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loosefur
Gold Member
584 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 11:02:16 AM
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Why not leave their doors open at night as well?
Plenty of grass under the snow - they love digging down. In fact I put some hay out for them and they shunned it completely in favour of the grass. |
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LYNDILOU
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
13976 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 11:02:24 AM
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Yes I have them out in the summer nights when it is hot, and flies are not bothering them, but they often come in for a few hours during the day out of the flies.
Its horses for courses, what you do with your horses is your business, telling people if they dont do it your way they are in some way damaging their lungs and joints and that they shouldnt have horses, is a different matter . BTW , my stables are lined for extra warmth and when its bitter out it is always warmer inside. |
   
www.dreamfield-arabians.com |
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jaj
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4324 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 11:09:43 AM
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Loosefur, every horse is different. I've had my mare for 12 years and I would bet my Granny that she would rather die than live outside in the winter. She votes with her hooves and it would be a bit pointless to go to all the trouble I do to keep them warm and then leave the blinkin doors open in a howling gale at night  .
I do find it quite hard to believe that in minus 19 degrees many horses would thrive just on frozen solid mud and dormant grass? |
     
Kuraishiya (Maleik el Kheil/Kazra el Saghira) and Sahara Bey (Kuraishiya/WSA Charismma) |
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loosefur
Gold Member
584 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 11:21:25 AM
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| Believe me I've been there too - was on livery yards for years. But that's why I didn't get a youngster until I could rent my own field and keep them out 24/7. I don't have an issue with older horses being stabled at night in the winter - but youngsters need to be out. |
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jaj
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4324 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 11:32:18 AM
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Nor am I on a livery yard. Stables and paddocks at home hence I can do whatever I like and whatever suits my horses best  .
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Kuraishiya (Maleik el Kheil/Kazra el Saghira) and Sahara Bey (Kuraishiya/WSA Charismma) |
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LesleyA
Silver Member
Scotland
328 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 11:33:20 AM
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| My horses stand at the gate wanting to come in when the weather is cold! Maybe mine are abnormal lol! I turn them out every day all weathers while I muck out and in summer they are out 24/7 but can come in during the day if the flies are bothering them. I really think it's all down to what suits you and the routine you like to keep for your animals. I certainly don't think a youngster will come to any harm by being stables overnight...I always believed a weanling should be stabled over their first winter! |
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Zenitha
Gold Member
England
1078 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 8:56:58 PM
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All horses are individuals, and most caring owners get to know which situations their animals prefer.
A lot of my horses live out all year round, very well rugged, with ample food, and they are perfectly happy, and always in great condition. I have two foals out with their dams at the moment, they are well rugged, always warm, and doing really well. I also have two weaned foals who are stabled at night, equally happy, looking just as well (if a little less whooly !). The reason these two are in is because one of them (Sammy) was very ill not so long ago, and there is no way I am leaving him out at night when I still feel so paranoid about him ! The other, Zara, is in because she too has been weaned, and I really don't like the idea of my foals being out at night in this weather without the comfort of their dams (I usually wean a lot later - 9 to 11 months)The foals are perfectly happy, they always have PLENTY of hay left in the mornings, and they have no behavioural problems.
Whilst I am a great believer in providing horses with as natural a life as possible via maximum turnout, I don't believe that stabling them at night (or by day in Summer) is at all detrimental to their health or mental state (24 hour stabling is of course a different matter entirely). There are always horses that prefer to be out, and those that prefer to be in, but I do feel the majority are perfectly ok with spending the night in a dry stable. My own preferred system is using the big barns like the Polish
Poor Sheena, a debate sparked on your innocent thread ! Please don't worry, I'm sure Verona is perfectly happy with how she is being kept !
Loosefur, I would be very interested to know how/where you have come by your information regarding partial stabling of young foals being linked with limb problems etc, as it is not something I have heard of before ?  |
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xsara
Gold Member
822 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 8:58:55 PM
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| I don't think keeping a youngster in a stable over night does them any hard infact if they are used to it when they are younger then when they are older it is not such a big deal. I have worked with young horses which have not been stabled till comming in for handling at 3 and 4 and believe me they are not settled as they are not used to it and it is so stressful for them however if they had been in and handled a bit would have been so much easier for them. youngsters should get some turnout but all my lot look so depressed when i leave them out during the day mine are out for around 7 hours aday with 5/6 other horses and are fed lunch out but anytime I am up mucking them out and putting in hay/haylage they always stand at the gate looking in and the yard owner to bring them all in at night opens the gate and all the horses take them selves to their stables. also when i am up and put my hand in under there rugs to check for how warm/cold they are they are always warmest when in muching on there hay. |
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Quarabian
Platinum Member
Wales
4340 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 10:31:50 PM
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Time to say hello Sheena on this topic. Hello you seem to be doing very well with Verona so far.
Now, just before this starts to polarise further, there is no wrong or right about keeping in or out. However, I would always prefer to have horses out during the day and in at night. Little and often is a wonderful way of handling your youngster. If she is in at night she will be led out to the field and back every day. She will also cope with being in a stable which will help when you show her if you have to stay over night. As long as she gets tunout on a regular basis she will not get any tendon problems. I have had youngsters all my life, they have all been stabled at night. Never had the problems loosefur warns about. However!! over feeding ( I mean stuffing them ) can cause unnatural growth which can lead to problems. One of my livery customers had this happen.
On the specific subject of face pulling, maybe she is warning the other horses that you are her's and they should stay away. Yes it might be feed possiveness but as long as there is no biting or pushing I wouldn't worry. All my horses young and old are in at night. It is the most wonderful feeling to walk round the stables and know that they all have hay, water and a cuddle before I go to bed.
I am off to break the ice on their buckets now. |
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Callisto
Platinum Member
6905 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 10:44:05 PM
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I think the face pulling could well be learned behaviour too - as a result of spending time with our 2 grumpy geldings, Lily has now mastered the art of gurning. It doesn't mean a great deal, they just all make the same face at feeding time (well 2 of them don't, but they are round the corner from the others).
As far as the in/out debate is concerned, it depends on the horse. Mine have always been out 24/7 in the summer. In the winter I have had those that wanted in at 2.30 in the afternoon, and those that would definately be happier out, but with access to a field shelter (not least because that is where they are fed, and where their hay nets are). We try to accommodate their preferences  |
  Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta)
Linda
East Sussex |
Edited by - Callisto on 20 Dec 2010 10:49:51 PM |
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natntaz
Platinum Member
England
2919 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2010 : 03:32:30 AM
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I have brought up youngsters over the years, my old boy i got
at 6 months and he 19 and he has been kept the same way from
young. In at night out of day in winter and sometimes opposite
in summer. He is the most rounded horse anyone could ever meet.
I have bred a couple of foals which have both been fillies and
they have both been bought up exatly the same way and both can
be grumpy in the stable. Nothing was done different for them.
They have all had add lib hay, water and fed twice a day. Have
a rule for myself that they should always be turned out everyday
for at least a couple of hours minimum. They want for nothing
and are very well handled. I personally would not sleep at night
if my horses were out in these conditions but i dont judge people
on doing so and i think its wrong to do so as long as horses are
cared for and are fit and healthy up to you how you keep them but
to say horses are suffering from being in is rubbish. I usually put mine out at 9 in the morning and i can guarentee that within an hour or two (mostly sooner) they will be hanging the gate. Even the grumpy mare that a friend now owns. A month or two after christmas this changes they seem to be happy off in the field and thats where they stay.They let me know when they want to stay out and thats fine with me.
I run a diy livery yard and it always seems to be the mares that
seem to get much harder to handle. We have had horses (mares)
playing up constantly in this bad weather. We always allow turnout no matter what the weather during the whole of the day in the winter but people make there own choices and most of them like to know there horses are in a dry warm stable with as much hay as they like.
I think if it were me i would ignore it us much as possible and hopefully she will sort herself. She may not but in that case prob just a mare thing. JMO
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Natalie Pix. Essex. Tariq ibn Radfan and Taroub |
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Kharidian
Platinum Member
England
4297 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2010 : 10:49:02 PM
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Roger has lived out 24/7 every day since the age of two (barring minor illness/injuries necessitating a few days in), and Chips will be out 24/7 every day from next spring.....Chips (yearling) was out 24/7 from mid-April to the beginning of November this year but is now "only" out for between 6 and 8 hours per day. He is completely calm and relaxed both in the field and in the stable and is a joy to handle.
I personally like a foal and a yearling to be able to come in and lay down in the warm and dry for a restful sleep during their intense growing phases and I think that as long as they have enough daily time out to gallop and play (with company) then there is no problem with developing strong bones, tendons etc.
Sorry, I haven't actually answered your question, Sheena, but just hijacked the topic (as usual)!
Caryn |
Kharidian (Prince Sadik x Khiri)........ Alkara Cassino (H Tobago x Rose Aboud)
aka "Roger".................................... aka "Chips"
     
