winter turnout in livery

[horsesatemymoney]

How much is acceptable and what would u not be happy with?

I'm all for common sense but increasingly yards seem to want them in most of winter which I think is cruel....maybe it's just me though!

 

[Mongoose11]

I wouldn't be happy with less than 6 hours a day and would move if I couldn't get it. If they haven't got the land to allow winter turnout then they should have fewer liveries.....

 

[evj]

During winter if I turn out he'll be out at 7.30 and in at 5. If yo turns out it'll be more like 10. It's important for him to be,out as much as possible as his stifle sticks plus his stable isn't his favorite,place tbg.

 

[noblesteed]

There seems to be a real shortage of yards with winter turnout round here. Most places can only guarantee an hour! I also find YOs will be overly optimistic when asked about how much turnout they will get, and then when it gets muddy just keep them in or close all fields but one. Which is why my horse is on a farm with no facilities but he loves it as he can stay out as long as he likes in winter!

 

[pookie]

This is one of the reasons I plumped for grass livery Turn out is just too important to me.

 

[WestCoast]

I saw one lovely livery - would have been perfect, but winter turnout was 4 hours alternate days. You'd end up with a completely unrideable stir crazy horse on that.

Paula

 

[chestnut cob]

I have two horses. The big older horse (17yo) has arthritis and my YO is great about him staying out. He comes in during the day all year round - in summer he sometimes struggles a bit on hard ground so he comes in for a rest, and in winter he comes in to have a break from wet ground. He's out with 2 other older horses who are out 24/7. This regime works for him although TBH all he does when it's cold and wet is stand around anyway so he might as well stay in!

My young horse will be on the same regime as most of the other horses at the yard in winter. ATM he's out overnight but he'll come in at night in winter and go out during the day. YO does keep them in when the ground is really wet but TBH he's quite happy in anyway. When they do go out, they get a few hours. He'll be working hard - hunting at least fortnightly if not more often plus loads of hacking to keep him fit enough. It isn't as though he's going to be standing in 24/7 with his only work being an amble around the block.

 

[M_G]

There seems to be a real shortage of yards with winter turnout round here. Most places can only guarantee an hour! I also find YOs will be overly optimistic when asked about how much turnout they will get, and then when it gets muddy just keep them in or close all fields but one. Which is why my horse is on a farm with no facilities but he loves it as he can stay out as long as he likes in winter!

^^^ this & I too have move to a yard with no facilities (well I have stable, tack room, leccy & water) but my boys can stay out as much as they like and we have a field shelter

 

[Chestersmummy]

My yo uses common sense. If its really really wet horses stay in, but she leaves it up to the liveries to decide. If the weather takes a turn during the day she'll bring the horses in.

 

[Queenbee]

Really lucky down here, most of the yards are 24/7 turnout in summer and day turnout in the winter. Where I am now we have night time turnout in the summer and daytime turnout in the winter, (daytime being 7.30 to 5.30) I really like this as it provides a really good routine for my youngster.

 

[monkeybum13]

YO keeps them in if they fields are really, really wet. Horses are happy in munching hay and having a floodlit arena means the horses can be exercised regardless of the weather/time of day.

I much prefer this to yards which offer 'all year turnout' which in reality means the horses are stood in thick mud all day (with nothing to eat all day) because there's not enough land for the volume of horses.

 

[pookie]

Monkeybum13, I think that depends on the individual yard. Mine has well draining old pasture (the mud has been minimal despite the rain this year and only around a few gates), hay and haylage is fed ad lib over winter and horses are kept in small groups the fields can more than handle. I agree a lot of places do it badly though.

 

[Boxers]

It depends on the land too though. Our yard is on clay and the fields are awash in the wet weather. During the winter (end Oct to April/May) all the horses live in and we use 4 small paddocks for turnout, these do become muddy though. There are 9 horses on the yard. They get about 2 hours out each per day. My horse is ridden on 5 days per week. The horses get used to it. It's not ideal but it's down to routine I think. The horses know what time they have their breakfast, they know when it's time to come in and they know when their owners will turn up and what time is tea time.

As I said it's not ideal, but the yard is next door to my house, and has great facilities and off road hacking which in my opinion outweigh the lack of winter turnout.

 

[RunToEarth]

There seem to be a lot of yards offering really crap turn out hours, I don't know how some of you cope. I'm at home, aim to have ours out 8-6 each day, I managed last winter with having to stand them in for just two days, if they don't get their turn out they do become a pain to exercise.

 

[Starzaan]

Most of my liveries are out 24/7 all summer, and then I turn out at 7am at the latest in winter, and bring in at 6pm at the earliest. Ideally I like them to get twelve hours a day in the field.
If I couldn't offer proper turnout, I wouldn't run a yard. I have a couple who live out all year, and that is important to me too. I like liveries to know that if for any reason their horse needed to be turned away, it could stay with me.

 

[Mossi]

Most of my liveries are out 24/7 all summer, and then I turn out at 7am at the latest in winter, and bring in at 6pm at the earliest. Ideally I like them to get twelve hours a day in the field.
If I couldn't offer proper turnout, I wouldn't run a yard. I have a couple who live out all year, and that is important to me too. I like liveries to know that if for any reason their horse needed to be turned away, it could stay with me.

LIKE IT!

 

[spotty_pony]

My boy gets approx 3-4 hours turnout per day throughout the winter and does fine on this - he actually is waiting to come back in after about three hours! Our soil is all clay around here and gets really boggy when it's really wet so turnout has to be limited to save the fields. There are days when we have no turnout at all but he gets out of his stable everyday whatever as we have a horse walker and I ride him 4-5 times per week. It really is personal opinion but our yard has around 30 horses on it and all of them are fine throughout the winter with limited turnout.

