Would you and do you turn out on rough frozen ground?

[maya2008]

Mine live out - and we will ride carefully (in walk) on the flatter ground even if a little hard. Ponies though - and living out they negotiate ruts with no issues. Rode in the snow yesterday and today, no school, but the longer grass was soft and ok to trot on. Their field is rock hard though!

 

[Mule]

Mine live out - and we will ride carefully (in walk) on the flatter ground even if a little hard. Ponies though - and living out they negotiate ruts with no issues. Rode in the snow yesterday and today, no school, but the longer grass was soft and ok to trot on. Their field is rock hard though!

It's funny because it never occurred to me that ruts and frozen ground could be risky. Perhaps I worry less because mine also live out and they are used to winter fields.

 

[TwoForTwo]

Horses need to be out come rain or shine

NO THEY DON’T!!!! people with this opinion are the cause of so so many problems!

 

[Winters100]

Yes, it is always rough in high traffic areas and if I waited for the ground to unfreeze I would keep them inside for months. My older mare is a bit sensitive so the farrier puts leather pads to help her out. I believe that they are much better off with daily turnout and the opportunity to move and interact with each other.

 

[AmyMay]

Yep

 

[Littlewills]

NO THEY DON’T!!!! people with this opinion are the cause of so so many problems!

Such as?

 

[J&S]

Mine go out each day come rain or shine but may come in earlier if weather is really dreadful and they are unhappy.

 

[spotty_pony]

Yes I do, they are currently in about four acres and about three of the acres are flat and unpoached so I lead them through the first part which is downhill and then through the gateway and onto the flat before letting them go and they tend to stay in that part of the field until I fetch them in. ?

 

[Mrs C]

Mine doesn't like being in so she goes out every day regardless of weather. Ground is rock hard but it has been all week and if I keep her in for one then turn out, she's more likely to bezz about and hurt herself. School is frozen so turnout is her only exercise

 

[EmmaC78]

Provided the track to the field isn't too icy then mine get turned out pretty much whatever the weather. Working from home makes things a lot easier as I can just pop up and get them in early if the weather is bad.

 

[SEL]

My 2 went out on solid poached ground this morning. Both very carefully picked their way through the worst of it and given my draft usually engages 'cavalry charge' through mud I decided they could be trusted to be sensible.

Might re-consider if it's covered by snow and they can't see the potholes later in the week.

Just found my 2018 response and same still applies! Although the draft is finding it harder these days. Harder today though because there are deep tyre tracks down to the field which are dangerous for humans let alone horses - so careful tiptoe along the edges is needed.

I didn't have the pony in 2018 and her approach is a bit more wrecking ball ? She's the same with trot poles - beautiful if the distance is spot on, trashes them if not. So she slipped and slid her way to the paddock and nearly ended up sitting on her backside on the totally avoidable frozen puddle lake by the gate. So much for fir sure footed native pony.

I take a calculated risk with mine because none are 100% fit and well so if something nasty happened then it's hastening the inevitable and I'd rather they got to be horses than wrapped in cotton wool. I wouldn't ask anyone else to turn them out & i wouldn't want the responsibility of doing someone else's horses.

 

[Honey08]

I always used to, but now my mare has cushings I don’t. We have a hard standing turnout anyway, so they go out in that all day every day on that. It’s been a godsend this week!

 

[DabDab]

Just found my 2018 response and same still applies! Although the draft is finding it harder these days. Harder today though because there are deep tyre tracks down to the field which are dangerous for humans let alone horses - so careful tiptoe along the edges is needed.

I didn't have the pony in 2018 and her approach is a bit more wrecking ball ? She's the same with trot poles - beautiful if the distance is spot on, trashes them if not. So she slipped and slid her way to the paddock and nearly ended up sitting on her backside on the totally avoidable frozen puddle lake by the gate. So much for fir sure footed native pony.

I take a calculated risk with mine because none are 100% fit and well so if something nasty happened then it's hastening the inevitable and I'd rather they got to be horses than wrapped in cotton wool. I wouldn't ask anyone else to turn them out & i wouldn't want the responsibility of doing someone else's horses.

Yeah, I have to say that my assessment of whether to turn out in this kind of whether basically hinges on whether I think I can get the big lad out to the field without him going ar5e over tit. The other two are really good but Dabs is not the best in hand and any attempt to slow him or control where he puts his feet down just results in more extravagance from him?

 

[Winters100]

NO THEY DON’T!!!! people with this opinion are the cause of so so many problems!

What problems? Genuine question, not an attack. I live in a country which is colder than the UK and turning out at below 0 is pretty much what happens in winter - I don't think that many of us would have the time or energy to properly manage horses who were not turned out during the day. I guess if it is just a few days you can manage, but beyond that I would struggle.

