What to do when there is not turnout HELP!!

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Haha123

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My yard has just stopped turning out due to the field being to muddy and dangerous and if they continue to go out we will never have grass again! My boy needs turnout he struggles a lot with ulcers and has literally just recovered and is back on top form finally after a lot of time and money!! I need HELP on how to stop those ulcers coming back and how to keep him happy as he will be in for the foreseeable future HELP!!
 
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Apizz2019

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Haha123 said:
My yard has just stopped turning out due to the field being to muddy and dangerous and if they continue to go out we will never have grass again! My boy needs turnout he struggles a lot with ulcers and has literally just recovered and is back on top form finally after a lot of time and money!! I need HELP on how to stop those ulcers coming back and how to keep him happy as he will be in for the foreseeable future HELP!!
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I had to move from a yard recently, due to needing a small paddock for our EMS pony and the yard being unable to accommodate.

I moved to a lovely yard a few minutes from home but then found out the horses were kept in from Oct - Mar the previous year, which they'd failed to tell me when I went to view.

I immediately started looking for somewhere else and left within a fortnight.

It wasn't easy and I felt awful for pony as he'd just been uprooted from his long term home but it worked out perfectly.

Horses are more resilient than we think.

Good luck!
 
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mariew

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If you really can't change the turnout situation all you can do is be up at the yard as many times as you can. Ride twice/day or one long hack per day if you can. In hand walks, lunge, etc etc, all depending on how safe he is. You might find he will adjust ok. It's the energy levels and avoiding them building up I would be concerned about. And I would also want constant access to hay depending on how much of a fatty he is.

Have you got a school or sandpit you can turn out for even just an hour or two?

Winters are not going to get less easy so you are probably best of moving if he needs turnout to stay sane. Even if it's just somewhere where they have small turnout paddocks you could use in the see depth of winter.
 
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Haha123

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I know everyone is saying move yards but it isn’t really an option is there anything I could do at my current yard if it gets really bad then I may move yards but for now that’s not an option
 
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Haha123

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mariew said:
If you really can't change the turnout situation all you can do is be up at the yard as many times as you can. Ride twice/day or one long hack per day if you can. In hand walks, lunge, etc etc, all depending on how safe he is. You might find he will adjust ok. It's the energy levels and avoiding them building up I would be concerned about. And I would also want constant access to hay depending on how much of a fatty he is.

Have you got a school or sandpit you can turn out for even just an hour or two?

Winters are not going to get less of easy so you are probably best of moving if he needs turnout to stay sane. Even if it's just somewhere where they have small turnout paddocks you could use in the see depth of winter.
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Thank you really helpful!!
Yes I was thinking lots of lunging in hand grazing walks ect
 
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Apizz2019

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Haha123 said:
I know everyone is saying move yards but it isn’t really an option is there anything I could do at my current yard if it gets really bad then I may move yards but for now that’s not an option
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If you can't move yards, you'll have to find time to be there more often to walk out in hand, ride, loose school if you can etc.

Maybe treat balls, a mirror in the stable etc to alleviate boredom.

But remember, a horse is, by design, an animal that is on the move a lot and little to no movement affects not only their guts but also joints. As well as their overall wellbeing.
 
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Cortez said:
You’ll just have to buckle down and exercise him more. When ours are in full time they are ridden twice a day, if time is short or I have many to do they are also lunged.
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I know this is probably what I will do but my is much better ridden only a couple times a week
 
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Apizz2019 said:
If you can't move yards, you'll have to find time to be there more often to walk out in hand, ride, loose school if you can etc.

Maybe treat balls, a mirror in the stable etc to alleviate boredom.

But remember, a horse is, by design, an animal that is on the move a lot and little to no movement affects not only their guts but also joints. As well as their overall wellbeing.
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Plus hooves, tendons etc. Short blasts on the lunge going in tight circles on a deep surface (which is what most people mean when they say lunging) doesn't exactly help with the negative impacts on joints etc either.

OP the only way to help is long, steady work. As someone else said at least one long hack every day. Or if that's really not possible then long lining, ponying or in hand. A wander for 5mins in hand isn't the same, it all helps mentally of course but to offset the physical impacts of standing around so much they need to move.
 
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I can tell you from bitter experience (I was lied to about winter turnout) that you will get a return of ulcers if your horse isn't one of the few who is happy being in. I can also say that an unhappy horse will go bonkers on the lunge and risk injuring themselves - mine hurt her suspensory and it's still a niggle years later.

Plus consider how you'll manage exercising multiple times a day in winter if you're at work / school. There might be nothing you can do short term but I'd be hitting the phone and speaking to every yard around asap
 
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Arzada said:
I was addressing the OP. Are you the OP?
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The OP has two different accounts, which she keeps switching between.
twobearsarthur said:
I’m so confused!
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Quite.

OP (of whichever flavour), you posted this on Dec 13. Did you go on to buy this horse?

Haha123 said:
Hi if you were looking for an event horse to take you to novice and that’s gone to novice would you buy one that has an incredible jump but is getting regular 40+ dressage’s if you already knew the horse and regularly ride it and love it? Ian looking to go to pony club champs youth champs ect would this stop me from being on teams?
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Apizz2019

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SEL said:
I can tell you from bitter experience (I was lied to about winter turnout) that you will get a return of ulcers if your horse isn't one of the few who is happy being in. I can also say that an unhappy horse will go bonkers on the lunge and risk injuring themselves - mine hurt her suspensory and it's still a niggle years later.

Plus consider how you'll manage exercising multiple times a day in winter if you're at work / school. There might be nothing you can do short term but I'd be hitting the phone and speaking to every yard around asap
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I wasn't lied to but had the same situation re turnout, found out after I'd moved that the previous year all had been in from Oct-Mar.

I was straight on the phone to every yard nearby and moved within a fortnight.
 
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