The first image is from an original painting by Pat Shorto.
South-East Essex |
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Zannyzan
Bronze Member
66 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2010 : 12:14:35 AM
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My yearling and my 7 year old both come in at night and love it, especially my filly who comes cantering to the gate every night. She is not happy being left out late as she stands at the gate screaming.
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Caro23
Gold Member
United Kingdom
617 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2010 : 10:03:26 AM
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I'm sure you'll find it's the horse next door and mares can be very expressive!
Dulcie puts her ears back when I feed her but as soon as she has her bowl she looks very happy - she's just impatient! Last winter she lived out 24/7 for the first time because I got my own fields and she had access to the shelters. She was very happy but she became difficult to handle and it took me months to get her back into work and settled. Since then she comes in over night and this year I have my normal, loving, well behaved girl back again! She got used to it after a week and definitely thrives on routine even if at the moment that doesn't include any ridden work. She gets cross if the routine is broken!
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Caro
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precious
Platinum Member
England
2253 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2010 : 10:29:59 AM
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Sheena like others have said it might just be at food time, my horses are the same when its tesa time they seem to have double personalities but they are most loveable horses ever. I just say to myslef they are pulling faces at the other horses not me 
Everyone on here does what they think is best for THERE horses not everyone/horse is the same it doesnt mean that people are right or wrong.
Shame this thread has turned into a  again, |
     
