Those with horses out 24/7....what is your daily routine ?

[mandwhy]

Not a problem for my haflinger and Welsh A, they have always had good hedge cover though. I do rug them also, just light to medium weights mainly when it is raining heavily and/or depths of winter when it is very cold. The haffy doesn't struggle too much with the cold and wet at all as long as she is fed well and that's the key thing - lots of hay in winter. I used to tie haynets around the field to make it last longer for them but this year we will have round bales in field which is a relief. The Welsh would be ok but for some reason isn't very waterproof, she's fluffy like a donkey so she gets a rug to keep her dry.

In summer I come by the field and check water etc and see them in the morning but not early, then in the evening I do anything else like poo picking or riding etc. They have a huge field with loads of grass and weeds so is great for good doers picking and foraging freely.

In winter it is more labour intensive, two feeds a day, hay, rugs etc both ends of the day but it's still less work that stabling and most importantly they're much happier this way. On the worst wet days in winter when it's really muddy I wish I had stables but it's only for short periods. A bit of hard standing would be almost as good, we had a slopey field before so was only about a third muddy, new one is flat and peaty so we are seeking winter grazing as well but we do have access to stables for emergencies/flooding.

Also I have always had a shed or somewhere to put hay and rugs, that makes all the difference. It's no fun trying to muddle through with hay under a tarp and soaking wet rugs, although I leave them on the horses to dry if possible as I have flexibility in my day to take them off once dry.

 

[MrsElle]

Mine live out 24/7 all year round. I do have a large open fronted barn, but it depends how I have sectioned the field off if they can access it. One side of the 7.5 acre plot has hedging, and a small copse in one corner, the rest is stock fencing and open to the elements.

The barn is never used by the horses in winter, when I open up the whole field for them. They do sometimes use it in the summer, but not often.

IDxTB lives out with no hard feed but ad lib hay in winter and no rugs, as does the Shetland.

TB managed last winter out with no hard feed but ad lib hay, but did have a MW rug on.

I do like horses to be horses, and while I do have a part of the barn sectioned off as a stable for emergencies, the horses all much prefer to be out.

Checking wise, the field is next to a boarding school and I have lots of little eyes keeping watch at all times I go up once or twice to check water, rugs/masks etc, and a couple of friends pass twice daily and often stop at the gate and do a quick visual.

 

[MagicMelon]

Even though mine are in 2 different places (2 at my mums and 2 at my own place) they all have the same routine. They're out 24/7 but we leave the stable doors open permanently (they lead directly into field / yard) so they come and go as they please. To be honest, mine are spending the vast majority of the day indoors right now by choice to escape the horrendous flies we seem to have this year. They use them more in the summer than the winter, they'd rather stand outside in a blizzard! I don't stick to rigid times with mine like I feed them within about a 2 hour window so they don't get to the point where they're standing about waiting for their feed because it comes at an exact time every day. Mine are fed in the morrning (basic feed, they're all slightly fatter than I'd like right now) and again in the evening. I ride at some point during the day or evening before their supper. Pretty low maintenence right now except for the amount of crap they're leaving in the stables because they're in so much...

Yours should be fine I'd imagine as long as they're rugged accordingly (unless they're proper furry natives?) and fed plenty hay etc. but a shelter is certainly more ideal and its so useful to have a dry place to change rugs or for the farrier etc.

 

[charli_]

In morning go down early morning, put on fly mask, spray and cuddle etc as well as check trough and fencing, later on go down, groom, spray cuddle etc send check troughs and fences, poo pick. Around half 6/7 go down tack up and ride and then afterwards dinner, spray, supplements and remove fly mask

 

[pennyturner]

You will need some form of shelter, in summer for shade and in winter for somewhere dry to stand/sleep/eat.

I wanted to add, to help OP, that this needn't be a 'normal' field shelter. A stand of trees, high banking or wall can do the job, depending on how exposed the site is. If you haven't natural shelter, you could build a T shaped straw wall, which will give them something to keep the wind off. Of course, being natives, they'll probably eat it!

 

[Dry Rot]

Lots of good advice but we still don't know if the OP lives in sunny Devon or the Outer Hebrides! (Not much natural shelter on the Uists as I recall but sheep, cattle, and ponies will usually be out all winter!). And whether she has Shetlands or Connemaras.

A good stock person should be able to judge from body language whether their animals are content or miserable and if the latter do something to put things right. Acting on what others do in a whole variety of different situations is not the answer in my opinion, just confusion.

 

[Suelin]

Lots of good advice but we still don't know if the OP lives in sunny Devon or the Outer Hebrides! (Not much natural shelter on the Uists as I recall but sheep, cattle, and ponies will usually be out all winter!). And whether she has Shetlands or Connemaras.

A good stock person should be able to judge from body language whether their animals are content or miserable and if the latter do something to put things right. Acting on what others do in a whole variety of different situations is not the answer in my opinion, just confusion.

Fabulous post Mr Dry Rot. If you've no shelter at all I would purchase some large round bales of straw and stack them 2 high in the most appropriate position to allow the horse to stand out of the wind and rain. If you don't want them to eat it them place an electric fence between them and it to just keep them about a necks length away but still able to use it for shelter. Natives ought to be able to manage a winter in UK with that arrangement and if it really turns evil (minus a grillion!) then you can always use a lightweight rug to help out.