I’m finding myself asking the age old question…turnout or keep inside ?? We’ve had a series of snow, sleet, freezing rain , ice ,and now bone chilling high winds-20-30mph with 60mph wind gusts …I hate keeping them inside but turnout has really been challenging …I feel like ice is something you don’t take a chance with -especially now with high winds added to the mix…parts of the farm are sheets of ice …there’s a salt shortage in our area as well 
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My at home horses go out in everything except hurricanes or torrential downpours. I do blanket accordingly.
My boarded horse gets more limited turnout as the other owners clutch pearls over conditions.
I’ve found the more they are in, the stupider they behave and make terrible decisions.
The race farm across the street has about 25 TBs of various ages outside and no blankets in all weather. They are thriving.
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But what about the ice ? Just getting to and from our paddocks and fields are slopes and hills that are sheets of ice …if it was just wind they would definitely be going out …we had snow , sleet, followed by freezing rain all day yesterday which froze over night
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Mine are in today. The ice is too treacherous.
The tree limbs coming down from the crazy wind are also a concern.
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We’ve had a similar winter and its still going strong. Our pastures get closed over the winter but we have an indoor, an outdoor, and a dry lot that are shared over the winter. When there is enough snow on the driveway and outdoor turnout they go out, but we’ve had more than several days now where it’s a literal ice rink and dangerous for all involved. My yak tracks literally were doing nothing for traction. On those days they get turned out in the indoor, albeit limited.
Im extra cautious about the ice with my guy having neck problems. I don’t really worry about cold/wind with a fjord, even naked we haven’t gotten temps that bother him, but he’s an outlier.
Those horses that do go outside in the winter, they are generally pretty low key and cautious on the terrain. The ones that rip roar go out inside.
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Fwiw, I FAR FAR prefer this type of ice cleat.
They work so much better than the traditional yaktrax.
Stay safe out there!!
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Yes same here (we’re in Pa - Berks county ) the ice is treacherous…a literal ice rink …I also turnout in my outdoor but it’s an ice rink at the moment …and with tree limbs cracking and coming down along with debris flying through the air it’s just dangerous for everyone involved
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I’m an “outside if at all reasonable” person. @ladipus it sounds like we had the same weather. Snow that turned into rain that turned into ice. Extremely high winds. Mine are in today.
I have one bag of ice melt left and am tempted to put it in their in/outs so they could at least stretch their legs a bit, but it’s just going to refreeze overnight so I think I’ll hang on to it.
No indoor to exercise them in. If I can clear a path to my driveway, I might try handwalking them. But honestly may give them a calming supplement first. It’s really bad out there.
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Same …Its awful here
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@Pico_Banana I have an indoor but it was dangerous even attempting to ride …heck it was challenging even to hand walk in the indoor because of the winds and stuff flying through the air…it’s crazy
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And we’re not cracking freezing … until the weekend??? So they might be in for awhile 
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I know I’m in denial but it’s supposed to be sunny on Wednesday so am hoping maybe SOMETHING will change then.
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Yeah - by exercise I meant handwalk only! The horses are used to usual winter weather, but I think we can all agree this is not typical!
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Ugh, not here. And I’m not sure how to feel about that giant snowstorm that was supposed to hit mid week now…not? They were showing potential for crazy numbers but at least it would’ve given a solid layer over the ice.
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No definitely not …this has been tough
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Same weather as you, and mine are in today. We’re using the tractor and our Polaris ranger to try to crack the ice to their dry lots so we can hopefully turn them out tomorrow. But our barn is on a slope, and the path to the paddocks is treacherous right now. We have an indoor, so we’ll hopefully be able to hand walk them soon, but that’s not a substitute for turnout. I’ve lived in this area for decades, and I don’t remember a winter quite this bad. I like to get them outside in most conditions, but the ice here is just awful right now.
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Thanks for the link! Mine are nearly dead at this point too so I need to get a replacement. Mine had the springs and those are real fun when they start wiggling around and get caught on hay bags or get your feet stuck together 
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Maybe I’ve just been unlucky but I really never found the spring yaktrax to be much help when I need them the most–like this solid, sheer ice! The cleat type ones are just such a game changer. I don’t think I have the yaktrax brand of them, but they look very similar. Anything with the pointy part on the bottom should work!
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We turn out in most weather. Ice is a hard no.
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I’ve had them for YEARS and was happy with them for hiking and the like. I can’t recall a winter here with so much ice so they really got put to the test, and failed!
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