difference in the way your horse rides and temprament?
 
hiya i have just had one of mine diagnosed with bone spavins and so as i couldnt catch her the other night i have opted to leave her out as she obviously prefers it!! the boys do like to come at night but you s is obviously benefiting from being out so thats great . mine go out every day anyway . some horses just love being natural and if they have everything they need then why not stay out? much better all round i say especially for maintaining fitness and suppleness !! do as nature intended!! and its keeps the bills and mucking out down yay!
 
My lad has been out 24/7 all year round for 3yrs now. I have to say I haven't really noticed any change in his temperament as he is a laid back character anyway (although being a TB he has his moments under saddle ;) )
In terms of ridden work I would actually say his energy levels are much better. The main difference with him is he now 'self harms' a lot less, and virtually no lost shoes (two in the two yrs we have been at current yard; one on the first day we moved, and then one out draghunting last Oct!!) which is a pretty impressive feat.
Aside from less injuries etc, he is much happier out all the time, whatever the weather! I do have a stable for him but it only gets used for farrier visits now, it's more there just in case. I event him straight from the field March to Oct too.
And I Definitely don't miss mucking out!! Andy and the old mare are a dirty pair between them! I do poo pick every day though.
The main reason I moved to 24/7 turnout was after he had recovered from a ligament injury, vet agreed it was the best thing for him, and for the ligament as it would heal stretchier from being used to mooch around the field all day/night.
Downside is the obvious mud etc in the winter.. I've had to sacrifice my love of having my (grey!!) horse nice and clean when I ride, but I make up for it by making sure he's immaculate at events :)
 
mines not out 24/7 in winter but last year she was in a lot (out a couuple of hours a day - now shes out most of the day)!

wouldnt be ever keeping mine in during the winter or summer - imo its cruel, unless a medical reason

i hate yards thatsjut dont do winter turnout!! id rather have a trashed field and a happy horse :)
 
Turnout is such an individual thing (horse and owner). There are some that hate going out in winter, and some that need a least a few hours out.

Mine (the one in work) is out 20 hours per day in summer and stabled 24/7 in winter......purely because he hates the weather/mud in winter and refuses to go out except on frosty mornings ;)

However, my WB had to be out for at least a few hours everyday in winter, and therefore was out 24/7 95% of the time as otherwise she was sharp/hot to ride, and felt like she was going to explode. Out 24/7 all year round and she was chilled!

Have heard of a few top level competition horses that are kept out 24/7 as that way they stay chilled and sane......also some keep their condition a lot better out!
 
My girl is out 24/7 & always will be as she hates being restricted to a stable. She's a very good doer & loves nothing more than to be out in the field with her friends whatever the weather! (Rugged accordingly in winter) Always VERY forward going when ridden too! Love her to bits! :D
 
24/7 turnout sounds all well and good but in the winter a lot of fields are just muddy bogs and their needs to be decent shelter from wind and rain. Standing knee deep in mud, wet cold and miserable does not make a happy, healthy horse!

For me the best compromise is 24/7 in Summer and daytime turnout in winter and a nice big stable in winter with nice clean bedding, big nets of haylage and dry shelter from the elements. I know which I'd prefer!!
 
im not on about horses that choose to be in! i had one like that last winter!

i mean yards who refuse to even have the option of turnout in winter - even if its an hour a day!!

keeping horses in october - april 24/7 is cruel
 
noodle_ said:
i hate yards thatsjut dont do winter turnout!! id rather have a trashed field and a happy horse :)
Click to expand...

As a YO this comment annoys me slightly. We have all year turnout (as I believe a few hours is better than nothing, better for the horse and prevents horses hooning and trashing paddocks) but we do (like at the moment) put a limit of how many hours the horses go out for........ some people are so ignorant/silly and leave out all day long, horses get bored and the fields get trashed.

Yes, its ok to say I'd rather a trashed paddock, happy horse, but I can guarantee when it comes to Spring/Summer and the livery has no grass for 24/7 turnout then they'd be pretty annoyed. We now split all individual paddocks so one side is rested whilst the other is used, as some would use all of their paddock all winter, trash it and then wonder why they had no grass. Also if I just left paddocks to be trashed what happens when the livery leaves!?!? You can't just re-seed it.......it would need at least 1-2 year rest....plus all the expense and work.

