Hi y’all.
Our horses are now on night turnout (never had this before; we moved from somewhere with very limited turnout). They go out from 4pm to 9am. One of them is like a zombie to ride now. No back soreness, no attitude change, no obvious lameness (though I do have a vet coming for a soundness eval). He’s just asleep at the wheel.
Anyone else’s horses react to night turnout this way?
Turnout can make horses tired.
It can take some time for a horse accustomed to limited turnout to settle in with more turnout. I wouldn’t say 4PM to 9AM is “a lot of turnout”, but if he’s used to limited turnout he may just be tired. Look into reasons why though. Some things to consider: the terrain, his behavior (is he pacing, calling, looking for friends?), other herd-mates (are they chasing him, can he get away?), etc.
If nothing else has changed, he doesn’t appear lethargic or sick, I would consider this a positive as most horses do much better with more turnout versus less.
How long has he been there?? he probably is staying up all night plus expending more energy but should not be “damn near unrideable” There could be other causes like change in nutrition etc, but Sleep deprivation in horses is real, yep happened to my own boy…he was falling down…moved and viola back to normal in just 3 days. Absolutely was sleep deprivation…he layed down in a totally new place and was snoring within 5 minutes of lights out, stayed asleep pretty much the whole night. He just had not felt safe or secure enough to sleep in the previous run in situation. Speak to the vet and see if it is just more time or some adjustments need to be made. He hopefully will start getting the “down n out” REM sleep he needs outside once he feels safe n sound in the new place.
I’ve had horses that take a few weeks to adjust to night turnout. Give him time. He’ll get the hang of it.
Individual or group?
My mare’s outlook improved enormously when I moved her from a place where she had individual turnout on a similar schedule (or was out 24/7, depending on the need to use her paddock for day turnout for other horses), to a place where she was out 6 to 8 hours in the day, and in otherwise. She was not sleeping much, if at all, in the former setup. There was “something out there” at night that kept her alert. Now she has shavings in her tail every morning…
We are all sitting here waiting for the weather to improve so night turnout can start!
I don’t know specifically about night turnout but when my guys are finally let out in the “big field”, they are always exhausted. They come into their stalls, eat their grain, then sleep/lay down until I turn them out again, sometimes having to be coaxed back out. Even though they were out 24/7 before, the big field gives them a much larger area to wander. They all eventually return back to “normal”…
Night turnout = the best calming supplement! This year I think I’m going to leave mine on night as long as they can handle the night temps. Even though I’m able to split their turnout time pretty evenly when they swap to day turnout (have to stay in at night), I feel like they really enjoy being outside at night more than during the day. Everyone crashes after eating breakfast for a few hours. It’s also easier to get my riding done since the kids are already inside.
Give him some time, he’ll have a little more gas in the can soon.
Yep, every year those with “spicy” horses are really glad to have night turnout start! Horses are much more relaxed when ridden during the day. The difference is greatest early on while they are still adjusting.
How long has it been?
If it’s just a week or 2, I’d say give it time.
If it’s been several weeks I would worry that the horse isn’t getting enough sleep, which could be for a lot of reasons. Usually it’s because they don’t feel comfortable lying down - if they are being harassed by other horses and/or if they don’t trust their herd leader. Or if there are other reasons (e.g. other animals, especially predators like bears or large cats). Where do you live?
I might consider putting a couple of game cams out in the pasture to get an idea of what the herd is doing at night.
IME horses take turns sleeping in shifts. At my barn they can all see each other down the row of individual turnouts. If I come down at 11 pm my mare is reliably awake and perky while a couple of other horses are reliably lying down asleep. My mare is reliably asleep after her early morning feed drops at 6 or 7 am. And I have heard of horses that got narcoleptic when they couldn’t sleep because their paddock had footing they didn’t like to lie down on. So I expect that the night turnout has interrupted his current sleep pattern. Maybe he always slept at night and he isnt secure enough to sleep outdoors so he is sleep deprived.
Horses need about 2 hours REM sleep lying down sternal with nose on ground or flat out. They can skip in for a few days but not indefinitely.
Agreed. And it could also indicate a vision issue if the horse feels particularly vulnerable in the dark. But it could just be herd personalities. My retired TB doesn’t lie down enough; she apparently does not trust the current boss mare because when I had an old grizzled QH gelding I saw her lying down all the time. Now I see her falling asleep on her feet and I rarely catch her lying down. My APHA mare, on the other hand, is flat out on her side snoring away a couple times a day and probably overnight too. Apparently she doesn’t take her turn guarding the others very often.
Since my TB mare is retired, and I know she does sleep because she has mud/manure on her flanks…it’s ok. However if she was younger and in work, I might reconsider the turnout groups.
Yes. I hate night turnout. I think some horses don’t adjust well to being put on night shift. Good sleepers with good routines miss their comfy beds and the security of their stalls.
But lots adjust just fine in time. I hope yours is one who does!
I love night turnout for just this reason. Mine are at home so I can observe their behavior but they often sleep sprawled our on the grass and are very happy campers & very content while riding. I can’t wait for the ground to improve & start night turnout again - we’ve had over a month of rain so it’s still a bit muddy.
Just wanted to provide this fact: he is turned out alone (although he has buddies in adjoining pastures). So he can see friends, but I don’t think herd personalities are the issue here. Maybe he does feel vulnerable out there in the dark alone when he’s always been in a stall. That said, he seems very happy these days (despite being totally lethargic). I think I’ll give it a few more weeks for adjustment, and then make changes if necessary. Thanks y’all!
In the summer my boys definitely prefer night turn out and in their stalls on the hot, buggy afternoons. Often in the morning a few of them will be lying down with one standing guard. Horses’ night vision is much better than ours.
As far as being lethargic, my horse was always easier to control when we were on early morning foxhunts after being out all night.
My mare is always exhausted the first week or two of night turn out. It can take some time for them to adjust. She is also alone in a paddock (with other horses around her). She tends to lie down in her stall during the day rather than out in the field at night.
Think it’s just a period of adjustment for him. You might find he does better if you shorten the time, say dusk to dawn if that’s possible. One thing about night turnout is there are all sorts of nocturnal critters scurrying about providing “entertainment” and exercise so many of them don’t sleep soundly then sack out back in the stall. It’s fine, it’s normal for a prey animal. We just keep them in such an artificial environment, we don’t see what is natural.
Was always delighted myself when my horses were relaxed and happy getting the constant exercise they were designed for thanks to night turn out. I often had to get them up out of a sound sleep to ride. Which is a wonderful thing. Why we say the summer horse and the winter horse are not the same animal.
This came across my Facebook feed this week. Old COTH article about night turn out:
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/try-the-latest-in-calming-drug-technology-night-turnout
I suspect now that your horse is on night turn out, he is out longer, moving, grazing so he just not yet used to the increased activity. I have never met a horse yet whose activity level does not rebound.
Generally i see horses come in, eat breakfast, then nap.
I think your guy is just happy & relaxed. 
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