When the grass freezes,can i turn the horses out?

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ShowJumperBeckii

ShowJumperBeckii

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i was just wondering when the fields freeze over tonight, is it ok to but the horses out? cause i thinking its going to be slipping and if they gallop aound, playing or being silly surely they can slip and do some damage cause the ground also be hard too or am i just paranored? :rolleyes:
 
Get those G G's out now you paranoid women! ( well in the morning! lol )

On a sensible note, put a big pile of hay out and hopefully they will just tuck into that and not run around :)
 
You're fine to put them out. We have 2 in at night and 3 out 24/7. They get hayed in the field, but will go off and nibble at grass too.

They are more likely to injure themselves in you don't turn out, and they get crazy when you eventually do. Better to turn them out everyday imho, then they learn some self preservation :)

I've never had one get colic form eating frozen grass.
 
Do they seriously weigh it out for you?
If she gets stuck in her stable at any time, she will need extra.
Likewise when the fields are all covered in snow.
What did you do when she was on box rest? I'm intrigued :)
 
BSJAShowjumper123 said:
Ha i will :D but I cant.. im only alowed 20lb of hayledge per day and thats 6lb for morning and 14lb for night so i dont have any of my daily alowance left :( x
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TBH, if that allowance accounts for the fact that your horse can eat grass during daytime hours, then it will likely need to be upped during hard frosts/snow. We got through lots more hay last year during the snow, some things have to be done on an as and when basis, not a fixed rule. :)

The guy we buy our hay off was feeding his sheep 4 times the n ormal amount when we had all the snow last year :)
 
Groom42 said:
Do they seriously weigh it out for you?
If she gets stuck in her stable at any time, she will need extra.
Likewise when the fields are all covered in snow.
What did you do when she was on box rest? I'm intrigued :)
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no they dont weight it we do, so we can have 5 haynets that weight 5lb or two that weight 10lb ect depending on what you what to feed per time and how many times... :rolleyes:
 
Stencilface said:
TBH, if that allowance accounts for the fact that your horse can eat grass during daytime hours, then it will likely need to be upped during hard frosts/snow. We got through lots more hay last year during the snow, some things have to be done on an as and when basis, not a fixed rule. :)

The guy we buy our hay off was feeding his sheep 4 times the n ormal amount when we had all the snow last year :)
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i hope they put it up soon.. ebs looses weight badly and hay is a good bulker to keep some weight on...
 
Bugger that, weighing hay!!!!
I just shuv as much as I possibly can into the net and drag it over to the stable.
Maybe you could sneak a few stands out into the field, lol.
 
Well I must be very cruel... We have quite alot of snow on the ground with more forcast overnight, as long as I can get to the fields I will be putting 20 horses out in it... with no hay!!

The snow is not deep / hard enough to stop them raking it up to find the grass if they are very hungry and most of them just play while they are out anyway.

As long as paths to fields are safe then put them out!!

ETS - The handfull of horses that are living out have a bale of hay in the field (I'm not THAT cruel!)
 
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We boot our competition horses up at work on the hard ground like this, well TBH whenever they go out, the only time we dont is once they go on there summer hols for 2 weeks in august, we put them out and remove them the next day. If your worried shes gonna gallop round or injure herself its work it, and also it helps keep clipped legs warm. :)
 
I put haylage out for mine when it snows but only one eats it! The others dig through the snow to the grass. The only possible problem I can think of is laminitus from frosty grass. However last year I had to fence off part of my field as it had snowed, frozen, rained on top & that froze so it was exactly like a skating rink! Unshod pony was ok, but the others not so much!
 
Ours get left out for 8 hours plus, so would feel a little unfair if they had nothing to eat for that whole time, might make them a little poorly :)

Gah - I feel for you OP - I couldn't bear to be told what to feed my horse - esp in weather like this. :( If this winter is like last, they will need to up their amounts, unless they want a yard full of skinny horses :(
 
Cor blimes, if I started telling my liveries how much haylage they could feed they'd run at me with pitchforks...

She's your horse, you should be able to feed what she needs to be fed, and bugger the rest!

If my big lad doesn't have CONSTANT access to haylage, he starts looking like an RSPCA case, so I'm afraid if I was on your yard I'd be thoroughly unpopular and buying in my own haylage, to feed MY horse!

OOf! Rant over... sorry.... drugged and all that jazz...
 
BSJAShowjumper123 said:
no theres a new rule, that we cant bring are own bedding/hay into the yard :|
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Sorry - this is utterly ridiculous!
If a yard stipulates you cannot bring in outside hay, they must provide the opportunity for liveries to purchase extra. If a horse needs extra hay, it needs extra hay......simple.
As for bedding - also ridiculous. If a yard only provides straw, and your horse eats it, what do they expect you to do?
If they sell shavings, and you buy in from elsewhere, it's understandable they will be miffed.
But, if they don't provide/supply what you need, you must be able to provide it for yourself.
 
i would turn out... mine is used to going out in the day so is more likely to hoon about if kept in for a few days and then turned out- if he goes out everyday he doesn't run around- does that make sense! we aren't allowed to put hay out in the field (not sure why- something about it 'causing fights'- suspect its more a fear of it being wasted) but horses don't seem to mind... i prob would just get him in earlier :) (obviously if horse is prone to laminitis or colic then i wouldn't turn out on frosty grass)
 
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