Winter turnout

[holeymoley]

How much turnout time would you expect during the Winter? What do you think is acceptable? I know we are having a LOT of rainfall but I’m really getting a bit frustrated with things.

At a livery yard which once prided(is that a word?!) itself in having Winter turnout for the welfare of the horse. A couple of years later, now going a bit against the tradition as overstocked. Just feeling a bit ‘meh’ about the whole place at the moment, the cons really outweigh the pros at the moment.

 

[Red-1]

Mine is out from 6am until 4pm if not working, but I am equally happy with 6 hours as long as he is doing something every other day. 4 hours is OK if he is also working that day.

Mine is all weather turnout in winter. It is only 30m X 30m, with a shelter. Even though I would say that he is 'not working' ATM, I am still walking out in hand a few times a week for some interest.

Rigs has indoor/outdoor access 24/7. The space is smaller, maybe 12m X 30m. He too is walking out a few times a week for interest.

For horses doing nothing else at all, I think they need more than my all weather turnouts can provide. I was at a livery yard before, where all horses were out together in winter for 8 hours a day on a steep hillside on about 4 acres. There were numerous injuries (kicks etc) but I was happy that my horse didn't need additional work to stay healthy (apart from the injuries!). I prefer my system of all weather and walking out.

 

[ycbm]

A question dear to my heart. I've recently moved to get a guarantee of turnout. The yard has c. 35 horses and 50 acres. The yard I came from had over 200 horses, shortly to be another barnful more (with paddocks taken away from existing barns), and probably about the same acreage. There has already been one day when nothing from the barn I was in was turned out due to rain, even though the sun shone all afternoon. I've given up superb facilities and I am very sad at having to box up to get off a dangerous road to hack, but my horse is out in about 4 acres in a small herd for 8 hours, which is likely to drop to c.5 hours if the winter is wet. This level of turnout, never mind in that size field in company, is very difficult to find locally and makes the loss of the farm ride on my doorstep worthwhile.

4 hours every day in winter, except the occasional horrendous day, is the least I will be happy with, and if/when it goes down to that I will be making more effort to walk him out round a short track or in an arena. There will be full time out or he will be in for a few hours in the day in summer.
.

 

[Highmileagecob]

We can turn out for as long as we like in winter, but it is turn out not grazing. Enough to keep them busy but definitely not overnight quality. We tend to put them out for around six hours a day, by which time they have had enough and are all round the gate waiting to come in.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I am able to turn out for as long as I like but find my boys are happy with 6 hours. It also keeps my field in better shape. I would be happy with anything between 2 and 6 hours daily.

 

[Carrottom]

About 4 hours a day grazing, an extra hour if not ridden. If the weather is terrible he is turned out as usual but if he starts shouting after a hour or so the yard owner will bring him in.

 

[Peglo]

Mine are out at 6am and come in at 8pm. Big field although pretty wet in places and they meet up with their pals who are stabled at the other side of the field.
One of mine is 31 though so I don’t want her in too long. I would stable them longer in bad weather when she was younger

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Turnout is important for one of mine as he has hock arthritis and they are out from 4pm to 7am on about 2 1/2 acres. He improved considerably out 24/7 all summer so unless we have torrential rain they will stay out overnight all winter.

 

[Starzaan]

If I couldn’t offer turnout, all day, every day, no matter what the weather is doing, all winter, I would not have horses and I wouldn’t have liveries. I still stick to the ‘2 acres per horse’ rule, which appears to have been totally disregarded by most yard owners.

I am absolutely appalled by how many places think it’s acceptable to just keep horses in all winter.

 

[Jango]

4hours minimal in normal winter weather. I don't mind if they can't go out in actual storms/snow/ice, but normal rain shouldn't mean they are stuck in!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Mine are out over night with hay but they have had a few nights in when rain is torrential, they come in for a few hours to be ridden or if weather is bad but apart from that I try to keep them out as much as possible.

 

[Bernster]

It’s never great tbh. Yards I know of around the Herts area that are full livery do tend to turnout most days in winter, but not for that long really. Current yard is probably around 5 hours which I’d say is fairly standard. I’d like more but it’s about as good as possible. (Although as an exc mine are out all the time but only for medical reasons for one, which will be temporary.)

 

[AmyMay]

They were always out for a minimum of six hours.

 

[holeymoley]

Thanks it’s useful to hear what others get. So ours get 4-5hours max monday-friday. Which means they are in approx 19hours a day unless ridden etc. We are not allowed to lunge. We can’t hack/walk in hand unless we have at least an hour to spare and are happy to go on a busy road- so realistically hacking is restricted to the weekend or the mornings if you work shift patterns, as can’t hack in the dark. Arena is available for use but I personally feel that it is an unsuitable surface as very deep and uneven all round and floods in wet spells. Weekends allow for an extra hour/2hours turnout (but then not sure if they actually do as they get turned out later!)but have a very strict rule of the must be in by x oclock which is quite restrictive. So realistically Sunday night in to Monday is the lesser time spent in the stable with them having 17/18hours in. There’s also talk of them being in 2 days a week.

