grass livery

[notpoodle]

hello!

just out of interest (i'm not actually planning to buy a horse ... well, not *now* or in the near future, anyway) ... how easy or difficult is it to find a grass livery place? because wherever i've looked, people only ever seem to do grass livery for horses that are not in work and/or unshod. do any of you keep your horse in grass livery at livery stables?

(i guess not everyone can keep their horse at home)

julia
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[Lovecat]

Hi Julia

I've been researching this one locally (East London/Essex) as I want to buy and would like the horse to be turned out as much as possible.

The best I've managed to find so far is a place that lets them out for half a day (morning or afternoon) every day. It seems that grazing is in short supply round here! One place, which is a lovely-looking yard, boasted that their liveries got turned out 'at least twice every week, for up to 2 hours' !:eek:! Other places don't seem to offer it at all... :(

The only alternative in my area seems to be to go completely DIY as there are several fields out there for hire (I found them through notices in the local saddlery). I can't commit the time to that sort of upkeep, so I'm going to have to accept that any horse I get will be part stabled during the day - sadly the back garden just isn't big enough!

Cathy:D

[liz--y]

i think alot of yards dont do grass livery because for the winter they dont want horses out 24hrs on there land

[Showjumper]

Dolly is on purely grass livery, although there are a few stables up on the yard that can be rented for an additional £7 a week should the horse need to be kept in for any reason.

[notpoodle]

turned out twice a week for two hours? that's just cruel, i think.

@ liz-zy: i think total destruction of any land that's used most of the time could be reduced with a bit of paddock management/rotation system.

thanks for your replies :)

julia
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[bebophutch]

Its not cruel at all, some horses have to be kept IN 24hours 365 days a year:)

[Fuzz and This]

I don't think its very fair for horses to be stable kept at all unless they are ill or sumthing but thats is just my own opinion. I have found that horses that are field kept live longer as I have a 45 yr old cob and there is a 41 yr old Welsh Section A at my yard. Both of them live out 24 hrs a day 365 days per week.

[liz--y]

i think it is cruel to stable a horse all the time.

mine are turned out all year usually just in at night if weather is bad.

i wasnt getting at anything, just the idea i get from people from here, before i moved to my yard, i was at one of the few that did allyear round turnout. alot of the yards are ownered by farmers and they are funny about animals on there land. although the horsey people are the same around here if not worse than the farmers.

they often dont have enough land for the ammont of horses t be able to rotate enough

[Showjumper]

I'm lucky where I am now. Where I was less than a week ago, had far too many horses per aces so that in the slightest bit of rain, the fields all turned to mud, and the grass didn't last long.

Where I am now is wonderful.

[notpoodle]

I think I agree with Fuzz And This on this one. It's a lot better for pretty much any horse to live outside as much as possible. I think that daily turnout is an absolute must if you want your horse to be a happy horse. also, horses who get out a lot are usually far more pleasant to ride ... personally, i'd rather not get on a horse that has been locked up in the stable for a week ... just think of all the energy stuck inside the poor horse ...

but maybe that's just me ...

julia
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[Lovecat]

Agree completely, Julia, which is why, unless my numbers come up in the lottery, I'm going to have to go with the rented field option and maybe see if I can get a sharer to do half the week (I work 8 til 6 and it's an hour's commute each way, so no way can I manage DIY livery on my own...)

The horses at the yards I've seen with little or no turnout do seem to be very well looked after and happy, but I don't like the idea of it at all - unnatural!

Cathy:D

[CityGirl]

If you can do 24/7 turnout - you're very lucky..... If you live in an urban area (or certain countries) that option just doesn't exist. In an ideal world, I'm sure we would all like our horses to have room to run & play but unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. Lots of stables simply don't have the facilities to turn the horses out. It's not that they don't love their horses or try to do what's best - it's a matter of coping.
Please keep that in mind before saying its cruel to keep a horse stabled...:(

[notpoodle]

hm, i'm not sure i'd wanna keep a horse if i couldn't give it any turnout at all. imagine you were locked up in a room 24/7, and when you get to leave the room, you have to exercise under a rider and dont get to move about as freely as you'd like to. personally, i'd find that pretty horrible.

please don't take offence, i don't mean that personal, it's just my humble opinion and i don't expect everyone to agree with me.

julia
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[Cheko]

My pony's keep out all year round 24/7 except for a few weeks in the summer as he's prone to Laminitis. I agree with city Girl that it's preferable to keep a horse out if possible. Many yards especially in towns/cities dont have that facility so keeping them out is impossible. However one could argue that if there isn't the facilities for a horse to live as naturally as possible to keep it happy, relaxed etc, then you dont have a horse.