turnout in winter?

My mare is out during the day only now. Soon, the YO will stop any turnout until spring to preserve his fields. The fields get very muddy and churned up.

I'd rather have at least some winter turnout, but it's rare round here.
 
Yep, mine go out in the dark at 6:30/7am then come in at around 5:30pm.
This will be the first year they will have to stay out in the dark till i bring them in.
(used to work at a yard & kept them there so they came in before dark, 3pm)

Couldn't imagine what they'd be like without turnout!
 
Yes my 4 go out from around 7:30am to 6pm at the moment but will be til whenever it's just about to get dark thru the winter.

Turnout is essential I think for horses physical and mental wellbeing.
 
mine are out through the day and come in at night but the field is getting pretty churned up, i kept them on a stuble field a few years ago. Just wondered if anyone kept them on a non grass turnout area? does anyone stable completly through winter? (just being nosy)
 
Mine are still out 24/7 - clipped and rugged. Only start bringing in at night when the weather gets nasty.

However I don't need to worry about fields, we have acres and acres :cool:
 
We have very limited turnout in winter. They are still out at the mo, and in our area, that's pretty lucky :rolleyes: Most poeple I know round here, already have their horses in, day and night. Not many yards offer any turnout over winter.

At my current yard however, we do have a large turnout paddock that they can go in for 2-3 hours a day. If that get's icy, they can go in the indoor school for a couple of hours.

...At my last yard, there was NO winter turnout, or a turnout paddock :eek: (hence why I moved!)
 
forestfantasy said:
Yep, mine go out in the dark at 6:30/7am then come in at around 5:30pm.
This will be the first year they will have to stay out in the dark till i bring them in.
(used to work at a yard & kept them there so they came in before dark, 3pm)

Couldn't imagine what they'd be like without turnout!
Click to expand...

this ^^

except where i can shes in by 4pm if im riding - poss 3pm if im not uniing and want to ride etc....

When its icey they will still go out - we have a nice flat paddock for them to go play in :)

but they are on invididual turnout so its atiny bit safter than herds :)
 
BorgRae said:
We have very limited turnout in winter. They are still out at the mo, and in our area, that's pretty lucky :rolleyes: Most poeple I know round here, already have their horses in, day and night. Not many yards offer any turnout over winter.

At my current yard however, we do have a large turnout paddock that they can go in for 2-3 hours a day. If that get's icy, they can go in the indoor school for a couple of hours.

...At my last yard, there was NO winter turnout, or a turnout paddock :eek: (hence why I moved!)
Click to expand...

You must live in the same area in Lancashire as me, i must know of every yard in a 10 mile radius & only a handful offer winter turnout, most yards i have been on close the fields from Oct until May, you are very lucky round here if you have any sort of winter turnout.

The yard i am on at the moment has lots of facilities, indoor school, sand paddock, horse walker & great hacking, the winter turnout is 1-2 hours a day whilst you are mucking out, but at least its something.

The yards i have looked at with full winter turnout have limited facilities & all of them have poor hacking.

I know its not ideal, but you have to work with what you have got & tbh all the horses are happy & relaxed.
 
out 24/7 all year, unless it's really wet in which case I may stable. Frozen or snow and they'll be out all the time though :)
 
Yep, out in the snow too. Here they are at the beginning of December last year after out first snowfall
LPIC1321.jpg
 
I have a few acres of foggage left for winter, they will be turned out on that until they eat it off completely, then it will be into proper winter trash paddocks... so to answer your question precisely - no, they don't get grass turnout, but they still go out every day from about 8.30 till whenever, some just before dark, others till I get round to bringing them in.
As to the feed ration, I just feed hay/haylage ad lib, if something looks porky, I reduce hard feed and/or whip a rug off.
 
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