My Way or the High Way!

Flipo's Mum

Flipo's Mum

Heavy owner of a Heavy
Aug 17, 2009
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Perthshire, Scotland
Disclaimer : This isn't aimed at anyone, other than myself!!:redface::redcarded:

We all have very different methods when it comes to caring for our horses and I think the winter period highlights some of the most significant choices we make in how we do things. I choose not to rug, not to stable and not to clip.
I'm passionate about these choices, to the point of getting irritable when I read or hear of folk giving their horses duvet days in their stable, or rugging them up when I don't perceive that they need it.

Nevertheless, everyone, as I say, has their own opinion on what is right for their horse and while its good to always listen to others advice or opinions, at the end of the day we need to make up our own minds about what is right for our own individual horse and not chastise others for disagreeing.

So please, help me understand my own irritability. Why is it, I get a bit annoyed when I read or listen to other folk who do things differently to me?! I am grown up enough to keep my opinions to myself (I think) or to communicate them in a way that I hope does not offend or upset, but do you think deep down somewhere, I'm feeling guilty and would prefer my horse to be stabled, rugged and clipped? :unsure:

Does anyone else secretly feel this way when others don't do things the same way as yourself?!
 
Everybody does things differently FM and i know where your coming from when you read/hear others ways.Remember horses are origionally outdoor animals who survive just fine without humans around, its just what suits the individual and what they prefer to do with their horse/s.Main thing is they are loved and cared for and yours surely are from your threads I've read.One man at my yard prefers his out too unrugged and unclipped and they are just fine.(Two gorgous horses).Mine are stabled because it suits me better that way.:smile:
ETA...I always feel weird as i dont bank my stables as high as everyone else at the yard!!:redface:
 
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Well actually (and this isn't a dig honestly) I feel a little bit annoyed when people are so evangelical about horses 'being horses' and needing 24/7 turnout, no rugs, no hard feed etc etc.

I admit this might be guilty conscience though! Before I had Raf I used to think along the same lines, but now I couldn't bear the thought of him miserably standing outside, shivering, fetlock deep in mud and losing weight by not having enough to eat, when he would much prefer to be tucked up in his stable rugs in a cosy stable munching on his haynet.

Seriously though, I have been giving this some thought recently and although in principle I agree that horses originally evolved to roam and fend for themselves, I do wonder whether we have domesticated them to such an extent that some are more suited to a more 'humanised' lifestyle. After all you wouldn't expect a Pekinese dog to live in a pack on the moors and hunt for itself would you? Arabs are allegedly the oldest domesticated breed of horses in the world, bred to live alongside their master, even sharing a tent with them. Can you see I'm trying to appease my guilty conscience?
 
I have all mine out 24/7 my choice we rent a field rather than be on a livery yard with some natural shelter.... My fells are rugged to keep them clean as they are my riding horses so is my old retired IDX Faye . But my welsh cobs have never been rugged so we don't rug them and neither do I rug Belle ( highland) who has a coat like a bear and also has lived her life unrugged.

I get a lot of stick for not rugging my ponies but I know they survive very well without rugs...

I do not wish I had stabled, rugged and clipped ponies... I am very sure they are happy to be able to groom one another and play like ponies.... :)

Just wish people would not make out I am cruel for not rugging some of my ponies. They are after all hardy Natives
 
I think that we have similar attitudes towards keeping our horses, and I have the same irritations as you. For me, when I hear comments about 'duvet days' and 'miserable horses being outside', I sometimes feel that other people are making a judgement towards me and suggesting that I am cruel in keeping my horse as I do.

For example, one of the horses that Ben shares a field with always comes in when it starts to rain. When his owner brings him in, I am always told that Ben is still out. Well of course he is still out, he LIVES OUT! What does anyone think is going to happen to him? Yes, he will get wet. But he isn't a baby, he is a horse.

I was having a conversation recently about if a horse should have 2 stable rugs or 3? My opinion was that the poor horse wouldn't be able to move wearing that many rugs, but it seems to be a competition sometimes - the more rugs the horse wears, the more important or loved he seems to be.

I think that horses need to be treated as individuals and I do agree that some horses are happier living in than out. But generally I think that this is because horses are creatures of routine and they like to know what their day will consist of. If a horse gets a feed and pile of hay at the end of the day, of course they are going to stand by the gate and expect this. I don't think that it means that the horse is any happier in, they just like to have a routine.

