live out or stabled at night????

[TheHoglet]

hello everyone!:D
i was wondering if anyone could help me on this, i have a medium weight cobby pony who has been living out over the past coupple of nights because is stable has fallen to bits hehe:p but its getting fixed tomorrow so i was wondering what would be best for me to do with him? should he go back to his normal routene (in on a night out in the day) , should he continue to live out with the other two ponys because he seems quite happy with them or i was thinking that he could be stabled in the day so he dosnt get botherd by the flys and let him out at night when the grass has no nutritional value anyway????
oh and could someone tell me if i should continue feeding himhis hard feed or just cut it out in the summer (he hasnt had it for the past 2 nights and seems ok) because he's started to become a little fizzy

thanks for your help!:)

xx bex xx

[holiday]

If he tends to get over weight it maybe as well for him to come in during the day. Horses tend to eat less grass at night so you can limit his intake, if he is getting more grass as hopefully everyone has now he may need his feed cutting down or cutting out completely. See how he is behaving and his condition.

[millie n pride]

In summer my horse lives out 24/7 with no extra feed and he is fine with it. Depends on what your horse likes and his breed and weather he is a good doer etc

[becs]

'spose it depends on his ideal weight, current workload and how good your grass is - whatever keeps him healthy & happy.

Re. just out at night to limit grazing, Robert Eustace (lami expert) used to be sceptical of that - saying they'll just eat non-stop / faster all night, then rest when they're stabled. If you seriously need to limit his grazing, best to strip graze / consider muzzle.

We reduce feed gradually to nil over May depending on weather / their weight. But ours do little work-wise.

Assuming his weight is good, if he's fizzy, sounds like a good idea especially if this rain has made your grass grow lots.

[TheHoglet]

thanks everyone!
i have decided he's not having any hard feed because he's gone from spooky lil nappy poo to a good as gold lil plod :D (and in gail force wind) he is as happy as can be living with the ponys 24/7 (well he was today anyway) and there isnt loads of grass so as long as the weathers nice i think i'll probably keep him out :).
but now i need to know when do i start bringing him back into his stable at night?

[horsein around]

thanks everyone!
i have decided he's not having any hard feed because he's gone from spooky lil nappy poo to a good as gold lil plod :D (and in gail force wind) he is as happy as can be living with the ponys 24/7 (well he was today anyway) and there isnt loads of grass so as long as the weathers nice i think i'll probably keep him out :).
but now i need to know when do i start bringing him back into his stable at night?
hi i have 2 13.1hh welshx ponies an a 17hh ID they all live out all year round an are very happy with that. i tried to stable one of my ponies last winter and he hated it so much he jumped out his stable:eek: by the sounds of it he seems happy to be out.

[millie n pride]

Pride starts being in at night at the end of october (yard rules), the only other time he stays in at night in summer is if the vet/farrier is due the next day or if the weather is really bad.

[Sammii]

I definitely would have done the same as you and kept them out 24/7 because they might aswell make the most of it whilst they've got it, eh? As for when to bring him back in, it depends on when his 2 companions go in (if they go in) and well if you are worried about too much rain or if he's gaining/dropping weight excessively....it's all about your personal opinion. But yeah, is he out with a rug? If not, then if the weather gets worse introduce a rug and then if it gets even worse bring him in as and when you feel is right.