Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.

Don't feel sad for outside horses. My horse is outside and he is happy. I know that because I know him. Your horse is happy half inside and half out. That's great. There is no reason to be hostile about it. No one in this thread is abusing their horses. Let's not be so angry.

 

There is no reason to be hostile about it. No one in this thread is abusing their horses. Let's not be so angry.

Angry??? I seem to be the only one who has to defend his position of keeping a horse stalled in the bad weather at night??
When I am laying in my nice warm bed and listening to the winds howling and hearing the rain and sleet beating on the window I can sleep conscience free knowing my horse is in a nice warm barn protected from the same elements.
We live in homes , why shouldn't our horses??

This has been posted before and people that care enough to stable their horses seem to be the bad owners.
Honestly in the past year, 365 days I have only missed 2 TWO day without going to the barn and spending time brushing, picking feet and just hanging out with my guy.
The 2 days I missed he was out in the summer 24/7 in lush pasture and I was at the cottage.
You guys call me rough , abusive and I seem to be the only one who cares about my guys comfort?????

 

I'd say, let a horse be free every once in a while..

I'd rather have my horse be outside than inside

 

Horses are not humans. I don't jump on your back and demand you obey my every whim, why should our horses?

 

Read the rest of her post. She was saying that some animals live in shelters, some don't. Horses, naturally, do not. They are equipped to deal with the elements, both physically and instintivly.

I have no isses if you stall your horse, that is completely your own perogative, but I will not stall mine and be damned anybody stupid enough to call me "abusive".

 

Exactly my point Macabre!
I just didn't get it through properly.

But I do agree with you, I'd rather not stall my horse when I have one

 

My horse lived in the mountains her whole life, she was onlyin a stall the night she was born.

have any of you actaully spent a 6 hours in a stall? try it sometime. its not very interesting. i would go insane and not look forward to being put away at ALL if i were a horse. but i bet you some horses do

my horse, HATES being stalled, so dont you DARE tell me its abusive to keep her outside. Riosdad, you are just looking about the worse situations of this. thats like buying the cheapest,worst version of a t.v. then, the tv not working. then you become compleletly close minded and say: ALL tv's are stupid and they dont work AT ALL. seriously? im sorry, but thats very close minded and your just shutting yourself down from being informed.

i have SEEN horses go slowly crazy by beiing stalled. not saying ALL stalling is bad, but it just DOES NOTwork for some horses! some horses flourish in that kind of enviroment, some dont. so dont tell me its abuse, my horse absalutely LOVES storms,and refuses to let me bring her in when its stormy out. and dont tell me that all pastured hroses stand out there contantly wet with neglecting owners, I (along with most of the other psture boarders out there) AM OUT THERE WAY MORE THEN THE STALL BOARDERS. so please dont set a stereotype just because you have seen only a FEW bad situations with pasture boarding. if you want abuse, i can show it to you. so stop trying to claim pasture boarding as so bad.

 

I wont stall my mare. She gets very very stiff coming outside the stall, after being in all night. You couldnt pay me to stall her.

I make enough money to keep them boarded in a nice warm stall, but I dont. Because they are happier outside together. I would dread boarding, unless my mare could see my colt, otherwise I think they would get lonley without each other. Horses are herd animals, ment to graze and roam, they arent ment to be in a box, that we designate to them. Who the heck decided 12 x 12 (or even 10 x 10) is a good size?? My room is bigger then that, and my mare is about 9x heavier then i am. So thats like me and nine other people stuck in there, aweful. I dont even stay in my room, except to sleep. If I had a choice Id be outside all day, then inside, working in my office.

Just one more controlling thing people do to animals, because they feel they "need" to.

