winter in or out?

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jess31

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Not sure if I'm after a bit of reassurance or advise but I'm having a right stress over the winter. I am getting my horse back and when I went to see him yesterday found he is very happy at present living out, only had a rug on last night for the first time. He has a history for being a real pain to catch (4 hours of chasing about is perfectly normal for him), and is really naughty to turn out, (however does into lamb mode with a chiffney), I have found a great yard with a perfect paddock for him and very reasonable rates, half a mile from my house but winter rates are quite steep. He has never wintered out but when I went to see him he has put on a nice covering of weight and already has a good coat, do I try to winter him out this year with lots of rugs or is that just brutal? half of me says he'd love it but the other thinks he'd absolutely fall to pieces!! He's a 16 year old selle francais and as I said he has always lived in during winter and whilst competing, all year round, but I'm not convinced he likes coming in, he's only hacked out twice a week or taken in the school so is living a very relaxed lifestyle now. What would anyone else do in this situation? :)
 
I've always preferred to have mine out, and had several sport horse types who wintered out with full clips. As long as they have plenty of forage, and decent rugs, they cope just fine.
 
I would ggo for it but especislly if he is not clipped only rug according to what he actually needs rather than think he will have to have a lot of rugs. horses living out with no rugs can use their coats to self regulate their temperatures and will be able to move around more than a horse in a stable which helps to keep them warm as well. just make sure he has shelter and hay or haylage all the time and he should be fine
 
I'd be keeping him out. If you find he's not coping you can always bring him in then. If he's out through the winter, reliant on you for food, he'll maybe also become easier to catch.
 
Thank you, I think you are right, I'm just being a wetty!! I'm so soft, I love to see them all tucked in with huge banks and deep beds but I think that's because I'm a competition groom so all my work horses are already in two rugs in their stables lol!
He wont have a field shelter but there is lots or trees and bushes down one side?x
 
Gloi said:
I'd be keeping him out. If you find he's not coping you can always bring him in then. If he's out through the winter, reliant on you for food, he'll maybe also become easier to catch.
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That's a very good point, he'd prob appreciate seeing me a lot more If I was laden with hay and feed! xx
 
I would winter out too. When I made the switch mine loved it and so did I as it was far less work and more time to ride. They keep themselves warmer too being able to move around.
 
I would winter out too but then I am infamous for hating to see excessive stabling. With rugging you really need to make sure he is warm so personally I would try without until the temperature drops a lot more or it gets very wet as his coat will come through fully and I also dont use lightweights in cold weather as they flatten the coat without adding back the extra warmth from the filling. So always in my opinion go from no rug to a medium to a heavy as per the weather and never ever go more than one rug of the appropriate weight he wont need to be carrying the weight of half a dozen rugs around 24/7
 
Scarlett said:
I think you'd be mad to bring him in now....! As long as he has shelter and you make sure he gets plenty of forage he'll be fine...! If you leave him unclipped then be careful you don't over rug him, that can do more harm than good. This is interesting...

http://www.academialiberti.de/en/articles/read/11/Thermoregulation-in-horses-in-a-cold-time-of-year/
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That was a brilliant read, thank you very much for that, starting to feel a bit more happy about it all now I think. thanks guys :) x
 
jess31 said:
do I try to winter him out this year with lots of rugs or is that just brutal? half of me says he'd love it but the other thinks he'd absolutely fall to pieces!!
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Why on earth would he fall to pieces?! He's a horse, they're designed to live outside no matter what the breed! All mine have lived out 24/7 all year round and we get pretty bad winters up here, and thats included warmbloods, anglo arabs etc. and even my Luso x TB who was imported from sunny Portugal winters out in our Scottish winters ;) And he's been hunter clipped some years if Ive been competing as well! Rug up, feed well and give shelter - thats all they need and he will be much happier for it.
 
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