Wintering out - your opinions and experiences please

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Skilgariff

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Hi

I am considering moving my mare to grass livery from April onwards just through circumstances. There would be a possibility that she would go on to winter out. She is a very good doer and possibly has been spoiled over past wee while due to injuries and been in more than she would probably have liked.

I would just like to hear peoples views on this and experiences of people who do winter out. When i first bought her she was out 24/7.
 
Up until this year, my horse wintered out every year. It is only because a) of the extreme snow and cold and b) nobody else left their out so he would have had no company, that I brought him in.
Good doers generally do well out 24/7, and as she has previously been kept out before, I can't see it would be a problem.
Make sure that you have enough rugs for her, and a variety of ranges, so that if you find she feels the cold you can rug her accordingly, although I have to say very few good doers feel the cold much, hence why they can keep the weight on!
Be prepared to feed as much hay as in necessary, in times like this where the ground is covered in snow/ice/frost, you may have to feed more hay than when stabled to help them keep warm.
Make sure they have company, and company they are happy with. It's all very well having another pony out with them, but if they don't like said pony and all their mates are inside they won't settle, trust me, I speak from experience!
I love my horse living out, it is only due to the circumstances that he is in for the first time over winter aged 9, I hope he will be back out next year all winter.
 
My old pony wintered out last year... he was fine... just feed hay as needed and dont forget about breaking the ice on the trough...
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it depends hugely on the soil type. on clay it is disastrous, no way of avoiding horses standing in disgusting bog. on sandstone or similar it can be fine.
certain places seem to have the bacteria that cause mudfever, others don't. horses that are supposedly 'prone to it' sometimes don't get it at all at another yard. this is well worth bearing in mind... it is an utter nightmare for horse and keeper, can be very costly too.
if you have the right soil type, ideally shelters (even though they'll often ignore the shelter and stand outside in a rainstorm etc, at least it's by choice so you don't have to feel guilty!), excellent rugs that can be left on 24/7 and never leak or rub (FAL high-necked are my choice for this), and a way of feeding hay or haylage without the horses dragging it through the mud and wasting 1/2 of it, it is fantastic to winter them out... happy horses!
 
Both mine are out 24/7. one is fully clipped. The horse`s are happier and I`m more relaxed I have to feed more hay and food but it out weighs stable and bedding cost`s. My Old boy has arthritis in his hip and I`m sure beening out and walking freely is better than a 12 x 12 stable. I muck the field out every day but if the weather is bad I don`t not like a stable that has to be done. Invest in lots of rugs and good luck. x x
 
Most of mine winter out and have done for a few years now. I would say most horses cope really well with it, although some (especially oldies) don't do so well. I have found having at least 2 really good (not necessarily really thick) full neck rugs per horse very helpful. Although I do have one that does the whole winter in a lightweight rug. The mechanics of getting plenty of hay and water into the field in this weather is a real headache but depends on your setup. I also like to have a stable ready for emergencies (hoof abscesses etc.). They do have a shelter but hardly use it in the winter, more in the summer. They seem really happy and obviously you do save time and money on bedding.
 
Thanks for replies. The yard owners check the herd twice a day and put out haylage then for them. The field has a river running through and she would actually being going back with an old friend of hers (they were inseperable before).. she does not need much rugging in winter as it is. This could be a goer! Do you think your horses are happier being out I worry that I will feel guilty if weather is rubbish and she is not tucked up.
 
When we bought my pony Tally she lived out all year but she slowly became a true competition pony and so started to come in at night for ease. She spent five years living in at night during her working life but when she retired I thought it would be nicer for her to be out and moving as she'd got stiff. We put her out in late April with a little friend and she coped fine. That was three years ago and she hasn't been in since. She's much happier out and is now nannying my youngster.
You need to consider your horse but if she's a good doer and has previously lived out then providing you have a decent field (good ground and at least natural shelter) then it shouldn't be a problem. I certainly find my mare is less stiff.
 
I don't understand why people WOULDN'T winter their horses out if facilities allowed?

It's only a human thought of 'tucking up in bed' - horses aren't nesting animals.

As long as she's got enough to eat and decent shelter (plus suitable rugging) she is going to be so much happier out with her friends than stuck in a boring box all by herself.
 
Out of choice I would always have mine out 24/7 x 365. I've done it with old ones, young ones and working ones. Even my friends nearly 30 yr old TB ex chaser lives out, just needs plenty hay and a couple of good feeds a day - she is rugged once it starts getting cold and wet, just cold and she's still out nekkid!......I think it's contributed to her longevity!

What you do need is a field that's big enough and it has to be well sheltered and drained.

To give you an idea the field my youngsters are in is about 20 acres...and there are 5 horses on there. No poaching anywhere.

I go up twice a day to feed. The YO's sort out the water and as yet even in the snow they are looking well enough not to need supplementary hay / haylage as they have plenty enough grazing
 
With plenty of forage most horse will cope fine.
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I have 6 living out 24/7/365 ranging from a shettie to a tb type. The tb spent his first winter out last year and came out looking better than he went into it.
Better that than stuck in a box they can only just turn round in
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I used to share a 17.2 TB who lived out and was fine. He had a Shettie companion - hey were the tallest and smallest on the yard - she used to reverse underneath him when it was wet so his rug covered her too :-) The field did get a bit muddy but was sheltered and also had a field shelter though blue would only go in it if the shettie did! They were both fed and hayed twice a day - he had a heavyweight TO and an underrug with a neck and was fine.

On the other hand my Sec D who *should* live out quite happily is shouting at the gate by 2pm to be brought in!
 
