Stabling over winter

G

Gwen

Member
Joined
1 October 2014
Messages
21
Location
Highlands
Visit site
Just wanting to see what you all think about stabling over winter.
I currently have my horse in as just received her back from loan in a sorry state (underweight and infected mud fever in both back feet)
Unfortunately the weather has been shocking here in the highlands and all outside her stable is a big bog of mud. The stable itself is quite big (20x10) and she has a big shavings bed in it and plenty of room to move round. Now I wouldn't ever say it's good for a horse to be in 24/7, although she does stable very well. But when the Vet came he said he would keep her in rather than walk her out through the mud. He said to apply stable bandages over night to help with stocking up. The other horses can come up to the stable (hence the bog) so she gets contact with them too.
All just feels a bit cruel to me. She's retired from work now too so wouldn't be getting worked. What are your thoughts?
 
I would not want to keep a retired horse in 24/7 except possibly in a barn with others, her legs will fill as she cannot move about properly 20x 10 is not big enough to do much, I would look at fencing round the stable so the others cannot continue to make it even worse, turn her out at least a few days a week so she can move about normally and sort out the situation regarding the stables before next winter, having them open in the field is great but there needs to be something down to act as a buffer between the mud and stable entrance, too late to sort out for now but a good load of hardcore once it dries will help in the future.
 
I wouldn't want her in continually either. Can you make some kind of temporary job of dealing with the mud so she can get out? Maybe a load of bark chippings or some rolled out round straw bales? It'll get messy eventually but at the moment you need to be able to get her out, even if its just walks in hand.
I find vets sometimes look at the immediate picture and dont always think about the day to day implications of what they're suggesting!
 
i'm the opposite. I would keep her in and dry until the mud fever had healed up. If she's underweight and battling bad mud fever i'd be worried she'd not improve or her immune system would struggle if the weather got harsh or if it just kept raining non stop.

If she looked stressy or unhappy i'd reconsider, but if she seemed ok i'd get stable toys and keep her in till i was happy with her weight and legs. If possible i'd make a narrow track out of stables with grass mats or something so i could handwalk her if needed. But if she seems ok stabled and she has contact with other horses I don't see why she can't be kept in till the mud fever clears up. She's might be sore with it and appreciate a chance to dry off!
 
I would keep her in. I imagine you would have been ok if the vet said box rest for a few days/ week. Just adjust diet accordingly.
 
Hi I'm moving her before next winter so we just need to battle it out for this winter. She is completely happy, not stressed at all. I even put a camera up so I could see what she was up to while I was away and she's just socialising with the others, eating or laying down.
His worry is that her immune system is probably really low so he thinks it's best to not expose her to too much. As you say, it's just like a period of box rest.
I think I'll get some grass mats though to make a path out and then start leading her out in hand once the infection has cleared up
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top