I am passionate about keeping my horse in the most natural way possible, and this has meant that I pay a premium price for keeping him at a yard with excellent 24/7 turnout. I could easily pay half my livery bill if I moved him, but I am not prepared to compromise his happiness and health by being forced to stable him every night. For my horse, our methods are the best for us. I don't understand why more people don't share my view.
 
I don't know the answer really. Would I leave me boys out all year round I try and keep them out as long as possible but my field will not take it.

but more importantly I am not sure how it would work having both boys in full work every day. Ginger had a lesson the other night 45 mins of hard work I removed his tack and he was sweaty, he has a full clip. He is worked this way 4 days a week and at weekends we hack for about 2 plus hours in mostly trot and canter with some gallops. With a full coat he would melt. Chanters coat is thick and he sweats up in a walk and trot hack hate to see the state of him after a schooling session if not clipped.

I would have to work them less and wait around until they have cooled down etc before I could turn them out selfishly adding more time on to a already long day. but you could say this is more natural but leaving the house at 0620 and finally getting home at 2015 is a long day and I need to eat too.

I admit that it is more to do with ease of ownership for me and I am sorry if my way is not the best but I have my boys because I love to ride them and keeping them fit over the winter months means Chanter can be kept fit and healthy and in work for longer and Ginger will come out of winter ready to start fun rides and X Country, dressage or what ever in the best possible condition.

So for me it's the high way from you:giggle:
 
Everyone has their own way of doing things, you are right, but everyone believes they are doing the right thing by their horses so it is totally understandable that it is an emotive subject!

Rubic is out naked during the day and in overnight (with a fleece to dry her off if she is wet and shivering). People think I'm mean. Personally I'd rather have her out 24/7 but currently can't as there is nowhere local offering this. I watch what she gets fed because she is prone to putting on weight. I go to great lengths sometimes to do the right thing by her. I always have people trying to tell me how I should look after her and that her weight is fine etc etc. It annoys me because they just see her a glimpse of her, not what she is like on a day-to-day basis, how she responds to certain situations and how her weight can increase rapidly if I don't keep an eye on it.

I think I got too passionate about it though and it started annoying me that my friend's pony was really overweight and she didn't appear to be doing anything to sort it. She has had the pony clipped twice this winter and has rode it once. She was moaning that none of the pony's rugs fit anymore and she'll need to get new ones but they are so expensive etc. It is a native pony which could happily live out naked etc but she insists she was going to ride more which was why she got her clipped again but I'm yet to see her make any attempt to go out when the weather has been ok. She brings her horse in at 4/5pm and it is back out around 8/9am. It really p-ed me off at first but I know why now - I was so upset at not being able to ride Rubic that it frustrated me that people close to me who had a rideable horse weren't making the most of it and also that they weren't doing anything to help the horse lose a bit of weight. I couldn't understand why on earth this person wasn't doing what I was to manage her horses weight and why, when she had a horse that was capable of going out hacks and doing a bit of work in the school, she didn't ride more often. I've come to realise now that it isn't that she doesn't care for her horse, she really does, but she thinks what she is doing is the right thing. I'm not the person to try and change her mind, she is set in her ways.

People who give their horses duvet days obviously think that is a treat for their horse. They think they are doing the right thing for their horse. In some cases it might well be but for my horse she'd rather go out. There is another thing - there are so many variables... different horses, different people, different yards. My friend has an older TB who positively loves being wrapped up warm in his rugs and having a nice big fluffy shavings bed. You can see the delight in his face when he comes into his stable and gets his rugs on, it is hilarious. On the other hand, Rubic was never fussed about rugs even when she was clipped, she didn't really care as long as she was out. She likes rolling around naked in the mud and you can see the delight in her face when she is covered in mud.
 
Is it the irrational thought that different is better? . Thats why the horses always think the grass is greener on the other side.. So even if you know what your doing is right by your horse if someone is doing the polar opposite with theirs then maybe what your doing isn't the best and you should change it, or better still because you can see it works everyone should change to do what you do.. Hence getting irritated because we don't?

I don't know why but i do know what you mean! :unsure:
 
Mary Poppins said:
I think that we have similar attitudes towards keeping our horses, and I have the same irritations as you. For me, when I hear comments about 'duvet days' and 'miserable horses being outside', I sometimes feel that other people are making a judgement towards me and suggesting that I am cruel in keeping my horse as I do.