 

Sounds like alot of you have horses with issues. In 50 years I have never had a horse cast himself, heard of it happening but not in the large barns I was in. Coming out stiff , I definitely see it in some horses, not my own but some with hock issues. Swollen ankles yes on other horses again not mine.
Never had a weaver, a cribber, stall kicker or one that seemed to hate his stall. Guess I just buy the wrong horses?
My guy stands for hours on a trailer if required. He stands tied to a high line or the side of a trailer for days on end if required. He stands at the hitching rail all the time for grooming in the hot summer days. Bathing too without fidgiting. He will take to his stall with enthusism and munch contentidly on hay. In the morning all the boys greet me with thier heads over the door and if I throw my guy a flake and put the rest out he doesn't care, doesn't complain. I clean a few stalls while he eats and then I saddle and take off. Again he doesn't raise a fuss, call or in any way show he wants to join the others.
Again I must be doing it wrong to have such a trusting, contented, patient young horse.
Since he is groomed the night before I just pull the blankets , a quick brush of the mane where he laid down and off we go.

got to go now to the barn and clean stalls, feed, grain, bed and by the time I am done it will be close to dark and I can run them in.
Have a good evening, I have a hot date for supper tonight but I will check in later

 

The best thing about keeping a horse outside- less thrush, almost no cribbing, and no stalls to clean. (althought i clean out the shelter when needed.) Did I mention no stalls to clean??? So that = more time with the horse.

 

I find it interesting that you can cut down on thrush by leaving a horse out in the wet all the time? Here I am cleaning the feet, wire brushing every crack and crevice and then putting the horse on dry bedding and I could be doing better for him by leaving him standing in the wet??

Who would have thought??

Stalls get tedious cleaning every day, that is for sure but I know I am making it nice for him so I don't mind. When I am done I get to pick his hay, fill his grain bin with nice hot mash that I make up, fill his water bucket with fresh clean water and then get the pleasure of getting him from the field. Then slip on a pair of hobbles, pull his blankets, groom, replace his blankets, pick his feet , wire brush them and run a little copper sulphate into any cracks as preventative maintenance, put him in the stall, sweep all the barn floors, make sure all locks are done up properly on the stalls, turn down the music but keep it low, turn on the motion lights, turn off the barn lights, set the door with the proper opening to regulate temperature. Want the barn right around 32 and it is 5 out and go home.
Dam that is alot of hard unnecessary work. I could just say the heck with it and throw him some hay and be done with it.
Barely have to even pet him. Just throw the hay over the fence and head for home. It sure is cold out today. 5 F on my thermometer. Hope my bed is nice and warm. Hope to spend the next 7 or 8 hours in it.

 

theres nothing wrong at all about leaving him outside all of the time if thats what makes him happy, which in your situation you say it does. As long as he has blankets when needed, and run-in shelter when needed, he'll be just fine, im sure.

MY horse is kept outside just about 24-7. He does have a stall for if its 100 degrees outside in summer or 10 in winter. IN winter they com in at night but otherwise they're out all year round unless the weather is sever. They have blankets, water, and plenty of run in shelter as well as natural tree shelter. Health wise my horse has never had a problem since I've had him, and neither have the other horses in the barn, theyre very happy mentally and healthy physically

I personally think its a lot better to keep a horse outside as much as possible

 

I really don't see how anyone can think it's ok to stall a horse all the time (not speaking to anyone in particular). I mean, there are A LOT of big dressage barns around here that don't turn the horses out AT ALL! Can you imagine being stuck in a 12 x12 box all the time except for being ridden?!

Man, what a sucky existence.

That's why I love my horses outside. They are outside 24/7 except for bad weather/injury. My poor 18 yr old OTTB gets SO stiff when left inside and my 7 year old gets stocked up as she is a big horse. I can't imagine leaving them in all the time. Even when they have to be stalled at shows, they get restless because they are used to so much turnout

 

RiosDad- I too keep my two out during the day and in at night. They never have to be chased in at night, they wait patiently at the gate for their turn to come in. All the horses have approximatley 20 acres to run in, yet each one manages to be at the gate waiting their turn to get tucked in for the night. You are not alone, just wanted you to know.

 

After reading all the posts, and varying opinions, I started to remember the pasture horses at the barn that I voluntered at years ago.

