horses who live out!

J

jumper_stars

TaMz
Dec 30, 2005
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Ok iv taken a bold step in saying that ill be leave Nevada out for the winter!! She has been stabled for the last 15 years and I feel awful for doing this to her but its the easiest way for the lady who will be helping me out when im out the country!! Does anyone else think Im being cruel??

For those of you who leave there horses out is there any tips you can pass on to me?? She is a IDxTB. Am I being really silly in doing this??

There is no shelter whatsoever in the fields so if the weather is really horrid she could always coem in as ill always have a stable..

any help will be appreciated!
Thanks
tam xx
 
no your not cruel at all! my ponys live out all year round (apart from skittles cos he's a big fat wuss and he omes in in the winter nights) dose your feild have any trees in it? most ponies prefer to shelter under trees anyway because it's more naturall for them. as long as she is rugged up when it's cold she should be fine (tip-buy 2 or 3 rugs so you always have a dry one to put on her :) ) if your stable is in your feild you could always leave the dorr open so she could use it as a shelter in realy bad weather (that what i do for my lot).
just remeber it's humans that invented stables not horses :D
 
I have always kept my Arabs out all winter, without blankets. Long as they have all they can eat hay (I don't hard feed my horses at all) and a good water source they have always been fine - it is VERY common where I am, and where winter nights can dip below -40 C When checked on their coat is all standing up for extra insulation and they are warm and toasty. They used thier shelter so rarely it's actually funny!

Personally I feel that you shouldn't rug unless you need to as it interferes with the coats natural ability to protect the horse from the elements. Having said that I realize you live in a much damper climate then I do and that that can be complicated.

Also get yourself some pam cooking spray, and spray it on the feet when you clean them - it can't help prevent you coming out to horse standing in "high heels" of packed snow.

Don't feel guilty, it is a very natural thing for horses to live out in extreme cold and heat. They have less breathing problems because they arn't all cooped up. I find my horses are much happier this way and more agreeable when it comes to work as they arn't generally feeling sour!
 
All my horses throughout the years have always lived out, all of their lives. We have a stable or two ready in case of emergencies, vet visits, that sort of thing, but that is all the stables are used for.

However your horse will need some sort of shelter from strong biting winds and driving rain. Natural shelter would do fine - high hedges, tall bushes, that sort of thing. If you put up a man-made wooden shelter you will probably find your horse will choose to shelter behind it rather than inside it! Our horses have a large barn that they can wander in and out of as they wish, but generally speaking they tend to use it more in the summer to get out of the flies.

Ad lib hay, loads of it, is far better than rugs. That's presuming your horse is fairly young and fit. Oldies or very thin-skinned thoroughbreds may need a rug. But other than that, it is better to let them grow a good thick winter coat and not flatten it with a rug. This does of course mean that your horse spends the entire winter months filthy dirty and covered in wet mud - but he'll be happy!

Over the years I've kept Irish Draughts, Arabs, ID x TB, cobs, Shetlands, and now a Fell pony. All of them have happily wintered out under these conditions with good glossy coats and enough weight on them to keep them as warm as toast, and are far more healthy because of it. We are lucky in that we have enough land to let them winter out and chop it up - I know other people aren't so fortunate and livery yards often say horses must be stabled in winter to save the grazing. It is a difficult balancing act, but if asked, I'm sure any horse would say he prefers being out.
 
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Well carrie h has said it all for me!

ours are out 24/7 all year
they far prefer natural shelter, even prefer bums in hedges rather than trees
ad lib hay
rugs for oldies etc
filthy & healthy!

Nevada will think she's gone to heaven.

BTW it's also good if others helping 'cos timing of visits isn't so critical, compared to trying to put them out / in when others do on yard or they kick the door down.
 
My 2 live out 24/7. One IDXTB and one CBXTB both love it.

Good advice has been given above, all i have to add is: don't feel guilty when you see her all muddy in the cold wintery days, she will be loving it. Loads of hay and a dry place to snooze , hey presto!
 
Could you try & see how she copes outside 24/7 where you are now?

It depends on the horse really. Outof all th horses I've had, only one did not like or do well out 24/7. She was a thoroughbred that had only known the comforts of a stable. Being a show horse all her life she was catered to her every whim.

She then stayed at a stable where turn out was very much emphasized. She was there for 3 yrs and quasi tolerated it. She was a nervous nellie/fuss pot whenever things were not like she was used to. Then here I come & offer her the whole run of a barn as a shelter (there were 2 stalls in the barn as well). She started weaving.

Then I took her to my place where it was total outdoor living, which ended up being too much for her. Within 2 yrs she had passed away.

I don't mean to frighten you but like I said, out of X many horses I've owned, she was the only one that couldn't adapt.

Good luck with your mare.
 
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My TBx and Arab xTB have lived out fine in the past, and Im prob gonna have them out this year too. They are both rugged as they are wimps, but are much happier out than in.
 