Do I suck it up or seek elsewhere?

 

[Starzaan]

Thanks it’s useful to hear what others get. So ours get 4-5hours max monday-friday. Which means they are in approx 19hours a day unless ridden etc. We are not allowed to lunge. We can’t hack/walk in hand unless we have at least an hour to spare and are happy to go on a busy road- so realistically hacking is restricted to the weekend or the mornings if you work shift patterns, as can’t hack in the dark. Arena is available for use but I personally feel that it is an unsuitable surface as very deep and uneven all round and floods in wet spells. Weekends allow for an extra hour/2hours turnout (but then not sure if they actually do as they get turned out later!)but have a very strict rule of the must be in by x oclock which is quite restrictive. So realistically Sunday night in to Monday is the lesser time spent in the stable with them having 17/18hours in. There’s also talk of them being in 2 days a week.

Do I suck it up or seek elsewhere?

That would be unacceptable for me. I would be moving asap to somewhere offering proper turnout.

 

[First Frost]

Mine are out of their stables for 10 hours a day in winter. In the morning they go in their all weather turnout pen with hay, during this time they are also ridden. They then go out in the field for about 5 hours in the afternoon. If the weather is grim they stay in their all weather pen as it has shelter. My older boy would happily stay in the all weather area all winter, but the younger two like a chance to gallop and roll in the mud!
unfortunately their all weather pen and their fields are not attached due to a public footpath. sadly this means they can't have free access. in the summer they are out at night and in their pen during the day. they are not stabled at all in the summer.

 

[Bernster]

Hmm, that set up doesn’t sounds great tbh together with the limited turnout.

 

[Surbie]

I'd look to see if you can find somewhere else.

I turn mine out between 5-6am and get in 4-5pm, so the minimum he has out is 10 hours. I am very lucky with the yard I am on, it isn't overstocked,the fields are big and the grazing is still holding up with the wet, even though we are on clay. The liveries (I'm DIY) get 8 hours, no matter what the weather.

With that little turnout, your additional issues of not being able to lunge and the arena surface being poor would be enough for me t look for somewhere else. Keeping in 2 days a week would push me over the edge.

 

[Winters100]

Thanks it’s useful to hear what others get. So ours get 4-5hours max monday-friday. Which means they are in approx 19hours a day unless ridden etc. We are not allowed to lunge. We can’t hack/walk in hand unless we have at least an hour to spare and are happy to go on a busy road- so realistically hacking is restricted to the weekend or the mornings if you work shift patterns, as can’t hack in the dark. Arena is available for use but I personally feel that it is an unsuitable surface as very deep and uneven all round and floods in wet spells. Weekends allow for an extra hour/2hours turnout (but then not sure if they actually do as they get turned out later!)but have a very strict rule of the must be in by x oclock which is quite restrictive. So realistically Sunday night in to Monday is the lesser time spent in the stable with them having 17/18hours in. There’s also talk of them being in 2 days a week.

Do I suck it up or seek elsewhere?

I am afraid I would definitely be looking for somewhere else. Ours get turned out at 6am, currently in their boxes at 4pm, but this moves to 3pm in the worst part of winter. For my 3 I have a small 'holding paddock' of about 1500 sq m, which leads into their turnout field of 2.5 hectares (about 6.2 acres). The holding paddock gets quite wet, but the main field is on a slope, so always dry higher up.

The one thing I would say is that where I live land is considerably cheaper than the UK, as is labour, but livery costs are about the same. I do wonder whether the economics of the situation has led to yards having to have so many horses in a small space.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Thanks it’s useful to hear what others get. So ours get 4-5hours max monday-friday. Which means they are in approx 19hours a day unless ridden etc. We are not allowed to lunge. We can’t hack/walk in hand unless we have at least an hour to spare and are happy to go on a busy road- so realistically hacking is restricted to the weekend or the mornings if you work shift patterns, as can’t hack in the dark. Arena is available for use but I personally feel that it is an unsuitable surface as very deep and uneven all round and floods in wet spells. Weekends allow for an extra hour/2hours turnout (but then not sure if they actually do as they get turned out later!)but have a very strict rule of the must be in by x oclock which is quite restrictive. So realistically Sunday night in to Monday is the lesser time spent in the stable with them having 17/18hours in. There’s also talk of them being in 2 days a week.

Do I suck it up or seek elsewhere?

I would look elsewhere it sounds like the place is not suiting you anymore, why can't you lunge strange rule?

 

[Esmae]

Ours are out every day and in at night. Winter fields are for the winter and we accept that they get trashed and then rested and looked after over the summer.

 

[DizzyDoughnut]

I moved to a yard with brilliant facilities at the end of last winter, the turnout was much worse than they made out when I went to look round. They were in everytime it so much as drizzled and then in at least another 2 days for the fields to dry out and then on the 2nd day it would rain again and so it would go on. We moved within a month to a yard with no fancy facilities but with brilliant turnout in nice fields with hills and hedges etc. My ponies are happy and with the hills to walk up and down all day my old pony is looking the best he has for ages.

