WWYD .. mare doesnt like to be out in the field more than an hour

so this morning she went on the horse walker while i mucked out, then went for a quick 5-10 min hand graze and then back into her stable. Ride and a longer hand graze later this aft . will see where we are in a couple of weeks when hopefully the temp will be a bit warmer for the princess.
Taco say's thank you very HHO community for making my mum see sense ;)
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Interesting that we readily accept that dogs have changed with domestication but find it more difficult to accept that horses do too. Stanley the BT goes for two walks each day, he's never that keen to go out if it's raining or if the weather is particularly bad but will with encouragement however, it's obvious he'd rather do a shorter walk. He'll then doze by the aga or on a sofa until it's time to go for his second walk and when he gets back home he demands something to eat and then will happily settle down again. He has his routine and the only thing that will spur him into action is the sound of a door bell or if he sees a squirrel outside the window. He's a thoroughly domesticated dog and if I asked him to live like his wolf ancestors he'd die of hunger and cold. I think horses have also changed with domestication, some breeds perhaps more than others which is perhaps why some prefer a stable and a haynet to standing in a cold muddy field.
 
meleeka said:
Horses seemingly don’t like being out have no doubt been stabled for long periods at some point and being in has become the new normal. I don’t believe they just got up one day and decided they didn’t want to go out.

OP I’d do what your horse wants. Obviously it would be good to train her to be out like a proper horse, but the middle of winter probably isn’t the best time for that.
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Nope. The one horse I had which preferred being out had been stabled most of his life. He got quite upset being in for more than a few hours, weaving and box walking, so we let him live out 99% of the time.
 
Austen123 said:
so this morning she went on the horse walker while i mucked out, then went for a quick 5-10 min hand graze and then back into her stable. Ride and a longer hand graze later this aft . will see where we are in a couple of weeks when hopefully the temp will be a bit warmer for the princess.
Taco say's thank you very HHO community for making my mum see sense ;)
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Aww, happy horsey ?
 
meleeka said:
Horses seemingly don’t like being out have no doubt been stabled for long periods at some point and being in has become the new normal. I don’t believe they just got up one day and decided they didn’t want to go out.

OP I’d do what your horse wants. Obviously it would be good to train her to be out like a proper horse, but the middle of winter probably isn’t the best time for that.
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Definitely not the case with all four of mine. Three of mine lived out and had never seen a stable before they came to me (ages 17, 11, 14). The other we’ve had since a foal and he couldn’t care less whether he is out. Mine have always been turned out every day, no matter the weather but They definitely realise it is far nicer being in a cosy stable. Mine would Come in early even in summer if I let them!!
 
Amber Prosecco said:
Not sure I agree with this. I think it it sort of the opposite: horses are prey animals and so fear enclosed spaces. So given a choice between being cold and wet versus being frightened of being trapped and eaten they will go with cold and wet. Does not mean they all LIKE being out but it is better than the perceived alternative. They sacrifice comfort for safety. But once they have relaxed in their stables and no longer feel anxious in them then the choice becomes more about personal preference. Some like space to mooch about, see their friends, play. Others like warm, dry stables with room service hay. Amber and Dolly are outdoor moochers. Toby is very much a stable fan.
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Our 2 now have access to a 'super shelter' that was built for us by a neighbour as a refurb of an existing building, with mud control mats hard-standing, and access to part of the field - the steepest slope is roped off for safety's sake while the ground is so wet. They spend most of their time in the shelter, have been seen to lie down in there and only come out to have a drink, as we have deliberately put the water outside the shelter. They did spend a short while standing with their bums to the wind, in the snow yesterday but soon went back under cover, after they had 'freshened up'
 
I had a a horse to stay for a winter while my friend emigrated to USA, had a baby and arranged transport for horse. He would have been an ID x Conie type so presumably raised in Ireland where they mostly live out (at least at that time they did)

He came with the instructions to just 'turn him out for a few hours each day'. Oh yes so day 1 he stood by the gate for 4 hours. Each day much the same until he decided to go fence hopping through 4 fields, my back garden and into the yard and back into his stable. This became a daily routine until I gave up and just put him on the walker a bit each day and back in his stable.

He went off to USA in the Spring and lived until well into his late 20's so he obviously knew best!
 
A lot that I see out 24/7 are often not on acres and acres so mostly spend their time stood round a round bale in mud anyway, pulling faces at each other and squabbling. Not saying either way is right or wrong but there tends to be this angelic stance that if they are outside that’s the best thing for them vs a few hours out and coming in is a heinous crime!
 
Hi all, just following on from this thread as i am still having issues. I had to take down the temp layer of fencing which was 3-5 meters back from the original as she just kept destroying that to get to the gate, and then bulldozing the gate (two strands of electric rope fence) to get the walkway where everyone's field gates are off and there is a main 5 bar gate at the bottom of this.
At the moment, even before an hour is up she has broken the gateway out of her field . i have kept her in for a few days to try and reset her switch and because of the high winds and today i turned her out this morning with two wedges of her nicest hay to keep her busy in case she was complaining about the lack of food, put her in a slightly heavier rug in case she wasnt quite warm enough, made sure all her field companions were out in neighbouring paddocks and put additional temp rope and posts across the gate way to make it look more solid.
I approached the YM about putting up the 8ft fence posts with 4 strands or so of the rope, she has some of these posts from where she used to have stallion and i offered to pay for any additional posts needed. She said the YO thinks the tall fence posts are an eye sore so may not allow it. she said she would ask and say it's a matter of horse safety as at the moment i feel it's a matter of time until she gets tangled and an injury occurs.
 