So yes I agree that yards that allow No turnout is not right and not logical, BUT please think of the YO's side.......it's their land and they have to maintain it and deal with it when the livery moves.
 
Until I was lucky enough to buy a house with land and build a yard I had no idea of the expense and time you have to put in to the maintaining grass.
I have every sympathy with yard owners trying to maintain there land I turn only very lightly at this time of year I up the horses work they are in hardwork and when I turn out within two hours they are hanging around trying to get in.
I don't think it's cruel to keep a horse stables providing it is in hard work daily and is settled . It's grossly overstating it to say its cruel to keep them in.
 
In fact I'll go as far to add its crueler to leave horses out 24/7 in sumner when they are plagued by flys my horses are never out 24/7 in winter there in at night in sumner they are in part if the day.
I also think its an owners duty to have the horse taught to be settled and happy stabled in case it's ever injured and you have no choice to stable it.
 
Yes, totally agree with Goldenstar. 'Cruelty' is something else. It depends on the horse obviously, but with mine for example I would be 'cruel' if I forced him to be out!

In terms of difference in temperament I did notice a difference - there was a time when he was out overnight (14 hrs) in summer and in during the day and he had lost a lot of his sharpness when it came to working. Both horses are working much better with more limited turnout (a few hours to 4-5 max, depending on weather, how much grass there is etc)
 
I dont think its cruel keeping them in but i play it by ear....our stables have a padock around them so i turn out with stable doors open and 9/10 they dont go in stable...i was on a yard for few months so i had company riding my youngster and there was very limited turn out...all my horses were spooky and frisky etc...i brought them back home and they back to normal...however i dont think its just more turn out i think its routine....at home we have the same routine day in day out..on livery it was turn out at diff times etc !
 
Interesting replies, thanks guys :D
So some horses are more relaxed being out more and others not, so down to the individual horse. Wonder if this is down to breeding, upbringing or something else?
Interestingly I would have thought ours might have preferred to come in when the weather got bad but no they seem quite happy to shelter near the hedge or field shelter and mooch around the field.
We're lucky in that despite a bit of mud round the shelter and gate and one corner they roll in :rolleyes: the field is doing very well. Did help I suppose that it went into winter with a good covering of grass.
 
I think it depends on the horse and what you are doing with it.

My old SJ used to go out for an hour a day and stabled the rest of the time, he was on a busy BS yard so got to see alot going on during his stable time. I then moved him to a yard where they were out all day and in last thing at night so only really 6 hours or so in the stable. His competition success declined according to his stabling, he was very focused when stabled for a long time and a bit of a pesk when out 24/7 (I moved to a small holding with hubby and he had to then live out all the time!)

I will always try to bring the horses in overnight before a show or when the weather is bad. the rest of the time they seem to prefer to be out so are chilled about this current system. If they are out, they usually sleep at around 9-10am so when I used to catch and load up to head to an event for 9am you can see why they wouldn't perform at their best, bringing them in the night before allows then to get their beauty sleep :D
 
HorseyLad said:
24/7 turnout sounds all well and good but in the winter a lot of fields are just muddy bogs and their needs to be decent shelter from wind and rain. Standing knee deep in mud, wet cold and miserable does not make a happy, healthy horse!

For me the best compromise is 24/7 in Summer and daytime turnout in winter and a nice big stable in winter with nice clean bedding, big nets of haylage and dry shelter from the elements. I know which I'd prefer!!
Click to expand...

This is a rather flawed argument as it compares worst case scenario of winter turnut (boggy, no shelter etc) with best case stabling (big stables, plentiful forage etc), as well as throwing in a good dose of anthropomorphism as well!

I wouldn't say it is wrong to stable overnight in the winter, but I have found from my own experience that our horses are happier AND healther if they are out overnight (particularly the one with a dust allergy). Whilst they do not have much grass, they have adlib haylage in the field and excellent natural shelter in the form of adjoining woodland and thick holly hedges. It might be poached near the gateways but they have plenty of well-drained land further down the field.
 
Agree with TGM as above.

