Who has limited turnout over winter and how do you cope?

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Ziggy_

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The first yard I was on had NO winter turnout at all, and after leaving there I swore I'd never go back to a yard which didn't have winter turnout. Unfortunately, such yards are few and far between and six weeks ago I moved to a yard where the horses live in overnight all year round. They are turned out most days, apart from when the weather is rubbish (ie. pissing rain) or when the ground gets very wet and muddy. They've been kept in one day in the last six weeks, when it was torrential rain, I'm not sure how things will be over the course of the winter.

Just wondering who else on here has limited winter turnout, and how do you cope? Whats the minimum amount of turnout time you think is OK? Do you exercise more when turnout is restricted? How does your horse seem to cope?
 
I do appreciate that some people have no choice but personally I just wouldn't consider a yard with restricted turnout. I am lucky and my horses stay out 24/7 all year round if I want.

However you must be prepared to put more time into your horse and yes, either excercise more frequently, ie twice a day if possible and or hand graze. I know that some horses do settle to a stabled life but I wouldn't want it for mine.

Good luck though.
 
Our winter turnout is 7.30am to 4pm everyday rain hail or snow (farmer YO - wont let the weather beat him lol)
I feel horses are ready to come in as there is little to eat in the winter padocks as they are more like a ash 'bing' than a field which is great as they dont really get muddy but little grass grows.There are loads of bushes trees etc tho.

My last yard had no winter turnout and again is never go back to that. I dont think id make use of 24 hour winter turnout in winter either given our crappy weather and the fact i like my horse clipped and ridden everyday (therefore need him to be dry)
I find this amount of turnout to be perfect during winter.Horse is happy to be out but is in and clean and dry for me to ride in the evenings after work.
 
When my horses come home around Christmas time I will have to limit turnout. We only have 2 acres and although it has been rested since April it ill only take a couple of weeks to be eaten down and churned up. We live on clay so the ground becomes poached very quickly, the horses hate being out in it and it can't be good for their legs.

I will probably keep them in 3/4 days a week (are in at night anyway) just to try and make the field last as long as possible.
 
I have no winter turnout. My two will be out in what is basically a crew yard each during the day (with a shelter) and back in their stables at night. I don't work so they will be exercised daily, given the weather isn't totally foul.
 
Mine go out when I feel like putting them out and the same when it comes to bringing in. I am soo glad I have my own field!! I definitely couldn't be anywhere that didn't have turnout. The yards near us all turnout in winter. the biggest one the owner turns out about 6am in the winter and I think they all come in about 3:30pm (unless owners choose to keep theirs in or bring the in sooner).

They can't be out 24/7 though in winter as far as I know though.
 
I rent my own yard so I can turn mine out every day, altho if the weather is rotten mine are very keen to come back in after an hour! I have been at a yard with limited winter turn out (horses were allowed out 3 or 4 days a week). It wasn't a problem as it was a large yard and the horses were in a sort of american barn and had the company of all the other horses and all seemed happy to be in munching hay. The yard had a floodlit sandschool so exercising was never an issue.
 
Would never go to a yard that had no turnout, it just isn't fair imo. Must be turned out at least for a few hours a day at the very very minimum. Our TO is limited to daytime in winter, but they go out in pairs on small woodchip/small grass(read mud at the end of winter) paddocks with hay, or we can choose to send them up to the big village field for the day at extra cost. They are turned out between 7.30-8.30 and come in between 3.30 pm and 5pm depending on time of year. This works fine and am happy with this. Would love to have 24/7 but hardly any part yards that do this.
 
We have winter fields and can use our individual field as much or little as we want. Longest you can have them out is about 8.30 til 3.
However, my horse will have a maximum of 2 hours out each morning, probably from 9.30 until 11.30 ish when the winter is at its hardest, he comes in and has lunch and then goes on the walker in the afternoon. Then he is either lunged or ridden in the evening.
As long as he is in a good routine and his days are broken up he is as happy as larry.... in fact happier!!!
 
I must be a complete freak because i bloody hate winter turnout and if our yo banned it i would be over the moon as it just knackers fields up for summer meaning they have to come in sooner,I also hate all the crap they get covered in Its a good job my boys dont mind being in (they have no choice) as although its available i wont be using it
 
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I must be a complete freak because i bloody hate winter turnout and if our yo banned it i would be over the moon as it just knackers fields up for summer meaning they have to come in sooner,I also hate all the crap they get covered in Its a good job my boys dont mind being in (they have no choice) as although its available i wont be using it

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PMSL! I don't disagree!!! If the weather is foul mine stays in and just has two sessions on the walker. We are lucky enough at the yard I'm at to have very dry fields for winter fields and so we don't tend to get that really boggy mud. My last yard had no turnout in winter (often for months) and my horse didn't die
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It's limited turnout in winter on the yard I'm on although my girl doesn't like being out for more than an hour if it's raining or really cold. They have a horse walker and round pen so she can stretch her legs and will be ridden. Not had a winter there yet but I think it will suit her, if it doesn't I'll look for another yard.
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We keep our horses at home, and choose to limit their turnout, to keep the fields good, and to stop them injuring themselves (we're on a hill).
They go out at about 10ish and are brought in just before we get in from school (thank dad!)
The field is split into four section with tape and once a week are moved to a new section, they also have mahooosive rolls of haylege there
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I don't have winter turn out either, and mad as it sounds I don't miss it. We have some small paddocks that we can use to allow the horses to let off some steam but after an hour my girl wants to come in. We tend to use "winter pens" which are to all intents and purpose an out door stable but they allow horse to horse interaction and gets them out in the fresh air.
 
