Yards with no turnout: How do your ponios cope?

bluemoon123 said:
For those of you who have your ponios in yards where there isn't any turnout or it's extremely limited turnout, how do your ponios cope? Yard that I'm considering has no turnout for next 5/6 weeks because of weather conditions but ponios will go on walker each day for 50 mins. Plus they are exercised. Otherwise yard is fine and he'll be well cared for. But for those of you that are in situations where there isn't/wasn't turn out, how do your ponios cope?
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I too would have agreed with most people, saying that its better for horses to be out 24/7 until i got my last boy who did like being in. He was a competition pony and was used to going out for a few hours and coming in to be pampered. I managed to increase his turnout to during the daytime but he would never stay out 24/7. How did he cope with no turnout....perfectly fine, no probelms at all!! It was worse if he stayed out too long as he would stand by the gate waiting for me.
 
I would always think about things differently depending on the horse! my old horse needed to be on box rest i then had to make a decision to get him turned out again and cutting a long story short he went out for only 20mins in his own paddock and got turned in the school with my other horse to keep the interaction (my two had already sorted out who was boss etc so i knew they where safe together) eventually when my boy was strong enough he gave us the signs he was ready to return to the herd and he did - this made him much happier but he couldnt have gone straight back into the herd befor this - he really wouldnt have survived!!!

The thing that would concern ME over a yard who is willing to shut down the feilds for winter is what would happen if we get a wet summer (hopefully we wont but the last couple havent been great!!!) would they then close off the feilds again? if so could you end up having your ned in all year?
 
He would really struggle as he does not like being in for even a night - my pony lives out 24/7 and much prefers being out even in the snow.

To be fair to your horse if you are going to keep him without turnout then he should not just be restricted to coming out of his stable once a day to be ridden and mucked out.

I have a friend with an elderly tb who does not like going out in winter if the weather is bad so he stays in but she comes three times a day to groom him and get him out of his stable she hand grazes him and takes him for walks lets him roll in the school etc which is different to a horse that is in 24/7 and only comes out of their stable to be ridden which I think is a bit sad.

If you do decide to stay at the yard then I think you do need to make a commitment to find a way for horse to get out of his stable more than just once a day and to spend plenty of time with him so he is not stuck in for 22/24 hours a day. Being on the horse walker is not a substitute for turnout it must be mindlessly boring for the horse.
 
After being on a yard where L was kept in 24/7 since before christmas untill 3 weeks ago when I moved yards I can honsetly say I didn't think such a big change in a horse was possible!

He became very stressed in the stable, biting at people and toward the later stages bucking in the stable! he was also extremley spooky when ridden and threw himself about all over the show quite literally!

Now after being out every day for the last 3 weeks he has completley changed, he is calm and sensible basically back to his usual loving self. He no longer throws himself about and is no where near as spooky.

NEVER will I stay on a yard where the horses are kept in longer than need be.
 
Well, my yard has restricted turnout in the winter. We have good sized hard standing for them to be out in daytime and then in stables at night. We can use fields if it has been really cold and fields are hard. They have actually been out a fair bit this year.
 
I could never consider this, my horses would go mad, i do understand that as you say it is only for the next 5-6 weeks, but for how many weekd prior has the horses on the yard not been allowed out.
Was it the whole winter? will it happen that every winter they are not allowed out on the land?
Questions you have to consider? only you know your horse, and how they will cope.
Sorry does not help at all
 
oops didn't finish my post above...
Well, my yard has restricted turnout in the winter. We have good sized hard standing for them to be out in daytime and then in stables at night. We can use fields if it has been really cold and fields are hard. They have actually been out a fair bit this year.
My mare is a bit highly strung but as long as she has her routine she is happy. First thing I take her into arena for a roll, this is the main thing she misses about the field. She is ridden daily, walked out for a nibble, as is the wee pony. both of them are happy bunnies, mine love their stables. A couple of times this year when they have been able to get into the fields, my mare actually jumped out a few times as I had left her in the field too long. After about an hour or so, they are more than ready to come in again. She is an ex racehorse so i suppose routine is her main priority.
The other point is that, if she was in a field all day and standing in mud at the gate, she would be up to her arse in mud fever.
So please don't look down on or think that people with restricted turnout are bad owners, if i thought my 2 were unhappy then I would have moved by now.
The uspide is nice people, fantastic off road hacking, arena, nice stables etc
 
Having been on a yard with NO winter turnout, I can only tell you my experiences. In our area it is very difficult to find yards with turnout due to heavy clay. Our lad went on the walker every day & would go in the school for a leg stretch. He was also worked 6 days a week. He then went lame & after various tests was diagnosed with navicular, I was told by more than one vet that standig in for such long periods is detrimental to horses & there is an opinion amongst many vets that due to lack of blood circulation in the feet it can in turn lead to navicular. According to the vets I spoke to, it is fairly common in dressage horses who only have limited or no turnout.

I have since found a yard with turnout & the difference in him is amazing, yes we have no grass but he is constantly mooching around and so much happier & best of all SOUND!!

I will also never consider going to a yard with no turnout after my experiences.
 