They too were very glad to go up to the barn and find a stall each and every night. It meant grain. After they were finished eating however, not one had to be chased out of the stall and back down to the pasture. Each and every one would automatically go own their own.

So that made me wonder. Do our horses simply know their individual routine? Is that all it truely is and we as humans again attach our own feelings to it?

If a stall kept horse has their stall door open all night, will he/she actually stay there because they love their nice comfy digs? Or, after all the hay is gone, will they go where they truely want to be?

Just a thought.

 

I "horsesat" for a woman once a few years ago who had a neat setup - instead of individual stalls, she basically had a large doorway that opened into half her barn - a big enough space to incorporate about three large box stalls. She had a regular stall door that lead into the rest of the barn where her feed, tack and grooming areas were. She's actually the third person I've encountered with such a setup, owning two horses.

I find it amusing that unless it was feeding time, you rarely ever found the horses in there. Even in the bitter wind, you'd find the horses huddled together on the non-windy side of the barn. She fed them hay outside, but even when the food was gone, they chose to be outside.

I have never in my life encountered a single occurance of thrush in outside horses.

 

As long as the horse has a 3-sided shelter, or a 1-sided shelter and a turnout blanket in the winter, then outside living is definitely healthier for the horse's body and mind. Horses are designed to be moving all day, grazing and moving about. Stall confinement is not ideal.

I like to bring mine to eat their "goodies" and vitamins, but they go right back outside when they're done. I will only confine mine for an illness or injury, or the night before a show.

Now, all that said, I grew up in San Diego, so I understand that in some situations, stall or outdoor pen confinement is unavoidable. In those situations, the horse should be fed as much hay as possible (to alleviate boredom and prevent ulcers), givin a stall toy or three, and turned out as much as possible.

Given the choice though, outdoor living is definitely the better alternative.

 

Hmm let's see. My horses are primarily out 24/7. They come in to eat, then go back out after. Yes, they wait at the gate to come in a feeding time, because they KNOW it's time to eat. But, they also nicker and paw to go back outside once they're done. I would say they like to be outside. We have it set up so that we only have to open gates to bring everybody in and out without leading them, they go on their own. The only times they stay in are when it's going to be below 20 degrees at night, snowing all night(random showers and they stay out), or raining all night. In the summer they stay in if it's going to rain all day and night, but again if it's random showers they stay out. Even in thunder and lightning. My grandmother put it this way: It's better to lose just one horse to a lightning strike than to lose an entire barn because of fire from the lightning. Of course we don't want either situation to happen, but still. My grandmother is 61 years old, and still feeds every morning. I feed 2 nights a week, my aunt feeds 2 nights a week, my cousin feeds 2 nights a week, and grandmother feeds one night a week. No matter what the temperatre is. And you know what? the wind was giving us 30 mph gusts of wind Thursday night with a wind chill of 3 degrees. Guess what? We were out there riding and feeding and cleaning stalls. So yes, my horses live outside. And they are fat, fuzzy and very happy.

ETA: Most of the time our pastures are 75% mud. In my grandmother's 30+ years of owning horses, she has never had a cse of thrush that wasn't already there before she bought the horse.

 

My grandmother is 61 years old, and still feeds every morning. .

That's quite a lady. At 61 she goes out every morning and feeds. I hope I am that healthy at her age and can continue to care for my guys

Again just messing with you:lol:

 

I built my own barn so I made it the way I want I have a 2 stall barn with attached paddocks. The stalls have large doors to the paddocks, and there is a dividing fence that can be opened or closed to create 2 separate or 1 large paddock. In the summer, I leave them free to go in/out on most days and nights. At night I shut the gate to the paddocks so I don't have to worry about anyone getting trapped in a stall. The stalls get cleaned daily all the time. In the winter they go out in the day and I bring them in at night. Of course, if it is raining/snowing during the days I can always leave the doors open to provide extra shelter.

