Why is winter turnout not a thing!?

chaps89

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If she's 2, you've got a good year of her going away really before you might want to start doing anything with her, and really it wouldn't hurt to leave her there 18 months until the end of next winter if you still can't find appropriate turnout before it rolls around.
I think you'd be far better doing that than keeping her where she is tbh.
The small private yard does sound like a nice option and it's worth visiting and getting a feel for the place, as well as asking a few more questions about turnout.
If you had an older established horse I'd say it's seems well worth looking at, but with a youngster I think I'd still sway to sending her away tbh as a lot could change by the time you're ready to bring her back anyway and I think youngstock turnout will be nicer for her in the interim.
 

honetpot

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While people want to keep horses leisure horses in a way that is outdated and not based on updated research for not a lot of money, things are not going to change.
An acre of land £10k, stable starter cost £1-2k, then you add costs for water, electric etc. and then a premium for access. My old sheds on less than half an acre were valued at £150k, because they have water, power and direct road access, five acres to go with them would be at least £50k extra
 

HelenBack

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I did the weather permitting once....never ever again they were in even on dry days eventually from Oct til April as the acted like loons on a weekend, so yard owners shut the fields. It nigh on killed me as had 4 at the time. I was on verge of selling up or putting down but moved miles away. Ponies out every day with exception of ice and it has to be quite bad to stay in eg yard will text to say ponies in, but if you want to turn out at your risk you can but also have to bring in yourself, which I think is very fair. On occasion if terential rain and icy winds they come in at 3 when on winter turn out but from march til sept, early Oct they are out for 20 out if 24 hours, only coming in for a break from heat and fly's and a check over. It's not cheap and it's a bit far really for me but it works and ponies all settled.

Do you mind me asking how far you travel? I'm considering a couple of yards that are about an hour away due to the lack of anything more suitable closer by, but I can't decide if I'm bonkers or not!
 

chaps89

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Do you mind me asking how far you travel? I'm considering a couple of yards that are about an hour away due to the lack of anything more suitable closer by, but I can't decide if I'm bonkers or not!
I know I'm not the person you asked, but I was travelling 28 miles/50 minutes minimum each way on assisted DIY last year, and had been doing roughly 25 miles/40/45 minutes for the 2 years previous.
If my horse didn't have special requirements I'd still be over there! I would rather travel to a yard that works for me and her than have major compromises to be nearer to home. That said, I do save alot on fuel nowadays and it does make a difference!
 

PSD

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Do you mind me asking how far you travel? I'm considering a couple of yards that are about an hour away due to the lack of anything more suitable closer by, but I can't decide if I'm bonkers or not!

I currently only travel 10 minutes in the car. She’s local and it works for now and when the kids are in school.

move also been thinking about going further afield, there is a yard that’s fantastic and around 20 minutes drive but that includes the m61 which can be a nightmare in rush hour so I have considered that. But their winter fields are very well kept, facilities are great and also good hacking. She also has a few youngsters that mine could play with.

the private yard sounds good but as someone has said, it may not be good for a youngster who needs to socialise.
 

Gloi

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I left my youngster at the breeders till he was rising three just so he could live in a herd. Sadly it meant I didn't see him often as it was 5 hours away but I'm glad he did as it did him good.
 

PSD

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I left my youngster at the breeders till he was rising three just so he could live in a herd. Sadly it meant I didn't see him often as it was 5 hours away but I'm glad he did as it did him good.

mine stayed until she was 2 but they relocated to Scotland so it wasn’t an option for her to stay any longer unfortunately
 

Gingerwitch

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Do you mind me asking how far you travel? I'm considering a couple of yards that are about an hour away due to the lack of anything more suitable closer by, but I can't decide if I'm bonkers or not!
Not at all, I am 35 to 40 miles away, albiet a lot is motorway, distance varies as to which way I get to it. But having the choice to not have to ride, lunge everyday across 4 again (was down to 3 but back to 4) is worth every mile. I am not stressed, guilty or angry anymore (angry seeing my animals staying in in dry days and almost begging for attention, and which ever one I was with the other 3 wanted attention, I hated this period of horse ownership and you could not have paid me enough to do this as a job, it cost me a lot health wise too and all day sat and sun was spent getting them excercised and a pick of grass and supervising them in the school so they could get a buck and a dart and a roll, the owners of others got arsey with me as they could not see that I was the same as 4 owners taking a turn in the school and they complained that I should only get 1 slot. Fortunately the yard owners defended me on this point. I also had to prepare waters incase they stayed in the next day, so it took at least 30 mins to do waters for their stables overnight and the next day as you were not allowed a hose and had to do top up water buckets else your horses only got half buckets. I remember one night just after Christmas sitting and sobbing and made it my new year resolution to move, I moved in the Feb and I am convinced my horses were agoraphobic for the first week.
 

