crabbymare
Well-Known Member
I would not be worried about them not being turned out until late, but they would need hay earlier in the morning until the owner gets there.
Turn out times.
- Thread starter JumpingJacks
- Start date
samlf
Well-Known Member
Mine live out but I don't think the time a horse is turned out is an issue, we all have different schedules. The problem is a lack of forage.
When I used to have them in at night I would turn out between 06.30-10.00 depending on work pattern, but always made sure they had ad lib forage so the actual time in the stables was unimportant. On the days I didn't turn out until later I would have nosey liveries make comment, but they didn't seem to grasp that not only was my horse happy and fed but actually spent less time in overnight than theirs because I didn't bring in until hours later than them anyway!!
When I used to have them in at night I would turn out between 06.30-10.00 depending on work pattern, but always made sure they had ad lib forage so the actual time in the stables was unimportant. On the days I didn't turn out until later I would have nosey liveries make comment, but they didn't seem to grasp that not only was my horse happy and fed but actually spent less time in overnight than theirs because I didn't bring in until hours later than them anyway!!
G&T
Well-Known Member
Agree with this, I absolutely cannot stand to see horses left in without forage, just bad management and unacceptable in my opinion, but you see it all the time. Horrible for a horses digestion and mental wellbeing
meleeka
Well-Known Member
I get to my yard around 8.30 - 9.00 becaise I have a school run to do. They are rarely in anyway but if they are they dont go in until at least 8pm and theyve always got hay left in the morning. Someone lives right next door about 40ft from my stables so they are checked often. 11an is far too late imo. Thats half the day gone!
WandaMare
Well-Known Member
For me its not just about the forage, its about checking they are ok too. Horses can injure themselves overnight, get colic, get caught up on something. If they are field kept someone is more likely to notice, not that I would personally rely on that. There are some yards near me where there is no-one on site and the stabled horses are regularly left until after 10 am in the morning. They are none of my business but I do still worry whether they are ok. One new years eve one of them got colic and died, I'm not saying this wouldn't have happened anyway but leaving them at 4pm until after 10am the next morning its less likely they are going to get medical help in time. When I was younger, yards wouldn't allow people to leave their horses until late, now the livery yard owners don't have the same level of authority because they are providing a service to their customer and its much more difficult to say something.
I remember one of my liveries didn't come till 11am on a Sunday and her horse would be the only one left in. I offered to turn out for a very small fee and she refused saying he was fine to be left in so long. Some people will always put themselves and their own needs first and others will put their family / friends / horses / other pets needs first.
I remember one of my liveries didn't come till 11am on a Sunday and her horse would be the only one left in. I offered to turn out for a very small fee and she refused saying he was fine to be left in so long. Some people will always put themselves and their own needs first and others will put their family / friends / horses / other pets needs first.
Carlosmum
Well-Known Member
Mine are at home. I normally get to them by 8.am sometimes a little later. If not turning out straight away they will have hay. Back in, in the winter between 4 & 5 and last haynets at 10-10.30pm. In summer I try to keep them out but it is slightly weather dependant as the field wont stand too much wet
Bertolie
Well-Known Member
So how would you deal with the overweight horse on restricted hay? I had the vet out to my mare today and the subject of her weight was raised. He told me she should be having no more than 4.5kg of soaked hay at night! Even in a small holed net that wouldn't last her more than a couple of hours. She comes in around 5.30-6.00 pm and gets a feed and a small haynet around 7am. Her hay is most likely gone by 8-9pm! She is bedded on straw so can nibble if she chooses though if she does it's not much.
Denbob
Well-Known Member
I'm up by 8am at the latest to turn out and my boy has ad-lib hay, in by 6pm in the evening and then ridden after that (paying through the nose for an indoor school has its perks!) so he really only spends 11 hours in which is still too much for my liking but 24 hour yards round us are unheard of!
JFTDWS
Well-Known Member
I get round this by cutting hay(lage) with straw, so mine always have forage in their stables (when they are in) but it's never particularly high quality or hugely appealing to gorge on. I am slightly tempted to one of these hay ball type affairs but haven't had them in to consider it seriously yet.
Amye
Well-Known Member
The yard T/O for me now on a morning. So J is turned out around 8am on weekdays and on weekends I go up and it's no later than 9am (normally earlier). He gets a haybar full of hay at night but if he's going to be in longer than normal or i'm going up later (so yard bring him in for me - he won't stay out past 4 as all his mates are in by then) I always give him a big haynet too. He eats his haybar overnight and then any extra time munches the haynet, he always has leftover in the haynet.
