summer turnout

For the not so innocent amongst us

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parsley

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I'm not too sure what to do with my two this summer - the pony is still a bit on the stodgy side and my boy is just right. If I turn them out 24/7 the pony will be getting a lot more calories than he is now - (day time grass. a scoop of chaff and a small net of haylage at the moment) - so I wonder if I am going to end up bringing him in during the day - and I am worried about my boy getting too fat
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I am considering bringing them in at night but also feel sorry for them!

what do the rest of you do?
 
I am leaving Marius out 24/7 at the moment (this is his second night out). I thought long and hard about doing this - not because there is too much grass, but because there is too little. We are in a bare field for a month until they fix the fencing in our other field (which is happily resting atm).
Anyway, he is out with hay and I will reconsider when I see how much grass there is in the other field.
It's a hard one, isn't it? We know they like to be out, and are better in so many ways for being out; but the grass is so fraught with health dangers if they have too much.
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I am amazed at how little the pony can live on and still be a bit tubby! I could use a grazing muzzle I suppose.
 
I turned ours out 24/7 about two weeks ago now. He's fat
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. I am in the smallest paddock, which because it's the smallest (and everything else goes out as a herd) has been rested for a while and the grass is too good
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He is in a muzzle 23 hours a day. I thought long and hard over this. I can either have him in in the day, eating haylege which will surely give him laminitis (we have no other hay atm) whilst all the others are out and no company, or bring him in at night, which is pretty pointless as come 9pm he lays down and sleeps anyway and the grass isnt so bad over night. He's a very sociiable pony, hates to be on his own and sweats up with worry if the others are out without him, so I'm left with no choice.

My only way of reducing his weight is to exercise him more, keep him off the grass for a couple of hours a day (usually by bringing him up to the house for a good groom or for some chaff).
 
I am considering having mine in during the day, and out at night if we get a summer like last year, the heat was just un-bearable and our brick inside stables tend to stay cooler. They werent amused at the intense heat last summer at all!
 
I turned my boy out about 3 weeks ago, he is n 2 and a half acres but he had eaten it all down over the winter. He will stay out on this now with hay and I will just section bits off to recover every month. I hope to keep on top of things that way, let the field recover in places and keep his weight down by not having him on much grass. In this weather he goes in his field stable as he hates the heat...so that gives him a natural break from eating anyway!
 
out 24/7 all year round.
I think dispiste how hot it got last year that only one of my horses decided to stay in. The others kicked doors, climbed walls or weaved and boxwalked so i shoved them out again. they have a good field shelter which they can use if they want and lots of bushes and trees.
 
Cant you just tape off a smaller paddock? That way you can reduce their grass intake yet they can stay out 24/7 which is best all round?

Mine are out 24/7 all year round as I have my own yard. I have the option of stabling and can if I feel necessary, but mine love being out. I couldnt ever imagine bringing mine in every single night or day - they'd go nuts!

As long as they have shelter from the sun, they'll be fine. Its better to keep them out so they can keep moving / using up calories, rather than standing about bored to death in a stable.
 
Pickle & Henry go out 24/7 today and the other side of there field gets opened (has been rested a bit to allow the grass to grow)
 
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