Pearlsasinger

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I currently only travel 10 minutes in the car. She’s local and it works for now and when the kids are in school.

move also been thinking about going further afield, there is a yard that’s fantastic and around 20 minutes drive but that includes the m61 which can be a nightmare in rush hour so I have considered that. But their winter fields are very well kept, facilities are great and also good hacking. She also has a few youngsters that mine could play with.

the private yard sounds good but as someone has said, it may not be good for a youngster who needs to socialise.


That's not exactly a long way and if there is a problem on the mway, I'm sure there will be several alternative routes. I wouldn't countenance keeping any horse, let alone a youngster in for 23 hrs 40 minutes every day.

Ours are at home and have been known to stay in all day except for an hour or so while we muck out and set fair but we have just invested in mud control mats so that we can have all weather turnout, except when we have too much snow/ice
 

Dyllymoo

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I've never been on a yard that wont offer turnout in winter. Obviously there are really miserable days (I had 3 at my last yard last winter) where they are kept in, but even at new yard the turnout in winter is 9am - 4.30pm every day. If YO wants them in as weather is atrocious she hays and waters them all a couple of times during the day, but this happened once last winter (and considering how wet that was I'm not too worried)
 

PapaverFollis

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Past experience makes me deeply deeply suspicious of "weather dependent" winter turnout... on moving to my last but one yard I asked a specific "how many days were they kept in last winter?" question. I was happy with the answer and moved them and it lived up to expectations.
 
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pixie

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On my yard I offer 24/7 turnout when in the summer paddocks and daily turnout in winter paddocks (Whatever hours suit them). I also have a big stubble field that my pony lives out in over winter that any of the liveries can use in bad weather so as not to trash their own paddocks. I think the most days they've ever had to stay in was 5 days total one year when the ground was too hard, icey and slippery to risk them going out.
 

ILuvCowparsely

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How many of you have winter turnout on livery yards?

where I am is great, fantastic hacking, location and facilities. Good prices and great liveries however in winter we get 20 minutes a day “turnout” in a mud paddock which to me isn’t enough, especially for a youngster.

I’ve been looking at other yards and it seems most are either the same or have no winter turnout at all. I’ve found a lovely private yard close ish, with weather permitting day time winter turnout, 24/7 in summer, , sand paddock for schooling, secure tack rooms and storage barns.

now I’m not sure whether I want to move or not for definite, I’m trying to think ahead and think what would suit myself and my horse.

but is this a common thing for livery yards now? They just don’t offer winter turnout for horses? I find it bizarre that they find 20 minutes per day acceptable for 6 months of the year.
I have more horses than land, but still manage to rest two paddocks. They get 7.30am - 4pm summer with option of swapping to nights out days in. Winter they get 7.30am - 4 gradually creeping back to in at 3pm when light goes so we can de poo. Not allowing winter out is wrong, horses need time out. If YM worried about horses slipping then get liveries to sign a form to say they accept the risk. One yard near me wont allow it just because one horse slipped and broke his leg years ago they wont allow turn out for weeks on end.
 
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Orangehorse

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Ideally the land should be divided up and one paddock used as a winter trashed field, to be re-seeded and rested, probably until the following spring.

However, re-seeding is expensive and considering how hardy a grass sward is, getting grass seeds to grow when first planted can be very hard, and weather dependent.

It is definitely a case of too many horses on too little land, and land that is quite possibly unsuitable for horses in the first place, if it is heavy clay. But people need livery yards near to where they live and work.
 

chocolategirl

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Mine are out 24/7 and one of the reasons I wont go onto a livery yard is due to restricted turnout.
Noone will ever persuade me that it is anything other than a serious welfare issue to have horses stood in boxes all winter :(
Couldn’t agree more! Ours go out all day every day in winter, no matter what. Yeah the paddocks get muddy round the gate areas, but once the grass has gone, we just feed hay?‍♀️ Definitely better than imprisoning them for days or weeks on end ?
 

GinaGeo

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I'd second sending her away.

I sent mine away in his 2 year old year as I was having to stable mine at home over night and he was getting dreadfully bored. We adjusted our management the following year and put All Weather Turnout in and he's lived out ever since.

I understand it's very difficult in some places but no horse should be expected to stand in a stable for over 23hrs a day with no social interaction, let alone a youngster.

With regards to youngstock Livery you wouldn't need it to be mega local, as long as you trusted them and could on check in on her. Someone on here might Know of somewhere in your area :)
 

EventingMum

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I think it very much depends on where you are and the type of soil. I'm on clay in a very wet area that is low lying so I can't offer 24/7 turnout in winter. We do try and turn out during the day as much as possible but have to start catching in by 3pm due to it getting dark. Our fields do get trashed and require work come the spring to help them recover so 24/7 turnout is never before May. When the weather is particularly appalling and the fields are water logged we tend to work on a rota of out every 2nd or 3rd day with turnout in a pen or going on the walker on the other days alongside ridden work. It's far from ideal but our horses seem to cope. It's a question of monitoring each horse as an individual and adapting to suit them as best we can.
 

