Who's horses have a choice on a snowy day?

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

I live in New Hampshire! I HATE winter. However the dang horses seem to LOVE IT!! Both big and small! My horses have run outs from their stalls. I do close them up at night, but during the day, they go crazy to get out!! I will open their stall doors even on days that it's snowing and put their hay IN their stalls. They move their hay OUTSIDE!! It never fails, they DON'T want to be in their stalls! Would your horses rather be out in a snow storm than be locked up in a stall?? Jeeze, I have pictures from today, but I dont' dare post them! My horses HATE being in their stalls during the day!! This drive me crazy! Is it horse abuse????

 

[Shari]

My horses just have a run in shed...so they are out in the snow more often than not. But I have been making sure they have a light water proof blanket on.

 

[sphynx~n~minis]

My Big horses are in and out all day, My mini's are out only when they are being watched or I am home all day on the weekends. They go out for a little while when we get home from work. There is so much snow here in NH (as you know) that I am afraid they will go thru the fence when they get running around. I am sure they would love to be out all day long, if they could, they love the snow. Hang on There Spring is coming!

 

[targetsmom]

I hope it isn't horse abuse because ours were out today too!

We had the same storm in Connecticut and all our horses were out except the stallion (it snows into his stall if I leave the door open). My 23 yr old big horse is out 24/7 and he spent a good part of today outside (in his waterproof blanket). The 6 minis that are out together have a HUGE run-in area plus a 12X 12 stall for shelter so they go "out" in all weather. They also spent a good part of the day outside and now I am trying to get them dry before more icicles form on their sides. They don't seem to appreciate being towelled off....

 

[desertgal]

My guys go out unless the wind and blowing is really bad. I keep lightweight, water proof,weather sheets on both with a sheltered haybag area, heated waters..etc... I don't leave them outside for full days if the weather is looking nasty. As long as they get out for even a couple hours together, they seem more than happy to come in ,have a roll in the shavings and tuck into a nice flake of hay. On really cold and nasty days, I have kept them in all day and take them for a short walk ~ they like that too and breaks up the day a bit. Good time to spend time for extra training, grooming, sheaths or trimming feet!

 

[End Level Farms]

My horses appear to be the exception to the rule.

They all have run ins and they choose to be in ALL THE TIME. Even the big horses.

They all have blankets on that are water proof and warm. They all choose to be inside. I have to kick them out. LOL.

 

[maestoso]

We don't have the luxury of in and outs. but if we did, their doors would be open! Pogo spent most of the day in but when I went to clean his stall and give him a break from his neck sweat he went out and had a blast in the snow. When he came in he probably had a half an inch of snow on his back and he had a white face! I wouldn't worry about them Joyce, I think they like it. Having them inside comforts us a lot more than it comforts them!

 

[ruffian]

I had a whole herd of frosted appaloosas today after a 3" snowfall. All mine have free run in and out unless it's icy. No blankets, just nice thick fur. Some stay in more than others, especially one older bred mare, but I think it's more that the hay feeders are inside than she doesn't like it outside.

 

[Leeana]

The broodmares are outside 24/7 with option to use their run in shed, which they generally do. Their run in shed is mostly enclosed so it can get pretty toasty in there if most of them choose to stay inside. Also, their roundbales are in there anyway so they normally just munch in their all day long...still hoping one day they will learn to come outside to poop as that would make things SO much easier

.

Then, most of my stalls in the barn have a small paddock enclosed to them so they can be inside their stall or they may be outside if they like. Generally i put the "hotter" horses in those stalls as they tend to get to worked up if stalled for any long period of time. I can close off their paddock to keep them inside but generally leave them be...i like to think they are smart enough to come inside if its to harsh outside

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Then, the other horses...like today when we had atleast near 2ft of snow on the ground with it still coming down hard, i just keep them in ..mostly as i dont want to trudge threw the snow and chase them down to bring them inside in this.

As long as there is some way they can get out of it if it gets to bad, you'll be good

Really, the only thing that worries me is when it gets icy and slippery out. The broodmares i dont worry about with the ice as much just because they are outside 24/7 and just tend to stand around...however, the show horses who are stalled, as soon as i turn them out they take off running and running and running so i worry about them slipping and possibly hitting the fence or going threw the fence, so if its very icy they stay in.

 

[Rebecca]

I'm in NH too. The snow was gross today, wet and heavy. Kassie can't stand being in but Covergirl doesn't mind. Usually I let them out for a little while then put them in with the stall guard on the door so they can look outside. I also open up the door that connects their two stalls, being together keeps them from getting too bored. When Kassie stays inside all day in her own stall she paces, spooks at everything, and won't stop to eat her hay. Keeping her in all day isn't really an option! The cold wind and snow don't bother her a bit, on days I keep her in it's because it's like today; wet and cold, so if her coat gets wet it's hard to get completely dry.