 

[Mossi]

I know this thread last had a post in August, but I found it when searching winter turnout.

I'm on a farm/livery yard with over 100 acres and they are expanding. Currently there are only 12 horses and we have gone from more or less all year 24/7 turnout to turnout restricted to alternate days, six going out one day and the other six the following day and so on. This means that if my horse goes out on his alternate days, he will be spending around 8 hours out, but 40 hours in - gutted gutted - this place has huge amounts of land and even though it is also used for cattle and haylage I'm sure it could be managed so that all horse get winter turnout every day for at least a few hours, which would be so much better for their health - and ours! I've moved numerous times looking for good turnout and the bubble always bursts eventually.

 

[shannonandtay]

Most of my liveries are out 24/7 all summer, and then I turn out at 7am at the latest in winter, and bring in at 6pm at the earliest. Ideally I like them to get twelve hours a day in the field.
If I couldn't offer proper turnout, I wouldn't run a yard. I have a couple who live out all year, and that is important to me too. I like liveries to know that if for any reason their horse needed to be turned away, it could stay with me.

I wish I was at your yard, our fields are closed due to the bad weather

 

[horsesatemymoney]

I know this thread last had a post in August, but I found it when searching winter turnout.

I'm on a farm/livery yard with over 100 acres and they are expanding. Currently there are only 12 horses and we have gone from more or less all year 24/7 turnout to turnout restricted to alternate days, six going out one day and the other six the following day and so on. This means that if my horse goes out on his alternate days, he will be spending around 8 hours out, but 40 hours in - gutted gutted - this place has huge amounts of land and even though it is also used for cattle and haylage I'm sure it could be managed so that all horse get winter turnout every day for at least a few hours, which would be so much better for their health - and ours! I've moved numerous times looking for good turnout and the bubble always bursts eventually.

That's not good- do you mean expandind as in taking more liveries in?

 

[Mossi]

That's not good- do you mean expandind as in taking more liveries in?

Hi, Yes, but there will only be 17 maximum, unless they build more stables in the future, but there are no immediate plans to. The land is hilly, so even though we get some mud, the horses can still get away from it uphill. Most of us are unhappy with the the new restricted turnout plans, because as I said, they will be in for about 40 hours alternating with approximately 8 hours out and noone seems to have considered what to do with them whilst mucking out as there aren't enough tie up rings.

 

[Misog2000]

My yard sometimes has no winter turnout bar a small paddock for the 'sick' horses (a couple with COPD or severe arthritis that can't stand in) it depends on the weather. Fields are still open at the moment, but they are pretty grim so I can see them getting closed soon.

I live in quite a built up area, on clay soil so nowhere around here seems to have all year turnout, we have 30 odd horses on my yard and they all seem to cope ok. My girl gets lunged in the morning and ridden at night and this keeps her perfectly sane.

It's not ideal, but unfortunately sometimes the area you live dictates how it is possible to keep your horse. There is definitely no where within a sensible distance that offers all year herd turnout (my horse would rather be in, than out on her own) with any kind of facilities and as I work full time a flood lit school is a must.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I feel very strongly that if yards don't have enough land to give proper winter turnout (a few hours per day), then they should have an all weather turnout pen/corral.

 

[kty82]

I was on a yard few months ago, YO said it was ayto, failed to tell me if it rained she dosent let them out. Madness!! I left within 2 weeks. My mare is now happy as larry at her new yard where she goes out whatever the weather!

 

[Mossi]

I was on a yard few months ago, YO said it was ayto, failed to tell me if it rained she dosent let them out. Madness!! I left within 2 weeks. My mare is now happy as larry at her new yard where she goes out whatever the weather!

Good for you (and your mare)

 

[maisie06]

We are very lucky and can have as much or as little as we like!

 

[FRESHMAN]

I seriously just do not get this winter T/O debate with regards to one size fits all. Does no one here have the type of horse that they actually work every day? & I say work, not ride every day. I have said it before & I will say it again. Any of my horses will happily stay in the stable from approx Oct till Spring. Even then, they do not want to stay out for more than a few hrs at a time. Do HHO horses not get mud rash etc? & before anyone suggests otherwise mine are all happy & contented, no vices, & do a job well. Maybe it's horses for courses.

 

[Jools1234]

where i am all horses can be turned out everyday whatever the weather-its at the owners discression. i provide full livery where they can live out with mine and come in for 2-6hrs daily mares only currently though. its cheap too i started doing it cos i wanted my youngster out all yr round-cant abide them standing in, its not how theywere designed to live

 

[Goldenstar]

I seriously just do not get this winter T/O debate with regards to one size fits all. Does no one here have the type of horse that they actually work every day? & I say work, not ride every day. I have said it before & I will say it again. Any of my horses will happily stay in the stable from approx Oct till Spring. Even then, they do not want to stay out for more than a few hrs at a time. Do HHO horses not get mud rash etc? & before anyone suggests otherwise mine are all happy & contented, no vices, & do a job well. Maybe it's horses for courses.

Well with horses one size never fits all.
My horses work and are 'busy' going here and there but I don't work so horses is what I do people who work full time and have some life away from horses struggle to work horses every day and need turnout.
I turn mine out for a few hours each day but sometimes they stay in after work like last Monday it was pouring really pouring so why turn out.I rode out then kept them in.
I have no truck with horses that won't stay in stables when they come here they just have to learn that sometimes you don't get in the field.
My only exception to this is Youngstock who I feel ought to be turned out daily whatever.

 

[FRESHMAN]

I accept that youngstock is my exception to the rule. Although even they are getting a bit miffed when chucked out on a bad day. Plus every injury my horses have is due to being out in field when they do not really want to be.