Starzaan

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If my horses couldn’t go out every day I wouldn’t have them. I think it’s absolutely fine for horses to live in IF they are in PROPER work - so out of their boxes at least twice a day for two hours each time. Horses standing in 23 out of 24 hours simply because there isn’t enough grazing? Absolutely unforgivable in my opinion.
I also am baffled by the lack of herd turnout. There are some horses that certainly prefer to be out alone, but in all my years of running livery yards I can count those on one hand. Horses are herd animals, it’s simply not fair to expect them to stand in a little postage stamp paddock with no shade or shelter all day, without any company.

The biggest thing I hear from liveries is that they love that their horses go out every day, all day, and they’re in carefully managed herds. Horses need to be allowed to be horses!
 

skint1

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We have winter turnout, and our fields are pretty well draining and not overstocked, fields are currently quite large, the quality of grass isn't great though. Mine come in during day in summer and are in at night in winter, but that's my choice. the only real restriction is horses must be in at night in winter but I gather this is quite an outdated model. Most yards around here tend to operate small paddock turnout type systems. I've recently learned that after harvest the farmer intends to significantly reduce the size of the fields, will have to see how that pans out really.
 

BBP

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After the winter we have just had I’m soooo grateful that we were able to put in all weather turnout last summer. It meant our little gang could be out as a group all winter long, didn’t have to bring in once. It’s not huge, just a big arena and a hard standing area with a field shelter. It’s not huge but being an arena the ground is always good for them to roll and play and run around. Then they get a track system through the spring and summer. I’m incredibly lucky though. The horses all seem much happier, they came out of winter fitter and more relaxed than in previous years where they have stabled overnight and been turned out in mud in the day.
 

Errin Paddywack

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We have our own land, 23 acres of clay split into three. 3 acres, 6 acres and 14 acres. It is very wet land despite being on the side of a hill. My sister's two ponies are strip grazed on the 6 acres and last winter we had a mare and foal on the 14 acres along with about 40 sheep. The mess the mare and foal made had to be seen to be believed. It is still very rutted because the weather never gave us a chance to get it rolled. We don't have stables so no way we can get the horses off the land. The 3 acre top field with a barn is saved for lambing. I was stunned at the difference just adding the mare and foal made. We used to have more horses and the land did get badly poached but I think the field is wetter now. Clay is a nightmare.
 

cbmcts

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I don't have horses now because I can't find anywhere that guarantees winter turnout where I live... My last two oldies had to move 70 miles to another county when they retired so they could live out on decent ground.

Planning on moving right out of this area and will look for somewhere with at least a couple of acres...
 

utter-nutter

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for a unbroken youngster i would find young stock livery/turnout with others, how far away from me wouldn't bother me too much as long as i knew they were being checked by someone. i know people that have sent youngsters quite far away for it! i imagine it would costs a little less then keeping a horse in over winter on a yard? least then it might give you time to find a more suitable yard. good luck!
 

Roxylola

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PSD, you're similar area to me and basically it's a lack of land combined with poor draining clay that does it. You either need a hill somewhere to turnout on to and accept that you'll have to hike to see your horse have 0 facilities, and (if you're like me a 9-5) maybe not see it daily in winter. The alternative is what you describe currently.
For a 2 year old, I'd be going up m61 - the ground is better there generally and some nice yards up there.
As the land is clay and theres not a lot to go round, yards want to preserve summer grazing - nobody wants to have horses in for 12 hours all year round. Also, tbh where you have a trash paddock in winter anything generally out for an hour spends most of the time hanging out at the gate waiting to come in, or possibly squabbling over hay if theres any out.
 
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Surbie

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I'd definitely send the youngster away. And personally I wouldn't keep my horse anywhere that won't offer guaranteed turnout for most of winter - daytime at the minimum.
The yard next door is a 'weather permitting' one. Their fields were shut for 5 months last winter/spring.
I have amazing, unrestricted turnout where I am, tho on clay. It's further away from me than many other yards (I do circa 12,000m/year to visit twice a day) but it's worth it. The only thing I might consider a move for really is track livery, but I don't know of anywhere round me that does it.
 

Tihamandturkey

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Restricted winter turnout is becoming more & more common here in Ireland too ?

I'm lucky as on my small yard we get 24/7 in spring summer & autumn depending on grass growth & in winter they are out for at least 7 hours unless there is a red weather warning - the yard has a lot of acres of pasture so they are able to sacrifice fields.
 
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