If they have something to do in their stalls it helps a lot. I hang a hay bag from the ceiling (baling twine keeps it low enough) and let them have at that. It doesn't have a wall to stop it so it swings around a bit. I also tried something new for Kassie today, and it worked wonderfully. I used one of those huge, thick plastic heavy-duty water jugs and put cut up apple pieces in it. Kass had to roll it and toss it around to get the apples out. Completely safe and kept her entertained for a looong time!

 

[shelly]

All my guys have outside paddocks, but I did keep them closed in today as the snow was wet and heavy and they don't like being toweled off very much!

Most days they have the option of going out or staying in warm and dry--they go out! Rain-snow-wind-they don't mind anything... it is more my not wanting to try and dry them so they don't freeze solid at night!

Don't worry Joyce---they are fine!!!!!

 

[Frankie]

We got over a foot of snow today and mine were having a blast! Haven't seen them play that hard in a long time.

They can all come and go as they please. The boys prefer to stay out, the girls in and out. No blankets and health wise they are fine.

I believe they need to have the shelter, but just so they have that choice. What weather I think may bother them, may not, and vise versa.

 

[jleonard]

Ours are all extremely spoiled!

We do not have a run-in, though we are planning to add on to the barn, part of which will be a run in. Our horses have been locked inside for two days now and are not happy! We had an ice storm on tuesday, with an inch of ice covering everything. I put on my skates to go down the driveway to ge the mail! So yeah, horses stayed in. We got 3 inches of snow last night over the ice. If it were not for the ice, they would have been out today. I know they would have loved plating in the snow. It is a rare treat to get a good snow around here, we usually only get about an inch that melts by noon. All but two of them are happier outside than in in all weather. The two exceptions are my 23 year old arab, and my thin skinned TB, neither of which get any winter coat to speak of. All of the horses have waterproof turnouts that they were any time it is wet or especially cold. The Arab and TB wear their's pretty much all the time, and are still standing at the door, begging to get in. Funny enough, they are the two that are throwing the biggest fit at being cooped up!

I was dissapointed that I could not snap some photos of them playing today

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

I am home all day, and I constantly look out the door to see what they are doing! It drives me NUTS!! I know how much they HATE being locked in! I guess I should just trust their judgement. I don't let them go out in the ice or a cold rain. But they love it when it's snowing! I just can't wait until spring.......

Thanks everybody!!

 

[RockRiverTiff]

All of our barns have runs, so the vast majority of the horses have the option to come in or stay out. I do have two stallions in a paddock with a shelter, but when we had record lows I brought them in too. Age, gender, size...makes no difference! If the horses can go outside, then pretty much all of them do. The only horses that MUST stay inside are my two arthritic old mares--they'd go out if they could, but I know they'd be feeling it later.

 

[wcr]

I'm in Oregon and we do get some snow every year but mostly rain and mud. Every horse has the option of shelter but the nastier it is the more they seem to like it. They are usually big mud balls most of the winter. The big horse is a bit of a weinie and likes her blanket and shelter.

 

[MooreAcres]

I also live in Oregon. During the winter, my horses are stalled at night and turned out during the day. Outside they have a 3 sided shelter that they can use at will. Most of the time, they dont. They wear blankets when the temps are freezing or below, or if its raining really hard. Otherwise, they are just horses and have to take care of themselves. They know whats best for them usually.

The only time I keep them in is if I am really busy and wont be home until really late, or if the weather is just nasty and I dont feel like putting them out.

They prefer to be outside verses in their stalls during the day. However, they equally enjoy being in their stalls at night. Everyone is always waiting at the gate as soon as I walk out of the house towards the barn.

 

[Shortpig]

I open the barn doors in the mornning, depending on the weather I either feed in the barn when raining or snowing or throw their hay out if just cold but nice. Usually after they have cleaned up their hay you will find the girls out unless real nasty. The boys will stand in their barn looking out and if the girls dare to head toward their barn Jimmy will call them back to stand outside the fence in the rain worshipping him and Koda. It's a big joke here.

Silly Girls!

They are locked up at night in their barns out of the weather. In the summer the barn doors are open 24hrs a day so they can decide where to sleep. Summer is my lazy time of year I always pray they didn't go in their barns so I don't have to clean the stalls.

 

[whitney]

I have drylots attached to each horses stall so they do whatever they want. Unless it is cold AND windy they are outside. My love birds Tweet and Tryst are across from each other (the driveway seperates them), so they are mooning at each other 24/7 unless they are eating.

 

[cretahillsgal]

All of mine are outside 24/7 with run in sheds that they can use if they want. I only have 2 that seem to seek out the sheds when the white stuff starts falling. We rarely get snow/ice here. We did get about 1/4 inch of sleet/snow this week and all the horses were covered with a crust of ice on their backs and weren't fazed by it at all.

I was a little worried yesterday when the ice started melting that they would be wet and then get cold when it refroze after dark. I checked them all out and most were dry, but the ones that were a little damp got dried with my heated blower.