Will he be OK?

[bex1984]

Sorry...this is one of those really annoying "worrying owner" type of posts!!!

I'm thinking about turning Murphy out 24/7 from today. The weather forecast looks OK for the next week (once he's out I don't want to have to start brining him back in).

He moved fields over the course of last week, and is now out with a herd of about 20 ponies. So far, he has no friends and is right at the bottom of the pecking order. they have a small amount of hay in the field at night at the mo (spread in to more piles than there are ponies) Will he be OK out 24/7 with them?

What do I do about rugs? Up to now he has been in naked (for the past week) at night and out in a LW during the day...should I change to his LW at night and naked in the day? I really want him naked 24/7 soon if poss, as it's a 10 mile round trip just to take a rug off in the morning!!

Any advice/reassurance/kicks up the backside to stop me being such a worrier?!

 

[kate081]

He'll be fine out. Mine went out last weekend & stayed out this weekend in the rain. One is without rug 24/7 as she's not been clipped & the other has a rug overnight as she had a trace clip. By May I'd expect them to both be without rugs. If they can run around & have food they'll stay warm. He'll soon fit in esp if he's out 24/7.

 

[AmyMay]

I would be cautious about having him out 24/7 if they are fed hay at night only.

If he is at the bottom of the pecking order this is when the most trouble is likely to occur.

As for rugs - rug him at night in appropriately weighted rugs according to the weather.

 

[bex1984]

I am a bit worried about the hay but they are all usually fine as there's a lot more piles of hay than there are ponies

and at some point he is going to be out there when they're fed the hay anyway as they get it in the early evening...

Not sure what an appropriate weight of rug is at the moment? He was fully clipped but has got quite a bit of summer coat, and I don't want to keep him too warm because he still needs to lose weight, but don't want him cold and miserable

ETS: the thickest rug he's worn all winter (fully clipped) has been a MW, he does stay really warm, just not sure when it is warm enough to leave him nekkers.

 

[lexiedhb]

My share WB and his girlfriend ID x were out 24/7 only coming back in at night in the worst of the weather....... both only had MW on at night and were toasty... I suspect your boy would be fine out at night in a LW....... so nice that they can start going out again!!

 

[bex1984]

Ok, I think I'll put him out tonight in a LW and take it off tomorrow morning. I think I might be able to be around tonight when they put the hay out - or if I'm not there and there's any probs I'm sure YO will phone me - I'll leave his stable ready so he can come in if necessary....

Fingers crossed he'll be OK...he's usually fairly easy going!

 

[Archie07]

Mine has been out 24/7 since birth and he's survived so far

! He is naked now even if it starts raining again. As for the hay situation Arch was at the bottom of the pecking order in his 'herd' but still managed to get enough hay. As you say if there's enough out there then he should be fine, plus the grass should start growing up soon if not already! Try not to worry, he's a horse after all and he may even enjoy running free 24/7 naked with a load of other ponies

!

 

[bex1984]

Thanks, you're right I do need to stop worrying. TBH I'm not too worried if he doesn't get much of the hay, there's enough grass out there to keep him going and he's in that field to lose weight anyway!! He is always bottom of the pecking order bless him, he's such a wimp, if anyone makes a nasty face at him he scuttles away....

 

[HorseS0S]

Ours are out in the evenings as much as possible throughout the year. It is really good for them. It helps with loads of stuff especially fitness cos they are walking around all the time.

Some days they will need rugs, and i would think all nights. Check the weather forecast, a really specific and reliable one is on Farmers Weekly, fwi.co.uk you can programme it to your village or town and everytime you access the site YOUR weather forecast comes up! Quite cool!

From your photos, he looks like if he needed to he will defend himself and animals tke very little time to sort out pekig orders, he will be fine. Good luck catching him if he is enjoying himself too much...xxx