My new Percheron yearling is a hoot. He has a nice covered barn that he can go into freely with clean shavings, hay and water. However he still stands out in the heavy (cats and dogs) pouring rain and it is like 50 degrees now, but going down to 38 tonight.
My others are standing under the barn. I don’t get it. It is driving me nuts 
Anyone else have a horse that does this?
Yup. My two happily stand out in the larger area of the paddock in rain and snow even though they have a large overhang and two cozy stalls to hang out in. Weirdos.
Mine is like yours, msrobin. He also chooses to stand outside in wind-driven snow. He told me that Real Horses don’t need no stinkin roof. 
He’s a little more appreciative of the facilities that have been provided for him at great trouble and expense when the weather is extremely bitter, or the wind is making it exceptionally difficult.
Mine seem to seek shelter from the sun in the summer more than the rain/wind in the winter. I put rain sheets on them in the winter just because I can’t stand seeing them standing out in the rain when they have a perfectly good field shelter!
Yes. The companion pony at my horse’s barn has a small paddock attached to her stall, and she would rather stand outside in the cold rain. She has a nice, thick, pony winter coat but she is at least 25 yo so we do put a rain coat on her. Otherwise she’ll be shivering like crazy.
My Standardbred is an outdoorsy guy. He doesn’t care what the weather is like, his choice is always to be out in the field. Unless I need him clean and dry (I’m lazy and don’t want to groom for hours to ride for one!) I let him go where he wants. To me it’s like telling a kid to come in from the playground just because you think they’re cold.
Will the others let him come in and near the food? Just wondering if “others” are keeping him out
[QUOTE=msrobin;5303999]
My new Percheron yearling is a hoot. He has a nice covered barn that he can go into freely with clean shavings, hay and water. However he still stands out in the heavy (cats and dogs) pouring rain and it is like 50 degrees now, but going down to 38 tonight.
My others are standing under the barn. I don’t get it. It is driving me nuts
Anyone else have a horse that does this?[/QUOTE]
This is Gambler’s, DH’s mule, first winter with us. Although he has access to the three-sided shelters, he stood out in the SoCal torrential rains last week.
[QUOTE=HealingHeart;5304696]
Will the others let him come in and near the food? Just wondering if “others” are keeping him out[/QUOTE]
I wonder this too. I have a yearling and a weanling who share a run-in, and neither of them choses to be out in the rain. I make sure that horses who have to share a run-in get along really well long before it starts to rain. I have three mares who will stay out if the rain catches them out, but if I move them in their run-in area, they stay in. They don’t seem to want to walk to the barn with the rain in their face if they don’t have to.
Is it his own stall & paddock or shared?
Before we owned FP he always stood out in the rain rather under the shelter - we bought him, gave him his own stall & he was in there adjusting the bed to get it just right for his beauty sleeps :lol:
Initially his water & food were served up only in the stall so he’d associate that place with “good things” - by Day 3 he was in love.
btw even though he had a thick winter coat (welsh) & never acted cold, he did have some patches of rain rot that we treated through the summer.
As a teen, I had a very stubborn, alpha mare. She had her very own field and run-in shed with a hay feeder in the back. In bad weather, her front feet and entire front half would be outside the shed, soaking wet, icicles on her mane and whiskers. I used to joke that the smart half was warm and dry inside.
For a few years my old jumper lived outdoors at a friend’s farm. He shared a 5 acre pasture with a good buddy, complete with 2 large, bedded run-in sheds with full hay racks in both. They used one shed to pee in and the other to hang out in. Comet would usually stand with only his head under the shed roof, the rest of his body out in the weather. His pal stood with his body inside, head sticking out.
Funny thing was that in the summer, when it was hot & buggy, they tucked themselves deep in the sheds during the hottest part of the day.
[QUOTE=HealingHeart;5304696]
Will the others let him come in and near the food? Just wondering if “others” are keeping him out[/QUOTE]’
He is all by himself separate from the others. It really makes no sense to me. I am thinking that he doesn’t realize that he can stay dry if he stays inside. He has never been in a barn and I just got him last week. I went out several times in the pouring rain last night and led him back into the shed and about an hour later I look out and he is standing in the rain under the light. I think he is scared of the dark. He loves that light
At least I am not alone and others horses are doing it. I guess I have always had wussy horses who didn’t want a drop of rain on them. It is going down to 20 tonight so I am going to put a sheet on him (no rain). I am one of those moms that believes everyone is freezing like me lol I moved to Florida to get away from the cold and here it is freezing out and I have a huge fire going in the fireplace!
Most of mine rebel and refuse to come in. My very fancy mare will stand out in rain, sleet. bugs etc. I have to drag her in. On the positive, her kids have learned from her and are resistant to bugs in the ring!!!
Given that horses for a couple million years have lived just fine without shelters or blankets and are usually pretty adept at finding shelter if they need it and its available I would guess he’s fine. He knows where his shelter is and if you think he’s worried about the dark you can put a light in there…maybe a battery operated motion sensored one? If he has a winter hair coat he’s probably toasty dry under the outer layer that lays down and drains water off of them. We mostly blanket horses for OUR comfort (unless they are thin, very old, have no winter coat due to clipping or being under lights).
^THIS
I make myself feel better by poking fingers through to the skin - if it’s dry no blanket necessary…no matter how shivery it makes me to see them looking soaked.
My pony will “stand guard” outside the WBs stall, in any sort of weather.
But I know he naps in his, as he is often breaded with shavings.
Remember:
Horses are comfortable at 40F.
Lower than that, temps just make them go:
“Hmmm…a bit brisk…”
Mine are the same way. Usually shelter is preferred during the hottest and buggiest days of summer…that’s when they’ll stand in the run-in. The rest of the time, they’re out in whatever weather is playing that day.
The only time I’ve seen both at the gate anxiously waiting to come in (and “in” is a relative term… totally open-air stalls) was during an ice storm. Otherwise, it’s just “Mom! The hay net is empty!! Mom! Where be the beet pulp!!!” :lol:
I just adopted a 19y/o Tennessee Walker, today in Floridaall he wants to do is stand in the rain. It bothers me because he gets so soaked. But he is not cold, and it does help wash all the dirt off him from rolling during the day. He has an open access shelter he can go into that also has a roll of hay in it and his alfalfa Nuggets we feed him. He also gets fed in his barn. But when it is raining he would rather stand in the middle of the yard or under the street light. He has a light in his shed and also flood lights in the yard. It bothers me because I wouldn’t want to be outside in the rain. I tried to take him in his barn and he didn’t want to, he turned and ran back out into the pasture. Lol I guess he don’t mind the rain at all.
I wish my horse would do that. As soon as a raindrop hits him he runs into the shelter like he is being scorched by acid. It doesn’t matter if it is 100 degrees out or 30.
40F to them is like 70F to us. We wouldn’t mind standing in a rain shower in 70F weather. Big critters have lots more trouble shedding heat than staying warm. You’re in Florida. He’ll be fine.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