For example, one of the horses that Ben shares a field with always comes in when it starts to rain. When his owner brings him in, I am always told that Ben is still out. Well of course he is still out, he LIVES OUT! What does anyone think is going to happen to him? Yes, he will get wet. But he isn't a baby, he is a horse.

I was having a conversation recently about if a horse should have 2 stable rugs or 3? My opinion was that the poor horse wouldn't be able to move wearing that many rugs, but it seems to be a competition sometimes - the more rugs the horse wears, the more important or loved he seems to be.

I think that horses need to be treated as individuals and I do agree that some horses are happier living in than out. But generally I think that this is because horses are creatures of routine and they like to know what their day will consist of. If a horse gets a feed and pile of hay at the end of the day, of course they are going to stand by the gate and expect this. I don't think that it means that the horse is any happier in, they just like to have a routine.

I am passionate about keeping my horse in the most natural way possible, and this has meant that I pay a premium price for keeping him at a yard with excellent 24/7 turnout. I could easily pay half my livery bill if I moved him, but I am not prepared to compromise his happiness and health by being forced to stable him every night. For my horse, our methods are the best for us. I don't understand why more people don't share my view.
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MP I understand what you are saying but I am sure I read that Ben comes in every day for 6 hours. If I am wrong I stand corrected but to me whether that 6 hours in day or night is still 'in a stable with a hay net' for that time.

When mine go out for the summer in March till Dec they do not go in a stable at all for those months unless seeing the vet, dentist etc.

Chanter is a lot more hardy than Ginger but I could not bring one in and leave his field mate out. Ginger's coat even when grown is so fine he shivers in the summer when unrugged with a bit of rain so hate to see the state he would be in left over the winter with no field shelter or natural cover.
 
Every horse is different.

Many of ours live out including the older TBs some rugged , some unrugged. I believe in letting the horse tell you. Ones that hover at the gate shivering regularly get stabled at night. Our two newish TBs had never been in a field in their life in any weather before we got them out of training. To be honest putting them out in wet muddy slippery fields is not doing them a favour..hence they do have 'duvet days'. They also fail to grow any coats so are well rugged, (already in heavyweights and when it really gets cold will have more)

Don't get irritable just recognise that no one method is right for every horse! You are welcome to meet ours and see if you still feel the same !!!
 
Oh I'm glad folk replied. I did hesitate before posting this tbh lol!:redface:
Bodshi, I completely respect that you disagree with me. But again hehe, I did feel my hackles come up when I read your 'cosy' stable bit. My feelings on the matter are that we anthropomorphise (sp) our animals far too much and 12ft by 12ft is far too small for an animal to be stood in, even if they are more domesticated than they used to be, especially when they don't operate the same sort of body clock as us - dozing throughout the day rather than bedtime at night per se. But this isn't an argument about stabling or not stabling so I'm only stating my opinion and will leave that bit there.:tongue:

I do admit that the one day I get Flipo into a stable every eight or so weeks when he needs the farrier and has to be sedated, I always whip out his fleece rug and almost seem excited about the prospect of putting it on him. I never really have put it on him, I just have it there incase he sweats too much when he's drugged up and is stood there. Maybe its my instinct to want to mother him that would fit so well with the rugging and the stabling and the cosying. Or maybe its that I truly believe my way is best (like you MP :tongue:) and that being the case, I must deep down believe that everyone should be bolstering my ego by copying my ways, and the fact that they aren't, is detrimental to my confidence and therefore bloody annoying?:giggle:
I completely respect that some horses require more rugging and stabling than others. I have only had one person comment to me that they were surprised Flipo didn't have a rug on in this weather. Maybe I should ask folk what they would do with Flipo if he was theirs, because as far as I could tell, he's kept in the exact way he as an individual horse, should be. I have the odd wibble about the bad weather, but I go to the field, check him over and am always 100% satisfied that he is ok.
I can understand the green eyed monster thing Rubic. Its really horrible when you can't ride and others around you choose not to, or don't seem to take the care that we do. I guess this is all just human nature isn't it. Our way is always best, we don't appreciate things when we have them, ugh, sorry guys, I'm just getting all psychological tonight and wanted to hear what others think! Thankyou for indulging me!
 
