Zippidy doo-dah, happy horse thread!

[Trewsers]

Mr T weigh taped our pair last night and YES YES they are losing some!!! Stormy has lost considerably over the last two months, mainly due to me being a meany pants and using double hay nets and making her forage in the field and not giving hay during the day.
Chloe isn't overweight as such, but I am very conscious of trying to maintain and not over feed her (she is a retired cobby afterall!). She's dropped a wee bit but looks plenty covered - so not worrying that she is losing too much.
Anyhoo, am simply delighted too at the thoughts of them being out ALL NIGHT at the end of May. I don't know why, but I've sorta set that as a deadline for getting them out 24/7. NEVER done this before - Chloe lived out at the sanctuary of course, but madam has never experienced this with me. Am very much looking forward to them living au naturel and such.
Sorry for the long thread - but I have an idea as I know if I just leave Stormy out she will call to come in. So, I thought I would do this;
Turnout as normal in the morning after riding
Bring them in around 6.30pm as normal
Give them both their "tea" (tiny amount of Happy Hoof)
Check them over - ride Storm again if the weather is good!
Put them both back out again about 8pm.
I thought that it would be good for Storm to keep to a routine, don't want her turning semi-feral on me lol!
Anything wrong with this? Please tell me if it does not sound good!
Thanks.

 

[clashnoir]

Well done. You're doing something right.
My lot were looking a little lean so I turfed in big round bale. Not so lean now I can tell you. Not huge either mind you but will go back to haynets when its finished methnks.

 

[volcy]

Well done!! I have tried to be mean too and I thought this morning that it was beginning to pay off, will have to find the weight tape and see.. if only I had the same will power for myself!

Sounds good but end of May? Could your fields hold up to any earlier? We get ours out by the middle of April at the latest, although I know some yards go for the end of April.. May is a month of nice long evenings for them in the field and us to be riding without a thought to mucking out.. :cloud9:

 

[daisysp8]

Sounds like they`re getting there, it is such a balancing act isn`t it, i can`t see any obvious problems with that routine ... the only thing i`d do differently is feed them both after the evening ride, and not before it. I only do this as to mine it signals work is done for the day, they have their tea and then settle down for the night happy :happy:

My 2 were rather rotund heading into winter, but have used a fair bit of it over the last couple of months. They`re looking lean, but the good side of lean, and i`m still giving them hay for now, like CN they had a big bale, and once they`d eaten that down they`re get a couple of good sized haynets a day.

 

[bitsnpieces]

Great news

Routine sounds pretty ok to me, agree that personally I tend to feed after work as well, definitely good to bring them in for a little bit daily as being as there's only two of them it helps to stop them latching on to each other and becoming too dependant

 

[Trewsers]

Good point about the feeding after work - think I will do that. And I think I will also see if I can get them out 24/7 a bit sooner - maybe May is a bit late? The fields should be okay - will just put a few sheepies on and off so there isn't too much of the green stuff!
Can't believe I will have practically no muckin out to do!!!

 

[juliecwuk]

some horses on my yard are back out 24/7, but have a haynet at night.

perhaps you could do that? turn them back out with some hay?

two of our recent purchases went from being stabled at night to living out - one arrived on the friday and then it snowed on the friday night and stayed frozen for weeks, she was proper thrown in the deepend. Tbh she coped fine, as long as she had a haynet at night she was fine. The haflinger was fine too tbh, she slotted into our 'routine' and was staying out with a net at night, although it has been milder since she arrived.

 

[Trewsers]

two of our recent purchases went from being stabled at night to living out - one arrived on the friday and then it snowed on the friday night and stayed frozen for weeks, she was proper thrown in the deepend. Tbh she coped fine, as long as she had a haynet at night she was fine. The haflinger was fine too tbh, she slotted into our 'routine' and was staying out with a net at night, although it has been milder since she arrived.

Heck! Bet that was a shock to 'em, but sure they coped just fine, I'm sure our two will - bet Storm will be delighted on the whole!!