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Post by carrie17491 on Oct 20, 2014 11:38:09 GMT
I have a 3 year old section a that I am wintering out completely unrugged as I feel it will benefit him massively. He already has quite a coat and plenty of fat in him to keep him warm. However I also have a 5 year old welsh part bred that I am considering wintering out unrugged but she is finer, however she is unrugged at the moment and there is plenty of shelter and grass to help her gain weight also haylage will be put out for them when the grass dies off/runs out. I'm hoping it will help her mature, gain weight and give her a good break from being ridden/shown.
My main concern is spoilingn them when they are young which is why I'm considering wintering them out to help them just be a horse!
What are people views on wintering out as opposed to stabling? I've never had any live out over winter so a bit unsure what to do with her.
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Post by cariad on Oct 20, 2014 11:43:08 GMT
Ive got two this year. My oldie and my new 17h TB who is only 6. I only have one stable so they will be sharing it, Als will probably stay out the most, im just going to have to play it by ear and see which one wants to be in/ out. As long as there is enough haylage, we have 4 feeders in the field and two huge shelters. They have enough clean and dry rugs to swap over when they get wet. Prem equine ones are good as their under rugs wont hang out etc. I dont think I would have done it until I had to, I have to now and both boys dont mind being out overnight. All theyre doing is eating the same as they would but without a permanent roof - they can stand in shelter if they want or if they dont they can wander!!
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Post by ponymum on Oct 20, 2014 12:26:44 GMT
I give all mine a break over the winter , and my sp has had 3months out over winter for the last few yrs...it had no detriment to her weight at all , and the yr I put our shp out, he came in looking ready to go in the ring! I would leave a rug off until as late as possible , so when the cold weather hits , a rug will make all the difference. I have to admit , I do rug my sp mare ! And feed hard feed if it is frosty or snowy and wet!
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Post by fanfarefan on Oct 20, 2014 13:42:55 GMT
i was going to try and winter my part bred B out as hes been out since the spring amd had chill out time but last week he suffered a bad bout of Collitis , lost alot of weight , so will now be rugged and in at night all the best laid plans can go wrong, however your ponies should be fine im sure
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Post by bubbles1822 on Oct 20, 2014 13:55:20 GMT
Until the age of 3/4 ours live out 24/7 all year no rugs. There's also 2 brood mares who again live out without rugs though winter they usually last with no additional fed unless the ground starts the freeze badly or snows over then we take haylage down though they don't always eat it! They are all fell ponies though so should be able to cope with the winter weather!!
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Post by lisadundee on Oct 20, 2014 14:11:28 GMT
My brood mares all live out rugged up with adlib haylage all winter with access to a big open sided barn for shelter.
I usually stable my PBA stallion as he's fine and wimpy but he hates being stabled and it causes him stress which causes him gastric ulcers, so this year in leaving him living out with his section A friend. They have adlib haylage but no shelter but he is carrying more weight than he would be if stabled and stressing. He is well rugged but the section a I am leaving naked as he's so obese! Even though I feel guilty for not rugging him
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Post by carrie17491 on Oct 20, 2014 14:31:01 GMT
Well I don't feel as guilty now! The section a is loving it already, they'll have ad lib haylage when the grass dies off so they'll have plenty to eat thankfully. It's just my part bred I'm slightly concerned about! She's not at the best weight at the minute but this is another reason why I'm considering wintering her on a good field with ad lib haylage as she may even start to put some weight on! I'm not going to rug her as I'm worried they may rub or when the rain is bad they get heavy etc and I don't want to be swapping them all the time id rather let her skin breathe. Obviously if it gets really bad in winter with snow etc then I will consider things again then but they've plenty of shelter. I've always had them in during winter because I'm soft but I'm wanting to give us all a break over winter!
