Winter Worries

[joy70]

:o o.k. so im flapping and getting all paranoid about winter - dunno why its never been an issue before, maybe as Toddy is now 15 or so, im beginning to think of him as OLD :eek: (hope he doesn't read this);)

toddy lives out 24/7 and has done most years, he is usually clipped & has a medium weight outdoor rug for the whole winter season, once we hit March & the clocks spring forward and we start having milder days, the rug comes off and stays off! cant be doing with faffing around putting them on one day and taking them off the next, plus i only visit once a day, evenings after work. He has a bucket feed every evening, and is turned back out into the field, the grazing usually dies off very quickly and they do not get hay ad lib in the fields

this year i intended to fetch him in for his feed of an evening & give him hay and a friend has offered to return him to the field after a couple of hours, at weekends when i have more available time, i may stable him overnight so i can fill him up on hay, and also have a nice dry pony to ride! but am i being unfair, will he the feel the cold come Sunday when he is turned back out into the field?

Any one have any views on this please

We don't have morning turnout facility available for me to keep him in overnight and if im completely honest i find it difficult with work & other commitments to turn him out in the mornings myself!

:)

[AJB]

Joy -sounds like you have a bit of forward planning and you should be ok-everyone has a different winter regime and it seems to me it depends on the yard and their policy as much as your own when your a livery!!. Last year we fed hay en mass for 10 from November and went on to rotation turnout from the 1st November-arghhh. All horses had to be in at night from then until April. However the rotation meant only 3-4 out each day so hay feeding was less stressful all round. This year we are going to try a penning system where each livery is paired and the field is sectioned to 2 in each section, which we hope will mean no poo picking hassle, easier hay feeding and no rotation turnout which will be great for the horses and us!!!. However we are still in the summer field at the moment and as the grazing is soo poor have just put in 2 round bales for 6 of them!!-it works well but mine is on a eating regime that seems not to allow him to sleep and as such is hard work when he does come in to work!!!

I think as long as you monitor it and let him pig at weekends on hay and keep the rugs on you should be fine-good luck

[Mehitabel]

15 isn't old! i personally wouldn't bother stabling him at weekends - he's rugged, so the important bits will be dry, and if there is any stiffness it'll be worse stood in than out wandering round.
stop flapping until he is 25! ;)

[Bebe]

Last winter Bebe came in for a couple of nights a week from round about now up until she came in properly at the end of December. She didn't mind the change in routine and I think she took the chance to fill up on hay (we can't feed it in the field and she does eat tons!) and have a nap in the warm. She didn't seem to feel the cold anymore for having been in. When she stayed in really depended on how she felt - sometimes she wouldn't come out of the stable unless I forced her, others she'd be leaning on the door and also how wet it was as she gets mud fever so I need to get her legs dry at least once every 48 hours to put her Leg Guard on to prevent it.

I'm actually going to leave her in tonight as she is napping going back to the field after coming in for tea. She did the same last week and I left her in one night and she just slept and munched by the looks of her and the stable (very neat, she's such a clean mare!). She was happier going back out at night after that but she must be getting ready for a night in going by the napping.

I think Toddy will be fine with the routine you have in mind if you think he needs a bit of TLC and extra hay.

15 isn't old though!

[joy70]

Thanks guys

i know 15 isn't old really, spose its cause he's my only boy and i worry. He dropped some weight last year after i'd whipped his rug off and wanted to prevent it from happening again this year, but im ready for it this time.

My friends horse is 34 this year, he lives out in the day but comes in at night - hes right as rain too

Thanks again! now i feel happier:D