WWYD muddy yard

[SpeedyBeet]

WWYD - Im on a livery yard. Ive been happy here as it’s friendly and supportive but IMO there’s not enough land for the number of horses. The ground is clay and the horses are already standing in deep mud and it’s only November so the situation won’t improve till March/April. There’s no grass left and whilst some hay is placed in the fields, my horse spends a lot of time without and seems permanently hungry. He is a greedy sort (maxi cob), has lost some weight already and needs to loose a little more over winter but I’d like it to be a steady/managed loss as I worry about ulcers and his general happiness and well being spending all day standing in mud with nothing to do. He’s a light hack so I’m hesitant to stable him as I don’t think he gets enough exercise with riding alone. They are stabled over night. I’m considering moving him (not sure what other options are like locally) but am mindful that the yard we are on is great otherwise and that if I do move him, I will lose the support that I have, which I value. Im really torn, we didn’t have much grass over the summer and the recent wet winters/dry summers seems to stop the fields from recovering - I expect we will be in the same position in future years as no work is planned on enforcing gate ways/drainage/mud mats - I don’t blame the person running the yard, the funds just aren’t there to do it and they only rent the property themselves so it wouldn’t be a long term investment that they are guaranteed to benefit from.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Don't know what you can do TBH. Everyone's in the same boat and the moment and it is the same everywhere. We are on Devon Pink Clay and it is a nightmare. I'm a YO and offer year-round turnout - on the basis that "once its gone its gone" end of. You can't magic-up grass come March if everything has trampled it in over the winter. For some horses on my yard (including my own) they are good doers they are good doers so if they DO trash the pasture now then it will be less rich grass to worry about come Springtime. We are all on a Track system here and what we're tending to do at the moment is keep them on the outside of the Track during the summer months, and then now come Winter, they go into the middle bit which is essential standing hay. It works for us. Both the poorer dooers/veterans AND the fatties seem to all be OK. We have plenty of pasture so are not likely to run out of grass anytime soon!

I'm hearing your concern OP, but as you say yours is a good doer I honestly wouldn't worry too much. Yes he has lost some weight, and as you rightly observe he won't hurt to lose a little more. You are obviously expressing anxiety that he is "standing in mud all day with nothing to do", but horses just do "stand around". Mine do! It is normal equine behaviour if horses are turned out together in a herd.

I personally would be reluctant to advise you to move; you say you are happy where you are and your horse is obviously settled. You really wouldn't want to jump from the frying pan into the fire would you, plus you obviously have a good lot of chums and a support network at your present yard which I think you would miss very much if you were to go somewhere else.

 

[AmyMay]

I wouldn’t hesitate to move. I simply couldn’t keep my horse in a place that’s so poorly managed and overstocked.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I would definitely move

 

[SDMabel]

I think it's maybe not as bad if you can ensure a good flow of forage all day ( our yard is heavy clay and front of paddocks tend to get ruined fast ) but we can pop hay out , as much as we like , (individual turnout) so we just pop hay away from the gates and they are all happy.

standing out in mud with nothing to eat is pretty sad, maybe have a look at a few other yards or could you discuss with YO putting more hay out ?

 

[Surbie]

Is the mud just around the gateway or is it a large proportion of the field that has no grass?

@MiJodsR2BlinkinTite makes some really good points. Most yards are going to look their worst at the moment - or approaching their worst! One yard close to me is very overstocked. The big herd fields are ok away from the gate, but the small individual paddocks 'for the expensive horses' look like they must already be closed - they are pure slippy mud and I wouldn't turn out on them.

I'm at a yard on clay and our gateways are already pretty nasty - thankfully I have a platform of mudslabs in mine. Could you club together as liveries to get some for your field? They hold their value, so they stay an asset.

eta: the mudslabs are mine, put down with YO's consent.

 

[Abacus]

It depends on your other options. If there is a local lovely non-muddy yard where the fields are still in a good state and it's affordable, then move... otherwise, if there is nothing better, sit tight and enjoy the other benefits of it being friendly and supportive.

Our place is a state at the moment. We have 4 horses in 2 of the fields - one about 2 acres and the other more like 4 - so the fields aren't overstocked by most standards. There is mud by the gateways and even the bits that aren't churned up are just wet from the ground being so full of water. It has been exceptionally wet and this is probably the case for most yards at the moment, except the sort where the horses don't get much turnout.

