24/7 turnout care

[Bookmans1]

Hi, in a little less then 3 weeks i’ll be getting a 3 year old Quarter Horse mare. Currently she is turned out with other horses during the day, and stalled at night. When she comes to me she will be out 24/7. (I am building a 10X14 shelter for her). I’m wondering how I feed her. I’ve talked to horse people in my area and they suggested to giver her less grain and more hay, since she will be on grass 24/7.

I’m also concerned about this coming winter. She had a pretty decient winter coat this year, or so I was told. I’m trying to figure out how to insure she’s happy. Last winter we hit -10 and below. I do plan on getting her blankets, (rain, heavy winter, medium weight, fly sheets…etc) I plan on putting a gate on her shelter so when the temperature drops to much (-10 or below at night) I can shut her in so she’s not to cold. (Or is that a bad idea so she can walk around, run, and move at night.)

I’ve never had a horse turned out 24/7. My last horse was a 25 year old Quarter Horse who was put down several years ago as he got West Nile (when my Ex took him for a camping trip). He was stalled at night, and out during the day, so there was never a concern about cold winter temperatures, the barn just kept the horses in when the wether was to cold or rainy.

Thanks for your advice.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Knowing the area you are in would be helpful. What size/type pasture will she be on?

Some horses on good pasture in summer don’t need grain/feed or hay, and only a vitamin/mineral supplement or a diet balancer to complement the grass they are eating. But if your pasture is sparse or a dry lot/sand, then hay and feed/grain will be needed.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

As for the temperature, that you’ll need to play by ear to some extent. If she isn’t blanketed, she should grow a nice coat, but again, not knowing the area (or the horse), blanketing may be necessary if she shows signs of being cold or uncomfortable. My three live outside 24/7 - my senior (28) requires sheets/blankets in winter, the other two do not. But not because he actually gets cold, because he burns so many calories to keep his huge 17.2 hand body warm that he has trouble maintaining weight. So I blanket to help him maintain his body weight.

A gate on your shed is a good idea anyway, so you have a place to keep her if she is injured and needs “stall” rest and it provides peace of mind during inclement weather that she’s safe in the shed.

[Holly_Jeanne]

Pasture makes a huge difference. Mine have been on 24/7 for 19 years and the only time I’ve had a problem is when I changed geographic areas. The pasture was less rich (I had been near Lexington, KY) and was smaller. My horse lost weight then. With a good pasture with plenty of room, I have only had to feed a vitamin supplement and hay only during the winter. I did have a concern about too much weight on my horses though. Mine were out with 24/7 access to a run-in shed. Oh, and I only blanketed when the temperature got into the 20’s with a wind chill. My biggest problem was access to water in freezing temperatures.

[trubandloki]

The answer to every question you asked is actually - it depends. But I am sure you already knew that.

Is your horse going to be living alone? Has this horse ever lived alone? Some horses do fine alone, some do not.
(Just something to keep in mind. Not something to panic about yet.)

Are you planning on riding your horse during the winter? The only horse I blanket is the one that I ride and that is just so I do not have a sweaty horse to deal with. Most horses adapt and do fine with their own winter coat. I would start by letting her grow her coat and see how she does with out a blanket. She may do just fine, even in the crazy cold weather.

Being able to closer her into her shelter will be great if she has to go on stall rest for an injury. Otherwise it will probably work best if you let her decide where she is most comfortable - in or out. They like to torture us by standing out in the crazy weather while their dry shelter with tons of soft bedding sits there unused.

[Bookmans1]

She will be on about 5 acres and in Western Massachusetts. No sad, the bottom part of the pasture tends to get muddy when it rains. She has never lived alone. She will when she comes to me. However, right on the other side of the fence are cows about 10-15 , 4 horses, 2 donkeys, and a handful of chickens.

[mmeqcenter]

“How to feed her” is pretty ambiguous, and though people on the internet can provide suggestions, there’s about a million different options and you’ll just have to wait and see how she does on your particular pasture to determine how to adjust her diet. It’s typically best to keep a new horse on the same diet as the facility they were at before for a few weeks, see how they do, then transition as needed. Horse’s diets should always consist of a higher percentage of forage as compared to grain. At the minimum, 50/50, but should absolutely never be higher in concentrates.

Typically it’s fairly safe to assume if they’re not shivering, they’re fine. However some will have weight loss in the winter, and upping hay/grain or blanketing may be necessary even with a full winter coat. Since she’s new to you, you really just will have to see how she fares the first winter and adjust your approach accordingly. If your shelter is not a barn that can be completely closed off from the wind, if it is just a three-sided shelter you’d put a gate on the open side, I’m of the opinion it’s best to leave them out so that they can 1-move around and generate heat, and 2-choose the best place to stand to stay out of the worst of the wind at any given time.

