Grass Livery...how much work involved

[Lucy J]

I am currently deciding whether to keep Ciara (who is out on loan) or to sell her. She has always been on part livery when I have had her, however I was thinking about going for grass livery only. How much work is involved in grass livery....in the winter (if she had ad lib hay) would it be possible for her only to get hard feed once a day? I don't want to go back to paying £70+ per week for part livery and work & family committments mean DIY with her in at night isn't an option. any advice appreciated...

 

[Mehitabel]

depends how much hard feed she'd get, also things like water, other people checking her. if you mean only checking her once a day and feeding etc then, then i'd be anxious - i'd like a horse to be at least looked at twice a day. 24 hours is a long time if she cuts herself or poos in the water trough ten minutes after you leave the field. there's also poo picking, checking about field maintenance, etc. basically the same as diy just without mucking out or needing to be ther at certain times to bring in and put out.

if she will need a lot of feed then it needs to be split, otherwise it's a waste of feed. they have small stomachs and can only digest so much hard feed at once, so if they need more than about half a bucketful it wil not be digested properly if given in one go - feeding the muckheap at best, and colic at worst.

 

[helenc]

Agree with mehitabel

Keeping a horse at grass isn't really that much easier. It's only slightly cheaper in the winter too, they still need plenty of hay & feed, you only really save the money on bedding.

If you could find a field with nice people then you may be able to work on a rota basis so you do their horse in the morning & they do yours in the evening. It would definitely be worth having a look around but you will need to have certain things in writing (who is responsible for trough maintenance/pooh picking/fencing/weeds etc)

 

[Fuzz and This]

mine are out 24/7 and im lucky enough to be on a rota, so some days if im really busy and cant get there others will see to the ponies for me. lots of poo picking to be done, i also have to pick litter up as it gets blown/thrown in from the street, and i pull up ragwort regularly as well. mine get fed once a day and have hay all through the winter up until mayish time. it is hard work as a lot more cleaning and looking after needs doing but i think its better.

 

[Jessey]

My sister had my pony on grass livery for a year, she made friends with another lady at the field and they took it in turns each week to do mornings or evenings and would meet together for rides at the weekends. The YO looked after fences and in spring got the field rolled and harrowed and the rest was down to them to sort out between themselves.

J

 

[Lucy J]

yeah, i could have assisted DIY so she could be fed in the mornings and things if necessary and checked on if i wasn't there, its quite a large yard. not sure if she would get enough feed if only once a day in winter. its not the cost of DIY, its the fact that if I am mucking out I don't have time to ride too! i would only be there once a day but she would be out with others and someone would keep an eye on her.

 

[Pickles]

What type is she and how much work do you do with her.

My two cope fine with one feed a day although I check them twice. One is retired but the other does about 45mins gentle hacking up to 6 times a week.

If she is on a yard where others will keep an eye on her then I think one check a day is probably ok, as long as she doesn't need her rugs changing (ie warm day frosty night).

 

[Lucy J]

i would go up evening to change rug if needed. she is in medium work, hopefully 1 hr 5 days a week. more at weekends. local shows and stuff. she is an irish sports horse, but 99% thoroughbred. she has wintered out before.

 

[Bebe]

I find it to actually be harder to keep Bebe out 24/7 in winter, summer is dead easy though.

I go to the yard twice a day every day regardless of the time of year and whether Bebe is stabled at night or out 24/7. In winter my morning checks usually involve changing her rug & picking out hooves at the minimum. I can do this in the field but have to bring her out if she has a morning feed. As we can't feed hay in the field she has to come onto the yard for a few hours to have hay so that means bringing her in or paying for the yard staff to do it in the afternoon. Evening check involves feeding, changing rug again if necessary, picking out hooves, etc.

Because hay isn't fed in our fields it actually costs me more to keep Bebe out 24/7 in winter as I end up paying for her to be brought in for a couple of hours each day to have access to hay. Because of this I decided to stable her overnight instead which she actually seems very happy with. It also saves me trekking up the 45 acre field in the mornings, through the mud, rain, wind, fog, etc to find her.

If we could feed hay in the fields she would live out. I have done this before and found it to be fairly easy. It's just the weather that gets depressing.

I do get up extra early to make sure I manage to muck out before leaving the yard for work. If I have to muck out in the evening I struggle to ride, so I prefer to do it first thing so I turn up at night and can bring Bebe in and ride as everything is set up ready for the night.

 

[joosie]

Don't be fooled into thinking that grass-kept = less work! Kiz is out 24/7 and by the time I get home after doing her I just want to lie down and sleep forever! She's the first horse I've looked after who is always turned out and I never prepared myself for it! But if it works out cheaper for you and is easier than your current routine, there shouldn't be anything to stop you. No routine is going to be perfect, you just have to decide what is best for you and your horse and just try your hardest to ignore the cons and make the most of the pros!