Of course 24/7 turnout in winter or all year is not suitable for all horses, or the set up of some yards.
I am very fortunate that where I keep my two that a) the yard allows 24/7 turnout all year and to be able to feed hay in the field. And most importantly b) the land is amazingly well draining as well as being surrounded by lots of natural shelter. So my horses are never 'stood looking miserable in knee deep mud', the mud comes half way up their hooves in the gateway...
I made the decision to move to this type of yard to lessen the chance of my lad re-injuring himself and so far, it's worked. In the past I have kept him stabled, and even 24/7 one winter due to the damage he was doing to himself being out in the field at that particular yard. The set up wasn't right for him, just like some horses won't tolerate being out for more than a few hours in the winter.
Interestingly though, the old mare who is now retired and out 24/7, hated being out in the winter and getting muddy when she was much younger (now 22).

Horses eh ;) just like people, each is an individual with individual needs ;)
 
I have had mine out 24/7 since I fell pregnant seven years ago. It's great - happy, healthy horses and ponies who keep their fitness better (great for someone like me who has two children and not a lot of time to ride). It's cheaper and less time consuming, I only have to visit once a day so saves time and fuel. The other added bonus is that I don't stink of horse wee!! I have a stable if I need one incase of emergencies and all my animals have been quite happy and quite when stabled on the odd occasion (even on 'strange' yards).

However, whether or not you can do 24/7 turnout depends on how much ground you have v how many horses and what type of ground/how well drained it is. It's not doable with only an acre or two unless you have some sort of all weather area. Where I keep mine, there is 35 acres with only eight horses and a few sheep, so lots of ground to go round and plenty of oppotunity to rest it well. It's also very hilly so althought there are boggy bits (lots of natural springs in the area) there are also parts that are very well drained. The hills also help to maintain fitness levels.
 
Last edited:
QR Ours are happy in or out. They adapt really quickly as long as they have continuity and a routine. The last 2 yrs they have been in almost 24/7 exercised as much as possible weather allowing. This year they have stayed in their summer routine, in during the day out at night. They are all fully clipped, they range from a New Forest pony to 2 warm bloods and 3 TB's. They are all looking really well atm and are working well. Hopefully they will be able to remain out for the rest of the winter, but if they have to come in 24/7 for a few weeks now it really wont matter.

S sorry to hear about your lorry hope it is up and running soon.
 
I'd love to have Billy out in the field for 24/7 during the winter (he is out in summer) but the fields are just too wet, he would stand in his place beside the foal (field ajoining fence) which is just slosh of mud now & would end up with mud fever. His field is awful, so so wet & because is also clay soil (was - now clay mud!) shoes love to be slurped off!!
So he comes in at night normally because of this. There is still enough grass on field (1 horse in a 6 acre!) but because of the wet can't stay out!
In fact Billy has been in for the past 2 weeks living in his yard due to a deep cut which would become infected with mud fever if it had half the chance!! He does get in the woodchip turnout bit during the day though, which he loves for rolling and generally mucking about.
Since he has been in he has been more "lively" than normal and takes longer to settle into work - he is definately better living out but not practical atm.
 
Oh thank god we're not on clay, those that are have my deepest sympathy.
H, lorry coming back next week, mechanics are great as the first thing they asked was if I needed it back by the weekend due to competing, luckily I'd only planned a hoon around Cannock Chase so told them not to worry and I'll get it back next week. They turned it round last year within a couple of days when the radiator went so I could get to Eland BE so think I've got a good back up team there :D Don't ask about the ££££££ :(:eek:
 
FrodoBeutlin said:
Some horses are happy with just a couple of hours a day, though... :)
Click to expand...

Mine is very much like this. He's keen to go out, but within a few hours he's hanging around the gate, waiting to come in. He's "made" to stay out usually til about 3 or so (and he goes out before I go to work -- so about 7 am). He's on really restricted grazing so its probably more entertaining for him to be in with a net. He's not particularly keen on foul weather either...
 
MillionDollar said:
As a YO this comment annoys me slightly. We have all year turnout (as I believe a few hours is better than nothing, better for the horse and prevents horses hooning and trashing paddocks) but we do (like at the moment) put a limit of how many hours the horses go out for........ some people are so ignorant/silly and leave out all day long, horses get bored and the fields get trashed.

