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

ha ha, I hate work, I love your final terribly politically incorrect statement but I so agree! It's a great idea having them out 24 hours but in reality trying to get fit for coming season and riding in the dark after work it's almost impossible when you start by trying to find them in the dark, take off wet rugs, scrape off mud... yuk yuk!! (Although I daren't stable the youngster as it's a bit sharp!!) But it is nice to have my older one in now.:o
 
I’ve just moved my tb to out 24/7. Had a lesson on him on Sunday, first time ridden in two weeks and he was amazing, he’s gone from sharp and silly, to laid back and sensible. His entire attitude to work appears to have changed, he did an hours lessons which although not hard physically (he didn’t break a sweat) involved a lot of difficult mental work and he stayed alert and focused more than he ever has before. He’s being well behaved to lead in hand and happily stands on the yard whilst groomed without pulling grumpy faces. He’s barefoot behind and I’ve noticed that being out his thrush has improved (Standing in mud not poo), when stabled he box walks badly and he’s also a cribber, this too appears to have been much improved by being out (although in fairness he can’t crib on the post and rail, if he needs to he can crib on the hay manger but I’ve not seen him do it). I moved him in with a cob and a pony that are already used to 24/7 and I can safely say not once have I turned up (yet!) and he’s been stood at the gate wanting to come in (I thought he was this morning, turns out he was actually chatting up a tb mare in a neighbouring field!).

Best thing I ever did for my horse, both of us are much happier and getting along so much better with each other, not only that the time saved mucking out is AMAZING!

At the old yard they’d be in by 3pm as they were ‘bored’ but no such issues at new yard, biggest concession so far is that I’m having to replace my cheap rugs with decent quality ones as being in them 24/7 is causing rubbing even with a bossy bib (just had a new Weatherbeeta delivered to work so OH doesn’t find out! :D)

Over the past 24 months I’ve tried every sort of calmer there is on the market and nothing has really worked, all along the thing I needed to do was turn him out 24/7!

I’m also very lucky to find a well managed yard where we have two large fields for the three horses (they actually have a field with grass in waiting for them when they’ve finished their current field!), I have a school with flood lights I can use, a yard to tie up on, a little storage area, lockable tackroom, good hacking, it’s also in my livery contract that I can pay £5 a night for a stable if needed or £15 a week if needed long term, not only that but there are three or four grass ‘pens’ on the yard I can leave him in for the farrier etc so I can keep him clean and at the yard ready.
 
IMO horses need to be horses, so we have always turned them out 24/7 all year round with plenty of hay etc dotted about the field to avoid the horses gathering in a clump at the gate/at one hay pile and fights starting.

ours have always kept their weight and fitness perfectly fine when turned out 24/7 all year, and just coming in for a few hours everyday to have a feed/rug change/exercise. even our stress-head delicate TB used to keep his weight better when turned out all the time, rather than being stabled.

i think it is good for them mentally, and physically as they're constantly moving/grazing and being their natural selves... i PERSONALLY don't like the thought of horses being in all the time... as any horse of mine that has been kept in for some reason e.g. injury/healthy has got stressed/lost condition without being turned out!!


obviously choice varies between owners/yards but personally i think horses should be horses..!!!
 
Since the bad snow and ice last Winter 2010/2011 - my eventer has been turned out most of the time (it was too dangerous to bring them in) - well rugged and happy as anything as long as she is fed. She is relaxed and seems content and evented Novice and * from the field (only brought in if we had an early start) but then as long as she has food she's a happy bunny.
 
Yet 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.
 
It still astounds me that people seem to be amazed when they find their horses can live out 24/7... if they have somewhere dry to stand and plenty of forage they would MUCH prefer to be out in nearly every case.
 
The other issue is that some horses really do become too laid back if they're out 24/7. Even when mine were out overnight in summer I could feel a difference, they were less sharp, less 'explosive'. For mine, being out a couple of hours a day seems to be the best solution.
 
but.... FB - they are beneficial to us....so to me if the horse is more chilled out and not as explosive - it shows they are getting more from being out longer :)


id rather jazz up in other ways than restrict their time out... they are designed to munch and wander... :)
 
I don't know, I'm really really pro-turnout (so much so that when I went to Germany I think I managed to pick one of the few high performance yards in the country where all the horses are turned out! Possibility of turnout was one of my deal breakers, which loads of people found absolutely hilarious), but I think, in terms of mental benefits, a couple of hours are enough -- regularity of turnout is probably more important than the amount of time spent outside :)

Think a couple of hours a day seems to be the routine that most dressage trainers / riders have found most effective (those who do turn out, that is)
 
I'd love to have someone to bring my lot in for me before it got dark, so I could turn up at the yard to dry stabled horses ready for a groom and ride. But I can't afford that, so I turn up at the yard in the dark and trudge across the field to bring in wet muddy horses, scrape the mud off and try and find the motivation to still ride....
 
