Turnout Nightmare

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Thunderlightning

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Hi there :) I have an 8 year old sport horse that is very accident prone and has injured herself several times out in the paddock. The first few injuries were kick related and the others were sprains and strains from her messing about too much.
I've reached the point where I am terrified to turn her out any more as a couple of the injuries were almost career ending. At the same time, I can tell both physically and mentally she is missing having her freedom in the paddock. We bring in her out to the paddock in hand as often as we have the time to. Has anyone had a similar situation with a horse of theirs? Any advice/words of wisdom greatly appreciated.
 
Is there any way she can live out 24/7? I found my horses have far fewer, if any, injuries when they live out full time. The more time they spend in the stable the more they run about, play and fight when they do go out.
 
This may not be possible for you. Can you keep her out 24/7, so that going out is no longer exciting and in a herd that doesn't change so she knows all the members and her place in the herd?
 
My horses are all out 24/7 and it's rare we have accidents considering the amount of horses we have here. If you are able to do that, then I think you'll see lower amounts of injuries.
 
Then your next option is to try to have her in a strict routine. Could you turn her out with the same field mates each day at the same time? Then bring her in at the same time?

If that doesn't help then you could try individual turnout (along side other horses), but some horses do not settle in individual paddocks and you wont know till you try.

Otherwise you might need to look for a different yard.
 
Thanks for the reply :) We can't leave her out with mares because she drives them nuts and gets kicked. We have had the same experience with turnout with geldings. We have tried individual turnout which has worked until that one day she thinks its a good idea to gallop around and around and around. After an hour of being out in the paddock she's crying loudly at the gate to come back in so I'm really doubtful that 24/7 turnout would suit her. She's a complete disaster.
 
Is this a new thing or is this a new horse? Have never come across a horse that doesn't settle in the field. If she is in a paddock on her own does she have other horses either side of her?
Would she settle with a pony? The only other thing is could she be in season? It may be worth trying her on something like Regumate.
 
I personally think if you take the risk of turning her out more, always with the same horses, mares or gelding, things will settle down and she will be happier and not get injured from all the fooling around. in any group, even pair, horses take at least a few weeks to figure out who is boss and calm down. if you chicken out you will just end up with more problems from a horse going insane from no turnout or stimulation from interacting with other horses.
of course you cannot guarantee no injuries, but I agree with what most other people have said- the more they are tuned out the less they are injured.
at an old yard a new mare came who had previously been out only 1 hour a day, with only about 3 other horses on the yard. she came to a yard of 20 horses, all turned out 7am until 4pm. at first she flipped out, so excited, caused mayhem for a few weeks... they resorted to keeping her in again 23 hours and out in tiny pen for 1 hour, but she started destroying her stable and injuring herself many times in the process. then they decided to risk it and turn her out with 2 other mares, for as much time as possible during the day in the winter, then 24 hours in the summer. honestly within 2 weeks she went from complete nutcase who was dangerous to handle and ride and constantly injuring her self, mostly in the stable, to calm, no longer going crazy with other horses, and barely ever got as much as a graze.

in terms of driving them crazy, she hasn't had a chance to establish her 'position' in a group as I presume you have only tried for a day or so?
 
Patterdale totally agree.

Surely the risk of turning out by far gets outweighed by the mental and physical risk of a horse kept in 24/7.

If it was me...move to 24hr turnout. Get vet to attend in afternoon or when the yard is quiet ( not when horses are being brought in and out) slightly dope. Put something nextdoor that is quiet. Boot up. Turn out with feed (and the horse is hungry) make sure the field is big enough and has enough grass to keep them happy. Then leave well alone.
I would check throughout the evening without letting the horse see me. Then establish a routine right from the start that they come in am, fed, exercised, turned out in evening.

I have never met a horse yet that this doesn't work for... And I have had the 'doesn't like turn out' 'wont turn out' etc

Good luck!
 
I would maybe think of light sedation to take the edge off her at first? I can't turn mine out with other horses atm because he plays too hard and never gives up. I am not prepared to wait it out either. The only horse I was able to turn him out with was my old mare but as I have retired her its not an option.

My old mare was the same about turn out and our attempts at getting her to live out failed miserably. This time round it was planned carefully. Mare was kept on poor turn out and then when we went to make the final switch, she was put in the lorry and driven around for 15 minutes before coming back to her new field some 100 yards from us. The field was very lush so the grazing was restricted to start with. We now struggle to catch the old bag who has decided she is very happy so it can work!
 
