would you full clip and have living out?

Ludoctro said:
Jackessex

Most stables now a days have rubber matting down , all yards I been at do anyway and I've come up in the thick of winter, heavy snow and ice ( I live in NE Scotland and its harsh)

Gone into the barns with the horses to find its nice and warm due to all them being in there.

I used to as a child have horses mostly living out with field shelter and anytime you went up all our horses would be huddle in the shelter so being in a stable in the bad weather is the same tbh I think u would find the horse stood in a shelter if it had one. I have no problem with horses living out but do think they need access to a field shelter.
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hi i agree that in a barn situation it prob is warmer with all the body heat of a few horses but we have traditional stables and rubber matting and it gets cold,so i would of thought the fact that they have restricted movement on top of this would surely make them colder,mine do have a large field shelter which they have used on occasion but only because ive put hay in there,and they can normally be found with bums to the wind grazing happily :)
 
I wouldn't take legs off anything that lived out. Beyond that, if you can rug enough to compensate, then fine. And reasoning why? Well - I wouldn't want bare legs in the snow, or in temperatures near/below freezing. Brrr! The rest of the horse you can cover in rugs!
 
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Where I used to be some of RS horses were full clipped and they lived out 24/7 and they always held their weight well and never came in shivering. They were mostly hardy cobby sorts though. My boy had half a clip (neck, shoulder and belly off) and is living out in a m/w rug now. He will come in at some point though (only because them's the rules, left up to me he would stay out 24/7 year round). If you've got some decent rugs and your field has shelter then I don't see why not. You could always try a blanket clip or similar and see how he goes and take the rest off when you re-clip if he needs it
 
horserider said:
Not many horses with good grass stand waiting for tea in summer, whereas they all stand like orphans at the gate in winter.

If you turned them back out after eating and left a supply of hay in the field, you might find it isn't the stable they want at all.
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Why the hell would I do that? They are exercised in the evening, the stay inside to keep warm, and none of my horses have experienced any signs of neglect from being locked in a stable with food, warmth and water. That and good field management.
 
Free choice of being in or out is ideal imho which is why my lot have their shelters and are out.
They do use them but only for short periods usually...
Two prefer to go in if its hot and two like to use it during wet weather.
Dry cold doesn't appear to bother them and I often have to take an under rug off as they are getting too warm.
Horses with free forage are those who will be warm with the fermenting action of the gut in play.
If you have good turnout (ie dry fields that are not too small,grazing or hay) and some form of shelter, no horse will be any worse off than a stabled one imho.
 
My TB, who is now retired, used to be fully clipped in winter and lived out 24/7. He had haylage and hard feed in the winter and as many rugs on as required. Top rug was always a Rambo as I think that they are the best quality. He was never cold, kept his weight on and was always full of beans when ridden and most importantly he always seemed pretty happy out with the other horses. I think so long as you ensure that they are warm then it's fine and better than having to deal with a sweaty horse that needs to be turned out.
 
horserider said:
Judging by the number of clipped horses stabled, unable to move around and standing in front of empty hay nets during the coldest hours of the night, the same horse would probably fare better moving around in a field with shelter and ad lib hay.
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I agree. People seem to have this idea that a stable is warmer than outside, but actually I've found that in the middle of the winter when it's dry it's actually slightly warmer outside than it is in my concrete stable, which is inside an American barn. My horse is out 24/7 but I do understand why people like the idea of having a horse in a stable when it's howling and pouring with rain in the winter months. Nevertheless, it has to be pretty horrendous outside for my horse to not begin pacing in his stable wanting to go back out after he's eaten his dinner.
 
My ID hunter mare has lived out with a full clip for the last 8 winters, also clipped out a younger gelding last winter both were absolutely fine, but i do have the option of stables if the weather is very bad, snow, or continous heavy rain, also feed twice a day and ad lib hay, I think they are happier and healthier for living out all year.
 
Well my new horse (TB) is very likely going to be living out clipped (hunter type clip) with legs and half head left on, and fully rugged, his paddock has lots of natural shelter, he'll have plenty of grazing and forage added as required, my retired mare will also be living out, I will have a stable for both should they need it, but plan to leave them out as far as possible... Personally agree with those who feel that horses are happier if they're properly and sensibly rugged
 
I would quite happily clip out my horse and leave him out with a good set of rugs, modern rugs are so much more sofisticated nowadays with neck covers that providing they are well fed and have adequate shelter I can't see a problem - now the old style NZs - wel different story!!!! :eek: :eek:
 
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