 

[exracehorse]

We’ve had such a wet November.

 

[meleeka]

My fields are awful currently and I’m not overstocked! The endless rain hasn’t helped then I’ve had to make the field smaller due to laminitis concerns and then to top it off, fireworks caused them to have to stay out 24/7 and much running around

In many ways your yard sounds lovely OP. Could you request more hay is put out? Lots of yards don’t allow hay at all, so it really could be worse.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Very similar situation to you. We make sure that ours have a breakfast and a net at 7am before turnout at 9am. No food allowed in the field because of fighting. We bring in between 2 - 4pm, and they are then up for the night turnout done.

 

[Fluffypiglet]

im at an over stocked livery yard on heavy clay. But i know there is nothing better anywhere near me. We are in a terrible area for land, very expensive and limited. Our YM does their best but basically the land is looking like it usually looks in Jan/Feb. It’s horrible. I’m just glad that our YM is good in so many other ways and will hay in the fields. As recommended up thread, if you can find somewhere else, with good turnout (I assume lots of land!) that still looks good given the recent weather then it’s worth considering. But you are right to be cautious if you find somewhere without a good land/ stable ratio and their grazing is looking good right now I’d be mighty suspicious about how much turnout they actually give.

eta we are on individual grazing, albeit on a rota! I used to be on shared grazing with hay when the grass got eaten down but mine never got much cos he’s bottom of the pecking order so whilst it appeared “better” it wasn’t’. Plus they used to constantly change field companions with new temporary horses being chucked in with a settled herd. That’s wasn’t much fun!

 

[Xmasha]

when you say overstocked, how many horses & acres ?

Our fields are the worst they have ever been, and we are far from overstocked. its an issue we are all going to have to find a solution for as winters get wetter and warmer.

Im sure most yards are the same at the minute

 

[SpeedyBeet]

So unfortunately it’s not just the gateways but all the field that is now ankle/calf deep in mud. The gateways are worse, at the wellie sucking off stage already. It does get like this every year but usually not till much later on in the winter. I know it’s been very wet of late and others will be having similar issues at their places and I’m not wanting to be unkind to the people who run the yard. I think they’re just trying to make ends meet as best they can.

Im conflicted as its not just that the horses are standing in it all day but that they can’t easily walk around either. They have to trundle through it and it is of course slippy. I’ve noticed my gelding isnt lying down in the field anymore. Overall I’m starting to feel as though it’s unethical for me to allow it but then there are so many positives to the yard and I expect every place will have the not so good bits and at least here, I know what they are rather than it being a nasty surprise

 

[Fluffypiglet]

So unfortunately it’s not just the gateways but all the field that is now ankle/calf deep in mud. The gateways are worse, at the wellie sucking off stage already. It does get like this every year but usually not till much later on in the winter. I know it’s been very wet of late and others will be having similar issues at their places and I’m not wanting to be unkind to the people who run the yard. I think they’re just trying to make ends meet as best they can.

Im conflicted as its not just that the horses are standing in it all day but that they can’t easily walk around either. They have to trundle through it and it is of course slippy. I’ve noticed my gelding isnt lying down in the field anymore. Overall I’m starting to feel as though it’s unethical for me to allow it but then there are so many positives to the yard and I expect every place will have the not so good bits and at least here, I know what they are rather than it being a nasty surprise

Ok that does sound awful. what you describe is no longer a field and I wouldn’t turn mine out in that. i would look around to see what else is available unfortunately. Good luck.

 

[SDMabel]

So unfortunately it’s not just the gateways but all the field that is now ankle/calf deep in mud. The gateways are worse, at the wellie sucking off stage already. It does get like this every year but usually not till much later on in the winter. I know it’s been very wet of late and others will be having similar issues at their places and I’m not wanting to be unkind to the people who run the yard. I think they’re just trying to make ends meet as best they can.

Im conflicted as its not just that the horses are standing in it all day but that they can’t easily walk around either. They have to trundle through it and it is of course slippy. I’ve noticed my gelding isnt lying down in the field anymore. Overall I’m starting to feel as though it’s unethical for me to allow it but then there are so many positives to the yard and I expect every place will have the not so good bits and at least here, I know what they are rather than it being a nasty surprise

Yes that's really not ideal.

