Yearling - To keep in or move out?

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becca+romeo

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Hi,
I have a 18 months old (almost), friesian gelding, he has been in the UK since May and spent his first winter in a barn in Holland.
He is currently stabled at night but I have been offered grazing at a fantastic yard nearer to my house that he would share with an older horse. It has a small stable for shelter, big enough for them to both stand in but not to be down at night in.
So far I have stable fleece and a medium weight rug. He is slightly underweight at the moment but I have only had him since the beginning of October and since feeding him haylage and 2 feeds a day, plus worming him he is looking much better.
I just want an idea on whether or not he would be ok out and if i should rug more or less?
He is very fine and has no winter coat at all, I have been advised to get a lightweight because as long as he is dry he will be ok but the rest of the horses at the yard have their fluffy winter coats and he hasn't.
Any help would be great,
Thank you
Becca :-)
 
difficult to say if we cant see him, so piccies please!!!!! most horses cope fine as long as they have enough hay and shelter..if he hasn't got much coat put a lightweight rug on to keep him dry and make sure he has plenty of hay to munch on as that will help him keep warm. sounds like a good idea to let him be out all of the time ..once you start riding him you will prob be stabling him more so its nice to let them be more natural when they are young....
 
Thank you
It wont let me post pictures of him :-( using the measuring tape he came up as 390kg the day he arrived, he is standing at 15hh and is in 6'3 rugs. He was 1 in June.
His vet said he could do with putting a bit of weight on but she isn't overly concerned. He was wormed a few weeks ago for the first time that we know of, so hopefully that should help.
With the hay situation, I was thinking if I bring him in for an hour in the morning for his breakfast and a haylage net and then the same again in the evening?
 
Hope this works, you cant really see on the picture but he is quite ribby, this was before worming.

romeo.JPG
 
agree with your vet he looks ok but could do with a little more weight going into winter.. he looks lovely....your idea of bringing him in morning and evening to eat is a good one. that will help with manners if he is used to being handled every day. you should take his rug off and give him a groom as well so you can check for any rubs /injuries etc..
 
Thank you :-)
That is the other thing, I have improved his manners since he arrived and don't really want to let this slide. I know he is only young but I think it is never too early to teach manners. Don't want to have to start from scratch again as he is going to be bigger again next time around so this is important to me to keep on top of.
So he will be ok as long as I keep him dry? I will buy 2 lightweight rugs and remove, brush and swap each day. Give the other a chance to air out!
 
you can only try this and if he seems cold you may have to get a heavier rug for the worst of the winter..good luck it sounds like you are being sensible but people on a forum can only give their opinion, its you who will see him daily and will know if he is too thin or too fat or if he is too cold...if you are not sure is there an experienced horse person you could ask to check him every so often...
 
I am of the opinion that it is better for youngsters to be out 24/7 so I would feed/rug according to the weather and his condition with the turnout option rather than stabling.
 
I would chuck him out 24/7 feed twice daily IF needed but feed ad lib good quality hay he will gain weight on that-try not to rug-I would certainly try to encourage him to grow a coat but not rugging at the mo as it is so mild
 
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