[Wonders12]

Your biggest enemies are wind & rain (35* and raining can be harder than 0*). The best way to combat it is shelter and hay.

For feeding: The more hay the better, especially in the winter. If she’s an easy keeper, consider a ration balancer rather than grain. For easy keeper QHs not in hard work, I generally only add true grain if they’re are getting full on hay (not eating anymore) and still need more calories.

Will you clip? That’s one of the biggest factors to keeping them warm in the winter. Caring for a clipped horse vs unclipped horse in the winter is very different.

When you’re building the shelter, it would be ideal to have some flexibility on 1 side where you can leave it open in the summer for breeze and shut it up so there is only a typical doorway (approx 4’ wide) in the winter. That will allow the horse to settle in out of the elements in the coldest weather. I would not put a gate on. Either do a door so you can shut her in out of the elements and allow her body heat to help, or leave it open so she can walk around.

I would also bed with straw (or shavings if you really want/can) in the coldest weather so she has some insulation from the cold ground. However, if you shut her in completely (with a door) you need to keep it clean/the ammonia down.

Will she have company? A couple of horses can heat up an enclosed area pretty quickly. I prefer to set up the shelter can they can utilize that combined body heat.

[trubandloki]

@Wonders12

Will she have company?

The OP says she will be alone.

@Bookmans1

She has never lived alone. She will when she comes to me.

[Wonders12]

@trubandloki

The OP says she will be alone.

My error. I was typing my response & kept getting interrupted, so I wrote my response before the OP posted the update.

[Bookmans1]

Thanks, the shelter will be a 3 sided wooden shelter 10X14. I was thinking a door or something to shut her in when the weather is really bad, low temperatures at night -10 and below at night for winter. I plan on setting up hay in the predominantly dry places until I get hay feeder to keep the hay dry in bad weather. This along with stringing a hay net in the shelter when/if I shut her in so she’s not to bored. I plan on setting up a solar powered water heater for the winter for the water trough in the pasture, and one inside the shelter, for again the cold nights she’s shut in.

Thanks for the idea of a door instead of a gate. The door would be tall enough for her to stick her head out, but block some kind of the winter weather

[Palm_Beach]

@Bookmans1

She will be on about 5 acres and in Western Massachusetts. No sad, the bottom part of the pasture tends to get muddy when it rains. She has never lived alone. She will when she comes to me. However, right on the other side of the fence are cows about 10-15 , 4 horses, 2 donkeys, and a handful of chickens.

She’ll be fine as long as she adapts to being alone. Horses are very cold hardy, and as long as you don’t clip her, she will be fine living outside with free choice access to a shelter. I’m south of you, but we do get some cold snaps where it goes below zero, and I have my horses outside all night all year round. The only ones that get a blanket (unlined, no fill, breathable turnout) are the one that get ridden, and that is only to keep them clean-ish. I can see the winter paddock from my house, and I never saw them in the shelter all winter. They mainly hung out near the hay.

If you lock her up, you will have a stall to muck every day, and you will need electric (lights, and to keep the water bucket from freezing) and water at your shelter. So think about shelter placement, how to get bedding in and out during mud/snow, etc. And yourself - you’ll have to walk out there twice a day. Oh, and hay. You’ll need to store hay nearby.

If you leave her out, you can do a round bale and that should last her weeks depending on how large it is.

Maybe get a field shelter and see how much she chooses to go in it before adding gates. And go fancy - the amount of money you spend on a field shelter is inversely proportional to the amount of time the horses will spend using it.

[Chief2]

I like the idea of using a Dutch Door, that way you could leave the top half open while the bottom half is closed, or close them both up together using some type of latch on the top. Consider matting the shed to make it easier to clean. My one suggestion would be to get a weight tape and tape your new horse when it arrives so you have a clear idea of where you are on the weight issue to begin with. I would start with whatever the previous owner was feeding her, and pay the owner to ship a few bales of hay with the horse so she will have some familiar forage to eat both on the trip and once she arrives for the first few days. Keep an eye on the weight tape and you may find that she may be fine on her usual diet for a while. If not, it will give you some time to evaluate her and research a diet you think would be more appropriate for her needs. That’s it. Congratulations, and good luck with your new horse!