I think as others say just assess at potential yards how much T/O they do get , especially if fields look good given how damp it's been

 

[Bobthecob15]

Our yard recently switched to all being out 24/7 over summer to now in at 8am, stabled till about 5 or 6pm then they go out. They are well rugged and they do have natural shelter in the paddocks… it was basically done to maximise turnout and minimise the amount of time they are stabled in the day. They all come in and have as lib hay all day, have a snooze etc then they are relatively dry for when we ride them. I’m pretty confident they are moving around less at night as they do lay down to sleep and by chance seem to be inside for the worst of the deluges recently!

Not sure if this is the solution but saves them all charging about in the daytime wanting to come in, they are happy and settled and don’t appear to trash the fields so much at night vs day.

 

[SEL]

I'm on my own land and it's horrendous - definitely not over stocked.

I think a lot of yards will be reducing turnout this winter unless it suddenly turns dry.

In your position I'd start to check out other places but be very specific that you're looking for decent turnout. Normally around here horses get day turnout in winter but there's loads of Anonymous posts on local FB forums looking for new yards. Some of them are people who have multiple horses so they are going to find it hard.

 

[Wishfilly]

It really doesn't sound great, but I do think the weather has been especially bad this year. Round here, I feel like it hasn't really recovered since Storm Ciaran. One of the lanes I drive on regularly has flooded, and although the flood has maybe gone down a little, the whole lane is still incredibly wet.

The water table is effectively up at the level of our fields, so I don't think there's much to be done about mud? I would look around and see if you can find anything better, but I do think things are especially bad at the moment.

If you can't move and are on individual turnout, could you invest in some mud control mats to create a dry standing area? And perhaps put hay out in one of those field nets to make it last longer?

 

[meesha]

If the whole field is mud I would move unless you can make a safe turnout area so he can have a trot round.

If there aren't any yards locally with field turnout is there somewhere that has arena turnout or another turnout area ?

Another option would be to look at retirement type livery yards, some lovely ones have 24/7 turnout and loads of land (newbrook in dursley for example, and I believe you can still turn up and ride or visit your horse anytime) ...turn him away if nothing else local to u and bring him back in march !!

This weather is shocking, everyone is struggling

 

[Boulty]

I think a lot of yards are in this situation ie overstocked with grazing that doesn’t get enough rest to recover due to lack of acreage without the funds to invest in things that may make things better.

The most crucial thing that would make that situation more horse friendly would be sufficient forage provision when turned out. In herd situations this realistically usually means large bales in feeders (bale nets can help slow consumption) but then the ground around the feeders usually becomes a bog. Something “temporary” (aka something that could be sold for nearly the price it was bought for) like mud control mats could mitigate this but the initial investment to buy would not be cheap. Alternatively if horses are in individual, pairs or small groups then several slow feeder nets (at least 1 per horse plus one extra) could help with the lack of forage issue (again mudcontrol mats are similar at feeding stations could help with mud). If you’re on DIY with likeminded other owners some of the above may be doable.

If not and your horse is genuinely stood with nothing to eat for the majority of turnout time then yes I would seek to move & see if there is anywhere with a better winter setup for the horses.

Mud is generally inevitable in this country but with a bit of thought to stop high traffic areas turning into swamps and enough forage horses will generally be ok. If you’re specifically wanting actual winter grass you’ll likely need to find somewhere with a decent acreage that rotates their fields.

 

[Snow Falcon]

I have fields that are more suited for growing rice at the moment. One of them isn't grazed currently but very wet.

Climate change is affecting the way we will have to manage our horses.

 

[Boulty]

Unless specifically on very well draining land I’d expect most places to have a fair bit of standing water on the field even if well rested / standing hay at the moment though tbh so you’re still going to have the issue with slippy slidey fields unless you are both lucky enough to have a surfaced track system nearby and the funds to keep a horse there. Deffo fantasising about cloning Gawsworth or Rockley and moving then further North atm.

Mine’s on a largely unsurfaced track system with shelter & small islands of hard standing, mainly around the feeders. Even the bits that normally stay dry year round have mud and there is standing water just about everywhere. On the plus side it should be the death knell for the last bits of grass. We had probably literally 2 days last year where it was as bad as it’s been for the last few weeks! Horses aren’t actually that fussed tbh other than mine has injured himself but that may or may not be mud related… he’s not very bright and is quite accident prone anyway! YO doing what they can as & when funds allow but it is what it is… kinda hope we do get a slightly drier December than we’ve had October & November so far!