Both of mine winter out, one naked and one with a light weight waterproof rug. Both seem very happy with the situation, I just make sure they get loads of hay if it gets really cold.
 
My mare wintered out the majority of her life, as with all our other horses. We lived in deepest wales high up in the hills and had some bloody awful weather. The weather did not affect any of them. Only the stallion got a bit of mild rainscald one year, not exactly major.
They were all very happy out. I think as long as horses have sufficient food and ideally a hedge they are fine.

Ours lived out unrugged also, rugs were a rare sight back in the early to mid nineties in wales I can assure you.
What with these full neck rugs now covering them from head to toe almost they are perfectly well set up to live out in them in alot of cases in my opinion.
 
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What you do need is a field that's big enough and it has to be well sheltered and drained.



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Well actually, No, you don't.

I have all my horses, in various small groups in winter paddocks of not more than 1.5acres. My advantage over the UK's milder (generally
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) winter is that I just do not get mud, you get about 90% more rain than I do in the winter months, so that has a very real bearing on horse and land management.


There is absolutely no point whatsoever in me giving them more, the ground is frozen solid, no grass and anyway the snow stays until March at the earliest, the horses mooch from hay piles, to trough to shelter when and if they feel like it.

In the UK, then yes, everything depends on numbers (I agree, more space, less poaching) and the ground conditions.

I am pro keeping horses out, IF they are happy, healthy and thriving, I keep mine out because, although I have stabling, I am too idle to bring in, turn out, muck out, be tied to the clock blah, blah, blah. Each to their own.

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Our 13 live out 24/7, our TB has been in a few weeks as he was losing weight but has just started to refuse to come in (mad boy, its freezing!) he is just double rugged. We are feeding big bales in the field and tbh it is the happiest I have ever seen them. They are quite happy stuffing their faces and warm enough because they have enough to eat with rugs for those who need them. The TB is double rugged because he is very fine but the others just have HW or MW depending on their needs. The natives are mostly naked and coping just fine.
 
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What you do need is a field that's big enough and it has to be well sheltered and drained.



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Well actually, No, you don't.



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Size is relative...you still need a field that is big enough lol!

Your 1.5 acres may do you well in your part of the world...but on good old Essex clay.....!!!! Not a chance
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I have 1.5 acres at home and it doesn't even do my little old welsh pony!
 
I would love to leave my horses out, but as I don't have enough land (we are on clay soil - we get knee deep mud!) and we don't have a barn/field shelter.

If I had more land and a barn for shelter I would put big hay bales out and leave them out - they would love it (rugged up!) and I could have a lay in
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In fact I would swap my stables for a barn that leads onto a field so that they could shelter in summer/winter and a bit more land.
 
i am on livery yard with ind. grazing - i have a 1 acre field she has a field shelter that o bought her last yr - she is fully clipped and well rugged and is far happier out than in - if shes cold she can move around to keep warm or go in shelter - she has arthritis so much better than being in stiff -horses are meant to be outside - they have no issue with it, its us humans that think they must not enjoy it - if clipped yes rug up. mine has hay in field and is well happy. she hates coming into stable to stay in - cant blame her really. not natural being in 12x12 space.
 
My lad lives out in about 1 acre that he has eaten down over the summer months (restricted grazing). He has the same mw rug on all year and access to his field shelter that he rarely uses in winter. He stands outside in all weathers in the middle of the field rather than go into the dry field shelter! He has hay twice a day and is very happy. The soil is pure clay and yes it does get a bit poached, muddy in areas and very wet...but he is fine and healthy and it all grows back sooner than I would like to grass again in the spring. I have invested in having ditches put in all round the field and this really helps - I have no water access or electricity so really roughing it! But I have loads of water butts connected to the guttering of the field stable and use a head torch quite happily.
 
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What you do need is a field that's big enough and it has to be well sheltered and drained.



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Well actually, No, you don't.



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Size is relative...you still need a field that is big enough lol! <font color="red"> For what? They still run around. The horses don't have to forage for grass until last crop is in by late September and they have the run of the place, in previous years they have had access to 40 acres of forest, they didn't use it!</font>

Your 1.5 acres may do you well in your part of the world <font color="red"> it does indeed
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</font> ...but on good old Essex clay.....!!!! Not a chance
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<font color="red"> As I said, it depends on the ground, Essex clay is the pits and I'd hate to have to try to keep a horse on it, daresay that it is much like the Welsh stuff, or the stuff in Devon I dealt with for years
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I have 1.5 acres at home and it doesn't even do my little old welsh pony!

[/ QUOTE ] <font color="red"> Why not? Again, it's different styles of management,
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My horses are hay fed for at least 9 months of the year, I don't rely on having grass for them to eat</font>
 
My TBx lives out clipped in a medium weight rug, ad lib hay and no hard feed, only balancer. He's doing amazingly well and has done so for many years. We've had LOTS of snow here for nearly a month now and I did bring him in one night in blizzards, went to check on him at 10 and he wanted OUT. It makes life so much easier and with good rugs and plenty of hay most horses should be able to live out (field mud permitting). I know of TB's around here that are wintered out on the fell tops and do very well.

Sue
 
I have 3 or 4 ponies on less than an acre in Devon. Actually I hardly use any of it...this track just runs round the outside of my paddock
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Two corners have a bit of grass and occasionally they get to go in the middle or down the side for a treat
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My TB X has lived out this winter and although we've had loads of snow I'm so pleased he's been outside and been allowed to be a proper horse. I've heard of some horses who haven't been out of a stable for nearly 3 weeks because of the ice and snow, they must be going nuts!
He has a good rug, natural shelter, company of other horses and plenty of hay. They all look very contented, I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
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