Cortez
Tough but Fair
People do get het up about this, and indeed it goes some way to explaining why there are so many obese horses. The fact is that some horses, like mine, simply cannot be given ad lib anything, which means that they are going to have to just lump it and not be stuffing their faces 24/7. This is one of the many reasons why I prefer straw bedding as it means that there is always something to nibble on. I have never fed horses ad lib, and I have never had a colic (in 50+ years of horse keeping) under this regime. My horses are either out or when in get fed hay 4 times a day. Overnight they will be without hay for at least half the time they are in. Tough.
wingedhorse
Well-Known Member
Interesting I am lucky in that my horses CAN have adlib hay without issue, so I’d always do that.
If they couldn’t, I think soaked low calorific hay, in small hole net, given 4 times a day, and unlimited access to straw sounds like a good compromise.
May original poster could get someone to put 1/3 of the hay ration in later in the evening?
BUT interestingly there is was a UK vet digestive specialist ulcer podcast last year (Horse Hour) that stated that horses can go longer without forage over night without risking ulcers.
Think in daytime hours when there is activity horses produce stomach acid continually, hence risk ulcers. At night less is eaten (even if free access) and less stomach acid is produced.
Studies apparently show that a horse without hay in daytime – say more than four hours will induce ulcers in test horses much faster than leaving horses without hay part of the night.
https://www.horsehour.co.uk/gastric-ulcers-explained/
Leo Walker
Well-Known Member
This. Haylage mixed with straw, buckets of chopped straw and my most useful purchase ever, a Hayplay is how I've managed to get weight of good doers before.
I'm lucky that my current horse is a good doer but not a huge pig so he does get ad lib haylage. The only time I'm careful is in summer as we have beautifully manicured green fields so he comes in during the day, has a sleep and has 4kgs of haylage in the Hayplay which lasts all day
laura_nash
Well-Known Member
Mine are now at home living out, but every livery yard I've been on has had rules in place to cover this.
At my last one, if a horse wasn't turned out or mucked out and hayed by 10am then the YO turned out and charged double for turning out. Of course there was an element of common sense to the enforcement of this, e.g. when a vet was involved, but it was in the contract and did manage to drive off one owner who couldn't get up on Saturday mornings.
I've never been on a pure DIY yard though, always an element of assistance and an involved YO. The only pure DIY yard I was on I lasted under 3 weeks before I had to leave, one poor pony never left its box and was hardly ever mucked out and I couldn't stand seeing it.
At my last one, if a horse wasn't turned out or mucked out and hayed by 10am then the YO turned out and charged double for turning out. Of course there was an element of common sense to the enforcement of this, e.g. when a vet was involved, but it was in the contract and did manage to drive off one owner who couldn't get up on Saturday mornings.
I've never been on a pure DIY yard though, always an element of assistance and an involved YO. The only pure DIY yard I was on I lasted under 3 weeks before I had to leave, one poor pony never left its box and was hardly ever mucked out and I couldn't stand seeing it.
G&T
Well-Known Member
Hmm not easy I guess, especially if exercise also has to be restricted for any reason? In fairness, my horses aren't naturally hugely good doers so it is easier for me, however I do have a laminitic Shetland as a companion pony who gets fat very easily and can't be left on the grass in the summer (she has a pen around the base of a tree) and can't even be exercised to help with weight. She is fed on very soaked, older hay in a small holed net - as she's kept at home, more can be added quite easily if she runs out, even quite late at night. Have found her weight stays at a reasonable level with this management even though she's eating quite a lot of hay relative to her size.
Could you split your hay between 2 nets and get the yard owner to chuck one in at 10pm maybe? If she absolutely has to be restricted then at least then it's a shorter time with no forage, I'd always thought there was a real risk of ulcers after 4 hours with nothing
laura_nash
Well-Known Member
Not sure what you mean by this? Plenty of horses are "just" pets, not sure how that is relevant to this topic.
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
Ive taken to leaving my good doer with a smaller net of haylage (cant get good hay for love nor money else she'd have soaked hay) and a big bucket of Top Chop Zero overnight. The Zero is tasteless enough that she'll only pick at it when she needs to and doesn't ever quite finish the bucket. And there's always scraps of haylage left in the floor too so I know she's had enough to keep her digestion working but she's losing a bit of weight now. Same principle as bedding on straw, which I can't do anyway so chaff it is.
