who has horses our 24/7 through winter? reassure me!!

[mandwhy]

Yes I would move without a doubt.

I'm sure the stable will come available soon enough anyway. I think it is more like Jan/Feb that I start to feel a bit sorry for them being out in the wet mud.Mine are fine but I do wish I had a proper dry sheltered area to put hay in and for them to lie down (I have plenty of hedges though). They are hairies but wear light to medium rugs when wet and cold as the welsh A gets shivery and the haffy gets grumpy when too cold and wet!

 

[Booboos]

Mine are out 24/7, are clipped and compete from the field, although to be fair we are in France and I haven't even used their heavy weight rugs yet. On the other hand Carl Hester competed Escapado from the field all year round and now keep Nip and Tuck out 24/7 so if GP horses can do it anyone can!

 

[mulledwhine]

I have my veteran out 24/7 in the winter, as he hated being stabled. I do feel guilty when i see hime out though with plenty of feed and rugs there usually fine

This

Good luck with the move , you and he will be much happier

 

[Hedwards]

With Appropriate feed & rugging, in my opinion its the best way to keep them. My TB was out for all of last winter (other then 3 days he came in to recover from a hoof abscess) and he was fine! I will be doing the same this winter, he'll be clipped and in full work!

 

[kerrieberry2]

my mare has lived out 27/7 for the last 12 years, last year was the first that she had a shelter to go into! im scared coz this year I have to start being her in and I know she wont like it!

 

[Goldenstar]

I think you need to see the field to check that's its not naturally to wet and it has some shelter.
However there is no way Inwould keep mine in all winter unless I had time to work them twice a day so they where close. To three hours a day even then I just would not be happy.
I would go for it but perhaps try to look for alternatives just in case it does not work.

 

[starryeyed]

I would also move - the company would be the only concern for me but as long as he's out with some friends and not by himself then 24/7 turnout would be fine - I'm sure he'll be a million times happier out than stuck inside for that amount of time! I used to loan a twiggy little anglo arab who although wasn't clipped, didn't have much of a winter coat, but she refused to be stabled so had to stay out. I was worried about her out there in the elements as I thought she'd lose a lot of condition, but she actually coped remarkably well! - she wore a medium weight rug all year round (I'd bought her a heavy weight but she never got cold enough for it), munched on haylage and had small bucket feeds twice a year, and stayed a perfect weight.

 

[cheeryplatypus]

To all winter last year with no shelter (they ate the natural shelter! Lol). Decent rugs on with an extra stable one underneath if required. Lowest temp was -14'C!
Main problem was keeping water going, but we worked around it using hot water. Fed lots of hay. Try lost a little weight as i didnt keep the feed ip for long enough towards march time. Both were fine and quite happy. You may want shoes off if snowballing is a problem, depends on the winter though!

 

[Rose Folly]

Total convert to 24/7 turnout. Have been doing it for 20 years with clipped and non-clipped horses. Just rug and feed appropriately with generous hay/haylage. Does help if you have a field shelter but not imperative.

Most important thing, I think, is appropriate rugging. Watch the weather forecasts. No point having them sweltering in their thickest rug on a mild sunny December day and then nothing warmer to put them into if the temp drops. My own, a Welsh cob, is usually in a rain rug by day and a M/W by night (with neck cover attached if it's v. windy or wet). Go to your new place - you won't regret it!

 

[FfionWinnie]

Mine are all out 24/7 and 3 out of 4 are clipped. They are well rugged and have adlib hay. One is a poorer doer than the rest because she won't blooming eat (she just likes hay) so I am planning on haylage for her this year and possibly stabling her for some of it. Last winter it was complicated slightly by trying to stick to a barefoot diet which is less palatable than what she was fed before I got her. This summer she had unrestricted grass and feet are great so I am thinking she can have some more tempting foods this winter as doesn't seem very sensitive to sugar. If yours is a good doer I would go for it.

 

[GlamourPuss86]

Ours lived out 24/7/365 without a problem! Well rugged and plenty of hay, they all lived until late 20's early 30's!

 

[Frosty89]

Although my mare won't be wintering out this year, I turned her away last winter after being backed and ridden away and she was more than happy outside with lots of hay to keep her going.

I know lots of people who's horse's have full clips and are living out 24/7. The horses are always rugged up well and never seem unhappy or cold.

 

[mollichop]

Mine live out all year and I wouldn't have it any other way. Rug according to clips and weather. They do have a couple of big barns they can get into that are bedded down and have ad lib hay plus hard feed in winter.

One of mine box walks and hates being shut in so it suits her fine. Plus the gateways don't get poached as they aren't waiting to come in.

I'd suggest trying it at least, if it doesn't suit your horse then think again but I personally prefer it to stabling and restricted turnout.

 

[moana]

I have always kept all of mine out 24/7/365 with just the very rare exception if ill or injured. Just make sure they have plenty of forage and hopefully somewhere slightly sheltered. The heaviest weight rug I have used is medium.

 

[purplerain]

Mine have lived out 24/7 all year for years until last winter. But then after 7 consecutive quarters of above average rainfall, and admittedly too little land for the number of ponies we had, we really struggled last winter and decided to stable the ponies overnight. We had no grass and our land is clay - we wanted to give the ponies a chance for their legs and hooves to dry out each day. They were turned out every day though - I couldn't keep mine stabled with no turnout for several months at a time as I believe it's cruel and unnatural.

This year we've had a lovely dry summer and have also more than doubled our grazing, with new field of virgin grass on a slight incline. I'm hoping we will be able to winter the ponies out again. We have 4 ponies in the permanent herd, plus a couple of temporary visitors at the moment. One of the permanent members is still a baby (3yo at the moment) and will winter out naked. The other three will probably be at least partly clipped and rugged. We can't ride during the week as we have no lights, but I'm hoping we'll be able to ride at weekends on the neighbouring 8 acre field, as we did through last winter, if our own fields, which are lower, are too wet. Living out the ponies keep themselves fit enough for some pretty active riding at the weekend - it would be a lot harder if they were confined to stables.