living out

[rachil]

I have a hope, perhaps in the next few years, that I might have my own horse. At the moment family and work commitments just won't allow. I imagine I would look for a native breed to live out throughout the year. I've read the books but would love to hear from any other NR owners whose horses are turned out all year round......

How much time a day do you spend on your horse?

Do you feel it's necessary to have stabling to hand 'just in case'?

Please let me know if & how such a system works for you and your horse.

Thanks,

[Sharon H]

I keep my two at grass livery. They're out all the time. The yard owner checks them for me every day and puts out hay in the winter, so I don't actually have to go out to them at all if I don't want to. She does have somewhere that they could be brought into if need be. I think I would worry if there was absolutely nowhere to bring them into in case of emergency or illness.

[Sarah]

hello!

I now keep my horse at grass 24hrs a day and that suits her fine. I spend about 30 mins with her in the morning feeding her and checking that she stilll has 4 legs and about the same in the evening if not riding, but a lot longer if riding too!

The yard we are at has emergency stables that are kept free for any grass liveries that need a stable such as if the horse is injured or you are going to a show and need a clean horse.

I think native horses and ponies in general find this routine very easy, if you have a poor doer, you will need to make sure that the grazing is good and supplement the grazing with hard feed possibly all year round and you will need to put hay out over the winter.

The being out 24hrs a day really suits me and Tango well - she is a much happier horse and I am a much happier owner as i don't have to muck out a stable. Mind you, we do have to de-poo the fields but that is a better task than mucking out I think.

bye!

[KarlR]

My TB lives out 24 hours and I think enjoys it.

However, on occasion he needs a stable. For example I took him "dressaging" on Saturday and kept him in Friday so he was clean and rested. On other occasions I've brought him in simply because the weather had been bad and he looked very weary.

Also, it's important to have someone there who will rush out in the middle of the night and put a rug on it a storm blows up - I pay about half way between grass and full livery to have a stable put to one side and an attentive livery yard owner on hand, which work out well for me - sometimes I'll leave him without a rug because it is hot, then the weather will suddenly change while I'm hundreds miles away.

[Wally]

All ours live out all year up in the frozen north- in Shetland.

However we do have indoor shelter for them if the weather is bad for days on end, just to give them a break from the wind and rain. I am not a fan of loose boxes and so we allow them into the indoor school to mill about as a herd. The important thing is company and access to eqine physical contact. Loose boxes deny a horse this. I have a big barn which is split into separate stalls, but the horses can still see each other and touch each other over the tops of the stalls. Mostly they are full of sheep or cows, but occasionally when the weather is really bad I ask if they want in, sometimes they do but more often than not they tell me where I can go!!

Natives are more sensible and can be kept more than one to a stall, so long as it's friends sharing!

[rachil]

Thanks for your replies. Do you clip your horses during the winter or let their coats grow thick? If you leave them unclipped do they still need a rug? - I guess this depends on the breed and the horse.

[rachil]

Sorry about the duplication - I,ve just realised there's another very similar thread already running!

[Spydgal]

I just wanted to say that it is important that people assess each horse individually regardless of their native status as to whether they could live out. Admittedly most natives are fine but if you have one who has never wintered out and then suddenly does then it could be a shock to their system.
It is highly recommended that all horses whether native or not have shelter of some kind if they are out ..... even if just for the day when the weather is unpredictable.
At the rescue centre we have only ever wintered out horses that have only ever wintered out and go loopy in looseboxes. I wish we lived in a country where it was pretty good weather all the time ..... its such a relief to put them out for the warmer weather :-)

[ros]

Hi

Living out: I've done it both ways. My horses are stabled at night in winter nowadays, and out 24/7 in summer. I'd like to allow them out all year round, but our fields are heavy clay and tend to get very soggy, and we'd have problems with mud fever if their legs didn't get the chance to dry out overnight. I wouldn't like to keep horses out with nowhere to bring them in in case of emergencies. I once had to borrow the next door neighbour's garden shed, which wasn't ideal!

Clipping: done that both ways as well. My horses in the old days weren't clipped or rugged. They were well fed but not overweight, and I wasn't doing fast work or hard schooling with them so they really didn't ever get sweaty. I've got two fatties now, and I clip according to what I want to do. You can take a bit more off but you can't put it back on again. If you do something like a bib clip on a fat native you might just get away without rugging, but really if you clip at all you've got to be prepared to rug, so you have to play it by ear.

[LindaAd]

My daughter's mare's a HanoverianX - we've never clipped her because her coat is quite fine, even in winter, and she doesn't sweat much, but she lives out all year, rugged in winter. My cob Barney was clipped out and stabled at night when I bought him a year ago; last winter he grew such a thick coat that he was quite happy to live out, unrugged. This year I think I'll trace clip him because he gets so sweaty, and put a rug on.

Like Spydgal says, it depends on the horse and what you do.

[Bebe]

My mare lived out all last year without a rug (she wasn't in work and I didn't own her then). When I got her she was about 200lbs underweight and had a bad case of rain rot. So, this year she'll be blanketed but still live out. Next year I may stable her overnight during the worst of the winter weather as she's a big wimp and hates rain.

I have the use of a stable if I need it. I think you do need one even if it's just for emergencies (illness, injuries). That said, where I keep Bebe there are 3 stables between 4 horses so we couldn't keep them all in anyway.

As for getting up in the middle of the night to throw rugs on, I've done that and it isn't nice. Horses appreciated it though!

It takes me about 20 minutes to do her in the mornings, she gets a token feed of carrots, apples or something equally tasty, a quick go over with a dandy brush to check for injuries and then feet picked, fly spray and fly mask. It took about 30 mins in March when I got her as she was rugged.

At night, if I'm not riding its about the same. I do try and take her out for a walk in hand, do some groundwork, etc though (she'd rather be eating in the field though). So, 1hr (including 10 mins travelling time) when not riding, 2hrs minimum when I am.

Amanda

[Cathy Reynolds]

Benny is out during day, in at night. Especially in winter fields just too disgusting (clay) to be out all the time - they wait at the gates to come in! Unclipped and only rugged when cold (keeps the weight down). Have bought a lightweight waterproof for the wet 'cos he gets really grumpy if he's soaked. Quickest I can do a spit n' polish groom, muck-out etc is in 45 minutes which includes flinging him on the horse-walker for 20 minutes.

I usually only go once a day and pay a fee to the yard-organiser for either a bring-in or turn-out depending on my work commitments. And that is probably the most important thing in my mind to sort out - how would you manage if you are taken ill/child taken ill/car breaks down or any of the other reasons that could mean you couldn't get to the horse?