I'll tell you that given the choice, the horses will come in to sleep during the night, but they will roam around too. During the hottest part of the day in the summer they seek the cool shelter of the barn. In the winter they hardly ever come in during the day which is why I no longer bother to leave the doors open. They just stay out during the day and the doors are already closed for the night when they come in. I find that they sleep better when kept in, and on cold days they get quite grouchy (despite the blankets) and are ready to come in

 

They just stay out during the day and the doors are already closed for the night when they come in. I find that they sleep better when kept in, and on cold days they get quite grouchy (despite the blankets) and are ready to come in

Horses only actually sleep about 3 hours per day, mostly short naps. I do beleive horses like the routine of going out in the morning and coming in at night. They seem ready to go out and ready to come in.
I believe pasture life can be just as boring if left in it 24/7

We as people need change, something to look forward to be it supper, a favorite TV show or just going to bed in a nice warm bed. It is change.
Horses need it too. They look forward to my coming home from work, they get excited at the sound of my truck and come running. I represent change. I watch the bored way they walk back and forth waiting for me to finich cleaning the stalls and doing all the other chores. They want to come in, eat their grain and then settle in to their mounds of hay. They are contented and when the barn check at 10 they again look forward to another flake of hay being thrown into their stalls.
I sleep well nights knowing they are safe, dry and warm.

 

Riosdad, I'm sure you will!

I have an 80+ year old riding buddy that is going strong. Can't saddle his horse anymore due to shoulder issues, but we are all happy to do what is needed to insure he is out there with us.

Interestingly enough, Earl (my friend) thinks it's disgraceful how horses are kept all stalled up. He prefers they be kept more as nature intended, with either lots of fir trees to get under for shelter or a shelter just for this purpose. His horse is fat and happy and very healthy (and yes he also cares for his own horse). The horse goes to a stream to drink, Earl sees to it daily to be sure it hasn't frozen over and if so, breaks open an area for the day and night.

He even thinks my way of keeping a horse is too much. Mine have a large stall with bedding to come in and out of at will. The stall opens into a large paddock which in turn opens into 2 fields. During the day they go into one field or the other, but during the night it's the paddock and stall. Yes at times (like last night) I blanket T who is older and showed a need of it, Walka not.

Because my friend is from another time/generation, I as all the other riding friends, keep our opinions to ourselves. We enjoy any conversation with him because it is a glimpse into the past. Always interesting, though we don't always agree (we so like our modern conveniences), we are always respectful and courteous to him.

Sorry I went on and on. RD hope you have a great ride.

 

Riosdad, I'm sure you will!

Sorry I went on and on. RD hope you have a great ride.

Sure I will What?? Ride at 61??

Don't worry about going on and on. I too am bored and waiting for 9:45 when I can get dressed and head down to the barn to saddle and go for a ride, a long ride in the snow.
Most of the years I shave my horse to keep him running cool under saddle. A horse working hard can not do so in a heavy winter coat so I clip my old endurance horse super close to keep the sweat down while working. I rely on the blankets to keep him warm.
My young guy is another matter and I can't work him hard enough to overheat him in cold weather. It would destroy his legs if i worked him like the old guy so with him it is alot slower pace.
I believe in building up for the first few years before I start tearing down with long long lopes. Legging up so to speak.
My old guy does nothing but a long steady lope and will hold it for hours. My young guy gets short lopes but long steady trots to build bone and muscle

this is the old guy himself after a hard run of 3 to 3 1/2 hours at a steady lope. He is shaved everywhere where a blanket covers. I also keep part of his hind muscles covered to keep them running warm but put a large initial in each flank.

 

The only horses I've seen with thrush- hooves dont get picked daily, or are stalled. When you force a horse to stand in manure and urine you're exposing them to alot of dangerous bacteria. Unless you stand there for 8 hours and pick up poops and urine right as they come out, you gunna make them stand in it.

 

Thrush doesn't bother me, I have never had it but white line disease scares the crap out of me. When I was first shoing I ran into a few cases of it and didn't know how to deal with it.
Now I watch every horse I shoe like a hawk and anything that resembles WLD I treat immediately.
Copper sulfate solution is on the shelf in a squeeze bottle and I use it daily on the horses feet in any crack or crevice I can find.

