Wintering out a horse for the first time

[scotsmare]

I might need to winter my 4yr old out this year - mainly a time issue and I figure that she's better out with a good rug and hay than standing in a messy bed waiting for a net to be filled. The livery yard she's at doesn't do winter turnout - only an hour in the school for a mooch which is fine for horses who are also being ridden but not ideal for a youngster.

Trouble is she's never wintered out before. How should I go about it and is it likely to be possible? She's WB x TB and doesn't grow much of a coat! She has been out in the field 24/7 for the last 3 weeks now and I've resisted all temptation to run out with a rug when it rains

She's still pretty chubby and looks happy enough!

Field in question doesn't have a man made shelter but does have bushes round 2 sides of the field. I could build a shelter / big fence for them to hide behind if necessary. (If the weather is v. v. bad I do have stables for them to come into).

Suggestions / tips??

 

[Booboos]

She might surprise you and be very happy living out. Mine went out in February this year (that includes a Hannoverian and a DWB both clipped) and really enjoyed themselves.

If you can change her rug if it gets soaked through and if the field has some shelter from the wind she should be perfectly fine.

 

[SONIC1704]

She'll be fine, just get good rugs and don't start rugging to early, mine is an arab and he's out 24/7, he enjoys it much more and is less stressy, I'll be clipping him this year too.

At the yard i'm at most the horses including this years foals, will be wintered out without rugs, only the eventers and hunters in hard work will be stabled everything else will be in a feild. Given Hay if its snowing.

We have shelter areas and lots of hills in the feild and they do ok with out feild shelters, your rugs will provid alot of added protection. My friend TB lives on the moors 27/7 they put a feild shelter up for the first time last year and in two days they found it in another feild and that was pined six feet down lol. So the feild shelter is personal choice but not a necessary.

If you can i normally don't put a rain sheet on intill mid to end oct and then my middle weight goes on around the end of Nov to Mid Dec depending on the weather. He only had three days in a heavy weight last year as he was sweating in it. By rugging latter they grow a thicker coat, his is getting thicker every year lol.

Hope this helps

 

[hellspells]

Keep doing what you are doing now and it won't come as a big shock to her. If you can build them some sort of shelter fab (probably more for your peace of mind though!!). Rug her appropriatley for the bad weather and she'll be fine!

 

[Rana]

She'll be fine

You shouldn't need to do anything really. Rug according to the weather, not the time of year. If she's moving fields, give her plenty of time to get used to her new field mates while there's plenty of grass - don't leave it until they might fight over hay. Otherwise, just leave her to it

A shelter might be nice for them, but more than likely they won't use it (mine never did!). Make sure you have good rugs that won't leak, and decent spares too (and some way of drying wet rugs - a spare stable or something to hang them in perhaps?). Wet and windy is worse for them than clear and cold. Make sure grazing is good, and/or supplement with hay if needed. Make sure there is a dry area for them to get out of the mud. Tuck any hay out of the wind (behind bushes etc) if weather is particularly blowy - it's surprising how much warmer it is! Resist the temptation to put hay in the field shelter if you put one up - tried that, hay didn't get eaten.

She'll probably grow more of a winter coat if she's wintering out anyway

Mine always used to be more fluffy when she had to winter out - now she's a pampered oldie, she doesn't grow a coat at all!

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Just make sure she has a couple of good rugs and plenty of hay/haylage and she will be fine

!! My friends TB has now lived out 24/7 for 5 years now - after 19 years of being a pampered stabled competition horse

. A couple of people here went to being out 24/7 last year - the horses did fine. The most important thing is to make sure she has plenty of hay - some here didn't increase the hay accordingly so they did drop weight - they were feeding the same as when they were stabled as they were trying to save money!!

One of the horses did a lot better as he is a real clingy stresshead - but it seems to have calmed him down. Last year we had 2 TB's, an arab and TB X who all lived out - obviously my little coblet has to be wrapped up in her cosy stable with her snug rug on......