OwnedbyChanter said:
MP I understand what you are saying but I am sure I read that Ben comes in every day for 6 hours. If I am wrong I stand corrected but to me whether that 6 hours in day or night is still 'in a stable with a hay net' for that time.
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Yes he does come in for 6 hours, but this isn't because I object to him being out in the elements, or because I want him to 'warm up' out of the field. In the summer he needs to have a break from his grazing muzzle to eat some hay, and in the winter I want to make sure that he has enough fibre in his body as we don't put hay in the field. I also believe in routine and that horses need to do the same thing everyday.

I'm not saying that horses should never be stabled, or that it is wrong to bring horses in. What I am saying that I object to feeling like I am a cruel or a bad owner for not following the same routine as the rest of the yard. When other horses are having a 'duvet day' and another rug put on, mine is out in the field regardless of weather. While I may privately think that most people stable for far too long, I would never tell their owners this. So why is it OK for others to openly criticise my choices?
 
I know people that give their horses free run of a stable and ample grazing, no food is placed in the stable but the horses use them all the time in winter. They own fells, dales, shetlands and a tb.

It would be a different lifestyle for flipo if he had a full clip, was rugged and stabled at night but I don't really think he would be unhappy because of it.
 
I must be deaf or stupid at my yard and my last one. I never hear people comment about those horses that are left out or those that are brought in. we have a lovely family mum, dad and baby in one of the fields I walk by and yes in this good damn awful rain I look at them as they have no shelter but the are always still there in the morning looking just the same if not a little muddy.

Just like I never hear any comments about barefoot or NH. I watch others as I like to learn and at a yard with over 60 horses kept in various different ways you can learn a lot and you can dismiss a lot.

Some one asked me the other day why they wear leg warmers to bed. I did not take offence to it I just explained why they asked if it worked and I said yea they nodded and walked off. For all I know they could of walked round the corner and called me a stupid bubble wrapping fool. yeap but hey my horses.
 
Not read the other replies, yet. Just replying to op question and the fact I am rubbish at multi quotes on this tablet. I could get totally lost.

You use the word passionate and that's fine but it does give me a feeling that are set in your ways? Not as in totally rigid but what you do works for yours so it sort of becomes your way. You feel irritable because you don't rug, stable only because its not within your understanding now. It doesn't make sense?

I think I have said it before somewhere that this is a forum. We don't know each other, haven't met and don't know each others set up, routine, weather, herd etc. So when I choose to do something, it could read fine to some, but for others total horror!
I have met j@z, she came to ride the cob, she now knows a bit about my set up, but more so what she is like to ride when she isn't up for it.
Another example is sjp1-we are about an hour apart, never met. We have similiar soil and are on liveries but my horse and hers require different management. That's just how life is.
I am passionate about treeless, but not to the point that anyone in a treed is irritating.
 
Well the way I see it, so long as the horse is healthy and it's of no real detriment to the animals welfare then I don't care what people do. Sure I have my opinions, and may well voice them sometimes, but truth be known it's the same with anything we all have different ways of doing things.

However what does annoy me is people who preach their methods and seem to be so incredibly narrow minded in thinking their methods would suit EVERY horse.
 
newforest said:
Not read the other replies, yet. Just replying to op question and the fact I am rubbish at multi quotes on this tablet. I could get totally lost.

You use the word passionate and that's fine but it does give me a feeling that are set in your ways? Not as in totally rigid but what you do works for yours so it sort of becomes your way. You feel irritable because you don't rug, stable only because its not within your understanding now. It doesn't make sense?

I think I have said it before somewhere that this is a forum. We don't know each other, haven't met and don't know each others set up, routine, weather, herd etc. So when I choose to do something, it could read fine to some, but for others total horror!
I have met j@z, she came to ride the cob, she now knows a bit about my set up, but more so what she is like to ride when she isn't up for it.
Another example is sjp1-we are about an hour apart, never met. We have similiar soil and are on liveries but my horse and hers require different management. That's just how life is.
I am passionate about treeless, but not to the point that anyone in a treed is irritating.
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Yup NF, you're probably right. :wink: I have one horse and he is kept the same way I kept my old ponies as a kid. I don't intend to buy another horse that would need different care, but I guess you never know and I may eat my words if and when I buy another horse. But it bugs me that I may end up having to keep him stabled 24 hours because someone before me conditioned that behaviour into him, like EML is encountering. Heh ho.
 
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