tatty_v
Well-Known Member
I’ve potentially got a new livery joining me and she’s asked if we can switch to out at night, in during the day for the summer months. I’ve never done this before as my horse requires turnout company and up until now I’ve always been reliant on someone else’s horse for that, and they’ve always done out in the day and in at night all year round. If my Shetland companion plans works out I won’t have to acquiesce on this, but I know she’d like her boy to have turnout company so I’m considering it.
The main thoughts I have are:
All this is making me think that maybe I should just carry on with the routine that’s worked for me for the past 5 years (and the whole point of the addition of the shetland is to finally allow me to do my own thing!) but I would just appreciate some good old HHO wisdom. Am I over thinking this?! How many others do the out at night over the summer thing and are there benefits I’m missing?
The main thoughts I have are:
- I normally ride my boy first thing in the morning so he’s fresh, both from a good overnight sleep and not bloated from a day at grass.
- It seems slightly unfair to me to allocate the day as his sleeping time off the grass and then go out to lessons/compete etc during it?
- My boy is 20 and as far as I can tell loves a good long sleep on a huge straw bed overnight. I’m worried that he’ll sleep less in the day and get tired. He’s never been a lie down in the field kind of chap.
- The main cited benefits seem to be fewer flies (not an issue here as there aren’t many and my boy wears a fly rug anyway), not as hot and you can have a lie in (irrelevant to me as I have a toddler who’s up at 7am every day anyway!)
- My boy is a typical native and grazes pretty constantly when out. Out 8-6 and in for the rest has managed his weight well for the last 5 years. I’m worried if he gorges all night he could get fat/colic/laminitis.
- We are a small yard of three. The horses at the neighbouring yards are all out in the day all year round.
All this is making me think that maybe I should just carry on with the routine that’s worked for me for the past 5 years (and the whole point of the addition of the shetland is to finally allow me to do my own thing!) but I would just appreciate some good old HHO wisdom. Am I over thinking this?! How many others do the out at night over the summer thing and are there benefits I’m missing?