Who's turning out in this...

most horses will adjust their hooleys according to ground conditions! cant understand WHY people are not allowed to put hay/haylage in fields! if out for 2 hours then why not for more with a bit of hay /haylage? they wont cut the ground up when its frozen? grass is very resiliant! boot up if you are worried and turn out!
 
2 of ours are out 24/7 and two are in at night and out all day (from about 6:30am til 5:30pm). Horse should be out, that's what they are designed for. Our field is frozen and gets covered in snow but we have never had any issue and in the 20 odd years we have had horses on the field we not know them to suffer colic from eating frozen grass!

I am not entirely sure where that idea comes from - a horse is designed to live out in all weathers surely and forage for food/sparse grasses so i really don't get how eating grass that has frost on/is frozen should be dangerous for them?

I know many more stabled horses who have had colic than ones that live out. Keeping a horse where it is restricted in its movement is surely worse for it than it being able to wander round as it pleases? Ours aren't stupid - if the ground's rutted and frozen they tread carefully across it.

We feed ours hay in the morning (chuck it out in the field) to help them keep weight on as yes they can't get to grass when covered in thick snow but when the snow thawed a bit the other day they went off to find what grass they could.
 
mine are out as usual- from 8 til 6ish. about 60% of the field has an icy covering, the rest is reasonable grass. although they are hungry when they do come in, they dont stand at the gate until about 5ish, when the others get brought in.
 
out about 4 hours, ones on part box rest anyway but they both are waiting to come in by the time I get back, Theres nothing to eat part from hay and the ground is uncomfortable for them.
 
Well I discussed this with the vet this morning. She said horses get colic from eating frozen grass if they haven't had any food all night and are turned out and into a frozen field and eat. I suppose if they are out anyway they are just picking over the grass all night, and presumably will have had some hay at some stage too. Ours used to be turned out 24/7 (when we always had proper winters) and never had problems with colic, or laminitis for that matter.

I said that I always feed and give hay in the morning first and then turn them out, and she said that is correct horse management!
 
My girlies live out 24/7 and my arab who has decided that he would like to come in at night goes out when its not too icy to walk him down the drive to the field for about 4 hours although when OH went to get him in for me tonight he didnt want to come in (little monkey)
 
Mine are out 24/7 and both have ab lib hay/haylage.

If I were at a yard where you weren't allowed to put out forage when the grass was frosty I would move
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Mine have been going out - but I'll regret it forever as my mare came in hopping lame having done both hind suspensories
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Kate x

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I'm sorry about H, but is that anything to do with the weather?
 
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Well I discussed this with the vet this morning. She said horses get colic from eating frozen grass if they haven't had any food all night

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That's a bit back to front I reckon. The bigger issue is the horse not having had anything to eat all night - vets should worry about that more than frozen grass. If my horses are in then they have more than enough hay or haylage to sustain them until the next morning. If I ever come to a horse in the morning and they've got an empty net then I know I didn't give them enough the night before. Nets should always have something left in them.
 
mine have all been going out for a few hours with some hay, have noticed that non of them have been playing like they normally do, on this rock hard ground (bar Minnie who seams to have no idea the ground is slippery
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I have been told icy grass is only a problem on a empty stomach - so as gedenskis_girl says it shouldnt be a problem,
Was speaking to my vet this morning and he said he has been inundated with colics from horses that have been stood in this last few weeks!!
 
Yep, all mine go out all day every day no matter what the weather brings!
However, they all have adlib hay, field shelters and are well rugged up.
Because they have plenty of turnout they tend not hoon around much and generally behave themselves while I'm out at work.
It's even more important to have them out at the moment cos it's too icy to risk riding.
They all seem to enjoy coming in at night for a sleep on their nice warm beds though !!
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Yep, all mine go out all day every day no matter what the weather brings!
However, they all have adlib hay, field shelters and are well rugged up.
Because they have plenty of turnout they tend not hoon around much and generally behave themselves while I'm out at work.
It's even more important to have them out at the moment cos it's too icy to risk riding.
They all seem to enjoy coming in at night for a sleep on their nice warm beds though !!
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Ditto this ^^^^
 
Apparently turning horses out on frosty grass leaves them susceptible to colic or laminitis due to the level of fructans in frozen grass - I don't know how accurate this is but with a sec d I'm not taking any chances and all the yard horses are put out with hay if there's a frost. I also believe stabled horses are more at risk as they are not acclimatised to being out 24/7.

My motto is 'if in doubt, chuck him out' - Taffy may not always appreciate this but he doesn't hoon about and he has hay and I'd rather he got out for a leg stretch and a chat with his field mate enjoying the fresh air - he normally 'requests' to come in from about 2pm but is left out until around 4.
 
We havent had any actual snow. Just cold and frozen ground. Tia has been going out for at least 4 hours a day. By 3pm they are all ready to come in anyway. On sunday I walked Tia up the track to her field telling her how she was not to gallop around her field as the ground was far too hard. As soon as I took her headcollar off in the field she cantered off up the field and proceeded to have a good roll then get up, buck and bounce a few times up and down off all 4 feet before cantering back to me as if to say 'did you see what I just did?!'. I was displeased to say the least!
 
Two of mine go out from about 8.30 - 3.30 with hay. As others have said they do not seem to be playing about as much as normal infact I have barley seen them break to a trot. I really dont like keeping them in 24/7 which has resorted in a couple of days serious gritting of the tracks to the field and some careful foot placing but they are lots happier for being able to stretch there legs.

Other 2 are out 24/7 with a field shelter ad lib hay and are both well rugged and both seem very happy.
 
Mine live out, but even if they didn't they'd still go out, regardless of the weather, or footing.

They soon learn, hoon about and you fall over, falling over hurts, they figure it out, sometimes I think we don't credit horses with any common sense at all.
 
Mine is out for about 11 hours and is digging for grass (wasn't really bothered about hay). His companion who is a 24 year old middleweight horse is perfectly happy, too. They are just going about business as normal only with a little digging. Both know what to do to get to the food. The only reason mine is in at night is because I've been a bit soft in his first winter. He needs to go out though for his physical development and his mental health as he's only 6 months.
 
Not today,weather is shocking,he generally goes out every day for a few hrs in this,however the gateway is treacherously lumpy and solid,he would only have to twist his fetlock arwkwardly and that be it
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he is safer in,he isnt impressed but it'll not hurt him,most of the others are in atm too
 
We've been fortunate with the weather so far with only a light covering of snow.

All ours are in their normal routine. Some out 24/7, some out 8.15 am - 4.00 pm and some out 4.00 pm to 8.15 am.

Fields are frozen but they are all behaving sensibly and finding grass to eat. Walkway to fields is clear of ice.

It is snowing at the moment and they will be sticking to their routine tomorrow.
 
Horses still going out without a problem. The yard has been quite icey at times, but hasn't prevented them being TO. Luckily we haven't had much snow - but the horses seem to enjoy a frolick in what we have had.

Even if only for an hour - it gives them a chance for a leg stretch and a 'chat' with their mates, so I'm always keen to get him out if possible.
 
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Turned out in almost two feet of snow. I think you risk injury if you keep a horse standing still for days on end then turn it out anyway, plus I'd rather mine had some freedom and were allowed to be horses

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Agree totally. Mine are out 24/7 and want back out after their feeds. When we turn up in late afternoon they are all sensibly eating round bales or in the shelters. I think if they are used to it they cope accordingly.
 
mine is out 24/7 don't have a lot of choice as no stable. she is perfectly happy a hay rack full of hay fresh water taken down daily as pipes frozen. plus i think if i was to put her in she would prob injure herself as she doesn't like being shut in
 
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