turning out for spring

Cremola Foam

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2005
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Scotland
When do you guys (who's horses live in over night for winter) start turning out 24/7 for spring?

Peds has been a bit of a loon this past week. Silly to ride and today when I turned out today (granted it was later than there 6am week day turn out time at 8.45am but that's early for a weekend!) He went for a roll, leapt up, kicked out, knocked over poor B who was preparing to have a roll too and spent about five mins just galloping up and down the fence line. He is currently standing in the corner of the field near the gate looking like someone just switched a bomb on under him!

So I'm thinking he maybe needs to be getting 24/7 turnout. We have a fair amount of good grass waiting for them for spring which I was going to very gradually move them over onto (like an inch at a time) and he'd still get hay morning and night. B would have to come in during the day and be out at night as no one else turns out 24/7 yet.

(And annoyingly they are shooting on the farm this morning! They seem to be doing it every sat morning which is a pain when your pony is wired already! Might have to postpone riding till this afternoon! Risk assessment and all!!)
 
When I stabled mine, weather dependant, they came in at night from xmas until now then went back to 24/7 out. Difficult though if no one else is out 24/7.
 
From 1st of March usually but if the fields were poor then for a few more weeks. Mine is out now 24/7 much to his disgust. He hangs around the gate most days shouting at everyone going past that he needs to be in. Hay usually shuts him up :rolleyes:
 
I am counting down the days! But no new grass is growing yet so shall have to be patient. We can't hay the fields so need grass!
 
I'm leaving them in their same routine for just now I think. I'll speak to the girls who's horses are beside mine and find out when she's planning on turning hers out.

I did end up riding and Peds was horrid! Lol! We had a big argument at the start and tbh hadn't really made up by the end! He was still boiling over after an hour and a half ride (Plus side I managed to keep my cool and remain relaxed so he couldn't have been feeding from me!)
 
Hi all,
I'm a newbie on here, sorry for sticking my two penneth in!
Our cob hasn't been in all winter, at the yard we just moved from he had access to a stable when we needed it but as soon as that door was shut behind him he didn't like it! Completely different to last winter- he loved it in his stable! But in summer he had the dentist and he slipped on the wet stable floor, fell backwards and almost broke his jaw with the dentist clamp in :( since then he's not liked being closed in. We moved him last week to another yard (been on this one before) and its as though he remembers his old stable and has been wanting to go in...very very strange. However his old stable is now occupied by another horse ATM so he's got a lovely field shelter that's he's happy with. The other horses are getting turned out 24/7 in about another 3 weeks which is hard for me as he's fretting being away from his pals at night and he's ducking under or walking through electric fencing to get up to the stable to be near them at least. Which brings me onto another subject-how the hell do I get him to respect the fencing? Please bear in mind that 1 yes 1 energiser is serving 14 ACRES!! and is hit and miss. I've told the yard owner I'm getting my own energiser and energising my own paddock which is about an acre x
 
No probs lanny81. :) is he out by himself? Is there a field near the stables that you could fence off a small paddock for him at night so he is at least near his buddies?

My boy comes in at night as my old boy has to and they share a field. If he was out he'd be out alone and no doubt cause himself an injury!
 
My energiser will do up to 100km of fencing, 14 acres would be nothing, the 3 acres I have, well I may have gone a bit over board :p if he's rugged or very fuzzy that may stop him feeling anything even if it is sufficent. Being kept out alone isn't ideal.
 
When do you guys (who's horses live in over night for winter) start turning out 24/7 for spring?

Peds has been a bit of a loon this past week. Silly to ride and today when I turned out today (granted it was later than there 6am week day turn out time at 8.45am but that's early for a weekend!) He went for a roll, leapt up, kicked out, knocked over poor B who was preparing to have a roll too and spent about five mins just galloping up and down the fence line. He is currently standing in the corner of the field near the gate looking like someone just switched a bomb on under him!

So I'm thinking he maybe needs to be getting 24/7 turnout. We have a fair amount of good grass waiting for them for spring which I was going to very gradually move them over onto (like an inch at a time) and he'd still get hay morning and night. B would have to come in during the day and be out at night as no one else turns out 24/7 yet.

(And annoyingly they are shooting on the farm this morning! They seem to be doing it every sat morning which is a pain when your pony is wired already! Might have to postpone riding till this afternoon! Risk assessment and all!!)

Toffee doesn't live out at all because he's a fat git and will eat himself to the point of bursting. He got gas colic from over eating last year. He's muzzled during the day and in at night.

We do have summer paddocks though and they move across to those and can live out if we so wish, in May. :)
 
Ours are out from 8am to 4pm just now and it will get later until about end of April if the weather is dry then they usually go out 24/7 as soon as the ground has firmed up. Last year it was may previous year was middle of April :)

They are out until Nov 24/7 so I don't mind it waiting being honest :)
 
Next week if it stays dry. Fingers crossed. Currently out 7-6 daily have been since the January.I hate them in but no field shelters and tin paddocks don't help.
 
Hi guys thanks for the replies... He's meant to be sharing a paddock with a older pony and they get on great but the pony's owner separates them at night which makes him stress out as he loves company. There's no stables free ATM well there's one but someone is storing their bedding in there. With regards to the fencing, there's 16 paddocks all split into 2 or 3 and then the perimeter of 14 acres. Thing is though the battery is always going flat as nobody keeps an eye on their fencing to make sure its connected properly or that there's nothing touching it making it earth out. There's only 4 of us who check the fencing on a daily basis. We've tried leaving him in the yard with hay on an evening but he gets back out into the field over the poo pile as there's no fencing to stop him getting over the poo pile x
 
Hmm yes a low battery, fuzzy rugged pony will do it ;)
Mine is off the mains so we dont have that worry.
Id be asking the person to move their bedding, he could end up with a nasty injury breaking through fences all the time.
 
Morning all, well been up to see to my little monkey this morning (or should I say not so little!) and he's stayed put all night, because we made a point of not letting him get seperated from his field buddy. All is well :) Bear in mind that he has only been on this place for a week so still settling in. His field Buddy's owner had been seperating them as she's quite old and he had been a bit funny with her around the hay but Ive made a point of putting extra hay in (I'm feeding them both, long story but its because the owner has 4 horses that she cant afford tbh) and Ive split it so there's hay in 2 hay boxes plus in a hay box in the field shelter so both of them have access to hay should they run the other off etc. In my opinion its good for this little pony to have some company as she's literally been stuck in a field on her own for years and not had any work done with her. She's not been taken care of :( the dentist said her mouth was a car crash, she's not been brushed or anything. The owner said my kids could lead her out and give her some tlc but she should have got it years ago. It makes me sad as the others on our field say they only bothered with her now cos my horse is sharing with her. They are planning on putting her in a retirement home but my daughter would treat her like a princess and I think I'm going to offer to take her on as they are giving her away and id take good care of her x
 
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