At the yard with good facilities they have been in continously for over a month already this winter. They have about 20 horses on about 9 acres, they actually have about 100 acres but won't use any more for the horses, it's mainly used for growing hay. I couldn't keep mine like that just so that I had a big school and off road hacking, what's the point of having nice things for me at the expense of my ponies being miserable. If I had no choice but to keep them like that I would rather sell them to someone that could give them what they need.
Instead I'm buying a trailer so I can take them out to good hacking and then we're all happy.

 

[HashRouge]

I'm a bit twitchy on this subject, as I'm due to move mine very shortly to a new yard! We have excellent turnout where we currently are - basically, 24/7 if I want it, but I do have stables so can give them a break from the rain/ mud as and when needed. New yard is one I was at before, but when it was owned by someone else. They technically have excellent winter turnout but it's the current owner's first winter there, so I don't know how she will run/ manage it. She was very pro-turnout when I spoke to her and went to look around, and they were still all living out at the end of October. She was planning to start daytime turnout after Bonfire Night. The winter paddocks had been well rested and, in her own words, "we have plenty of acreage to expand into if needed" (she has around 100 acres). But it is always hard to know when moving somewhere new with a YO who is an unknown quantity! The one thing I am reassuring myself over is that we won't be moving until mid-December, so winter will be partway over, and I can always look for somewhere else if needed. I've also got my name down at a friend's track livery, which would be great, but it doesn't get spaces that often and I would need two. Fingers crossed!

FWIW I agree with Starzaan - the big problem is yard owners massively over-stocking their grazing. This is another thing that reassures me about new yard - that YO can have maximum of 16 horses including mine, and one is a Shetland. She doesn't have any more stables so, in theory, can't overstock her land!

ETA I am only moving as relocating to a different part of the country!

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

We don’t have any restrictions at the moment at least apart from no night turn out from 1st October to 1st April. Mine has 7-9 hours a day unless it’s really pants. On really awful days often as long as they’ve gone out for a few hours they settle quite well. Mine is also ridden/ exercised at least 5 days a week.

I’d really want a minimum of 6 hrs a day and preferably 8.

 

[Flame_]

My horses are in at night and I let them out in the morning for about 8 hours unless 1) It's raining and forecast to carry on raining, 2) It rained so much the night before that there's a puddle (lake) in front of my stable, 3) Epic rainfall is forecast imminently.

If they stay in and the weather eventually improves I try to let them have an hour or two out in the late afternoon while I do jobs. The arab is perfectly happy in, the pony would rather be out but he has to suck it up for the sake of the state of the field and keeping arab dry-ish.

ETA, I can pretty much suit myself on shared private yard but field would be destroyed without some restriction.

 

[Caol Ila]

No lunging? That's an odd rule.

Ours can in theory go out around 0700 and stay out until 1900. In reality, I am putting them out around 0900, and if I want to ride in daylight, getting them in around 1400. If I'm not riding or just working in the school, they stay out until 1630/1700. I'd rather not look for horses in the dark! The full liveries go out about 0930 and come in at about 1500.

 

[saddlesore]

OP that sucks all round. Limited turnout, unsuitable school surface, no lunging and limited hacking options. Plus talks of further restricting the grazing you have. What does it actually have that suits your horse and you?

 

[Starzaan]

For those questioning the no lunging rule, it’s fairly common and lunging trashes a school surface. I don’t allow lunging in the school, but I have a lunge pen so there is still somewhere to do it. If I didn’t have a lunge pen I would allow lunging but with some pretty strict caveats to try and save the surface.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Thanks it’s useful to hear what others get. So ours get 4-5hours max monday-friday. Which means they are in approx 19hours a day unless ridden etc. We are not allowed to lunge. We can’t hack/walk in hand unless we have at least an hour to spare and are happy to go on a busy road- so realistically hacking is restricted to the weekend or the mornings if you work shift patterns, as can’t hack in the dark. Arena is available for use but I personally feel that it is an unsuitable surface as very deep and uneven all round and floods in wet spells. Weekends allow for an extra hour/2hours turnout (but then not sure if they actually do as they get turned out later!)but have a very strict rule of the must be in by x oclock which is quite restrictive. So realistically Sunday night in to Monday is the lesser time spent in the stable with them having 17/18hours in. There’s also talk of them being in 2 days a week.

Do I suck it up or seek elsewhere?

Go and see what else is out there. I definitely wouldnt like 19 hours in and also all weekend.
My turnout is different in winter than summer, I have my own field at the yard and so my winter turn out is just nest to it and is 1/5 of the size of my field id say. Because of all the rain it is starting to get a little boggy but I have another little field I can move him to so i can rest the one he is in. Although someone drove into my field the other day and took out the post!!!! Absolutely ridiculous! Thank goodness my horse was fine ?

 

[scats]

Mine normally go out 7am-5pm, but currently on 8am-4.30pm due to friends looking after them while I’m off my feet.
Turnout is important to me and my horses love it. They are eager to go out everyday but we do have good ground and far too much grass really. They are muzzled on their winter field at the moment.