[candyappy]

What type of fencing do you have around your 5 acres? I hope it is strong and visible because you have no idea what her frame of mind will be when you unload her and she is all alone. I think you want a better option then just unloading her and letting her loose on 5 acres or locking her in a 10x14 stall.

I would fence a large paddock off her shelter( using horse round pen panels) that you can keep her in during inclement weather ( overly wet, icy , cold etc…) instead of locking her in the shelter. That way she can go in or out at will and have room to move.

A lean- to type roof off the front of the shelter will keep the wet from blowing in.

You can also keep her in there until you know how she will react to being alone and as she settles in.

[TCA_Arabians]

If it’s not too late in your building process, I’d think about going with a slightly larger stall for her. And, you want the opening to be sited away from the direction your worst storms come in. We have a barn with at-will corrals off each stall. There are those that will stand out in the rain and snow instead of their nice warm stall. If you can put an overhang over the side with the opening - it will help with rain blowing in and provide shelter from the hot sun too.

[Bookmans1]

Thanks for all your advice. Were going to be building a 10X14 shelter for her. I plan on putting stall mats and shavings in the shelter. I plan on having it up and away form the gate (were it gets muddy when it rains). I don’t plan on clipping her. I plan on letting her grow a winter coat and see how thick it is and then blanket if she needs it. The fence is a solid wooden fence. Does anyone know of a good brand of Solar Powered Outdoor Water Heaters for paddocks? Just want to make sure I’m all set for winter…even though summer is right around the corner.

[demidq]

That shelter sounds small- which dimension will be the open side? I would go with wider and at least 14" deep. Most run in shelters are really too shallow and don’t give enough protection from sun, bugs or bad weather, IMHO!

[cnd8]

Please do not take this offensively, but based on your questions, it seems like you may be new to horse care or horse ownership in general. Would it be possible to board this horse, even just for a few months, before you take on the care solely yourself? A horse that is not accustomed to being alone may not do well at all when placed alone. They are herd animals. Plus, there is a lot to learn about general horse care. I’m not so sure jumping in with both feet would be best. If you board somewhere first, you could use that as an opportunity to not only get to know your new horse, but also to LEARN more about care, feeding, etc. In addition, farms where only one horse is located will be a challenge to get a vet or farrier to make the trip to. If you could board and make these connections first, I think you’d have a much more seamless transition into horse ownership.
By the way, I don’t believe there are solar heaters. I’d strongly suggest having power on the property for a tank heater and for other emergencies that may arise where you’d need lighting, etc. Again, boarding would be my recommendation. Horse care expenses add up FAST. I doubt you’d be saving much by not boarding.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I’m not sure if you’ve already started building your shed or not, but placement is very important. It should be on the highest point in the pasture, for drainage in rain and in winter for run off from snow melt. If the pasture is completely flat as a pancake, you’ll need to make a raised area of dirt or stone or something to lift the shed up off of ground level. Ditto if you’re on a slope - otherwise, even the nicest shed is going to fill with water, and you don’t want that!

I don’t know of a solar powered heating element specifically. There are solar panel kits that you can put on the roof of the shed, but you have to be very careful what appliances you hook up to those, as the panels are rated for a very specific wattage/voltage. For a proper heated water tub or heating element, you’re talking a lot of voltage, and thus, several panels. When using solar, you need to have a plan “B” (as in, it breaks, or gets damaged or gets covered with snow and isn’t producing power, etc.). At minimum, I’d have a single outlet at the fence line somewhere to plug in a stock tank heater, clippers, portable light, etc. An emergency vet call at night, with no lights in your shed would make for one very frustrated vet!

If it were me, I’d invest in some exterior solar lighting for the shed (lights that have their own little panel) and spend my money on the installation of a GFI outlet at the fence line. I think you’ll find that the cost of a single outlet installed may be cheaper than enough solar panels to handle a stock tank heater, lights, etc. But price out both and see what makes sense.

Also, 10X14 I think is fine for one horse, BUT if there are plans in the future to have more than one horse here, I’d think seriously about doing a 12X24 shed. It will cost significantly more to enlarge or add on to an existing shed than just putting up a larger shed to begin with. I mean, what if she hates being alone? And you have to get her a friend? Even if its just a goat or a mini or whatever, you’ll need larger than a 10X14 shed. Just something to think about.

[Bookmans1]

No offense taken CND8. I plan on moving her to a full board facility, however the shelter needs to be there until a stall opens up. I’m not sure when that will be. Hopefully once the students leave places will open up. Thanks for your advice. I truly appreciate every comment, as its a way to learn and grow. So thank you.