we have it however i can only put my horse out where they tell me too if they want him to come in halfway through the day they have to do it i cannot help being at school and no one is at home however we are planning on movning house somewhere that will have its own land so i will then have the choice for all the time turnought and so on it will be me in charge my parnets accept that i no what i am doing more than them we will probaly have a winter paddock so that we will only have to mess up one not about 3 that way they can have one messed up through the winter and it stops everyfield entrence turning horrid
 
I've been on yards with no winter turnout and i found some horses didn't care, some did care but coped, and some didn't cope at all.

I've got a couple turned out 24/7 and I couldn't be doing with it if they were in work. They're grubby, they get mud rash, you can't clip them out, etc.

Weather dependent turnout works fine as long as the fields have decent drainage and the horses are only in the day it pisses down and a day or two after, not a fortnight! My riding horse is in at night all year and kept in in bad weather and she seems quite happy with that.
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I have been on a yard with very limited winter t/o. A few hours 4 days a week. Mine did cope although it wouldn't be my choice. They then stopped t/o for a month to harrow fields etc for the summer and mine were so full of it. Bucking and rearing in their stables and unriddable! Will never do it again.
Also felt I had to ride everyday even after a 12 hour day at work and I don't think a hobby should make you feel like that.

Unfortunately the yard I have just moved to only allows horses out from 8 to 12/1 everyday. Again not ideal but at least they get out daily for a run around and fresh air. I think 6 - 7 hours out over winter would be my ideal. Anymore and they are all fighting at the gate hungary wanting to come in!
 
We have all year round turnout for our liveries in fields that haven't been grazed in the summer and they still moan! I'd have thought a 12 acre field with 4 horses in it and 40" square area of surface within the gate so no mud would have made them happy but no, they don't like having to talk 300m on an all weather off road track within the farm boundaries to get there. No pleasing some folk!
 
We have all year turn out, but if its bad weather I put them out while I muck out. They mouch about and watch me and are ready to come back by the time I have finished - normally after 35 minutes.

Mick hates bad weather, the shortest time he has been out was 15 mins last year - he was at the gate waiting to come back in.. I made him stay out for half an hour.

If its chucking it down with rain I don't even bother putting them out tbh and they dont mind.

Last winter when it snowed they went out every day for 30 mins then stood in. That went on for 12 days and they didn't bother.
 
Worst winter ever was on a yard with no winter turnout. Horsey hated it and developed mild stress related colic on several occasions until we got him moved out. Since he left we have had no repeat and he is a much happier lad. Photos taken while he was at the yard show him looking listless and totally resigned and not the cheeky, feisty pony I own.

They were allowed out onto a small hardstanding yard during the day but it was too small for 5 horses and a 13hh pony and lots of bickering and narkiness went on. At the time, it was the only livery yard local to us (ie within 100miles+) and there was no school or exercise area therefore trying to up the exercise with dark evenings and mornings was impossible for all of us who worked full time. Most we could do was a shadowed graze and walk in hand around the farm buildings.

Never putting him through that again! This year he is back home and living out with free access to stable/shelter.
 
My own horses that are in work only go out once every two weeks and they hate that..........i.e. they want to come straight back in! They just don't like going out in the wet and mud. They go on the walker for 30m ins a day aswell asbeing ridden for at least 1 hour and going in the round pen for a blast. My others (youngsters/broodmares) go to my other farm and are barn kept. Then when the ground is dry they all live out 24/7.

The liveries are turned out 6 hours per day when it's wet. Some only go out a day or 2 as they don't like going out. They're all still out as much as they want at the mo.

I think there are too many people who think that their horse WANTS to go out or NEEDS to, and yes some do, but the truth is these are domesticated horses, and most prefer being in in winter!!!

I also can't stand it when poeple don't think about the effects on fields, etc.
 
My pony has to live out all year as he does not like stables but I have prior to owning him been on yards with restricted winter turnout eg every other day and the horses cope probably because if they did not they end up moving yards!.

However I do think you need to make sure if they are in that they have plenty of hay to keep them occupied. I would say the downside is that you have to be committed to exercising if they get no turnout and if you work full time and get to the yard at 6 and it is dark, pouring with rain and windy and you have no indoor school then the last thing you feel like doing is riding. Additionally if you don't feel well then you still have to ride.
 
on my old yard we had no winter turnout at all. this was from october to march. my horses weren't really bothered by it but just meant that you had to ride most days and at least take them for a walk if you weren't going to ride....having said all that have now moved to a new yard that DOES have winter turnout so am looking forward to not having to ride every evening when the weather is crap! i will probs put mine out about 6am before i go to work and then get YO to bring them in about 12/1pm so they are clean and dry ready for riding after work....
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