God how would you all cope on my yard eh?! My yard is one of the best in the area. Sadly i live in an area where there tends to be a lot of not very nice people and our yard is quiet, friendly and the prices are fairly good.
But.. we dont have winter turnout. We have 2 sand paddocks, one arena we can loose school and ride in, and another for turnout so horses can have a leg stretch and a play.
Though my youngster has a seperate field that i share as i dont want to limit his turnout due to his age and temperament. I also have 2 other mares who are perfectly happy with this arrangement.

For me, limited turnout is better than being on a crappy yard with 40+ horses, terrible facilities with the dregs of society who are more intent on creating arguments and yard politics than caring for their horses. A lot of you who have been on horrible yards will agree im sure.
And my horses are happy, healthy and sound. So, i dont think having limited turnout is the hanging offence that some of you appear to be making out. As long as your horse can have a run about and a leg stretch each day i really dont think its that bad. Unless of course there was a specific reason the horse couldnt live in. As with my youngster, but this has been dealt with accordingly.
Unfortunately not everyone is fortunate enough to have a yard in their area with winter turnout, simple as.
x
 
One golden rule of horse care is to treat horses as individuals... but horses' very design is for movement and keeping them - even in a generously-sized stable/pen - "cooped up" for long periods of time is the aboslute anithesis of everything they are built to do.
It can be argued that we have domesticated them - which in fact, they allowed us to do [to save being eaten] - and they have become man's servant and friend; nevertheless, their entire physiology is affected by the way they live. As upthread, navicular changes can certainly be brought about by reduced circulation, itself brought on by confinement - let alone, impact on the respiratory and digestive systems.
I stupidly (and having been slight misled) moved my beautiful thoroughbred gentleman to a hunting yard (not a hunting person myself...) where his turnout was very limited; he went from the perfect schoolmaster to a stroppy, fizzy and somewhat ill-tempered show off - who scared me half to death. We had many many discussion over turnoput - with the owner believing that horses have become conditioned to living in stables and only being brought out for short periods of exercise - oh the arguments we have had over the years.
Horses have expressions that seem to display equanimity; but they rely on us to do what is best for them; they should not have to show behavioural traits that indicate mental stress before we actually (and if then, in some cases) take action to do the best for them in all respects.
 
I am on a yard where there is no turnout in the winter. My horse is an anglo-arab so he and I both hate it!As long as he is ridden every day he is fine. We don't even have a horse walker (I only pay £12.50 a week) but I can leave him out in a yard which is quite big and he can socialise with outher horses over the gate during the day and he is fine.
Basically it's not ideal, but most livery yards around where I live are like that so I have no choice.
Did you say that they were in for another 5-6weeks though? If so this is strange, I would have thought they would be allowed out soon, otherwise it's a long time adn the fields will be dry. Also find out if there is a paddock you could turnout in for 30 mintues a day, it makes a difference for them to just have a bit of time even if it's not every day.

Sometimes if you ask you get what you need!
 
I personally wouldn't have my horses on a yard with no turn out. However those that have no access to turn out need to be exercised every day regardless imo, otherwise they should not be kept in unless on medical grounds.

As I am unable to guarantee that mine are exercised daily either ridden or lunged then I wouldn't opt for no turn out.

Horses accept eventually anything that is imposed on them and get used to it, but it doesn't make it 'right'
 
QR - Raff would cope fine without turnout. in fact, he got very stressed when first introduced to 24/7 turnout... he was only used to minimal turnout.
he doesn't like sleeping/weeing/pooing in the field... and he's often to be found hovering by the gate waiting to come in. when left out for more than a day or two at a time, when you bring him in, he falls asleep like he's got narcolepsy or something... ;)

however, iggle would go insane with anything more than a day in at a time. when weather was v v v bad, he was kept in for 2 days (he's raff's companion, and raff couldn't cope with the mud/snow etc) and climbed the walls... actually, he ate the walls...

i think it depends on the horse, on what the horse is used to. also, it depends on what the stable is like... we've tried to keep ours as light and airy as poss, and have openings between the stables so Raff and Iggle can have snuggle time.
 
Im not a fan of having horse in 24/7. It creates more problems such as boredom vices, i.e. weaving and can cause ulcers. Horses werent designed to stay in a stable, let alone 24/7.
 
I think alot of people on this thread don't know how the other half lives. My horse has always lived on the urban fringe for the 15 years I have owned her. Stabling of any sort is hard to come by in these situations, land is scarce and YOs may or may not be horsey so aren't necessarily tuned in to what horses and owners need. People who live in the country are often spoilt for choice in comparison. Previously I kept my horse on a yard with a floodlit outdoor, smallish indoor (more than most other yards had) and there was only summer turnout, and then only during the day. My horse was ridden every day when she was stabled, long hacks at weekends and grazed in hand at every opportunity after work (which added a big time burden on ME). Now she is retired on a farm with absolutely no facilities, but does have year round turnout. I CHOOSE to keep her in at night from the end of October to around May. She hangs around at the gate most evenings and beetles into her stable as fast as she can. She suffers with mudfever and the fields are little more than mud at this time of the year (very wet ground) and we are a bit restricted about putting hay out. There is also no shelter available. Why do I want to make her stand around in cold wet mud with nothing to eat day and night? She has advanced arthritis in her knees and is only happy to lie down in her stable, so for many months in the summer she basically doesn't rest properly. She therefore uses the winter months to really sleep. Yes, she loves the summer when she is out 24/7, but clearly also likes being in with food she doesn't have to argue about, in her own space where no-one is going to bother her. I don't just fix a date to bring her in for the winter, but reintroduce her stable over a period of about a month so that there is as little stress involved as possible - like any change should be made with horses. There are no other yards in the area with true winter grazing and as it is, I travel 16 miles each way to keep her on a yard that I think offers what is best for her.