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janet
Full Member
Posts: 502
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Post by janet on Oct 20, 2014 14:32:41 GMT
Mine live out without rugs all winter, they have a field shelter and a good hedge, they will get hay once all grass goes, they are in 11 acres and the grass grew all summer and they live off it all winter, have done this for a few yrs now and they all look great, there is 5 dartmoors on this, they live in a small paddock all summer otherwise they would be obese!!
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Post by nici on Oct 20, 2014 15:00:39 GMT
Ours have wintered out for years, and they're much happier out. Non ridden ponies will be naked unless they're struggling with the cold / losing too much weight. Ridden ponies rugged as appropriate to needs. My daughter's little mare, who goes hunting every weekend and needs to stay very fit, was starting to lose weight in our summer paddock, so she and our 4yo gelding are in the big winter field already. The gelding was backed about 6 weeks ago and is being ridden regularly. He's off hunting on Sunday and will be ridden a lot next week as it's half term, but then it'll be rug off and winter holidays for him. The others are on restricted grazing - I think they'd explode if I put them in the winter field at the moment. I want all of the ponies come out of winter lean (the hunting pony will come out of winter very fit!), so that when the Spring grass comes through they don't need their grazing restricted too much.
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Post by carrie17491 on Oct 20, 2014 16:52:54 GMT
What breeds are your horses everyone? As mine is a connie x welsh c but is a finer type. I'm worried that she's not going to cope but am I just being soft!? She's out with no rug on at the minute and is loving it!
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Post by lisadundee on Oct 20, 2014 17:31:18 GMT
My broodmares are a section d, and 2 hunter type mares and then a skinny part bred arab stallion and super fat section A lol
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Post by cariad on Oct 20, 2014 19:08:35 GMT
Ive got a tb and a welsh x anglo! Neither are hardy.
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Post by dogandbone on Oct 20, 2014 20:08:45 GMT
I think your pt bred needs some sort of shelter - carrie 17491 albeit a rug or whatever - modern rugs don't get "heavy with wet" like old fashioned rugs did!! If he doesn't carry a lot of weight now, no way will he put weight on if all the food is only going towards keeping him warm! Why feed the cold??? Natives can and do grow coats suitable to withstand winter weather, but put a bit of 'blood' in to the mix, and they do not stand the wet and cold - end up with rain scald and not happy ponies!! Why not give him a rug? What is against it - ?
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Post by comanchediva on Oct 20, 2014 20:24:52 GMT
Carrie if your mare is not at the best weight at the minute I would rug her otherwise whatever she gets from the haylage will go towards keeping warm rather than putting more keeping on the weight.
Otherwise everything you say is fine, let them be ponies and give yourself a break from mucking out! I wish I could winter our boys out x
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Post by brindlerainbow on Oct 20, 2014 21:03:50 GMT
I have 3 ponies. A 22yr old Welsh section A, a 5 yr old Welsh section B and a 3 yr old RP. I live on Dartmoor though im in a sheltered spot, not on the high moor. My ponies stable doors are left open and the stables are bedded down all the time so they can come and go as they please. All have been unrugged and are very fluffy. Last week we had lots of rain and wind over night and when I went out in the morning all 3 were shivering badly especially the section B who is not over weight but is very well covered. All 3 are now rugged up!!!! I hate to see ponies shivering so mine will now be rugged up for the winter unless we get a warm spell. I do take their rugs off if it's dry and sunny during the day but they will stay on if wet/windy and will be on at night.
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dis
Junior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by dis on Oct 20, 2014 22:19:53 GMT
As long as the ground is half decent its no bother to winter out. Mine are tb or wb and fine out.
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Post by carrie17491 on Oct 20, 2014 22:43:32 GMT
Dog and bone I'm very old fashioned because my mother drilled it into me haha! But yes I agree she'll need even a lightweight to protect her. The section a needs nothing and never has had rugs because he's a hardy little fat thing haha!
I've also decided that if the weather really turns I may get her a middle weight to take the chill off her. I'm just hoping that a light weight will be sufficient for her!