On the topic of the thread I am not a morning person at all. So I keep mine on yards where I get morning assistance or OH has always called in to drop hay in on the way to work. I hate not being a morning person but try as I might I can't change it!
On the topic of the thread I am not a morning person at all. So I keep mine on yards where I get morning assistance or OH has always called in to drop hay in on the way to work. I hate not being a morning person but try as I might I can't change it!
ihatework
Well-Known Member
You have answered your own question - access to straw!
sunshine100*
Well-Known Member
There are some yards near me where there is no-one on site and the stabled horses are regularly left until after 10 am in the morning. They are none of my business but I do still worry whether they are ok. One new years eve one of them got colic and died-------
Do you know this person who owns these yards near you? Maybe you could do a good deed and offer to pop in or take their number so if anything happens (thinking the arson in kent the other week) you can contact them. I know you said 'none of my business' but at the end of the day-its all about the horses isnt it?
Do you know this person who owns these yards near you? Maybe you could do a good deed and offer to pop in or take their number so if anything happens (thinking the arson in kent the other week) you can contact them. I know you said 'none of my business' but at the end of the day-its all about the horses isnt it?
sunshine100*
Well-Known Member
WandaMare
Well-Known Member
I do, I often text them if their horses get through their electric fencing onto lush grass or I see a suspicious van hanging round or something like that. I would need to go right into the yard to check the horses in the stables and that is quite a walk from the road which I could do occasionally but wouldn't have time to do it every day.
Hannahgb
Well-Known Member
Weekdays I'm up at 6am, weekends half 7. Wouldnt want to leave them any longer, both have ad lib hay and YO on site.
southerncomfort
Well-Known Member
I'm lucky enough to keep mine at home. They are yarded with access to stables.
I turn out and muck out at 8.30am. I bring them in about 3.30-4.00pm and check them/top up hay etc at around 7.30-8.00pm. They always have some hay left in the morning.
I turn out and muck out at 8.30am. I bring them in about 3.30-4.00pm and check them/top up hay etc at around 7.30-8.00pm. They always have some hay left in the morning.
Bojingles
Well-Known Member
I'm the same. My cob would eat until she exploded if she had ad-lib forage of any kind. She doesn't self-regulate at all. It's really difficult to keep her at a reasonable weight and last time the vet came out I was chatting to him about it as I was worried about how little I gave her at night and therefore ulcers. He was firmly of the opinion that the risk to her health from ulcers was considerably less than that of obesity. I think I agree with him in her case.
mums the groom
Well-Known Member
my ponies are on a DIY yard its a real mixture of horse owners between the don't give a ******* and just text someone to throw out in the morning and throw hay over at night if they are brought in or left out all the time (we are supposed to be on winter turnout with every horse brought in) and those of us who are down everyday twice a day no matter what. I'm down every day at 8.30am (school run) and earlier at weekend and back at 5-5.30 every night to bring in. they have small holed nets and the fatties have it soaked. I do worry about them at night and would love to be able to have them at home (one day I'll win the lottery). I just have to close my eyes and ears to the horses that aren't mine as they kick off at breakfast time, I'm usually 1st on the yard.
WandaMare
Well-Known Member
I agree. When you have a horse who doesn't stop eating until the final blade of hay is gone, its impossible to get it right because there isn't a right way. Either they need to stand without forage for some hours of the day or you risk obesity and laminitis. You can manage it as best you can with sufficient exercise, soaking hay, feeding later in the evening but you can't manage both risks together. I also asked my vet on his views and his was the same as your vet, manage the obesity first. He also said that although all horses can be at risk of laminitis and ulcers, some types of horses are more susceptible to each of them than others. In my horses case, they are natives, laminitis is the more dangerous risk and therefore feeding ad lib hay would not be the safest way to manage them.
scats
Well-Known Member
I have the same. Diva and P are on strict diets, Diva actually isn't that greedy most of the time and will self regulate, but she has EMS and cannot work to full capacity, so restricting her diet is my only weapon in the never ending battle. She has 4kg of hay overnight and no more. It's small holed netted, tied into a Haybar.
P gets 4.5kg. They also get a snack ball with a cup of cubes.
I'm sure there are a few hours they stand without, but there is actually always bits on the floor that they've pulled out and left, so arguably there are things for them to nibble on so they clearly aren't that desperate.