Milly and 5 other horses lives out 24/7 all their lives (no rugs either)... most horses happily live outdoors but there are some that cant adapt well
 
hmm...you know jawhara doesnt really like turnout. I turn her out but keep her barn door open, which leads to the stable. after she runs and gallops, lets off some steam and walks around for a bit (20 minutes:p ) she wants to go in the barn, open her stable door, and sleep cozy on the shavings.

I expected every horse to like turnout, but she doesnt; so every horse is different and honestly if jawhara didnt mind staying outside (she doesnt like staying outside even in summer,spring, fall, or winter) I would keep her out 24/7 rugless.
 
jumper_stars said:
Does anyone else think Im being cruel??
Click to expand...

Some would say that it's cruel to keep them cooped up in stable all day, every day! Some horses do seem to 'like' to stay in all the time but you have to wonder if it's just that it's what they've become accustomed to, a bit like prisoners getting institutionalised. I think, though, that you need to listen to your horse and see what they prefer. They may go a bit loopy at first if they're not used to turnout or even not want to go in the field but you'll soon find out which your horse prefers, they're usually pretty vocal about their preferences :)

I don't think that you're being cruel at all. Most horses are happier out in a field as long as they can keep warm by moving around and fairly dry by taking shelter.

You'll find that horses that have a reasonable amount of turnout don't have the same incidence of stereotypies. They can also graze as they're supposed to graze (ie trickle graze for up to 18 hours a day) and find herbs and plants that they need rather than just the stuff that we decide that they need! Turnout can help to maintain a basic level of fitness and help keep a highly strung horse rideable.

Some horses seem to like staying in their stables for some of the day, even Saffy who is a real field monster occasionally asks to stay in (but not often).

It is natural for horses to be out in the field so don't worry, it's certainly not cruel.
 
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I do not think you are at all cruel but I do think that after 15 years of stabling you will have to take it a step at a time and see how she goes. My ID x TB lives out all year very happily.

She will be happiest if she has lots of hay/forage food so that she has enough to keep weight on as well as keep warm. Watch out for any weight loss as it is so hard to get the weight back on once it is lost.

I'm sure she will probably love being out as it is the most natural thing for horses, but she will soon tell you if she is not.
 
My TB/WB was 7 when i ot her and had been stabled all her life. I came along and threw her in a field with some trees, plenty of hay, some friends and a lightweight rug (it was december - she trashed it within a week so went rugless after that). she loved it!
I had a transformastion from a horse that was sold as 'slighty loopy' to a sane mare. i dont have as much time as her last owners and her workload has decreased, but shes stayed busy running about.
She was stabled for two weeks in january and started box walking and turned back into her old nutty self, turned her out for a week and hey presto! got my girl back :D
 
My horse lives out 24/7 unless the weather is really really torrential or I have a show in the morning :D

I dont think your cruel, your horse probably prefers it, its how they are meant to live all natural. He would probably be really miserable if you started bringing him in all of a sudden.
 
Falcon lives out 24/7 in all weathers. After all he came off the Fells. I'm sure a Sussex field isn't as harsh as the Fells. I did rug him up last winter for a while as it go so wet - but he trashed his rug so now hasn't got one and, at the moment my budget wont stretch to one, so he'll have to wait for a bit. Although at the moment, it's still pretty warm.
 
yes - echo the others. most horse send up far happier and healthier out 24/7 - but as said, after 15 years it will be a shock to the system so work up to it.

my only concern is that there is no shelter - all our fields have at least a line of trees or a hedge as a windbreak.
 
I keep both of my TBs out 24/7 all year round, sometimes bring them in for a few hours during the day if the weather is really bad.

One of them is a showjumper, we compete most weekends through the winter & it helps him to keep a level head. I did have to keep them in for 3 weeks in February due to one of them getting an eye injury but otherwise they would have been out!

However, without a shelter I wouldn't do this, they have access to their stables 24/7 & although I find they use them more in the summer to keep out of the heat/away from flies, they still do use them in the winter too!

Is there no way you could buy/build a shelter, I really wouldn't be happy keeping horses out without one, especially as yours has wintered in for the last 15 years, it might be a bit too much
 
Thanks everyone - I have really rad so much on this and spoken to so many ppl and they have said most of what you guys have said. I think show would have to be rugged as really there is hardly any shelter f nto non at all (winter field is also on a hill/slope which is really my main concern. However rugged up and plenty of hay im hoping she will pull through- ill always have her stable for just incase and she does normally grow and really massive coat!!

Holding thumbs!!
xx
 
She'll be fine, just make sure she's plenty of good rugs because if it's the winter fields she used when we were there (the ones on the hill) it gets awfully windy and cold in the worst of the winter. only thing i might be worried about is access to hay, make sure she puts plenty out, i know she was always skimpy on hay when we were there. Your sharer can chase her up about that if necessary :) is nevada still in that corner stable along the back isle of stables? tbh, she'd be warmer (and drier!!) out than in there.
 
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