Yes, its ok to say I'd rather a trashed paddock, happy horse, but I can guarantee when it comes to Spring/Summer and the livery has no grass for 24/7 turnout then they'd be pretty annoyed. We now split all individual paddocks so one side is rested whilst the other is used, as some would use all of their paddock all winter, trash it and then wonder why they had no grass. Also if I just left paddocks to be trashed what happens when the livery leaves!?!? You can't just re-seed it.......it would need at least 1-2 year rest....plus all the expense and work.

So yes I agree that yards that allow No turnout is not right and not logical, BUT please think of the YO's side.......it's their land and they have to maintain it and deal with it when the livery moves.
Click to expand...



fwiw - our fields arn't trashed - my horse is a greedy thing and eaten all her grass - we dont do 24/7 turnout as its not feesable nor do we feel our horses need it!

rotating fields means grass is always available/ there etc.... we do that and keep serveral horses on a few acres.

works well and ive no intentions of moving ;)
 
I love the idea of 24/7 but in reality I've yet to find somewhere that does it with enough land to make it work (were on clay soil around here) and the facilities I need I.e. a stable for emergencies and an arena.

Plus, being Spanish I'm not sure I would be able to keep the condition on little lady in the winter. Shes not keen in wet or rain really either.
 
Both mine are out 24/7 and love it. I'm very fortunate in that the yard I'm on is small, and the fields are huge. They have a large ring of ad lib haylage and the only mud is around that. They have plenty of shelter and only come in when its really foul.

My mare has spavin in both hocks and I'm quite sure the only reason she is still here today is because she now lives out - period. Just over a year ago I was going to have her PTS as she was in so much pain and totally miserable. No need to now.

Other benefits include saving on time, bedding and feed - no need to give them stacks of hard feed when they have quality grass and haylage. They do fine with a good quality balancer (Top Spec) and chaff.

Not eveyone will be as lucky as me - but I know they are happier living out and its a lot less work for me too.
 
Mine are out 24/7 in the summer but in at night at winter, lucky that I keep them on a small diy livery yard where they have approx 5 acres to themselves so it doesn't get trashed. They love being out and except if the weather is really foul I always have to go to the top of the field and get them, they rarely wait at the gate!! Sometimes they get the sillies on and trot round in circles not wanting to come in, have left them out on occasions. I only bring them in because they are both clipped and hunt at weekends/some weekdays and want them dry and clean otherwise I think they would prefer to be out all year round. (but I like tucking them up in a nice cosy stable with a haynet to munch on after hunting!)
 
Last edited:
My two live out 24/7 and have no problems, the field is muddy but they have never had mud fever and it recovers well in the spring. I wouldn't consider going to a yard with restricted turnout as I don't have much time to ride in the week in winter. I do think it keeps the horses much fitter being out all the time. We do have stables in case we need them.
 
hmm well you have to remember that horses are horses...not us...they dont care about mud and rain etc and although it makes 'us' happy to bring them in to a nice warm stable its not what they were designed to cope with...I am a great fan of turnout and 24/7 is great and would always be my choice if land available..however I also run a small 9 horse yard so with 20 acres split into winter and summer grazing end its not going to be an option so I compromise for my liveries...from end Oct/Nov they all come in at night ...so in the winter they go out at 7.30 and come in from 3-5 as the light and weather improves..from May ish Im happy for 24/7 if they want to do it and some do but others prefer their horses in during the day out of flies etc or still in at night..The horses are theirs afterall and they get to choose what they want to do with them turnout wise. I also think it depends on work load...when I hunted and enduranced my lad out 24.7 worked great...now im working towards medium dressage I need his energy more for work so in the summer he tends to come in on work days as I have lots of good grass and he doesnt work well stuffed!!!...I wouldnt have my horse at a yard with no winter turnout. Im a YO so I also know how hard it is to see your fields trashed in the winter..however we have a tractor and buy seed, fertilizer etc and by May our winter field will look lovely again!!....I am however on sandy soil so im lucky....
 
I'm lucky in that my horse is Mr. Easy. He loves being out (either alone or in company), but equally is content in his stable. To that end, he is the type of horse you could slot into any routine.

So the fact that through the winter he is on morning turnout only doesn't bother him. He has a walker session in the afternoon and is then clean and dry for when I rock up at 7pm to ride. It's de-motivating enough to ride in the dark and cold winter weather, let alone having to trudge across muddy fields to retrieve a muddy horse in the pitch black beforehand!

So my horses routine is purely for my own convenience!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top