Turning out in groups

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Smurphy

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Whats your opinion on turning out in groups?

Ive been offered a space at yard that has lots of great things about it, great hacking, walking distance from home, nice stables. The only down side is he would be out with 9 other horses.

I worry about him getting injured, but I suppose other horse in groups are perfectly fine and the fields are plenty big enough!
 
It all depends on the other horses to be honest :o

I moved my horse from a yard that turned out in 3 or 4s to a yard that all the boys went out together, 11 when I got there :eek: But it was all fine they were a very settled herd with a mix of young and old and it was probably the happiest my boy has been with his turnout. But of course being a DIY yard people came and went and the mix changed and then there was no end of problems with injuries and being very unsettled.

In the end I moved back to my previous yard (not just because of this though) and I would not go back to a large herd again, unless I won the lottery and they were all mine :D
 
Wouldn't do it. My oh nearly lost a horse that was kicked when on group turnout. Also heard from a friend whose gelding's leg was broken from a kick from a fieldmate. Just not worth the risk imho.
 
When mine is turned out 24/7 in summer he is in a mixed group of geldings and mares and there are 8 of them. They manage perfectly well, a few minor scrapes but never had any problems.
 
As long as there is adequate acreage for the number of horses I have absolutely no problem with herd turn out, in fact it is my preference. Horses on the whole are social animals and the ability for them to interact naturally within a herd IMO far outweighs the injury risk
 
Having kept my horse on her own (with others in neighbouring field), in a pair, in a trio and in a large mixed herd (10+) I will always now try to have her out in a big herd, at least during the summer months. She was very clearly happier, no injuries.
 
It depends on the others horses, the size of the fields, amount of grass.

Make sure you introduce your horses slowly before turning them all out together.

At our yard there can be up to 15 gelding in one field.

We havent had any major incidences for years.
A bit of rug ripping but that mainly just one of my boys and another who place alot!

They have huge fields and enough grass.
They all get on well and have their herd pecking order that they all respect.
 
Personally I like my horse to be out in a group. He will go out on his own but he doesn't like it and spends most of his time looking forlorn and neighing. I don't like turnout in pairs because I find they can be a pain to separate. So, groups of 3 or more for me provided they all get on and are well mannered with each other. Mine is currently out with 3 others on a reasonable sized field and it works well. They all know each other well so there were no fights when they were put together. When fields are big enough I think each horse tends to find its own particular friends in the group and can usually avoid horses it doesn't get on so well with.
 
ihatework said:
As long as there is adequate acreage for the number of horses I have absolutely no problem with herd turn out, in fact it is my preference. Horses on the whole are social animals and the ability for them to interact naturally within a herd IMO far outweighs the injury risk
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Ditto this!
 
Ditto the ditto'd ditto :D

Mine is out with a big group (up to 15 horses in a huge field in summer) and he loves it. It worked wonders for his self confidence and general attitude - turned him from a nappy stress-head to a happy horse who is comfortable in his own skin. The herd put him in his place as a bolshy youngster far better than I could, without injury I might add, and he is now field patriarch.

If it is an established group and your horse (or any other newbie) is correctly introduced, then there shouldn't be any problems. It's very rare for the horses in my boy's group to do anything more than posturing though one will occasionally come in with a few teeth marks!

Correct management and introduction in key, I think, but if the yard manager can talk you through how this would be done and it all sounds sensible then everything should be fine :)
 
Mine are out in a group of up to 12, they've only been out for a short time but they seem to have found there place in the pecking order and are happy with it. The YO is pretty good at spotting issues and any horses causing problems are seperated out and get there own turnout or end up in pairs. I definately prefer my boys to be in a herd even with the injury risk, in my experience serious injuries are usually rare.
 
What size is the field? Is it a mixed sex group? How do they introduce new horses? What are the arrangements for hay in the field? Does anyone bucket feed their horse in the field? Are they brought in at night, and if so, do they all come in at the same time or is it possible that one horse could get left out alone?
Those are the questions that I would ask before deciding.
 
With the correct introductions, being in a group is far better for horses. Ours can be a pain to introduce a newbie too as they are an established herd (with a couple of strong characters!). But with time, patience and electric fencing - all of ours have been introduced with never any bad injuries.

We did have a horse once (welsh D) who literally tore chunks off another, but he was one of a kind thankfully :o
 
Providing the yard takes care to introduce a new horse, I'd be quite happy for my horses to go into a large group providing the other liveries were turned out one at a time at intervals and the new horse was first in, then each horse as a turn to meet the new horse without other getting in and chasing about etc.