Patterdale said:
There has never been a horse born that 'doesn't like' 24/7 turn out.
Click to expand...

Well I had one here ,her idea of hell was 24/7 turnout .
I would get OP's mare a pony companion and turn them out together.
I would turn her out for short times perhaps several times a day as from your posts it seems she's ok at first and then gets silly .
I would give her magnesium oxide to see if that helps you could can also try valerian if the horses does not need to free of substances for competition.
I have one that can't be turned out in company at the moment.
Is your horse continental bred OP ?
 
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LynH said:
Is there any way she can live out 24/7? I found my horses have far fewer, if any, injuries when they live out full time. The more time they spend in the stable the more they run about, play and fight when they do go out.
Click to expand...

This. Turn out 24/7 so its not exciting, she'll soon settle. My new horse was used to being stabled all his life until I got him, I tried turning him out and he'd just gallop round and round until I got him back in again! He'd also go nuts with or without another horse. So I put up a small round-pen on the grass (slightly bigger than a stable) with the 6ft high steel mesh fencing you can get from builders yards. He had little space to get anything more than a few strides of trot. I slowly increased the amount of time he spent out in his pen (and I moved the pen every 2 days to give him fresh grass) and then moved him into a high electric fenced paddock which I slowly made bigger and bigger. It took a few months but he's now out 24/7 in a large field with 3 others and he barely even bothers trotting anywhere, let alone gallop! So I'd say definately try leaving him out full time but do it slowly. IMO, they stay fitter if kept out therefore are less likely to injure. Of course, things happen sadly - the grey in my avatar sadly did get a career ending injury last year, doing it in the field. But hell I've gone through quite a few horses over the past 20 years and never had any big injuries otherwise (all kept out 24/7).
 
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I do agree with the 24/7 turnout. I would personally move her somewhere that did allow this to be honest.

If there is a horse out there who doesn't enjoy 24/7 turnout then I would saay that is pruely down to how it has been treated by humans and institutionalised essentially. I still think that can be overcome but turnout should really be proper turnout, not just some tiny square paddock
 
Ok sone horses may not do well on 24/7 turnout but no horse wiill not enjoy being turned out if socialised properly and allowed to be a horse with others often stemming from when they are young. i believe you need to fund a yard where you can turn out 24/7ultimatly if required but where you can work at having a steady good routine of turn out. baby hates her stableto point she would harm herself but copes because she knows she goes out everyday regardkess of weather so your problem in reverse :)
 
My friends TB was just like yours - when she retired him he went out 24/7 with my retired WB only coming in together if the weather was foul. He coped brilliantly and was a different horse.
I would move to a yard offering super safe 24/7 turnout and get a companion of a similar age/size and do everything with them together (minus the riding obviously!) Best of luck!
 
I feel your pain OP, I am in a similar situation with my young mare. She is constantly coming in with injuries, most of them just little bite marks but a couple have required Vet treatment. She is now on box rest due to her last escapade and I'm at my wits end.

She is out during the day with the same herd for the past 4 months and her behaviour in the field is getting worse. She just won't let up! Continually hassles the other mares and even when they try to put her in her place she just persists. I have now decided to separate her from the herd and keep her in her own pen (there are lots of others horses around her in their own pens so she won't be alone) as I just can't take it any more and I'm worried she will end up with a career ending injury before we have even gotten started. My instructor has suggested Regumate as she thinks she is displaying quite stallion like behaviours but the vet was sceptical as her first injury occurred in Feb and the vet doesnt think she would be hormonal then, so I'm just not sure what else to do. I have tried the time to settle route, but the injuries are escalating.

Anyway sorry for the ramble but just wanted to say I share your frustration/dispair and will also be watching this thread for ideas on possible options to try.

Incidentally the current injury (worst one so far) was after the herd had been turned out 24/7 for the first time.
 
How long have you had him?
One of mine came in injured at least 3 times a week for the first 6 months! sometimes tiny cuts once a fractured leg.
It wore off, I think he was unsettled by a new home and new yard for a long time? He is now out 24/7 and I don't even own a pot of wound powder anymore!
I used to have shares in vetrap!
 
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