 

[Honeypots]

My TB lived out for probably his first winter last year. He is in his teens and it was the worst winter for a long time what with all the snow etc. His field is very exposed on the side of a valley. He coped very well and came out of winter looking better than he went in.
Ad lib hay and warm rugs were the key...

 

[nicnag]

My very woosy 7/8th Tb lived out last year and was the happiest and fittest I've known her, she suprised me how much they didn't stay in the shelter which they had 24/7 access to. On the really nasty nights they often found the sheltered area in the field and would rather stay there rather than in the shed. I didn't clip and did have her in really good quality rugs and she was grand.

 

[scotsmare]

Hmmm, okay our field is quite exposed and we get fierce winds here in the winter as we're right on the coast (sea spray regularly lands in field

) which is the bit that worries me most (though this year I know not to buy rugs with elasticated leg straps

)

There will only be her and a yet to be found little buddy for company so fighting over grass shouldn't be an issue.

I can lay a load of hardcore for hard standing purposes. Not sure what to do with hay though - farmer normally dumps it over the fence and we kind of roll it to the middle

At least I've got a little while to sort it out

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Get a hayhutch - that way you know they always have access to hay and it won't get blown away.

www.hayhutch.co.uk

 

[scotsmare]

Slinky PMSL we had one of those last year - lasted two mins before it blew away - next door grew strawberries in it this year

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Bugger!!

Can you get a manger thing from a farm supplier or just put whole bales out at a time so they don't go without?

How were the strawberries??

 

[scotsmare]

I normally go for the round bale option - saves a whole load of faffing around and they always have hay

Apparently the strawberries were very good

 

[f_s_]

Get one of those metal mangers, and put hay/haylage in that. You can move it around so the ground doesn't get too poached.

Now, for the "I'm a bad mummy" bit......I had six last year and they lived out 24/7. They are not all native types either!!

Good quality rugs, and lots of adlib hay, plus two feeds a day, and they were all fine, through wind, rain, frost, and yes, snow!!

Now to contradict myself!!!

I will have to bring the big mare in this winter, ( I do have stables!) as she's getting a bit too old to winter out 24/7!! and needs her pyjamas on and her bedtime horlicks!!!

Other than that they'll be fine, as believe it or not, they are designed to withstand the weather!!!

I do understand your dilemma though, you always worry whether they will be alright or not!! I do the same!!

 

[saddlesore]

Mine is staying out this year too. I havent wintered a horse out for 15 years so i'm not sure how I'LL cope - the horse will probably be fine though!

 

[kellyeaton]

i have a fine t/b that lives out all the time as long is there is plenty of hay feed well and rugged they usually do fine!

 

[pottamus]

I wintered my lad out for the first time last year and although he is a native, he is a huge wuss when it comes to the cold. He did really well in just an old thinner than normal mw rug and hay ad lib. He has access to a field stable at all times although even in lashing wind and rain and then the deep snow...he was stood out in it by the hedge!

 

[Enfys]

Ad-lib hay and a shelter (dry footing) is what they need most of all, mine have shelters but prefer to just use the windbreak even in the worst blizzards and coldest of weather. Fortunately we don't have mud to contend with.
As I look at it, if they have food and protection in the form of a shelter (and a rug if it is horribly wet) they can then CHOOSE for themselves what they do and when they do it.
I refuse to feel guilty or rush out in -30C just because they are standing in a blizzard 10' from their cosy shelter looking miserable.

 

[ISHmad]

[ QUOTE ]
Mine is staying out this year too. I havent wintered a horse out for 15 years so i'm not sure how I'LL cope - the horse will probably be fine though!

[/ QUOTE ]

Same with me! Horses will be loving it, I'll be laying their awake when it's windy and raining.

I think with good rugs and somewhere to get out of the wind your horse will be fine OP. I'm more worried about mud fever so have been looking up udder cream, pig oil and sulphur, keratex mud shield powder and the like to try to work out which will be best.