Gemma Thompson
Birmingham West Midlands
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Tzarina
Platinum Member
England
1997 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 2:11:12 PM
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Loosefur, What I want to know is why do you always think that everyone has to follow and do what you think is right. Reading this, everyone has their own way of working and it doesnt seem to have done them any harm.. I myself have had youngsters that werent out 24/7 and it never did them any harm, they never had any joint/limb/muscle problems as they grew up nor when they had matured and were competing on a regular basis. Every thread that is started you seem to come across in a confrontational way, no-one will ever agree on the same thing.
Nissibay, I am so sorry to have had to write this on your thread, but feel it needs saying |
    
Tzarinaarabians@yahoo.com
"The horse is God's gift to mankind."
"The daughter who wont lift a finger in the house is the same child who cycles madly off in the pouring rain to spend all morning mucking out a stable."
"All horses deserve to be loved by at least one little girl during their life" |
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Kazzy
Platinum Member
England
3335 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 2:18:13 PM
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Pity there isnt a *like* button on here
Janet |
     
Sunny Cheshire |
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suzanna
Bronze Member
Wales
223 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 2:43:46 PM
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| It` quite simple really, leave her out 24/7. she is telling you she is unhappy in her stable. Is there any reason why she can`t live out permanently i.e. are you at a livery yard and these are the rules. If they are, why not look for a better place to keep your horse with full turnout, or try and make it a better place for your horse. |
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suzanna
Bronze Member
Wales
223 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 3:01:41 PM
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Sorry to be blunt, but there is an awful lot of rubbish being written on here, and most of it is what the human thinks is right for the horse, but has anybody asked their horses what they want.
Why do humans think horses want to be tucked up a night, this is human thinking and not horse thinking. I have trialled all ways with my gang and given them the choices, and do you know what they prefer, outdoors all the time even in the freezing conditions, snow, ice etc they love to be outdoors. And before you have a go at me, they do have lovely warm shelters and open stables.
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natntaz
Platinum Member
England
2919 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 3:49:38 PM
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Suzanna, it could also mean that you are wrong to. As you have said
they cant tell us whether they like to be in or out. Most of us do
what we think is right for them. I like to think i have two very happy horses. They are in of a night,out for some of the day. I do
what i feel is right for them and have done it the same way for many many years. I dont have problem horses they are very content. In the summer they stay out. I watch them and know when they are happy to stay out unlike at the moment when they just hang the gate wanting to come in. I dont judge people on whether they keep there horses out so i dont see why you judge people on keeping them in. There are no wrongs or rights we just do our best. |
Natalie Pix. Essex. Tariq ibn Radfan and Taroub |
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Kazzy
Platinum Member
England
3335 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 4:00:59 PM
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I think the majority of us on here are experienced enough, well some of us!! to know what out horses want and we do what they want.
My lad can come and go when he wants and even though he was out at night in the snow and cold, when its raining he's tucked up in his stable munching on hay with a nice warm dry shavings bed, his choice, not mine.
To have ago at someone because it doesnt fit in with what "You" deem right is down right rude and unless negligence is apparent then I suggest they but out!!!
Janet |
Sunny Cheshire |
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natntaz
Platinum Member
England
2919 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 4:29:57 PM
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Rafa  I was trying not to be as blunt as i usually can
be but totally agree  |
Natalie Pix. Essex. Tariq ibn Radfan and Taroub |
Edited by - natntaz on 13 Jan 2011 4:31:09 PM |
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nissibay
Gold Member
England
595 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 5:46:46 PM
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| Hello thanks for all your comments, have havent been on here for a bit, i spoke to the yard owner the day after posting on here and i told her she isnt happy being in all the time. if there is a slight cloud in the sky they stay in for days on end. so she stays out with another 4 horses, she is 100% happier and so am i, i still bring her in every day for food, brushing and cuddles so she is still used to being in the stable without thinking she is going to be in all day! |
Sheen 
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debs
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3218 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 5:51:39 PM
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| Pleased you have sorted this out and your girlie is happier! Sadly ours are in at night to save our waterlogged fields.... I would much prefer Ali to be out 24/7. Have to say though, I muck out with the door open, he is quite happy and doesnt want to go out. I know why, he hates having to walk through the quagmire at the gate. Such a poof! |
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nissibay
Gold Member
England
595 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2011 : 7:01:49 PM
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| she has 18 acres so luckly its not that bad for mud, although i moaned about the horses being in all the time. it now actually works out better for us as there are 11 out during the day on good days the rest of the time there are only the 5 horses out with 18 acres to play in.....i love it so much when she may be at the other end of the big field but she comes running when i call her i feel so proud when she neighs and gallops all the way over, she is very content, when she is happy im happy and i actually think vise versa!!!!!!!!!! roll on the spring though!!!! i do envy all you people with your own land!! it is harder than i remembered at a lvery yard. we are still looking for the right place to buy! one day |
Sheen
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Any thoughts or advice please?x