As for shouting at people whose horses "have to cope" - what about police horses, military horses, or expensive show ponies, dressage horses, showjumpers etc. who rarely see grass in case they scratch themselves, pull a tendon etc? I know of one showjumper (England squad) who keeps his horses in narrow stalls so that they are unable to lie down and get cast. I personally hate people who rug show ponies all year round in case they either get dirty or their coats get bleached in the sun (never actually seen that happen in my entire life - summer coats are invariably lighter in colour quite naturally) and they fear that they might miss out on a rosette.
 
fatpiggy said:
As for shouting at people whose horses "have to cope" - what about police horses, military horses, or expensive show ponies, dressage horses, showjumpers etc. who rarely see grass in case they scratch themselves, pull a tendon etc? I know of one showjumper (England squad) who keeps his horses in narrow stalls so that they are unable to lie down and get cast. I personally hate people who rug show ponies all year round in case they either get dirty or their coats get bleached in the sun (never actually seen that happen in my entire life - summer coats are invariably lighter in colour quite naturally) and they fear that they might miss out on a rosette.
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I don't remember anyone saying we admire the way these horses are kept? I disagree strongly on all the points you have made in this paragraph, just as I do with no T/O.
 
heidirusso said:
I don't remember anyone saying we admire the way these horses are kept? I disagree strongly on all the points you have made in this paragraph, just as I do with no T/O.
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Well that's fine, it's a free country after all. I was simply trying to introduce another viewpoint because life isn't all black and white. The only discussion on this thread has been about "normal" horses. No-one has considered the extremes and true working horses. How much turn-out do you think racehorses get? What about the riding school in the heart of London? Until last summer I was caring for a 44year old. She lived out 24/7 and it broke my heart to see her out in the winter gales and rain. Luckily she was put down before having to go through this terrible winter we have just had. At every opportunity she used to sneak into peoples' stables and we'd find her fast asleep at the back. Clearly she WANTED to come in. It is fine having strong views and opinions about something, but refusing to try to even see something from another persons' point of view, even if you still don't agree with it after, is how wars start and really is very small-minded. As I said, I don't agree with the showing set up, but I do understand why they do things the way they do. I just think they are putting themselves before the animal too much, that's all.
 
Ours cope very well. have been at prestent yard for over 10 yrs and there is no winter turnout. On the rare occasion that it gets dry enough to turn out the horses want to come in after an hour.
Interestingly we moved our retired 22 yrold mare to a nearby yard to give her some winter turnout ( thought we were doing her a favour ). Here everything goes out for 3 - 4 hrs most days but she wants to come back in after 1 hour. As soon as she spots someone she starts charging around wanting to come in even though everything else is out. So she's coming back soon.
 
fatpiggy said:
It is fine having strong views and opinions about something, but refusing to try to even see something from another persons' point of view, even if you still don't agree with it after, is how wars start and really is very small-minded. As I said, I don't agree with the showing set up, but I do understand why they do things the way they do. I just think they are putting themselves before the animal too much, that's all.
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Well, no. I am not saying everyhorse in the world must live out no matter what! An old horse will not deal with the weather elements such a another horse would, in those cases care must be taken to their arrangements.
 
Having replied to this thread already I think (hopefully I'm correct) that the OP wasn't meaning that they felt horses should be OUT 24/7. I too moved our previous pony from a yard with NO winter turnout at all to one with t/o. He really wasn't happy & after sticking it out for 3 months, I moved him back to the yard with NO turnout, he settled immediately & was happy.

However, as referred to in my previous reply our new horse was not happy with no turnout & became very difficult. He was diagnosed with navicular 13 months after we got him & the vets said that it is a possibility that the standing in his box for very long periods without being able to move around can affect the blood circulation in the feet & could well have contributed to him getting navicular.

I have moved him to another yard with t/o and he is in at night. With the dreadful weather we have had, I decided to restrict his turnout as there is no point standing out in mud & lack of grass. So long as he has 1-2 hours he is more than happy to come in & is totally different temprement wise so I am of the opinion that no turnout did not suit him in the slightest & would never have a horse in a yard with no turnout again.

Even if I had a horse that would accept being in, I couldn't take the risk after more than one vet telling me about the possible link to navicular.
 
Think it depends on the horse.

Mine would never come in, even for 5 minutes in a box - he hated it if you could so much as trick him into going in in the first place. Have a friend whose horse does not like being out - she gets put out but makes such a scene trying to get back in its not worth it because she'll do herself a mischief.
 
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