 

Ok RiosDad, I can kind of understand what you're saying. But basing your opinions off the idea that people just leave their horses to fend for themselves in the pasture is a little ridiculous, I think. Curse them if they do, that's sad.

We do not. We are out virtually every single day, regardless of weather. The only times we miss are when the blizzards are so bad we can't drive the highways. Would it be nice to have a barn to tack up in? Sure, but we don't have that option so we work with what we have. Our horses have ten acres, free choice hay in winter, watered daily and shelter. Even when the windchills are in the -40's, we are out even if it's just to haul our grooming equipment into the pasture and give them some scratches. We ride or work our horses daily, over the period of several hours. Heck, even when we're working in winter and it's dark by the time we get out on weekdays, we will head out at night and play with them. We have a bright yard light right at the gate and it illuminates the entire front feeding area of the pasture, plus the round pen area. We are known for going on midnight rides in both summer and winter - we stick to the trails, our horses can see even if we can't!

I don't agree with pasture board if it's preventing someone from visiting their horse, but that's simply not an option for us. I've grown up my entire life in these bitter cold winters, and we have just learned to adapt. We have young hot blood, it takes more then a windchill to keep us away!

I would love to have a barn to tack up in, and a stall to keep my horse so we could get them sweaty in winter and not have to worry. Right now, it's not an option though, so we make do. Even when I have a barn, I will not be keeping my horses inside for extended periods of time. Would I keep them in on really nasty nights, where they may be getting wet? I think it would be nice to have that option, or least have a runway so my horses could decide. But I will not lose sleep knowing my horses are doing what they've been doing for decades without problems.

 

I would love to have a barn to tack up in, and a stall to keep my horse so we could get them sweaty in winter and not have to worry. Right now, it's not an option though, so we make do. .

MacabreMikolaj you do what you have to do and for you right now if that is the best you can do then who am I to judge. You live in alot colder weather then I do and I don't know if I could match you in that exteme cold.
To me I am old and my life is my guys. I live 3 minutes from the barn, I built the interior, the stalls, the insulation, installed thermo windows, painted 9 or 10 gallons of bright paint, installed 13 ceiling lights etc etc.
I made it a show place. The owner paid for everything and loved my end results. She has 1 horse, I am a boarder and 2 ladies are also boarders. 4 horses in total and 28 acres of nice grass and a heavily treed section for winter turnout. I built and paid for one shelter and the owner paid for the other. We even put rubber matts in the shelter to prevent them from standing in mud at certain times of the year.
I have total control of the barn and feed whatever and how much I want but I also clean and do whatever to keep the place a show place.
I am extemely annal in everything I do, be it my barn, the horse, my house, my yard, my cars. Everything is maintained to an extreme.
If given the chance to bring a horse in nights, and put him out first thing in the morning I beleive even you would do it but agian it is not possible for you right now but some day??

You will have your ideal place sometime. My wife would gladly let me buy any place I wanted but I don't want my own place. I want others around me. I don't want to worry about where the hay comes from although I do worry about quality and watch it closely.
Anyway I am annal but the place is gorgous and I will put it up against any barn.
You too will have the best someday:lol::lol:

My blood it hot too but I think it is from too many calories

 

^ any foot problem/disease scares the bejesus out of me, haha but i think thats because ive always been taught that the horses mind and feet/legs are the most important part of the horse, and that those always should be kept in tip top shape

I personally dont mind if the horses are inside or out, i dont like it when some people call one or the other abuse because either inside or out boarding could turn into 'abuse'
my horse lives in an 'outdoor stall' only because she is a super slow eater( so we couldnt just bring her in to feed her, then it would take HOURS for her to finish eating, im not exagerating!) and she needs oats/supplments,haha i llove outdoor stalls tho because the horse is still outside, and still has something to look at at night and stuff.