FrodoBeutlin said:
The other issue is that some horses really do become too laid back if they're out 24/7. Even when mine were out overnight in summer I could feel a difference, they were less sharp, less 'explosive'. For mine, being out a couple of hours a day seems to be the best solution.
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I have this problem! My horse doesnt seem to care where he is, in the field or in the stable. He has never so much as walked away when going to bring him in from the field, even if hes only been out for half an hour! If he has too much time in the field its like trying to ride a slug! He goes completely the other way if hes in 24/7 and is like a rodeo horse. He easily gets fat in summer and also gets grass glands easily so I have to be carefull with his time at grass or I cant squeeze his bridle on his little fat head!

We keep the horses at our yard on the same routine all year round. I think the routine is a really important part of keeping them happy. As a result we have a yard of 27 horses that are happy being in or out as they know their routine and are queing up to come in when they know its time. We are lucky that we have good ground but we have to be carefull and move horses about so that ones that prefer to run about more are in the drier fields and those that just eat or stand about are in the wetter fields to preserve the grazing as we have to use the same fields all year round. Works for us
 
as a YO and livery previously i wont have horses in 24/7 unless the owner decides of course
my livery can turn out every day all day if they want. the field for winter is very well drained. if she grazes all the grass off, she has to feed hay....the summer fields are used 6months and winter fields 6months....
i hate yard with no winter turnout or badly draining land.... or those that dont have the land for the number of horses.....
mine are in for between 3-8 hrs a day (depending if in at night or day or just in to ride)
they were at a place with little turnout and so grumpy it was awful!
 
amandaco2 said:
as a YO and livery previously i wont have horses in 24/7 unless the owner decides of course
my livery can turn out every day all day if they want.
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My livery agreement with my liveries (I'm YO) says horses HAVE to be OUT 24/7 in summer (unless they want them in a few hours out of the flies by prior agreement with me only) and HAVE to be IN 6pm until 8am at MOST during winter. That way I don't get silly people wanting to shut their horses in all the time. It's one of my pet hates, plus we have stacks of grass and are on sandy loam, so there is no mud and therefore no excuses!
 
Polotash said:
My livery agreement with my liveries (I'm YO) says horses HAVE to be OUT 24/7 in summer (unless they want them in a few hours out of the flies by prior agreement with me only) and HAVE to be IN 6pm until 8am at MOST during winter. That way I don't get silly people wanting to shut their horses in all the time. It's one of my pet hates, plus we have stacks of grass and are on sandy loam, so there is no mud and therefore no excuses!
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if my livery didnt want to turn their horses out 24/7 in summer or winter it wouldnt bother me at all.....
its their horse so they can manage them how they know best.
some horses cant go out 24/7 in summer- laminitis, sunburn, sensitivity to flies etc....
if i thought the horse was being kept in 24/7 and not exercised, showing signs of stress or not being mucked out properly etc THEN id intervene...but not based purely on the length of time the horse was in for.....
 
amandaco2 said:
if my livery didnt want to turn their horses out 24/7 in summer or winter it wouldnt bother me at all.....
its their horse so they can manage them how they know best.
some horses cant go out 24/7 in summer- laminitis, sunburn, sensitivity to flies etc....
if i thought the horse was being kept in 24/7 and not exercised, showing signs of stress or not being mucked out properly etc THEN id intervene...but not based purely on the length of time the horse was in for.....
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This. I could never be at a yard that dictated how many hours my horses have to be out! Each horse is an individual and has to be treated as such. What works for one won't necessarily work for another.
 
I would love mine to live out. We have 20 acres and stables of our own. Unfortunately it is very wet clay land (there are reservoirs and ex-mill ponds all over the valley - put there because it has always been wet..) Both horses are prone to mudrash - one is absolutely terrible, so we end up not being able to turn out in the fields much. We have a little turnout paddock of about half an acre that they usually go out in for a couple of hours each day with hay. Its hardcore underneath so it doesn't get very muddy. Anyway, this year we had a large area around the yard covered with road chippings. Again its probably half an acre. We have electric fenced it, and we put out haynets, and the two horses go out for 12 hours on that. They move around all day, and seem so much happier in themselves than when they were only out a couple of hours a day. When they do go in the big fields (once or twice a week for a few hours) they don't charge round like they used to when they were in more. All they seem to miss is rolling in the mud.

In summer its rare that they go out 24/7 as they are natural good doers and get really fat - even with grazing muzzles on. I'd never be able to event off grass. We usually bring them in during the day (out of the flies) and turn them out at night.

I'd never be on a yard that told me my horse had to be 100% in or out. I can understand saying that all horses should go out SOME of the day, but not 24hrs. As people have already said, there are lots of reasons that turnout has to be limited for medical reasons..
 
I personally like 24/7 turnout when possible (unless there is a -very -chilling wind, heavy rain/snow and danger of slipping on ice) So try to leave mine out as much as possible and she is happy- however her friends started coming in and I never leave a horse out alone so brought her in as well, she now gallops down with her friends to the gate at 5 pm every night waiting to come in!! (and I know about it if I am late)
 
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