If a horse is going to kick out and fight, it will do no matter what but at least the comotion is reduced with less horses in the way.


I find that horses living in larger groups tend to all get on better anyway and are less likely to get clingy to certain horses in the group, it's perfectly natural.
 
thanks for all the replies, feeling alot more positive now, the field is plenty big enough for them all, and I will be putting up electric fencing so they can meet and greet over that first.
 
i am all for horses in group turnout its natural they will all find out the leader and soon find there own place.
if theres a horse causing problems it should be on its own not your horse.
thats my opinion anyway
 
It really does depend on a lot, all the things already mentioned.

I have one decent sized group of mares and youngsters that are very happy together:
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Others I have in pairs and threes, keep trying to introduce new horses to a little arab gelding but he's such a grumpy toad that he always ends up by himself again, just doesn't want anyone else in his paddock (2 acres, so it isn't tiny) He's going to find himself in a smaller paddock with the cows very soon, the little git.
 
love it. theres 16 horses out in our group, mares and geldings including 2 shetlands and a shire
horses all know there place in the pecking order and are alot more relaxed and chilled in general.
when introducing a new horse we turn the new one out with the old ones first until new horse is settled and then introduce the younger ones one by one. we have found this to work and injuries or few and far between. the worst is when they all want to come in and congregate around the gate. i always go up a bit earlier and bring mine in before the others come up as mine are old
 
As others have said it totally depends on the horses.. at my last yard he was in a herd of 8/9..they were the most boisterous bunch ever that had a major pecking order & we constantly had injuries..since I've moved to my new yard, he's out with another 6, they all absolutely love eachother & play all day long.. Before I moved I asked the lady who runs the yard what would happen if he got injured or picked on (my boy is a real baby) & she said that the horse that was picking on him would be removed & turned out on it's own or my boy could go out on his own..that way I knew I weren't going to get stuck..
 
We have a gelding herd of 12 horses that go out together, in the summer in 2 large fields so they're fine. The herd has a stable core of about 6 horses, 2 of which have been there for over 20 years, others for about 6-8+ years which helps the herd dynamics I think. We also have one gelding who will take new joiners under his wing so to speak which seems to ease them into the herd somehow. However in winter they are in a much smaller field and it can get quite lairy when the grass is gone, it's cold and wet and they all start wanting to come in. We get a lot of barging at the gate and torn rugs, etc. Since I've been on the yard we have lost one gelding to a serious kick and that was during the winter. I can't say I don't worry during the winter as I do. Mine got a small cut to his face last winter by being pinned too close to the fence at bringing in time.
 
I prefer it, however it depends on the horse....my old loan mare never settled in a paddock by herself and was much happier in a big group with other mares.

So long as they have adequate space for the number of horses, and your horse is introduced gradually then I would have no problem. I would assume that the 9 out there at the moment are well behaved with each other already.
 
It's not for me, I'm afraid. I hate horses to be on their own though, so prefer small groups of 2-3 carefully chosen companions.

My mare was in a group of around six, all were very carefully introduced over fencing for a week or two. Within one year we had numerous nasty kicks, a huge haematoma (sp?) and a broken leg :(

I do think it can work, however, and is great for the horses. Think we were just unlucky with opinionated horses! One thing to bare in mind is the difficulties in winter- lots of big horses hanging round the gate desperate for food/to come in is not pleasant! Also the yard politics if your horse injures another and vice versa.
 
I don't think I'd even consider a place that didn't do group turnout, I love seeing horses go running off to their friends when you let them off and then all going for a little play together. Being a herd animal it suits them best.
 
Absolutely love it. My three are out in a herd of 10, they're so chilled and happy, the difference from having them in their own small paddock is amazing. Watching the herd is fascinating, there's always so much going on, even when they're doing nothing in particular. They get the occasional minor injury through boisterious play,which is sorted with a cold hose and purple spray but all the owners are sensible and laid back. Horses on individual turnout get tendon injuries or pulled shoes, all turnout has its risks.
 
Just be careful if you put your horse out separated by electric fence...if they sniff and strike out, you risk the fence being pulled down and at best your horse will end up in with them all anyway, and at worst you'll have an injury.

I would recommend, as someone above has I think, turning him out with one other and then adding the others in.

That said, we've always just chucked them all in and let them get on with it and after the initial cantering about they settle very quickly. And quite often there isn't even any cantering about...

In my experience, herds work best when they all live out and there is no set bringing in time. I've only ever had problems when all the horses know it's time to come in and all clamour at the gate and that's when risk of kick injury is worse. But again, that depends on the horses in the herd and in many cases they're fine with it.
 
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