What would she do if she had another horse in the same field rather than just either side of her? I think that's worth a try as a first port of call.
Also, if she's ok out in the summer, I think I'd suck it up for a few more weeks and let her stay in for now. If it's likely to be a problem all the time I'd look at other ways to solve it - a solid gate to start with. I hate those electric fence gates, they're so flappy once you undo them, even sensible horses seem to get tangled in them.

You might find that you need to move yards to get a set-up to suit her staying out - as long as you do it on good terms so you can go back if she's worse somewhere else, it's probably worth a try.
 
Austen123 said:
Hi all, just following on from this thread as i am still having issues. I had to take down the temp layer of fencing which was 3-5 meters back from the original as she just kept destroying that to get to the gate, and then bulldozing the gate (two strands of electric rope fence) to get the walkway where everyone's field gates are off and there is a main 5 bar gate at the bottom of this.
At the moment, even before an hour is up she has broken the gateway out of her field . i have kept her in for a few days to try and reset her switch and because of the high winds and today i turned her out this morning with two wedges of her nicest hay to keep her busy in case she was complaining about the lack of food, put her in a slightly heavier rug in case she wasnt quite warm enough, made sure all her field companions were out in neighbouring paddocks and put additional temp rope and posts across the gate way to make it look more solid.
I approached the YM about putting up the 8ft fence posts with 4 strands or so of the rope, she has some of these posts from where she used to have stallion and i offered to pay for any additional posts needed. She said the YO thinks the tall fence posts are an eye sore so may not allow it. she said she would ask and say it's a matter of horse safety as at the moment i feel it's a matter of time until she gets tangled and an injury occurs.
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Have you got a a decent current through your temporary fencing? You might need to make her chest conduct so feels it? Can add tinfoil / buy a rug designed for front to conduct electricity. Else I cant see that making it higher will stop her bulldozing it?
 
If someone suggested putting higher and more powerful electric fence around a horse's stable to keep it in, when it wanted to be out I think most people on here would feel that was unacceptable. So, why is it acceptable to build a higher and higher more powerful electric fence around a turnout paddock to keep a horse out that plainly would rather be in its stable?

Are you tryng to please the horse or rather your own concept of what is 'good' for the horse?
 
I had a horse who hated turnout. He had been stabled 24/7 at his previous yard and when out in the field he would be so stressed. He was out with other horses but would just stand by the gate rearing after 30 mins. I actually felt Really sad for him. I did manage to extend his time out in winter very gradually and he eventually managed about 3- 4 hours maximum but if another horse came in before him he would have a meltdown.
we managed to get to a point in summer where he stayed out all night but he wasnt happy with this, lost a lot of weight and kept injuring himself so I had to bring him back in. I just felt so sad for him not getting that free time and freedom out in the field :( He however was as happy as Larry in, even on his own as the other horses were out in the field.
 
she has horses both sides of her one of which is her stable mate . The yard only offers individual turnout unfortunately, it was attractive to me as she is an expensive horse so the lesser the risk of injury the better, however this was before i realised she like to fence jump which i know is an injury risk in itself. However, during the depths of winter her stable mate and her went out together for an hour or so while i did jobs in a large paddock which is saved for jumping on in the spring/summer and isnt grazed in the winter . they were happy together, however i do not think this could be a permanent thing, plus i worry would it lead to even more anxiety if the other horse was taken away to be ridden etc.
@sport horse - you have a point . i have always been a believer in as much turnout as possible for a horse no matter what their price tag is and it is a foreign concept for me to have a horse that just doesnt want to be in their field. with the spring weather coming in i honestly thought i would have a turning point with her, maybe i need to wait another month for the grass to really come through
 
Austen123 said:
she has horses both sides of her one of which is her stable mate . The yard only offers individual turnout unfortunately, it was attractive to me as she is an expensive horse so the lesser the risk of injury the better, however this was before i realised she like to fence jump which i know is an injury risk in itself. However, during the depths of winter her stable mate and her went out together for an hour or so while i did jobs in a large paddock which is saved for jumping on in the spring/summer and isnt grazed in the winter . they were happy together, however i do not think this could be a permanent thing, plus i worry would it lead to even more anxiety if the other horse was taken away to be ridden etc.
@sport horse - you have a point . i have always been a believer in as much turnout as possible for a horse no matter what their price tag is and it is a foreign concept for me to have a horse that just doesnt want to be in their field. with the spring weather coming in i honestly thought i would have a turning point with her, maybe i need to wait another month for the grass to really come through
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If she's that much happier with company, bringing her in for an hour or two while a field mate is ridden would be preferable to her being in all the time though, wouldn't it? I'd talk to her friend's owner and the YM to see if you can manage them being turned out together - could you have them in her paddock together for a month and then switch to her friend's to allow the grass to recover?
 
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