 

[AUB]

Yes, mine is out every day in all sorts of weather. Normally 6-16 in winter and 5.30-17 in summer, but atm we bring in at 15 since it’s freezing cold and horses want in at that time.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

deleted

 

[dogatemysalad]

I've always turned out regardless of weather. However, it may only be for a short while, just long enough to check in with their mates, move freely and see if the grass is worth eating.
Some horses I've had are happy to be out 24/7, while others just like a couple of hours when the ground is really bad.
We've been restricting turnout to protect the fields, but our efforts have been hampered by liveries who kept their horses in and then randomly turn out on occasional days. Their horses take off like rockets, excite the herd and trash the field.

 

[Hallo2012]

yes.
on clay so as much as i look after it, there are poached areas which then rut but as mine go out every single day, all day until at least 1pm but normally 3pm (unless sleeting or hailing) they dont run around like idiots...they pick their way over it then graze.

 

[Callieann]

Yes, mine go out every day from 7 till dusk. If I had enough shelter in field I wouldn't bring them in at all.

 

[Wizpop]

but the finer sport horse types seem to prefer their home comforts!

would have agreed with that until I got my current horse: arabxtb x warmblood, who loves to stomp over the rutted, frozen ground ( barefoot) and happily spends all day out at the moment ?

 

[teddypops]

NO THEY DON’T!!!! people with this opinion are the cause of so so many problems!

Also interested to know as my lot are out no matter what and I’m not aware of any problems caused by this.

 

[tristar]

i would prefer to wait and see if it warms up at lunch time, then test if its slippery i may not turn out.

any ridged seriously frozen ground i would never turn out on, but i use the riding surface and have a large hardcore yard in front of stables, to turn out on and would loose lunge with poles or something to to get them moving ward off boredom etc

 

[Cortez]

Lucky, lucky me, I have an all-weather surfaced turnout so if it's really bad out mine can go in there. TBF it hasn't been used yet this winter as it hasn't been that wet and there are no real ruts in the field entrances. Life has changed here in the past year, so they all spend most of their time out in the fields, much more than in previous years.

 

[NinjaPony]

Yes. Mine is retired and goes out every day until 5 unless there is a storm. I’ve fenced off the worst ruts so he can’t run around on them, but there is still a rutted section by the gate. I’ve just moved his hay and water to the flat part of the field. He picks his way over carefully and it hasn’t caused any issues.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Yes, horse lives out currently while I am waiting for a stable but when I do have one he will be out regardless of the weather. I look after him to the best of my ability and I believe that having him out all day everyday is what is best for him, if he injures himself then so be it. Things happen, or maybe they don't, no matter what the conditions are - I think it's best to keep the horse as a horse as much as I can.

 

[outdoor girl]

Mine go out each day come rain or shine but may come in earlier if weather is really dreadful and they are unhappy.

So do mine. They just get grumpy and messy if they're left in.

 

[Annagain]

I think we've got off fairly lightly here - it's freezing cold but the atmosphere is so dry we don't have any frost or ice. The gateway, where there's a bit of a muddy puddle is frozen but by about 5m in the field is fine. Ours do go out every day no matter what - even if there's ice on the yard we take them out but do it very slowly. They're all pretty sensible and listen to us. If there's a decent amount of snow on the ground they'll go out for a couple of hours in the morning, come in to fill their bellies and go out again for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I always save a few hours of flexi in winter just in case I need to do this. When we had torrential rain leading to severe flooding before Christmas I went up two hours earlier than usual and they weren't bothered about coming in at all.

 

[SJJR]

Yes, if I didn't this year they would have been in since approx 27 Dec. The area at the bottom gate is badly poached and frozen but once over that they are in 11 acres which is ok. I have equine fusion boots on barefoot TB as it cant be pleasant to walk on. When snow is deeper and can't feel the ruts he is barefoot. Horse with bar shoes on has woofwear poultice boots over the top in deep snow to prevent snow balling. Works surprisinly well and I have only had to replace one which was worn through. The bigger problem is when the track has thick ice. I don't turn out in field then but make small pathway to 1st aid paddock on other side.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Thing is accidents can happen any time you cannot perceive when, and if you keep them in for weeks on end, they could prove too much for the owners and their mental state. I know one yard( before the damn stupid train HS2 flattened it) that would keep horses in for weeks on end for fear of accident.

We our lucky because although we don't have huge acreage for the horses here, the land drains well and is flat so yes it gets rutty in places, most horses are barefoot. Oddly enough we have more horses charging about turning sharp and falling over in the summer rather than the winte where most seem really careful if they have a Hooley about.

 

[MummyEms]

Mine go out every single day.
One is full tb and copes perfectly well