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Post by comanchediva on Oct 21, 2014 5:09:35 GMT
I think I'm right in saying that the feeling is that you need at least a middleweight to keep them warm. A lightweight, especially once wet will flatten the coat and not do the job you're expecting from it.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Oct 21, 2014 6:49:47 GMT
carrie17491 - leave them both out unrugged. Rugging now would cause the PB to grow a finer coat than she otherwise would, and rugs can upset the normal action of the coat to protect the animal. Shelter would be good though if you can manage it, even a hedge - ponies are extremely good at finding the most sheltered bit of a field to suit the weather of the time. Even full TBs can live out unrugged providing they have shelter and ad lib forage, which generates heat as it's digested unlike cereals which use it up.
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Post by carrie17491 on Oct 21, 2014 15:23:44 GMT
Thanks Sarahp that's really helped. She's not underweight but being a pb isn't as hardy as the welsh pony. However she only wears a rain sheet at the moment and has already got a rather thick coat so I'm thinking of removing it and letting her get a coat that will protect her during the more harsher months. My concern for rugging is them getting caught, getting too wet and heavy and rubbing.
There is lots of natural shelter for them as the whole of the fields are hedge and tree lined
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Post by brt on Oct 21, 2014 22:25:03 GMT
I think your pt bred needs some sort of shelter - carrie 17491 albeit a rug or whatever - modern rugs don't get "heavy with wet" like old fashioned rugs did!! If he doesn't carry a lot of weight now, no way will he put weight on if all the food is only going towards keeping him warm! Why feed the cold??? Natives can and do grow coats suitable to withstand winter weather, but put a bit of 'blood' in to the mix, and they do not stand the wet and cold - end up with rain scald and not happy ponies!! Why not give him a rug? What is against it - ? My T.B wintered out the first year i was here, rugless too, they are not as soft as you think. My foals are in during the night but out all day, the older ones that are shown will be in from xmas onwards but out in the day and everything else lives out ! Even my old broodmares are out 24/7 and this year i have chucked a rather hot headed 3 yr old out with them to let her have some "head space". Ponies are born with rugs and they do a better job then the ones we buy for them......
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Oct 22, 2014 7:52:49 GMT
Love your last sentence! The only time I've rugged have been if clipped in the winter for working, or possibly I may have done to keep them clean for work, can't remember. Or use of sweetitch rugs in the summer, or to prepare coats for showing the next year, all for my benefit not theirs.
Likewise I do have the weaned foals in at night over their first winter, but more so that I can feed them individually and do all the handling than because I feel it necessary for their welfare, and I may have one in on the same basis to prepare for showing the next season, or to keep a single foal company - this year I shall have a single colt foal who needs company. And no, I don't want any more foals but he will have one of my colts or geldings with him!
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Post by dogandbone on Oct 22, 2014 8:51:19 GMT
I think a big KEY to the 'what is best for your equines' question is where you live! I have a friend who lives in an area where the topsoil depth is shallow, and so the quality of the grass through the winter is very poor. She mostly has native ponies and some cope well and loose a bit of necessary 'pork' through the winter, but others of similar breed etc do not cope at all well, and have big thick rugs and are fed both hard feed and ad-lib haylage to keep any weight on them. - My thoughts to anyone thinking of wintering their ponies out without rugs, = see how they get on with it, if they start to look miserable and / or loose weight, then that particular animal, needs to be warmer - either in a stable at night or with a big thick rug!! There is no "One fits all"
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Post by robrocks on Oct 22, 2014 18:14:34 GMT
I have 8, 5 out without rugs but they do have a shelter and are Shetlands. The two welsh love to come in so are out half and half. I am trying to winter thd fell out but he is the worst! Within ten mins of coming in he is lying flat out in his stable. If he's out he stands at my back door! I think he would steal my bed. I thought fells were hardy lol.
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