Do your horses stay outside even in cold cold

[Just Us N Texas]

Oue pature horses stay out 24/7. Show horses stay in an open barn. My late husband always said that a horse loves cold weather, and the only thing that really bothers them is a sleety, freezing rain. We continue to keep our horses his way. I had some sick calves once, and the vet told me that most animals were meant to be outside, in the weather, seems Mother Nature made them that way. I had been putting the calves up in the barn, so they were getting sick. I stopped that nonsense, and no sick horses or calves since then!

 

[Sonya]

I don't have horses anymore (sold them about a yr ago)...but when I did, they did get stalled at night but were let out first thing in the AM, their stall doors were always left open for them to come and go as they please (they only went in there during the day to poop)...it would be cold, wet, nasty and they still chose to be out. They didn't get locked in their stalls until usually after 10pm. They loved the outside and they loved the snow and cold.

 

[Relic]

All of ours are out all winter we have never had a sick horse because of it. l think last winter the coldest we got was minus 43C for a few days and no one was bothered by that..except maybe for me running out to beat the band to do chores and feed because it was hard to wear enough clothes to keep from feeling the extreme cold seems the first thing to get cold is the old butt. All the minis have access to shelters if they choose but they never do unless the wind is really kicking up.. l love winters but having to wear to many clothes if you fall down it's kind of hard to get back up seems almost like your rocking yourself to sleep trying to get back on your feet when that happens..

But can't say the minis are bothered or l would for sure put them up in the barn..this winter 2 of the older in there mid twenties mares will go in when it gets to below 20 otherwise they stay out.

 

[anita]

Folks, I gotta freezing from all reading, minus 43C brrrrr................ made a cup hot coffee to warm up.

Last night was 39F and thought it was extremely cold.

Our horses are out 24/7 all of mine hate stalls. I never had a sick horse

A

 

[Mona]

Folks, I gotta freezing from all reading, minus 43C brrrrr................ made a cup hot coffee to warm up.

Last night was 39F and thought it was extremely cold.

Our horses are out 24/7 all of mine hate stalls. I never had a sick horse

A

Awwww, come on Anita...it's not so bad...it's "only" a little more than EIGHTY degrees COLDER than your 39 degrees that you think is cold!

LOL!!! Yes, I HATE it when we get to those temps, and they can often stay for several weeks at a time! :Cold-Scared

 

[Equuisize]

We get more rain than snow or ice here and because I dislike it, the horses

seem to, too. Our Arab Pinto is especially, wussy...is that a word? First drop of rain

and he heads for shelter. The other horses copy everything he does so that

pretty much has taken care of the issue.....but they eventually go back out into the rain.

They come in at night, as I don't want them going day after day with wet coats.

Our barn is well ventilated and they have snuggy rooms with lots of shavings to let them

dry out...when they dry you can run a brush over them and send them back out.

When we do get ice and snow they go out if it's a day where they can get good traction.

If they are slipipng and sliding they come back in.......had a horse slip and damage his shoulder

so that's the rule now.....

I think all the time about horses in the wild but just can't get on board with how they have to live.

I want them where I can pass out good night treats and kiss their little noses.

 

[Sun Runner Stables]

I Like my horses out 24-7, someone mentioned something about a huge barn with stalls mostly empty? That's us.

However, being in south florida, everything gets body clipped, as our coldest days are a few nights in the 30's- the rest will be wildly varied between 80-50 as a norm, and as this is Our (Big) horse show season, No coats allowed.

That being said, when it gets chilly, the show horses are in and blanketed, and depending on the weather, the rest either also come in, or get water proof turn out blankets.

Alot of times I bring them in just so I am able to give them a different blanket, as many of mine are blanket shredders, and the stall keeps them from doing so as much.

However mine are Out the majority of the time, and it shows in happy vice free horses!

 

[Basketmiss]

Ok my husband MIGHT be more convinced after these postings. I told him to take the heat lamp out and he did so far! He says no-one is going out on ice though. Of course we dont want anyone to slip!

By the way, he is an electrician for 20 years, the bulbs were heated and in no way a fire hazard, not near anything, also didnt put off enough heat to cause any harm, just to appease him..

I told him they could get colds so hopefully he will leave them out!!

I keep telling him they will get enough fuzzies to keep them warm, he is just worried about them, it is sweet.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I like my horses to have access to shelter 24/7, but like most said here, they don't use it all that often. They do use it to get out of the wet, though.

And I would be nervous about my animals coming in and out of a heated barn - it's probably just an old wives tale, or maybe I should say an old farmer's tale in this case, but my dad always told me it was unhealthy for livestock to be coming in and out of the cold. I don't know why that would be, necessarily, since people do it all the time. But since my horses don't choose to be in their run-in most of the time, I don't think the cold bothers them that much, anyway. My old riding mare is wearing a blanket every night, though.